Idalmis Camilo

October 25, 2010

Period Four

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SPREAD OF CIVILIZATIONS IN EAST ASIA

Section Four – The Emergence of Japan
I. Geography: Japan, a Land Apart
* Japan is located on an archipelago about 100 miles off the Asian mainland
and east of the Korean peninsula.
* Its four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku
a. archipelago: chain of islands
A. Land and Sea
1. Because about 4/5 of Japan’s land is too mountainous to farm, most
people settled in river valleys or coastal plains. This terrain was an obstacle
to unity, as in Greece.
2. Mild rain and sufficient rainfall allowed the farmers to make the
most of the limited arable land.
3. The seas surrounding Japan isolated and protected the country; too
for China to conquer, but close enough to learn from China and Korea.
4. These seas also served as trade routes and resources, such as fish.
B. Ring of Fire
1. This region of the Pacific is subject to frequent earthquakes and
volcanoes. These natural forces are respected amongst the Japanese.
b. tsunami: killer tidal waves that sweep over a land and
destroy everything in its path
II. Early Traditions
* The Japanese we know today probably migrated from the Asian mainland,
slowly pushing the earlier inhabitants, the Ainu, onto Hokkaido.
A. Yamato Clan
1. Early Japanese society was divided into uji, or clans, each having its
own chief and a special god or goddess seen as the clan’s original ancestor.
2. It is suggested that women also played a respectable role in society.
3. By 500 AD, the Yamato clan came to dominate Japans largest island,
Honshu. Here, the clan set up Japan’s first and only dynasty.
4. Claiming direct descents from the sun god Amaterasu, they chose
the rising sun as their symbol and later revered emperors as living gods.
B. Shinto
1. Early Japanese clans honored kami, or nature spirits; this worship
became known as Shinto, or “the way of the gods”, and although it never
became a major religion, its traditions still continue today.
2. Hundreds of Shinto shrines surround the Japanese countryside,
dedicated to special sites or objects such as mountains, waterfalls and rocks.
C. The Korean Bridge
 1. From early on, Korea and Japan were in constant contact with each
other, bringing technology, warfare and family.
2. Korean missionaries introduced Buddhism to Japan, and
consequently, the knowledge of Chinese language and culture, as well as a
spark of interest in Chinese civilization.
III. Japan Looks to China
* Prince Shotoku of the Yamato clan decided to learn more about China,
sending young nobles to study there.
A. Imported From China
1. These people spent a year or more learning about Chinese thought,
technology, arts, and also about their government.
2. In consequence, Japan strengthened the central government, set up
a bureaucracy, and adopted a law code similar to China’s, although with less
influence.
3. In 710, the Japanese emperor built a new capital at Nara where
nobles spoke Chinese, dressed in Chinese fashion and ate Chinese food.
4. Buddhism and Confucian ideas took root, emphasizing filial piety
and respect for learning.
B. Selective Borrowing
1. After a while, the emphasis on Chinese culture died down.
a. selective borrowing: process of keeping certain ways of a
culture, and discarding or modifying others
2. As Tang China declined, the Japanese court turned away from its
model, and as the years passed, their culture, borrowed from China became
Japan’s own unique way of life.
3. They also revised the Chinese system of writing.
b. kana: phonetic symbols representing syllables
IV. The Heian Period
*During this period of blending of cultures, Heian was the imperial capital
where wealthy families such as the Fujiwara’s held power.
A. An Elegant Court
1. At the Heian court, an elegant and sophisticated culture began to
blossom with etiquette, people dressed in delicate silk, etc.
2. Women were forbidden to learn Chinese, however, they produced
the most important works of literature in the period; diaries, essays and
collections of poetry. (i.e. Sei Shonagon wrote The Pillow Book)
B. Lady Murasaki
1. Murasaki Shikubu is accredited to writing the world’s first full
novel, The Tale of Genji.
2. Although elegant, these writings underlined sadness, as writers
lament about love’s capricious nature.
Section Five – Japan’s Feudal Age
I. Japanese Feudalism Emerges
* Amidst elegant lifestyles, rival clans battled for control of the countryside.
Armies struggled for power, eventually leading to a warrior aristocracy.
* The emperor was only a figurehead; the real power lied in the shogun.
* One such man was Minamoto Yoritomo who set up the Kamakura
shogunate, the first of three military dynasties that would rule Japan for 700
years.
a. shogun: supreme military commander
A. The World of Warriors
