Japan

GeographyAnd

Evolution

There is no where to go!• Is a non-contiguous • Consists of about 6,300

islands, many of which are extremely small

• World concentrates mainly on 4 major islands, the most important being Hanshu (the biggest and the home of Tokyo, the capital)

• Collectively, is about the size of California, with quadruple the population

• LAND IS A PREMIUM

The Impact of Geography

• Small• No natural resources• Only about 15% of the land is arable

(from which you can grow food or crops) but has a huge population

• JAPAN IS HEAVILY RELIANT ON EXTERNAL SOURCES FOR FOOD AND ENERGY

We gotta deal with what we got

• 2 strategies to deal with geography– 1. Imperialist aggression: became a military

power and seized what it needed (leads to WWII)– 2. Aggressive manufacturing and trade: has

to make something other people want (post WWII)

All by myself . . .• Much of Japans history has been one of

isolation (which is ironic with all the international trade and dependency)

• Has been open to the world for maybe 150 years when it is a country/society that is 3,000 years old

• This means is has one of the highest rates of homogeny you’ll find anywhere in the world– Almost no cultural diversity in Japan– Ethnic Japanese make up 98% of the population– Everybody speaks Japanese (no linguistic difference)– One of the lowest immigration rates in the world—very,

very, very, VERY difficult to move to Japan and become a citizen

Get outta here!

• Never been successfully invaded militarily (just like Great Britain)– The closest was the Mongols in the 13th century who

turned back because of Japanese resistance and typhoons (“divine winds”) and kamakazi (that which protects Japan from invasion)

• Suspicious of foreigners but owes much of its success to foreign ideas (borrowed a lot from China however unlike China, embraced Western ideals as well

• Only non-Western member of what is called the 1st World– Only Western democracy that had no ties to the west or

in the west

• World’s 2nd largest economy (measured by GDP)

Religion

• Buddhism– Arrived in Japan in

552 AD– Cyclical thinking

and enlightenment– Taught good deeds,

friendliness, compassion

– Zen Buddhism followed by samurai; meditation and self-discipline; mental and physical self-control

• Shintoism– No writings or

doctrines– Spirits, or kami,

live in everything, control natural forces

– Win favor through prayers and offerings

Culture: Confucius, Classes, and Suicide

• Confucianism affected Japanese beliefs about family, duties and obligations, and social hierarchy– Family: men and elderly superior; arranged marriages– Women could inherit property, empresses, could read

and write at court• Bushido

– “The Way of the Warrior”– Established loyalty above all else– Respect for military virtues– Dishonor brought ritual suicide (sepopuku)– Respected education, art, poetry, and calligraphy

• Classes– Peasants, artisans, and merchants

• Peasants supported samurai class, which was higher than the other two classes

Yamato Clan and Heian Period (794-1185)

• Yamato– Families divided by

occupations• Warriors, farmers,

weavers, potters . . .

– By 400 AD several clans joined to unite Japan and parts of Korea

– Led by Tenno clan, all of Japan’s emperors descended from Tenno clan

• Heian Period– By 500 AD,

Buddhism, Chinese culture, and writing introduced to Japan

– From 550-850, deliberately modeled themselves after the Chinese

• Studied government, art, literature, science, and philosophy

• Japanese scholars studied Confucianism and Daoism, and ideas about the family

Japan = China

• No Mandate of Heaven– Emperor believed to be a DEITY, therefore he

could do no wrong• No changed of dynasties

• Discarded Chinese civil service system– Position inherited

• Kept many traditional beliefs (also based on nature)

• Kana: Japanese writing, representing syllables

Feudal Japan

• Land divided into private estates (similar to medieval Europe)

• Emperor was acknowledged to have supreme power but he was considered so holy that he could never be sullied by politics

• Government was decentralized and in a constant state of warfare between Shoguns (feudal lords) who fought each other for the privilege of ruling on behalf of the emperor– These shoguns had their won private armies

called samurai

Tokugawa Shogunate• 1603: Took power and became the dominant

shogunate in Japan• Rule until 1867 with the Meji Restoration• Imposed a very rigid social/class system• Intentionally cut Japan off from the rest of the

world– Japanese citizens were not allowed to leave Japan – Only under exceptional circumstances were foreigners

allowed to enter Japan

No matter how hard Japan tried,

they could not keep western interests from perking.

Europe wants to trade but Japan continues to refuse

. . . .but for how long