Chapter 14

Section 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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”

Section 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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

 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”

 The Kamakura shogunate ruled Japan until  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  This began the Ashikaga shogunate.

 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.

 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.

Section 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.

 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.

 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.

 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

 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.

 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.

 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.