Japanese  Culture  
Feudal  Japan  
Emperor  Jimmu  founded  Japan  in  660  B.C.   • For  a  thousand  years,  emperors  ruled  
• Honored  the  Shinto  religion   • Jimmu  was  the  leader  of  the  na=ve  religion,   and  of  the  government.  
 
 
 
Shogunate  and  Emperor  
1192,  aHer  years  of  figh=ng,  the  emperor   appointed  a  Shogun  –                supreme  military  commander  -­  to              bring  stability  to  Japan.  
(shogun  is  the  person;  shogunate  is  the   government)  
• In  theory,  the  emperor  was  s=ll  in  charge  
• But,  the  real  power  shiHed  to  the  shogunate  
Here’s  How  It  Worked  
The  emperor  was  the  poli=cal  and  religious   leader.  
The  shogun  was  the  supreme  military  leader.    
Daimyo  -­  powerful  territorial  lords.  They  owned   the  land.    
Samurai  –  hired  by  daimyo  to  protect  their  land.    
OHen  paid  in  land  and  food.  
Quick  Check  
 
 
Who  did  the  daimyo    hire  to  protect  them  and   their  land?  
Tokugawa  Shogunate  
• Established  in  1600.     • Unified  Japan   • A  =me  of  strict  rules  and  
economic  growth     • Expelled  Chris=an  
missionaries   • Closed  na=ons  borders  to  
foreigners  –  isolaDon.   • Kept  Japan  isolated  for  the  
next  200  years   • Shogun  held  the  military  
power  (more  powerful  than   the  emperor)  
Tokugawa  Leyasu  
Quick  Check  
 
 
Can  you  think  of  any  na=ons  that  have  a  policy   of  isola=on  today?  
Japanese  Culture   (The  old  and  the  new)  
Samurai,  Ninjas,  and   Comic  Books  
Samurai  
• Military  nobility   • Followed  a  set  of  rules   called  bushito  -­  loyalty  to   one's  master,  self  discipline   and  respec\ul,  ethical   behavior.  
• 1st  hired  to  protect  wealthy   land  owners  
• Would    become  military   rulers  of  Japan  (led  by  a   shogun)  for  700  years.  
Weapons  of  the  Samurai  
Ninjas   While  the  tsamurai  observed  strict   rules  about  honor  and  combat  
• Ninjas  were  silent,  secret   warriors  
• Also  known  as  Shinobi.  Most   common  in  15th  century  
• Hired  to  spy,  assassinate,  etc.   • Work  in  secrecy.  If  caught,  
they  kill  themselves  to  keep   secrets.  
   
• More  popular  in  Japan   than  anywhere  else  in   the  world.  
• Comic  strip  ar=sts  in   Japan  are  as  famous  as   actors  or  pop  stars  in   the  U.S.  
• It  is  a  well  respected  art   form;  read  by  adults   and  children  
Comic  Books  
drama,  science  fic=on,   etc.  
• Also  used  to  explain  the   stock  market,  poli=cal   par=es,  or  to  reach  young   voters.  
• Most  popular:  Barefoot   Gen:  A  Cartoon  of   Hiroshima