Bellwork

• List out anything you know about Japan. It could be the food they eat, what they wear, language, etc.

World History

Section 4, Unit 4Feudal Japan

Objectives

• Explain how Chinese ideas affected the Japanese culture

• Identify important early moments in Japanese history

• Describe the shogun system of Japan during the early 1000s AD

Japan

• The name “Japan” comes from the Chinese words ri ben, meaning “origin of the sun”. – Japan lies east of China, where the

sunrise occurs.

• Japan has always had a close relationship with China and has borrowed from it it’s ideas, institutions, and culture. –However, Japan would come to create a

unique culture all their own.

Geography• Japan’s island location

has shaped it’s civilization.

• About 120 miles of water separate Japan from Korea and 500 miles between it and China.

• Japan was close enough to borrow ideas from China, but far enough away to prevent most invasions.

Japanese Mountains

Geography

• About 4,000 islands make up the Japanese archipelago (island group).

• The whole of Japan extends about 1,500 miles.

Geography

• Most Japanese people have always lived in the four largest islands: – Hokkaido (hah-ky-

doh)– Honshu – Shikoku– Kyushu (kee-oo-

shoo)

Advantages of Geography

• Japan’s geography has various advantages to the people. – The people are relatively well protected

by the mountains that make about 85% of the country.

– The Sea of Japan and other bodies of water protect it from invaders.

– Southern Japan, specifically, enjoys a very mild climate and plenty of rainfall, which supports agriculture.

Disadvantages of Geography• However, there are several

disadvantages to Japan’s geography:– Japan has very limited resources,

including coal, oil, and iron. – Typhoons occur in late summer and

early fall.– Earthquakes and tidal waves are

threats to the area.– The mountains make to so that only

about 15% of the island is suitable for farming. Question: How is Japan’s geography similar

to Greece’s.

Early Japan

• First historic mention of Japan comes from Chinese writing in about 300 A.D.

• At this time, Japan was not a unified nation, but rather controlled by hundreds of clans in their own territories.

Religion

• Each clan worshipped its own nature gods and goddesses.

• In different parts of Japan, people honored thousands of local deities.

Religion

• These varied customs and beliefs eventually combined to form Japan’s earliest religion.

• In later times, this religion would be known as Shinto, which meant, “way of the gods”.

Shinto

• Shinto had no complex rituals or philosophy.

• Shinto, instead, is based on respect for the forces of nature and the worship of ancestors.

Kami

• Shinto worshippers believed in kami, which were divine spirits that dwelled in nature.

• Any unusual or especially beautiful tree, rock, waterfall, or mountain was considered the home of a kami.

Amaterasu- a central kami in Shinto

Yamato Clan

• By the fifth century, the Yamato clan had established itself as the leading clan. – The Yamato claimed they were

descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu.

• By the seventh century, the Yamato chiefs began to call themselves emperors.

Yamato Clan

• While the early Yamato “emperors” did not control the entire country (or much of it at all), the Japanese gradually began to accept the idea of an emperor.

• Many of the Yamato rulers lacked real power.

Yamato Clan• While the Yamato Emperors lacked

power, they were never overthrown. • When rival clans fought for power,

they claimed control of the emperor and then ruled in the emperor’s name.

• The emperor became a figurehead of power while another figure ruled from the background.– This dual structure became an enduring

characteristic of Japanese government.

Japanese Culture Forms

• Around the year 500, the Japanese began to have more contact with the Chinese.

• They were influenced by Chinese customs and ideas and learned much of this from early Korean travelers.

• Around the sixth century, many Koreans migrated to Japan, bringing with them Chinese ideas.

Buddhism• One of the most

important influences the Koreans brought with them was Buddhism.

• In the mid-700s, the Japanese imperial court accepted Buddhism in Japan. – By the eighth or ninth

century, Buddhist ideas had spread through Japanese society.

Buddhism• Buddhism was more complex than

Shintoism.• Aside from that, the beauty and

mysteries of it’s ceremonies and art impressed many Japanese.

• However, most Japanese did not give up their Shinto beliefs. – Instead, some Buddhist rituals became

Shinto rituals, and the two religions began to share gods.

Chinese Ideas spread

• Interest in Buddhist ideas in the Japanese court grew into an interest in all things Chinese.

• The most influential convert to Buddhism was Prince Shotoku, who was the regent for his aunt, Empress Suiko.

Chinese Ideas Spread

• In 607, Prince Shotoku sent the first of three missions to Tang China.

• His people studied Chinese civilization firsthand.

• Some 600 scholars, painters, musicians, and monks traveled on each mission. – Over the next 200 years, while the Tang

Dynasty was at it’s height, the Japanese sent many groups to learn about Chinese ways.

Chinese Ideas Spread

• The Japanese first adopted the Chinese system of writing, which reached them through the Koreans.

• The Japanese even began to paint landscapes in a Chinese manner, and borrowed the styles of living from the Chinese, including cooking, gardening, tea drinking, and hairdressing.

Chinese Government

• For a time, the Japanese even attempted to model its government after the Chinese.

• Prince Shotoku planned a strong central government like what the Tang had.

• Shotoku also tried to introduce China’s examination system. Question: What was the Chinese

examination system? Who did it examine and what were test takers tested on?

Chinese Government

• However, the attempt to change the government failed.

