Transcript Document 7187175

MEDIEVAL
JAPAN
Japan has around 4,000 islands
• Honshu
• Shikoku
• Kyushu
• Hokkaido
Most of Japan is extremely
mountainous.
Therefore only a small portion of
the land is arable. This forced the
Japanese to rely heavily on the
sea for food.
Shinto
• Considered the native religion of Japan
• Animistic and polytheistic religion that
centers upon love and reverence for
nature
• Worshiped spirits known as kami
(everything has its own kami)
Japan borrows from the West
• Buddhism introduced by Koreans
• Japanese borrowed a lot from China
– Writing
– Landscape art
– Cooking
– Gardening
– Medicine
• Japanese always made it their own
The Tale of Genji
• Written by
Lady Murasaki
• Believed to be
the world’s first
novel
Japanese Emperors
• The Yamoto clan began claiming to be
emperors of all Japan during the 7th
century despite not controlling even a
majority of the land.
• The idea stuck and the Yamotos were
never thrown out of power
• However, the strongest warlord would
actually hold the power, but rule in the
emperor’s name
Japanese Feudalism
• By the twelfth century, small landowners
were giving portions of their land to
powerful warlords in return for protection.
• The warlords built up armies of warriors
called samurai (they create a warrior
class in Japan)
• The most powerful warlords were known
as daimyo
Bushido Code
• Way of the warrior
• Stressed bravery, self-discipline,
loyalty, fairness, and generosity to
those weaker than himself
• Stressed living with honor and
encouraged an honorable death
Geishas
• Professional
entertainers
• Performed
classical
music and
dance
The Kamakura Shogunate
• In the late 12th century, the two most
powerful clans fought with each other.
• The emperor declared the leader of the
winning clan (the Minamoto family) to be
the Shogun or “supreme general of the
emperor’s army.”
• Essentially the Shogun ruled as a military
dictator over all of Japan