1. How did Japan’s geography affect its economy and culture?
Early Japan and Korea
Lesson 3:
Students will know that the geography of Japan has resulted in political, economic, and social changes .
How did Japan’s geography affect its economy and culture?

2. Japanese Geography
Geography (islands, mountains, isolation, and a shortage of farmable land) played an important role in Japanese history
Japan is a mountainous archipelago, or chain of many islands
The population is concentrated on four main islands:
1. Hokkaido
2. Honshu (the main island)
3. Kyu shu
4. Shikoku
Like China, much of Japan is mountainous.
Only 11% of the total land can be farmed
The mountains are volcanic and the area is prone to earthquakes

3. Early japan
In the first century A.D. their society was made up of clans.
The people were divided between:
Small aristocratic class (the rulers)
Large population of rice farmers, artisans, and household servants
The local ruler of each clan protected the people in return for a share of the annual harvest

4. Shotoku Taishi
In the early 7th century , Shotoku Taishi, from the Yamato clan, became supreme ruler.
Yamato Clan – imperial family that is most likely the only one to have ever reigned in Japan
Few records of early Japanese history exist
Prince Shotoku sent representatives to the Tang capital of China to learn how they organized their government
He wanted to limit the powers of the aristocrats and enhance his own authority
Therefore the ruler was portrayed as a divine figure and the symbol of the Japanese nation
The territory of Japan was divided into administrative districts
Each district seated a senior official from local nobles
The rural village was the basic unit of government
A new tax system was set up and all farmland technically belonged to the state
All taxes were paid directly to the central government rather than local aristocrats

5. The Nara and Heian Period
After Shotoku Taishi’s death in 622, political power fell into the hands of the Fujiwara clan
A Yamato ruler was still emperor, but he was strongly influenced by the Fujiwara family
Caught in a struggle for power, the central government could not overcome the growing dominance of the aristocrats
Aristocratic families kept taxes on lands for themselves
Without income, the central government steadily lost power
As decentralized government returned to Japan, local aristocrats turned to the military force (Samurai) for personal protection
Samurai – “Those who serve;” Japanese warriors similar to that of knights of medieval Europe
YouTube Video: Crash Course Japan in the Heian Period

6. The kamakura shogunate
By the twelfth century, rivalries among Japan’s aristocratic families resulted in nearly constant civil war
Minamoto Yoritomo, a powerful noble, defeated several rivals and set up a military government under a shogun
Centralized power returned under the Shogun
The emperor remained ruler, but in name only
The Kamakura shogunate, founded by Yoritomo, lasted from 1192 to 1333
Minamoto Yoritomo

7. Life in Early Japan The role of women
There is evidence that women may have had a certain level of equality with men.
For example: an 8th century law code guaranteed the inheritance right of women
Wives who were abandoned could divorce and remarry
Later practices, however, show that women were subordinate to men.
A husband could divorce his wife if:
She didn’t produce a son
Committed adultery
Talked too much
Was jealous
Had a serious illness
They played an active role at various levels of society
They were prominent at court, did spring planting, threshing and hulling rice, and acting as salespersons and entertainers

8. Religion and Culture: Shinto
The people of early Japan worshipped nature spirits, called kami, residing in trees, rivers, and mountains
The Japanese also believed that the spirits of their ancestors were present in the air around them
These beliefs evolved into a religion called Shinto – “Sacred Way” or “Way of the Gods”
Over time, Shinto became a state doctrine linked to belief in the divinity of the emperor and the sacredness of the Japanese nation
Shinto is still practiced today

9. YouTube Video: Minute Faith: Shinto

10. Religion and Culture: Buddhism
Some Japanese practiced Buddhism which was a major influence from China
The Zen was a sect of Buddhism that became popular with the Japanese aristocrats and became part of the Samurai’s code of behavior because it taught self-discipline
Under Zen Buddhism, there are different paths to enlightenment
Nanzenji Zen Buddhist Temple

11. The Emergence of Korea Korean Geography
The Korean Peninsula is located on the coast of East Asia and is surrounded by water on three sides
Sea of Japan
Yellow Sea to the west
East China Sea to the south
It is a hilly and mountainous region slightly larger than the state of Minnesota
Korea’s relative nearness to China and Japan has shaped its history
China across the northern border
Japan about 120 miles across the Korean Strait

12. The Emergence of Korea Silla and the Tang Dynasty
In 109 B.C. the northern Korea Peninsula came under Chinese control, later driven out in the A.D. 200’s
Eventually, three rival kingdoms emerged on the Korean Peninsula
Korguryo in the north
Paekche in the southwest
Silla in the southeast
Each kingdom was ruled by a monarch and powerful aristocratic families
Introduction of Buddhism, which became a state religion of each kingdom
As the Silla kingdom became allied with Chinese, the monarchy turned to Confucian ideals to rule
Gradually, the help of the Tang dynasty of China let the kingdom of Silla gain control of the Korean Peninsula
By the 1200’s the Mongol Dynasty seizes power in Korea.