• In Japan, noble birth remained the key to winning a powerful position.

• Unlike China, Japan continued to be a country where a few great families held power.

Japanese Culture

• The Japanese adapted Chinese ways to suit their needs.

• However, they kept their own ways and, overtime, the Japanese stopped sending missions to China (especially when the Tang Dynasty declined).

• While Chinese influence was strong, Japan’s own culture was about to bloom.

Heian Period

• In 794, the imperial court moved its capital from Nara to Heian, in modern Kyoto.

• Many of Japan’s noble families also moved.

• Within the upper class, a highly refined court society rose.

• This era in Japanese history, from 794 to 1185, is called the Heian period.

Court Life

• Gentlemen and ladies of the court filled their days with elaborate rituals and artistic pursuits.

• Rules dictated every aspect of court life, including length of swords, color of official robes, forms of addresses, and even the number of skirts a woman wore.

Court Life

• Etiquette was very important in the court.

• Loud laughter or mismatched clothing caused deep embarrassment.

• Noble women wore their hair down to their ankles, blacked their teeth with cosmetics, and dyed their clothes to match the seasons.

“Ohaguro”– teeth blackening

Court Life

• Everyone in the court was expected to write poetry and paint.

• Japanese aristocrats looked down on the common people, who could not share in their court refinement.

Decline of the Heian Period

• During the Heian Period, Japan’s central government was relatively strong.

• However, this strength was to be challenged by great landowners and clan chiefs who acted more and more as independent local rulers.

Decline

• For most of the Heian period, the rich Fujiwara family held the real power in Japan.

• Members of this family held many influential posts.

Decline

• By about the 11th century, however, the power of the central government and the Fujiwaras began to slip.

• Court families grew more interested in luxury and artistic pursuits than in governing.

Decline

• Large landowners (those not part of the court) living away from the capital set up private armies.

• The countryside had become lawless and dangerous. Armed soldiers on horseback preyed on farmers and travelers and pirates took control of the seas.

Start of the Feudal Era

• For safety, farmers and small landowners traded parts of their land to strong warlords in exchange for protection.

• With more land, the lords gained more power.

• This marked the beginning of the feudal system of Japan, similar to that of both China and medieval Europe.

Samurai

• Since wars between rival lords were commonplace, each lord surrounded himself with loyal warriors known as Samurai.

• Samurai means “one who serves”.

Samurai

• Samurai lived according to a demanding code of behavior.

• This code later became known as “Bushido”– “the way of the warrior”.

• A samurai was expected to show reckless courage, reverence for their gods, fairness, and generosity toward those weaker than himself. – Dying an honorable death was more

important than living a long life.

Shogunate

• During the late 1100s, Japans most powerful clans fought for power.

• After almost 30 years of war, the Minamoto family was victorious.

• In 1192, the emperor gave Yoritomo, the Minamoto leader, title of Shogun.

Shogunate

• Shogun meant, “supreme general of the emperor’s army”.

• Essentially, the shogun had all the powers of a military dictator. – Officials, judges,

taxes, armies– all under his power.

Shogunate

• Traditionally, the emperor still reigned from Kyoto (which was built on the ruins of Heian, which was burned in the war).

• However, the real center of power was at the shogun’s military headquarters in Kamakura.

Shogunate

• The 1200s are known in Japanese history as the “Kamakura Shogunate”.

• The pattern of government in which shoguns ruled through puppet emperors lasted in Japan until 1868.

Shogunate

• Under the early Shoguns, the local lords held great power.

• A lord who loyally served the shogun received a free hand in ruling his own province.

• At the same time, the shoguns increased their own power by assigning a military governor to each province.

Daimyo

• These governors, called “daimyo” (dy-mee-yo), or “great lords”, were responsible for maintaining the peace and order.

• Overtime, the daimyo would exercise great power.

Shogun’s Power

• The Kamakura shoguns were strong enough to turn back the two naval invasions by the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

• However, the victory drained the shogun’s treasury.– Loyal samurai were bitter when the

government failed to pay them.

Shogun’s Power

• The Kamakura shoguns lost prestige and power.

• Samurai began to attach themselves to local lords, who soon fought each other as fiercely as they had fought the Mongols. – These fights would eventually weaken

the shogun’s power and cause a civil war in 1467.

Civil War

• The Civil War in Japan would shatter their feudal system.

• It would not be until 1568 that Japan would be restored to it’s former glory by the daimyo.

Japan

• Despite Japan no longer contacting China, and the eventual fall of the feudal system, Japan would continue to be a powerful force in the world and will continuously affect those it comes in contact with.

Video

• We are going to watch a video about Heian Period Japan.

• Please try to pay attention to any information that you recognize.

Questions

• If you have any questions, please ask now.

Next lesson

• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss Constantinople, which formed following the decline of Rome.

Review1. Why did the Heian period begin to decline?2. How was Japan’s geography similar to Greece?

What similar affect did it have on their agriculture?3. Why were the Japanese so interested in Buddhism?4. How did the Japanese go about learning Chinese

ways? What did they borrow (or attempt to borrow) from the Chinese?

5. What was court life like during the Heian Period? What did the people value or do with their time?

6. What was “Shinto”? What did the Japanese believe in?

7. Why did feudalism form in Japan? What caused it? 8. Who were the samurai? What was the code that

they lived by?