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Medieval Japan

Medieval Japan. Chapter 14. Early Japan. Section 1. Japan’s Geography. Japan is a chain of island that stretches north to south in the northern Pacific Ocean. Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu are the four main island people live on.

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Medieval Japan

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  1. Medieval Japan Chapter 14

  2. Early Japan Section 1

  3. Japan’s Geography • Japan is a chain of island that stretches north to south in the northern Pacific Ocean. • Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu are the four main island people live on. • Japan is actually the tops of mountains coming out of the water. • Only 20% of land can be farmed.

  4. First Settlers • First people came from northeast Asia between 30,000 and 10,000 BC. • At this time, Japan was likely joined to the Asian continent. • About 5000 BC, the groups began to develop a culture, known as Jomon, which means “cord marks” • Eventually the Jomon will settle in fishing villages.

  5. The Yayoi • Archaeologists discovered a new group that appeared about 300 BC and they called this culture Yayoi after the place in Japan where they first dug up its artifacts. • They introduced farming to Japan • Skilled metal workers: axes, knives, and hoes from iron, swords, spears, and bells from bronze. • By AD 300, the Yayoi organized themselves into clans. • Buried their chiefs in large mounds known as kofun.

  6. Who are the Yamato? • AD 500s, a clan called the Yamato became strong enough to bring most of Japan under its rule. • Chiefs claimed they came from the sun goddess and, therefore, had a right to rule Japan. • Japanese legends states that a Yamato leader named Jimmu took the title “emperor of heaven”. • He founded a line of emperors that still has not been broken, even until today.

  7. Prince Shotoku’s Reforms • AD 600, a Yamato prince named Shotoku took charge of Japan on behalf of his aunt and wanted to create a strong culture, similar to China. • Shotoku created a constitution a plan of government. • Sent officials to China to study • Ordered Buddhist temples and monasteries to be built

  8. What is Shinto? • The early Japanese believed all natural things are alive. • Believed in animism, that all natural things have their own spirit. • When people needed help, they would ask the nature spirits, which they called Kami, to help them. • To honor the kami, the Japanese worshiped at shrines. • These early beliefs developed into a faith known as Shinto, meaning “the way of the spirits”

  9. Shoguns and Samurai Section 2

  10. Nara Japan • Early AD 700s, Japan’s emperors built a new capital city, Nara. • Looked much like China’s Changan, but smaller. • Japanese emperors added to the changes begun by Prince Shotoku. • Emperor began giving jobs to nobles from powerful families. • The emperor’s power came from his control of the land and its crops. • Japan held a census to measure their wealth.

  11. Buddhism Spreads in Japan • Buddhism came to Japan from Korea in the AD 500s. • Japanese government officials and nobles were the first to accept the new religion. • As Buddhism grew, nobles who were not Buddhism began to oppose the religion. • AD 770, a Buddhist monk who served in the government, tried to seize the throne. • As a result, the emperor left the city of Nara.

  12. The Rise of the Shogun • AD 794, Emperor Kammu of Japan began to build a new capital city called Heian (later Kyoto). • During the AD 800s, the emperor’s power began to decline. • Many of the emperors during the period were very young and the country was run by regents. • Most of the regents came from a clan called the Fujiwara.

  13. The Rise of the Shogun • As the Fujiwara grew, other powerful nobles gained control of much of the land in Japan. • To keep the nobles happy, the government let them stop paying taxes, but let them in charge of governing the lands.

  14. Who Were the Samurai? • To protect their lands, the nobles created private armies and gave land to the warriors who agreed to fight for them. • These warriors became known as samurai. • Samurai means “one who serves”. • Lived by a strict code called Bushido or “the way of the warrior” • A samurai would rather die in battle than betray their lord.

