7.4 Early Japan.notebook

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November 05, 2014

Nov 19­5:32 PM

Geography of Japan­ Japan is located in the Pacific Ocean­ China and Korea are the closest countries Japan is an Archipelago = series of islandsFour main Islands = Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, & Kyushu

Japan consists of over 4,000 smaller islands

Japan's Coastline is Irregular ­ It has many natural harbors

Nov 19­6:14 PM

Geography of Japan­ More than 50% of Japan is covered in mountains­ Less than 15% of the land is good for agriculture­ Japan developed Terrace Farming to adapt to their mountainous geography­ Most of the Japanese population is located on the 4 main islands; the majority of the population live along the coast

Nov 19­6:14 PM

Geography of Japan­ Throughout Japan's history earthquakes & tsunamis have been a problem­ 2011 Tohoku 9.0 magnitude earthquake ­ over 15,000 deaths ­ led to serious accidents at 4 nuclear power plants­ Tsunamis over 33 feet

Tsunami & Earthquake

Nuclear Reactor

Nov 19­7:06 PM

Early Japanese CultureShintoism­ Polytheistic Religion that believes all living and non­living things in nature have a spirit or kami­ Also focuses on worshipping ancestors; people become kami after they die­ Often compared to Animism and Taoism/Daoism because they were all nature­based belief systems­ Amaterasu = sun goddess; most important kami ­­ Japanese Emperors were believed to be descendents of the sun goddess Amaterasu

Ema

Shimenawa

Torii Gate

Nov 19­7:32 PM

The Japanese Adapt Chinese Ideas­ Around 500 AD, Japan came into contact with Korea and China­ The Japanese people began to adopt Chinese ideas about culture and government

Buddhism in Japan­ In the mid­700's Korean travelers brought Buddhism to Japan­ Buddhism was accepted by the Japanese Emperors and began to influence the culture of Japan

Cultural Borrowing from China­ Japanese writing was modeled after Chinese writing­ Japanese artists painted landscapes in the Chinese style­ For a while, Japan tried to model its government after the Chinese style

­­ Strong Central Government (Emperor has absolute power)­­ Introduced an examination system (Civil­Service Exams)

Nov 19­8:05 PM

Japanese Feudalism (1100's ­ 1800's)Feudalism = system of government that is based on exchanging land for

military or economic service & protectionEmperor of Japan = figurehead (spiritual leader)Shogun = Political and Military leader of Japan (true power)Samurai = warriors of Japan who served the Daimyo

Bushido Code

­ "way of the warrior"­ Rules that the Samurai had to live their lives by­ Emphasized bravery, honesty, loyalty, and generosity­ Failure was not an option (suicide rather than face defeat)

7.4 Early Japan.notebook

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November 05, 2014

Nov 19­8:26 PM Jan 7­7:50 PM

Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan­ In 1467 a civil war broke out in Japan, and rival Daimyo (warlords) competed against one another for political power and land­ By 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged victorious and centralized the military power of Japan­ From 1603 ­ 1868 Japan was controlled by the "Shoguns"; all were descendents from Tokugawa Ieyasu

­­ "Shogun" = military dictatorship

May 25­7:44 AM

Tokugawa Society and Culture­ Under the Tokugawa Shoguns, Japan experienced 200 years of prosperity­ Japanese culture flourished during this time; even though Japan shifted from a rural to an urban society (Edo = capital; +1 million)

Culture under the Tokugawa ShogunateKabuki Theater =

­ Japanese dramas/plays about daily life in the cities

Haiku =­ Japanese poetry that does not rhyme­ Written using the 5­7­5 format­ Typically focus on nature and the changing of the seasons

Kabuki

May 25­7:55 AM

Contact between Europe and Japan­ The first contact between Europe and Japan took place in 1543, when shipwrecked Portuguese sailors washed up on the shores of Japan­ Soon after, merchants from Portugal and Europe started to trade with the Japanese; firearms, tobacco, eyeglasses, clocks, etc...­ Along with merchants, Christian Missionaries began to travel to Japan to convert the Japanese

** These interactions with Europe began to challenge the traditional culture of Japan (Warfare, Religion, etc...)

May 25­8:07 AM

The Closed Country Policy­ Since the European ideas were challenging the traditional culture of Japan, the Tokugawa Shoguns decided to exclude any foreigners from their country­ By 1639, all of the ports in Japan were closed to foreign ships, except the port city of Nagasaki

­­ Only Chinese & Dutch traders were allowed into the port

** Not until the Industrial Revolution of the 1800's will Japan be 'opened' back up to Western Countries