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Early Japan and Korea. Chapter 8, Section 3. The Geography of Japan. Four main islands: Hokkaido (hah-KY- doh ) Honshu (HAHN-shoo) Kyushu ( kee -OO-shoo) Shikoku (shih-KOH- koo ) Mountainous [volcanic in origin] (11% can be farmed) Isolation. Rise of the Japanese State.
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Early Japan and Korea Chapter 8, Section 3
The Geography of Japan • Four main islands: • Hokkaido (hah-KY-doh) • Honshu (HAHN-shoo) • Kyushu (kee-OO-shoo) • Shikoku (shih-KOH-koo) • Mountainous [volcanic in origin] • (11% can be farmed) • Isolation
Rise of the Japanese State • First clans settled in the modern cities of Osaka and Kyoto. • Clans • Local ruler offered protection in exchange for a share of the harvest [FEUDALISM] • Yamato clan leader achieved supremacy over all.
Chinese Influences • ShotokuTaishu (574-622) • Prince who wanted to unify clans to resist the Chinese invaders. • Learned about the Chinese structure of government and brought those ideas back to Japan. • Centralized government with a supreme ruler. • To limit the power of the aristocrats. • Ruler was a divine figure and symbol of Japanese nation. • New tax system • Village was the basic unit of government • Farmland belonged to the state.
The Nara Period • Fujiwara clan brings changes: • New capital @ Nara. • Emperor began to use the title “son of Heaven” • Aristocrats became stronger. • They kept the taxes for themselves.
The Heian Period • 794 capital moved to Heian [HAY-ahn] (Kyoto). • Real power was with the Fujiwara clan. • Powerful families had the power. [FEUDALISM] • Used military force to protect their interests. • Samurai (“Those who serve”) • Resembled knights. • Lived by a strict warrior code = BUSHIDO • “Way of the warrior” • Loyalty to his lord.
The Kamakura Shogunate, 1192-1333 • MinamotoYoritomo • Defeated rivals and set up his power near Tokyo. • Centralized government • Shogun = general • Shogunate – emperor remained ruler in name only. • Kublai Khan invaded Japan with 150,000 men. • Almost the entire fleet was destroyed by a typhoon. • http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2011/10/13th-century-mongolian-invasion-ship-discovered-under-japanese-seabed • 1333 overthrown by another family.
Collapse of Central Rule • Power of aristocrats grew during the 14th – 15th centuries. • Daimyo • Heads of important families. • Controlled the land; owed no taxes • By 1500 there was a lot of chaos. • Onin War, 1467-1477 • Central authority disappeared. • Armies burned temples and palaces in Kyoto .
Life in Early Japan • Japanese made the most of limited resources: • Farmed limited land available. • Trade grew; markets appeared in larger towns.
The Role of Women • Certain level of equality with men. • Inheritance, could divorce if abandoned • Subordinate to men. • Aristocratic women at court. • Often appear in paintings of the period.
Religion in Early Japan • Worshipped spirits, called kami • In trees, rivers, streams and mountains. • Believed that sprits of ancestors were present in the air around them. • Shinto: “The Sacred Way” or “the Way of the Gods” • Divinity of the emperor • Sacredness of the nation • Some followed Buddhism which Buddhist monks brought to China in 6th century A.D. • Zen was very popular (became part of Samurai code). • Different ways to achieve enlightenment.