Download - Japan Chapter 14:ivb
JapanChapter 14:ivb
[Image source: http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/images/photos/photo_lg_japan.jpg]
Japan is also knownas Nippon or Nihon, which means “source of the sun.”
Japan is an archipelago consisting of four main islands –Honshu,Shikoku, Kyushu,and Hokkaido – and over 4,000thousandsmaller ones.
[Image source: http://z.about.com/d/geography/1/0/h/J/japan.jpg]
Since only 20% of the land is arable (easyto farm), the
Japanese have had to rely
on the sea to supplementtheir diet.
[Image source: http://www.museum.cornell.edu/HFJ/permcoll/asia/img_jap/fishman_l.jpg]
The sea has also served as a natural barrier, preventing invasion from the mainland.
[Image source: http://www.gsi.ie/NR/rdonlyres/1875D6E7-60A3-4812-8DF0-FBF8EF67F7DC/0/tsunami.gif]
According to legend, a divine
brother and sister gave birth to thesun goddess Amaterasu Omi-kami.
The sun goddess
Amaterasu gave birth to further life forms.
According to legend, Jimmu Tenno, a great-
great-great-grandson of
Amaterasu Omi-kami, became the
first emperor (Mikado) of Japan
circa 660 B.C.[Image source:
http://img331.imageshack.us/img331/5941/image012pk9.jpg]
The early inhabitants
of Japan probably
migrated to the islands from other
parts of Asia.
[Image source: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/anthropology/anthro_sites/boone/ainu/ainu_map/ainu_map1.html]
Japan was occupied
by hunter-gatherers from the
Asian mainland ca. 10,000 years ago.
Subsequent invaders from Asia introduced the islanders to agriculture.
[Image source: http://www.lacma.org/art/images/NewAcq/fourseasons.jpg]
The early inhabitants were dwelling in farming villages by 200 B.C.
Present-day Japanese are probably descended from the Yayoi, a village-dwelling people who lived along streams and on the coastal plains and grew rice in irrigated fields.
[Image source: http://brian.hoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu/TEACHING/FoundationsOfJapaneseCivilization.html]
Japan was invaded
between 200 and 300 by horseback-
riding, iron-clad warriors.
[Image source: http://www.orientaloutpost.com/ancient_ch
inese_warrior_yue_fei_wall_scroll.php]
Some scholars believe these
invaders were the ancestors
of the aristocratic
warriors and imperial family.
[Image source: http://www.geocities.com/normlaw/brig-chn.gif]
Before therewas an emperor, regions of Japan
were ruled by separate clans.(A clan is an
group of families claiming descent from a common
ancestor.)[Image source: http://www.zanshin-kai.co.uk/Aikido.html]
Shintoism
Shintoism
• means “way of the gods”
• only known indigenous religion of Japan
• emphasizes sacred spaces and time
Kami
• “divine spirits”
• can be found in nature and in the processes of creation, disease, and healing
Practices
• vary in local communities• rituals often honour ancestors
and the forces of nature• emperors considered kami at
one time-worshipped as divine before World War II
Traditional Japanese prayer cardsleft at a Shinto shrine in Japan.
By A.D. 400, the Yamato
Clan emerged as the
dominantclan in Japan.
[Image source: http://horse.shrine.net/samurai/image/yamato_samurai.jpg]
By the A.D. mid-500s the emperor had become a ceremonial figure,
performing intercessory rituals tothe gods on behalf of the people.
The Soga family
emergedas the real political power in Japan.
[Image source: http://library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/guac/japan_04/hiroshige_soga.jpg]
Buddhism arrived in
Japan from
Korea in A.D. 552.
Four Noble Truths
1. Life is full of suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire.
3. Eliminate desire to eliminate suffering.
4. Seek union with Brahma.
Union with Brahma is nirvana.
The only way to end the painful cycle of reincarnation.
Death
Birth
Zen was a variant of Buddhism favoured by Japanese warriors.
Over the next four centuries,
Japan developed close ties with
China, adopting and adapting
many elements of Chinese
culture, suchas art, . . .
[Image source: http://home.flash.net/~cameron/japanese_painting/shikishi_tanzaku/chikuu_landscape.jpg]
. . . medicine, . . .
[Image source: http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/07/kyushu-medical-books-two.html]
. . . astronomy, . . .
[Image source: http://www.crystalinks.com/orionjapanwoman.jpg]
. . . and writing system.
The Japanese ruling class adopted a
strong central government based on the principles of
Kung Fu-tzu.
