Medieval Japan Focus Vocabulary

7th Grade World History

Cultural Diffusion• The spread of cultural elements from

one society to another

Pagoda

• A tower-shaped structure with several stories and roofs

Zen Buddhism• A form of Buddhism focusing on self-

discipline, simplicity, and meditation.

Meditation• A spiritual discipline that involves

deep relaxation and an emptying of distracting thoughts from the mind

Shinto• Means “way of the gods”, the

traditional religion of Japan based on respect for nature and ancestors.

Regent• A person who rules in place

of an absent or underage emperor.

Prince Shotoku• A powerful regent who

ruled Japan from A.D. 593 to 622.

Embassy• An office of a country’s

government in another country.

Figurehead• A ruler with no real

authority.

Haiku• A poem with 3

lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each.

Samurai• A trained warrior who are

vassals to lords called daimyos in Medieval Japanese society.

Bushido• Code of honor OR warrior code of the

samurai that stressed honor, loyalty, and bravery.

Feudalism• System of local rule based

on a lord-vassal relationship where a vassal received land from a lord in return for their loyalty.

Daimyo• A Japanese lord with large

landholdings and owned samurai(vassal) armies.

Shogun• Supreme commander of the army who

ruled Japan for the emperor.

Fujiwara Clan• In the 800s, became the real rulers of

Japan and remained Japan’s most powerful family for 300 years.

Tokugawa Shogunate• A dynasty that held power in Japan

from 1603 to 1868, established Tokyo as the capital, banned Christianity, and put Japan in a period of isolation.