1. The shogun often only controlled a portion of Japan, giving land to
vassal lords who supported them with armies.
2. These vassals in turn lent land to samurai’s.
b. daimyo: great warrior lords
c. samurai: meaning “those who serve”, the fighting aristocracy
3. Samurai were trained in fighting skills and developed their own
code of values.
d. bushido: Japanese “way of the warrior” which emphasized
honor, bravery, and absolute loyalty to one’s lord
4. A true samurai was supposed to have no fear, walk barefoot in
snow, and not allow his stomach to growl when hungry.
5. If this code was betrayed, he was expected to commit seppuku, or
suicide rather than living without honor.
B. Status of Noblewomen
1. At first, noblewomen were trained in the military arts, but the
position of women began to decline as the age of the samurai continued.
2. The samurai code did not, unlike the European ideal, set women on
a pedestal.
C. Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants
1. Peasants made up 75% of the population and formed the backbone
of feudal society in Japan, cultivating crops in the samurai’s estate
2. The artisan had the lowest rank in society, but their status gradually
improved.
D. Mongol Invasions
1. During this age, fighting took place not only between rival warlords,
but also Mongol conquest.
2. When they refused Mongol rule, a great fleet attacked from Korea,
however, many were destroyed by a typhoon.
3. After another invasion was foiled by yet another typhoon, and the
Japanese praised the kamikaze, or divine winds.
II. Order and Unity Under the Tokugawas
* The Kamakura shogunate fell under the Mongol invasions, and a new
dynasty took over and warfare increased.
* To protect their castles, daimyo armed peasants as well as samurai, leading
to more ruthless fighting.
 * By 1600, the daimyo called Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his rivals and was
soon made shogun, ruling Japan for 68 years.
A. Centralized Feudalism
1. The Tokugawa shoguns were determined to end feudal warfare.
Because they kept all outward appearances of feudalism, they had a central
government which controlled Japan, called central feudalism.
2. They created a unified, orderly society. To control the daimyo, they
were made to live in the shogun’s capital every other year.
3. Only samurai were allowed to sere in the military or hold military
jobs, peasants had to remain on their land and couldn’t wear luxuries.
4. Women too were restricted under the Tokugawas, such as their
ability to travel, even with their husbands.
B. Economic Growth
1. With peace restored, the Japanese economy began to grow, leading
to improved agriculture, food surplus and a consequent population spurt.
2. Trade also flourished, and a wealthy merchant class emerged.
III. Zen Buddhism and Japanese Culture
* During the feudal age, a Buddhist sect from China known in Japan as Zen
was widely accepted among samurai.
* It had many contradictions: the Zen monks were highly educated but
stressed “non-knowing”, they also valued compassion for all, but samurai
fought to kill and also, monks sought absolute freedom, but their masters had
complete authority over them.
* Zen Buddhists also believed that people could reach enlightenment not only
through meditation, but through the performance of every task. They also
revered nature.
IV. Changing Artistic Traditions
* Edo and Osaka flourished in art and theater; the urban middle class and
nobles mixed together.
A. Theater
1. The Noh plays had men wearing elegant makeup and clothing. The
action was slow and every move had a meaning, many emphasizing Buddhist
beliefs.
2. A new form of drama, kabuki arose, where the actors used
exaggerated movements to convey action, originated by a woman named
Okuni.
a. kabuki: influenced by Noh plays, a less refined, often
comedic or melodramatic play that often portrayed family or historical
events.
b. bunraku: puppet plays
3. These puppet plays were popular and involved the narrator telling
a story while handlers manipulated near life-sized puppets.
B. Literature
1. Stories such as Tale of the Heike and Essays in Idleness were vastly
important parts of Japanese literature.
2. Using Chinese models, Japanese poets created the Haiku.
 c. haiku: miniature(three lines, 17 syllables) poems
C. Painting and Printmaking
1. Although Japanese paintings reflected Chinese influence, many
developed their own unique style, boldly recreating historical events.
2. In the 1600s, the urban culture had a flood of woodblock art and
artists, many humorous and all consisting of fresh colors and simple lines.
V. Looking Ahead
* The Tokugawa shogunate brought peace and stability to Japan, and despite
their conservative attitudes, trade and art flourished.
* Although at first they had much foreign influence, they soon closed their
doors.