By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
Adapted by Ms. Forsberg and Mrs. Buchanan
Background on Japan
•
Japan's isolation as an
island nation
•
Instrumental in its
development as a culture
•
The name Japan comes
from “ri-ben” – land of
the rising sun
•
4,000 islands make up
the archipelago
•
4 large islands
Background on Japan
a By 500 BCE it was still an
undeveloped agrarian (farm
based) culture without cities
a 1 B.C.E. = hundred of clans
a Worshiped local gods
a Shinto “way of the gods”
a Respect nature (kami) &
worship ancestors
a Outside influences led to cultural
advancement as the centuries
rolled forward
a Borrowed ideas, institutions, &
culture from China
Japanese Culture
a Buddhism:
a Brought by Korean travelers
a Mixed with Shinto
a Some Buddhist rituals became
Shinto rituals
a Adopting Chinese culture:
a 607 CE, Prince Shotoku sent the
first of three missions to China
a Adopted Chinese system of
writing
a Painting styles
a Simple arts: cooking, gardening,
tea, hairdressing
a Strong central government with
a civil service
a Civil Service System failed
Prince Shotoku: 573-621 CE
•  Adopted Chinese
culture and the ideas of Confucianism
•  Allowed Buddhist sects to develop
•  Created a new government
structure in 604 CE:
•  17 Article
Constitution
Heian Period: 794-1156 CE
Characteristics:
•
•
•
Growth of large landed estates
Arts & literature of Japan flourished
Elaborate court life
•  Etiquette
•  Personal diaries
•  The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon
•  Great novel
•  The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu
•  Moving away from Chinese models in
religion, the arts, and government
Moving Toward Feudalism
•  By the 1100s Japan’s central government had
begun to lose control of the empire.
•  Local clans began to fight each other for power and
land.
•  Law and order gave way to conflict and chaos,
bandits roamed the countryside.
Land owners seek protection.
•  They hired armies of samurai, trained professional
warriors.
•  Samurai had to follow a strict code of ethics known
as Bushido.
•  Samurai who failed to obey or protect their lord were
expected to commit suicide rather than live with their
shame.
The emperor
reigned, but did
not always rule!
Feudal
Society
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty, the
holding of land, and military
service.
Japan:
Shogun
Land - Shoen
Daimyo
Land - Shoen
Protection
Samurai
Lower Classes
Loyalty
Daimyo
Samurai
Lower Classes
Loyalty
Samurai
Lower Classes
Food/Work
Lower Classes
Code of Bushido
*  Honorable
*  Obedient
*  Courageous
*  Loyal
Zen Buddhism
a  A form of
Buddhism that
spread from
China to Japan in
the 1100s.
a  It reinforced
the Bushido
values of
discipline and
meditation to
focus the mind
and gain wisdom.
Samurai Women
a  Women were
trained in the
martial arts and
followed
Bushido.
a  Women could
inherit property
and participate
in business.
Shoguns
•  From the late 1100s to the
mid-1800s, the real power in
the Japanese government was
held by the shogun rather than
the emperor.
•  The shogun was the supreme
military leader who ruled in the
emperor’s name.
Shogunates
•  Japan was led by a series of shogunates, or rule by
shoguns.
•  The Mongol invasions weakened the first shogunate
and Japan lost its centralized rule.
•  Local warlords, or daimyo, controlled territories and
fought one another for power.
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616
a  Appointed shogun by
the Emperor.
a  Four-class system
laid down with
marriage restricted
to members of the
same class!
§  Warriors.
§  Peasants.
§  Artisans.
§  Merchants.
CE)
Tokugawa Shogunate Period
•  A time of relative peace in Japan.
•  If you were a peasant, artisan or merchant, you could not rise
above your status, serve in the military or government.
•  Most Japanese were peasant farmers. They enjoyed a relatively
high social position but lived with hardship due to high taxes.
•  Artisans had higher status than merchants because they made
things.
•  During this period, women’s status declined.
Tokugawa Shogunate Period
a  Japan closed off to all trade
a  Japanese Christians persecuted
and Christianity is forbidden.
a  The government is centralized with all
power in the hands of the shogun.
a  Domestic trade flourishes.
a  Towns, esp. castle towns, increase.
a  Merchant class becomes rich!
a  New art forms  haiku poetry, kabuki
theater.
Osaka Castle