  15. What is a Shogun? • Early 1100s, the most powerful Japanese families had begun fighting each other using their samurai armies. • 1180, the Gempei War began. • This was a civil war between the two most powerful clans; the Taira family and the Minamoto family. • 1185, the Minamoto forces defeated the Taira in a sea battle near the island of Shikoku. • The leader of the MinamotoYoritomo • In 1192, Yoritomo was given the title of shogun. • This decision created two different governments in Japan

  16. What is a Shogun • The emperor stayed in his palace at Heian with his bureaucracy • The shogun set up his government at his headquarters in Kamakura. • Yorimoto proved to be a ruthless leader, killing most of his family

  17. Mongols Attack • In 1274 and in 1281, china’s Mongol emperor Kublai Khan sent out ships and warriors to invade Japan. • Both times, the Mongols were defeated because violent Pacific storms smashed many of their ships. • The few ships who made it to shore were easily defeated by the Japanese. • The Japanese named these typhoons kamikaze, which means “divine winds”

  18. The Daimyo Divide Japan • The Kamakura shogunate ruled Japan until 1333. • The samurai had divided their lands among their families and felt they no longer owed the shogun loyalty because they had not given them enough land. • 1331, the emperor rebelled, and many samurai came to his aid. • Ashikaga Takauji turned against the emperor and made himself shogun in 1333. • This began the Ashikaga shogunate.

  19. The Daimyo Divide Japan • The Ashikaga shoguns proved to be weak rulers and Japan eventually broke into several smaller territories. • These territories were headed by powerful military lords known as daimyo. • The daimyo pledged loyalty to the emperor and the shogun, but they ruled their lands as though they were independent • Many samurai became vassals of a daimyo, meaning a samurai gave an oath of loyalty to his daimyo and promised to serve him in times of war.

  20. The Daimyo Divide Japan • This bond of loyalism between the lord and a vassal is known as feudalism • From 1467 to 1477, the country went through the Onin War. • 100 years after the Onin War, a series of weak shoguns tried to reunite Japan.

  21. Life in Medieval Japan Section 3

  22. Japanese Religion and Culture • Most Japanese came to believe in both Buddhism and Shinto. • To them, each religion met different needs • Shinto Daily life • Buddhism prepared for the life to come • By the time Buddhism spread to Japan, it had divided into many different sects.

  23. Pure Land Buddhism • The most popular was Pure Land Buddhism, which was a type of Mahayana Buddhism. • Looked to Lord Amida, a buddha of love and mercy • They believed Amida had founded a paradise above the clouds. • To get there, all they had to do was have faith in Amida and chant his name.

  24. Zen Buddhism • Buddhist monks brought Zen to Japan form China during the 1100s. • Zen taught that people could find inner peace through self control and a simple way of life. • Followers learned to control their bodies through martial arts. • This appealed to the samurai • Followers also practiced meditation.

  25. Art and Architecture • Medieval period borrowed ideas from China and Korea. • Wooden statues, furniture, and household items. • Used lacquer • Landscape paintings • Ink or watercolors nature or battles on paper scrolls. • origami

  26. Poems and Plays • AD 500s, Japanese borrowed China’s writing system. • Later, they would add symbols that stood for sounds, much like letters of the alphabet. • Calligraphy the art of writing beautifully • Tanka oldest form of Japanese poetry • Unrhymed poem of five lines • Lady MurasakieShikibu wrote The Tale of Genji • Describes the adventures of a Japanese prince • The Tale of the Heike.

  27. Economy and Society • Much of Japan’s wealth came from the farmers • Rice, wheat, millet, and barley • Most lived on daimyo estates • 1100s, better irrigation systems and more crops were planted. • Artisans began making weapons, armor, and tools and merchants sold these at markets. • Kyoto becomes a major center for production and trade.

  28. Economy and Society • Many artisans and merchants began to form guilds to protect and increase their profits. • Trade also increased with Korea, China, and southeast Asia. • Merchants exchanged lacquered goods, sword blades, and copper for silk, dyes, pepper, books, and porcelain.

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