1. History 381: Early Japan & Korea
Early, Classical, and Medieval Japan and Korea

2. Japan Geographical insularity and cultural identity
Geography: the sea and soil and the development of agriculture
Modern Japan; beginnings of society, Yayoi culture

3. Ties with Korea and Tomb Builders
Late Yayoi culture and its connections to Korea; Chinese accounts of early Japan
Mythical Histories
The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters); the Nihongi (History of Japan); the creation myths: Izanagi and Izanami, Amaterasu; Ninigi; the three imperial regalia; Jimmu and Yamato; Himiko the priestess; the Ainu minority and intermarriage; iron tools; continued early connections with Korea
The Uji
Uji (tribal clans); the Yamato state and consolidation of the uji system; the religious and political role of leadership; Japanese animism and nature’s kami (divine spirit); Shinto

6. The Link with China
The introduction of Buddhism from Korea
The adoption of the Tang China model in Japan
Soga patronage and Prince Shotoku; the Seventeen Article Constitution and hierarchical status; embassies to China

7. Taika, Nara, and Heian
Rebellion and the rise of the Fujiwara clan; the pro-China Taika Reforms
Implementation of the Chinese sociopolitical system; centralization; the move to Nara (710)
Nara the city; the dominant role of Buddhism; the move to Heian (794); the divine nature of the Japanese emperor and his role in politics; court efforts to replicate Tang China culture
Hereditary aristocracy and rural administration; the expansion of state control; Japan’s general poverty and barter economy; rejection of China’s exam system and its meritocratic (status based on merit) institutions

8. The stimulation of education; the Kojiki, Nihongi, and Fudoki
Chinese and Buddhist Art
Hereditary aristocracy and the heavy influx of Buddhist art; the Japanization of styles; Horyuji; Todaiji
Buddhism and Literacy
The impact of Buddhism on Japanese culture: cremation, vegetarianism; religious beliefs
Shinto and Buddhism; Buddhist sects: Shingon and Tendai; the adoption of China’s writing system in Japan
The stimulation of education; the Kojiki, Nihongi, and Fudoki
the decline of the Tang China model; reassertions of indigenous Japanese culture; the concentration of land in private estates

9. The Shoen System
The rise of shoen (private estates)
Court protection of shoen interests
Dominance of the shoen and the decline of central authority; the failing political power of the emperor

10. Heian Culture
Economic and cultural development; the shoen and development of the outer regions; the application of the Chinese model to the outer regions; self-cultivation and refinement: clothing; The Pillow Book (Sei Shōnagon)

11. Heian Culture Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki)
Background; talents, education; The Tale of Genji—a literary masterpiece

12. Art and Gardens
Japanese-styled art: painting, architecture; gardens as microcosms of the natural world; the connections between Japanese gardens and those of China
Kana and Monastic Armies
The use of kana (phonetic symbols) and Chinese characters; Pure Land Buddhism; monastic and shoen armies and warfare; the rise of the samurai class
Pressures on the Environment
Population figures; the spread of cultivation; city-building and demands for wood; deforestation; wood shortages and traditional Japanese architecture and homes; shipbuilding and sculpture; ecology

13. The Kamakura Period
The Minamoto; samurai and feudalism; the shogun and feudal lords; the failed Mongol invasions; the decline of the Kamakura; Go-Daigo; the role of women

15. Ashikaga Japan
Political weakness and the loss of central control; piracy; political unrest; a time of cultural blossoming: Zen Buddhism, architecture, painting, literature, the tea ceremony, Noh drama; civil war
Maritime Contacts Between Medieval Japan and the Continent
During Ashikaga era Japan infamous for piracy until Ashikaga shoguns establish tributary relations with the Ming; Ashikaga shoguns work to curtail piracy and increase official trade with China and Korea (Yi Dynasty); by mid-sixteenth century trade falls into disorder and inland sea daimyo restart sponsored piracy.

18. Korea
The Siberian origins of the Korean people; Chinese influence; the Han occupation and Chinese culture; Korean independence
Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo
Selective adoption of the Chinese model of civilization; Korea’s hereditary aristocracy; the rise and splendor of Silla; han’gul
Koryo; the Chinese model and Chinese art; civil war; the Mongol conquest
The Yi Dynasty
Yi Korea
Adoption of the Confucian system; the yangban elites; distinct Korean culture; printing; perfection of han’gul; bureaucratic factionalism; Hideyoshi’s invasion; political decline and economic development