The teachings of Kung Fu-tzu
adopted by the Japanese included:
• ancestor worship• respect for elders and
those in positions of authority
Five Confucian Relationships
Ruler - Ruled
Husband - Wife
Father - Son
Older Brother - Younger Brother
Homeboy - Homeboy
After becoming the leading court
official in A.D. 593, Prince Shotoku
encouraged further learning
from Chinese civilization.
[Image source: http://www.baxleystamps.com/litho/ogawa/kokka_gallery_jp3-1.jpg]
Inspired by Confucian ideas on government, Prince Shotoku
set forth the general principles
of Japanese government in the Seventeen
Article Constitution.[Image source:
http://www.sarudama.com/history/images/shotoku.jpg]
The Fujiwara clan seized power in the name of the emperor, following the
death of Prince Shotoku.
Taika Reforms
A.D. 646
• Taika means “great change”• initiated by Tenji Mikado
Tenji Mikado
• proclaimed himself ruler and landlord of all Japan
• established a bureaucracy to carry-out government duties-centralized taxation and land distribution
In lieu of a civil service examination system, officials gained their posts through family ties.
[Image source: http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/sub2/item1077.html]
Much of Japan continued to
remain under the control of regional clan
leaders.
Japan built its first permanent capital in A.D. 710 at Nara – a smaller version of China’s Changan.
[Image source: http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/japan/Architecture/Asuka3.jpg]
Buddhist fervor reached its peak durirng the Nara Period with the completion of the Todaiji Temple in A.D. 752.
[Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Todaiji_temple_in_Nara_Japan_2.jpg/800px-Todaiji_temple_in_Nara_Japan_2.jpg]
During the Nara Period the Japanese produced their first written literature,
when scribes composed histories combining myths
with actual events, and other writers
compiled collections of poetry.
[Image source: http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=42866&rendTypeId=4]
The Japanese established a new capitalat Heian (present-day Kyoto) in A.D. 794.
[Image source: http://www.taleofgenji.org/images/heian_jingu_east.jpg]
Kyoto remained the capital ofJapan for more than 1,000 years.
[Image source: http://hinamatsuri.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/k42.jpg]
The focus of Heian court life among
the “dwellers among the
clouds” was the pursuitof beauty.
[Image source: http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov/archives/dolls/i-d-e2.JPG]
Japan’s first piece of great
prose literature – The Tale of Genji – was written by
Lady Shikibu Murasaki circa
A.D. 1010.[Image source:
http://www.egeltje.org/archives/blah/Murasaki-thumb.jpg]
Heian aristocrats – distracted by their search for beauty – neglected important government tasks.
[Image source: http://www.japanesesearch.com/japans-heian-period-from-794-to-1185/]
Warlike provincial leaders increasingly ignored imperial officials, running their
estates as independent territories.
[Image source: http://www.jsri.jp/English/Honen/LIFE/Tendai/turmoil.html]
Heian officials eventually lost control of the empire.
[Image source: http://www.jref.com/history/heian-period/]
JAPANESE SOCIAL ORDER
circa 1600 to 1867
Social Order Under The Shogun
• very rigid• intended to maintain social
order and limit rivals• members not allowed to
perform tasks belonging to another class
Emperor
• believed to be descended from the sun-goddess Amaterasu-omi-kami
• wielded very little political power• developed elaborate court rituals• patronized the arts• primary duty was scholarship
Shogun
• “commander-in-chief”• the real ruler of Japan• set-up a military government• managed large estates• were the major patrons of the arts
Daimyo
• nobles and lords• controlled vast rural estates• built castles• protected peasants and land
by hiring warriors
The Samurai, or warrior
class, was the second largest class in Japan,
comprising5% of the
population.
Samurai means “to serve.”
Samurai often served as administrators.
Samurai were the only people in feudal Japan
allowed to carry swords.
Bushido
A code of conduct that values honor over life.
Artisans and Merchants laid the foundation
for modern Japan by
developing resources and establishing
trade networks.
[Image source: http://www.baxleystamps.com/litho/brink_15/brink_deluxe_7-5a.jpg]
Peasants formed the
largest social class in feudal Japan, making up 80% of the
population.
Peasants in feudal Japan were often extremely poor.
• farmed plots smaller than 2.5 acres
• usually did not own land they farmed
-Kamio Harumaka
“With peasants and sesame seeds, the more you squeeze them the more you get from them.”
Religion and the Arts
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