Bellringer February 22, 2012  Take out something to write with  Grab your clicker  Take everything else off of your desk

February 22, 2012

Objective Today we will be learning about religion’s influence on medieval Japan.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *Most Japanese believe in both Buddhism & Shinto, but each religion had different beliefs or customs  *Shinto believed in the concern of daily life  *Buddhism believed in the life after death

Japanese Religion & Culture  Different Sects of Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism ○ *Began in India & spread to China & Korea. ○ Other sects branch from MB

Japanese Religion & Culture  Pure Land Buddhism * A type of MB *A great life after death. *Amida, the Buddha of love and mercy. *They say that he found a paradise above the clouds and to get there, you had to have faith in Amida.

Japanese Religion & Culture  Zen Buddhism *Find inner peace through self-control and a simple life. *Learned martial arts, or sports that involve combat and self- defense. *Practiced meditation, or sitting cross-legged for hours, with a mind clear of all thoughts and desires.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *The arts of Japan revealed the Japanese love of beauty and simplicity.  *Artisans made statues, furniture, & household items. They would put a shiny black and red coating, or lacquer.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *Japanese also made origami. This was a way of folding paper into decorations.  *Buddhist monks and samurai made a ceremony for drinking tea.

Japanese Religion & Culture  Shinto shrines were built by a natural feature that was beautiful.  The shrines usually only had a single room.  *The entrance of the Shinto shrine was through a sacred gate, or torii.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *During the middle ages the Japanese wrote many stories, poems, and plays.  They used a borrowed Chinese writing system.  *A.D. 800s – they added symbols that stood for sounds.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *Calligraphy was used in these. This is the art of writing beautifully.  *Tanka was the oldest form of poetry. It was a five- lined poem that did not rhyme.

Japanese Religion & Culture  *Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji. (Maybe the world’s first novel.)  *The Tale of Heike was novel about the fight btw Taira & Minamoto clans.  *Noh was a type of play that used masks

Economy & Society  *Wealthy class: emperor, nobles w/the emperor, & military officials.  *Most Japanese were poor farmers.  *Japanese farmers provided most of Japan’s wealth.

Economy & Society  *In the 1100s, they used better irrigation. This made their job easier.  *Artisans started making weapons, armor, and tools.  *Kyoto became a major center of trade in Japan.

Economy & Society  *There, merchants/artisans made guilds, or za, to protect their profits.  *Japan also increased trade w/Korea, China, & SE Asia.

Economy & Society  *During the Middle Ages, Japan had extended families.  *The man was the head of the family.

Economy & Society  *Under Prince Shotoku, women had a high place in society.  *During the warrior society, women lost their freedoms.

Economy & Society  *On farms, women worked for a long time. They also cooked and cared for the children.  *In town, women helped run the family business & ran the home

Economy & Society  Despite this, women still made an impact.  *Tomoe was a famous female samurai.  She was described in The Tale of the Heike.

Homework