DROPBOX/PASS UP JAPAN HW #2
V-SHARE
1. JAPAN NOTES #2
SHINTOISM & BUDDHISM #2
I. HOW DID CHINA INFLUENCE JAPAN?
A. Belief Systems
1.
2.
3.
4.
Buddhism -- spread throughout Asia.
Confucianism --strong family values & ancestor worship.
Taoism – nature.
Legalism -- following of emperor’s laws without
question.
B. The Arts -- painting, architecture & sculpture.
C. Writing -- adapted Chinese writing system.
D. Government -- civil service exams.
I. CHINESE BELIEFS & CULTURE SPREAD TO JAPAN
A Zen Buddhist Pagoda
1. Zen Buddhism
A Japanese
variation of the
Mahayana form
of Buddhism,
which came from
India through
China.
It reinforced the
Bushido values of
mental and
self-discipline.
1. Zen Buddhism
a. A sect from China
b. Values/Beliefs:
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devotion to duty
meditation and prayer
scholarship
Valued: peace, simplicity and love of
beauty
– nirvana
– devotion to nature
1. Zen Buddhist Temple
c. Zen monks were the
leading scholars and artists
of feudal Japan.
d. This temple was a Zen
monastery and a peaceful
retreat for visiting shoguns
seeking advice.
e. How does the setting of
this temple reflect Zen
values?
Primary Source Document
• Perfect Serenity: Kenko, Zen Buddhist priest
• “If we were never to fade away…but linger on forever in the
world, how things would lose their power to move us! The
most precious thing in life is its uncertainty. The May fly waits
not for the evening, the summer cicada knows neither spring
nor autumn. What a wonderfully unhurried feeling it is to live
even a single year in perfect serenity. If that is not enough for
you, you might live a thousand years, and still feel it was but a
single nights dream We cannot live forever in this world.”
• How do Kenko’s words reflect what you know about Buddhist
beliefs?
2. Prince Shotoku: 573-621
Adopted Chinese
culture and
Confucianism.
Buddhist sects
allowed to develop.
Created a new
government
structure:
 17 Article
Constitution
in 604. 
Yamato Period: 300-710
Began promoting the adoption of Chinese culture:
Confucianism.
Language (kanji characters).
Buddhist sects.
Chinese art & architecture.
Government structure.
“Great Kings” era
II. Unique Japanese Tradition
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Shintoism – “the way of the gods.”
Early Japanese religion.
Kami spirits/gods found throughout nature.
The Arts
Kabuki theatre – drama performed through singing
& dancing.
F. Haiku – three-line Japanese poem (syllables 5, 7,
5).
Shinto
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Ethnic religion unique to Japan
Importance of natural features, forces of
nature and ancestors.
State religion: worshipping the Emperor.
Coexistence with Buddhism (believed in
both).
Way of the kami (nature spirits)
Helped unify Japan under imperial rule
Influences
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Influenced by China
Writing
Architecture
Art, science, government and fashion influenced Japan
kami (nature spirits)
III. How did Shintoism & Buddhism
Influence each other?
A. Competing for followers (Cooperation amongst
competitors)
B. Buddhism incorporated Shinto practices and offered
new ones
C. Shinto adopted Buddhist use of arts and texts
D. Shared space and followers
E. Most Japanese remain both Shinto and Buddhist;
people and groups can compete and cooperate at
same time
Poverty's child he starts to grind the rice,
and gazes at the moon.
5
7
5
Windy Sea of shame:
My honor broken,
Katana blade Kikkoman,
Soy sauce seppuku.
??
• Hope is when you think
• For something to happen
• Or is it false thoughts?
~HaikuLover~
• The sun is very bright
• But sometimes it is very dark
• That is an eclipse
--DUHH
• Laying in my bed,
• staring at the closed curtains.
• Should I rise or not?
Lady Murasaki Shikibu
She contributed much to the Japanese
script known as kana, while men wrote
with Chinese characters, kanji.
Database Terms
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Prince Shotoku
Shintoism
Zen Buddhism
Database Terms
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Prince Shotoku
Yamato Clan
Katana
HariKari
Adm. Comodor Perry
Shintoism
Zen Buddhism
Saumarai
Dymano
Shogun
bushido
divine wind
feudalism
• Oriental
• Katana
• Sapsuku & HariKari
V-SHARE
• JAPAN
AIM: How did feudalism shape Japanese society?
Do Now: Based on this document, what is seppuku
and why would a samurai perform it?
In the world of the warrior, seppuku was a deed of bravery that was admirable in
a samurai who knew he was defeated, disgraced, or mortally wounded. It meant
that he could end his days with his wrongdoing wiped away and with his
reputation not merely intact but actually enhanced. The cutting of the abdomen
released the samurai’s spirit in the most dramatic fashion, but it was an extremely
painful and unpleasant way to die, and sometimes the samurai who was
performing the act asked a loyal comrade to cut off his head at the moment of
agony.
HW: Compare your family structure to that of the roles
of the Japanese during feudal times.
Japanese Feudalism
I.
Feudalism: self-sufficient political/social structure of Japan.
1. Emperor – figurehead, no real power.
2. Shogun – local rulers with power & land.
A. Gave some of their land to the daimyo in exchange for loyalty.
3. Daimyo – large landowners.
A. Gave some of their land to the samurai in exchange for
protection.
4. Samurai – warriors.
A. Gave protection to the lower class in exchange for food &
services.
B. Bushido Code – “the way of the warrior”
i. Rules that the samurai had to live by.
5. Peasants, artisans & merchants.
A. Made up 4/5 of the population.