Medieval JapanChapter 14

Early JapanSection 1

Japan is a chain of island that stretches north to south in the northern Pacific Ocean.

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu are the four main island people live on.

Japan is actually the tops of mountains coming out of the water.

Only 20% of land can be farmed.

Japan’s Geography

First people came from northeast Asia between 30,000 and 10,000 BC.

At this time, Japan was likely joined to the Asian continent.

About 5000 BC, the groups began to develop a culture, known as Jomon, which means “cord marks”

Eventually the Jomon will settle in fishing villages.

First Settlers

Archaeologists discovered a new group that appeared about 300 BC and they called this culture Yayoi after the place in Japan where they first dug up its artifacts.

They introduced farming to Japan Skilled metal workers: axes, knives, and hoes

from iron, swords, spears, and bells from bronze. By AD 300, the Yayoi organized themselves into

clans. Buried their chiefs in large mounds known as

kofun.

The Yayoi

AD 500s, a clan called the Yamato became strong enough to bring most of Japan under its rule.

Chiefs claimed they came from the sun goddess and, therefore, had a right to rule Japan.

Japanese legends states that a Yamato leader named Jimmu took the title “emperor of heaven”.

He founded a line of emperors that still has not been broken, even until today.

Who are the Yamato?

AD 600, a Yamato prince named Shotoku took charge of Japan on behalf of his aunt and wanted to create a strong culture, similar to China.

Shotoku created a constitution a plan of government.

Sent officials to China to study Ordered Buddhist temples and monasteries

to be built

Prince Shotoku’s Reforms

The early Japanese believed all natural things are alive.

Believed in animism, that all natural things have their own spirit.

When people needed help, they would ask the nature spirits, which they called Kami, to help them.

To honor the kami, the Japanese worshiped at shrines.

These early beliefs developed into a faith known as Shinto, meaning “the way of the spirits”

What is Shinto?

Shoguns and SamuraiSection 2

Early AD 700s, Japan’s emperors built a new capital city, Nara.

Looked much like China’s Changan, but smaller.

Japanese emperors added to the changes begun by Prince Shotoku.

Emperor began giving jobs to nobles from powerful families.

The emperor’s power came from his control of the land and its crops.

Japan held a census to measure their wealth.

Nara Japan

Buddhism came to Japan from Korea in the AD 500s.

Japanese government officials and nobles were the first to accept the new religion.

As Buddhism grew, nobles who were not Buddhism began to oppose the religion.

AD 770, a Buddhist monk who served in the government, tried to seize the throne.

As a result, the emperor left the city of Nara.

Buddhism Spreads in Japan

AD 794, Emperor Kammu of Japan began to build a new capital city called Heian (later Kyoto).

During the AD 800s, the emperor’s power began to decline.

Many of the emperors during the period were very young and the country was run by regents.

Most of the regents came from a clan called the Fujiwara.

The Rise of the Shogun

As the Fujiwara grew, other powerful nobles gained control of much of the land in Japan.

To keep the nobles happy, the government let them stop paying taxes, but let them in charge of governing the lands.

The Rise of the Shogun

To protect their lands, the nobles created private armies and gave land to the warriors who agreed to fight for them.

These warriors became known as samurai. Samurai means “one who serves”. Lived by a strict code called Bushido or “the

way of the warrior” A samurai would rather die in battle than

betray their lord.

Who Were the Samurai?

Early 1100s, the most powerful Japanese families had begun fighting each other using their samurai armies.

1180, the Gempei War began. ◦ This was a civil war between the two most powerful

clans; the Taira family and the Minamoto family.◦ 1185, the Minamoto forces defeated the Taira in a sea

battle near the island of Shikoku. The leader of the Minamoto Yoritomo In 1192, Yoritomo was given the title of shogun. This decision created two different governments

in Japan

What is a Shogun?

The emperor stayed in his palace at Heian with his bureaucracy

The shogun set up his government at his headquarters in Kamakura.

Yorimoto proved to be a ruthless leader, killing most of his family

What is a Shogun

In 1274 and in 1281, china’s Mongol emperor Kublai Khan sent out ships and warriors to invade Japan.

Both times, the Mongols were defeated because violent Pacific storms smashed many of their ships.

The few ships who made it to shore were easily defeated by the Japanese.

The Japanese named these typhoons kamikaze, which means “divine winds”

Mongols Attack

The Kamakura shogunate ruled Japan until 1333.

The samurai had divided their lands among their families and felt they no longer owed the shogun loyalty because they had not given them enough land.

1331, the emperor rebelled, and many samurai came to his aid.

Ashikaga Takauji turned against the emperor and made himself shogun in 1333.

This began the Ashikaga shogunate.

The Daimyo Divide Japan

The Ashikaga shoguns proved to be weak rulers and Japan eventually broke into several smaller territories.

These territories were headed by powerful military lords known as daimyo.

The daimyo pledged loyalty to the emperor and the shogun, but they ruled their lands as though they were independent

Many samurai became vassals of a daimyo, meaning a samurai gave an oath of loyalty to his daimyo and promised to serve him in times of war.

The Daimyo Divide Japan

This bond of loyalism between the lord and a vassal is known as feudalism

From 1467 to 1477, the country went through the Onin War.

100 years after the Onin War, a series of weak shoguns tried to reunite Japan.

The Daimyo Divide Japan

Life in Medieval JapanSection 3

Most Japanese came to believe in both Buddhism and Shinto.

To them, each religion met different needs◦ Shinto Daily life◦ Buddhism prepared for the life to come

By the time Buddhism spread to Japan, it had divided into many different sects.

Japanese Religion and Culture

The most popular was Pure Land Buddhism, which was a type of Mahayana Buddhism.◦ Looked to Lord Amida, a buddha of love and

mercy ◦ They believed Amida had founded a paradise

above the clouds.◦ To get there, all they had to do was have faith in

Amida and chant his name.

Pure Land Buddhism

Buddhist monks brought Zen to Japan form China during the 1100s.

Zen taught that people could find inner peace through self control and a simple way of life.

Followers learned to control their bodies through martial arts.◦ This appealed to the samurai

Followers also practiced meditation.

Zen Buddhism

Medieval period borrowed ideas from China and Korea.

Wooden statues, furniture, and household items.

Used lacquer Landscape paintings Ink or watercolors nature or battles on

paper scrolls. origami

Art and Architecture

AD 500s, Japanese borrowed China’s writing system.

Later, they would add symbols that stood for sounds, much like letters of the alphabet.

Calligraphy the art of writing beautifully Tanka oldest form of Japanese poetry

◦ Unrhymed poem of five lines Lady Murasakie Shikibu wrote The Tale of

Genji◦ Describes the adventures of a Japanese prince

The Tale of the Heike.

Poems and Plays

Much of Japan’s wealth came from the farmers◦ Rice, wheat, millet, and barley◦ Most lived on daimyo estates◦ 1100s, better irrigation systems and more crops

were planted. Artisans began making weapons, armor,

and tools and merchants sold these at markets.

Kyoto becomes a major center for production and trade.

Economy and Society

Many artisans and merchants began to form guilds to protect and increase their profits.

Trade also increased with Korea, China, and southeast Asia.

Merchants exchanged lacquered goods, sword blades, and copper for silk, dyes, pepper, books, and porcelain.

Economy and Society