Asian History JAPAN PPT

Map of Japan - How did Japan’s geography influence its history?

Japan’s location influenced its history

 Japan is a nation of islands – the four largest are called Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and
Shikoku
 Japan is far enough from other countries to discourage invasion and to remain isolated
when it chose to shut out the outside world
 It is near enough to the Asian mainland to borrow from other civilizations, especially the
Chinese

Japanese culture reflects reverence for nature

 Their appreciation for nature is reflected in all aspects of their culture
 The Japanese native religion of Shintoism holds nature to be sacred
 Their love of simple, natural beauty is seen in the arts – architecture, sculpture, painting,
and literature

Yamato Period
 By around 500 AD, a warrior chief ruling over the Yamato plain extended his rule over
much of Japan
 Claimed descent from the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu
 His tokens of power (an iron sword, curved jewel and bronze mirror) are still symbols of
the imperial family today
 Shinto: “the way of the gods” – nature is sacred

Chinese influence
 Prince Shotoku encouraged the spread of Chinese ways
 Acceptance of Buddhism
 Other influences: calendar, ways of dress and cooking, architecture, Chinese language
and script, law code, establishment of capital city

Heian Period
 Capital was moved to Heian-Kyo, later renamed Kyoto
 Japanese culture developed
 Literature flourished: “Tale of Genji” by Lady Murasaki (prose), tanka and haiku (forms of
poetry)

Japan enters the feudal age

Kamakura Shogunate
 Minamoto Yoritomo became the shogun, or supreme general
 The emperor remained a mere figurehead in Kyoto
 The seat of government was at Kamakura, a small coastal town
 The feudal age of Japan began

 Samurai warriors – most important class of people during the feudal period
 Bushido (“way of the warrior”) – samurai code of conduct; stressed loyalty and
indifference to pain and hardship
 Suicide by seppuku or hara-kiri was preferred to dishonor or surrender

Ashikaga Shogunate
 Groups of samurai came to follow certain local nobles called daimyo (“great name”)
  Daimyo became absolute rulers on their lands and struggled with each other for more
power and territory
 There was no effective central government in Japan

The arts flourished during the Ashikaga Period

 Golden age of Japanese culture

 No drama developed
 Perfection of 3 Japanese arts: flower arrangement, tea ceremony and landscape gardening

Tokugawa Era
 Ieyasu Tokugawa became shogun after winning the Battle of Sekigahara
 Headquarters was in Edo, later known as Tokyo

 The power of the daimyo was weakened

 The central government grew strong again
 Japan began to isolate itself from foreign influences – no Japanese could leave their
homeland, and foreign missionaries were expelled, or killed
 Merchant and business classes became influential
 Kabuki drama became popular

Status of women in Japan

• During the earliest period of Japanese history, women enjoyed high political, social and
cultural status
• For a hundred years, all important authors were women

 During the Kamakura period, samurai women were expected to have spartan virtues, and
young girls were taught the use of weapons
 But then society moved towards complete male supremacy
 By the Tokugawa period, women had become socially and legally inferior to men – and this
has changed little even today