Medieval Japan Flashcards
What is the Kamikaze?
“The Divine Winds that saved Japan” - Khublai Khan tried to invade Japan twice, but both occasions massive typhoon destroyed the Mongol fleet. The Japanese believed that it was God trying to protect it and called it the Kamikaze.
What cultures might share cultural traits with Japan?
China, India, Korea
How does living on islands affect how people live?
Limited resources
How have the mountains affected the people of Japan?
More people live on the coast and plains areas and use the ocean for food.
What effect did earthquakes have on life in Japan?
Learned to build houses that would not fall down and learned survival techniques
How did Japan’s geography affect where people settled and the ways in which they made a living?
20% of the land is for farming, so most food comes from the ocean
When did the first settlers come to Japan?
Most likely during the Ice Age 11,000 years ago
How did the first settlers come to Japan?
Land bridges linked Japan with Korea in the south
How did later migrants come?
Probably by boat and traveled from island to island
What was the first writing in Japan?
The Chinese writing system
When did the writing system come to Japan?
Around 500 CE
What was the early history of Japan written in?
Chinese
What was the original religion of Japan?
Shinto
What does Shinto mean?
The way of the gods
When did Buddhism arrive in Japan?
552 CE
What type of Buddhism arrived in Japan?
Mahayana
How did Buddhism arrive in Japan?
Through Korea
What is cultural diffusion?
When much of a country’s culture is borrowed from other countries rather than arising from within the country
What were the new ideas about the government that Japan adopted?
Japan adopted the idea of an emperor.
How did Japan change these adopted ideas of government?
The emperor did not have as much power and more power was in the hands of the Uji, who were people who controlled their own land. Also, nobles had higher positions.
What were the main differences between the capital cities of Japan and China?
China’s capital was bigger than Japan’s capital. Also, China’s capital had a protective wall around it whereas Japan’s capital did not.
What does Kanji mean?
Chinese writing
What is Kana?
Means “borrowed letters,” it let the Japanese spell the sounds in their own language
What are the syllables for a tanka poem?
5, 7, 5, 7, 7 - 31 syllables total
What are Tanka poems often devoted to?
Love and beauty of nature
What are the differences between Buddhist pagodas and Shinto shrines?
Pagodas had multiple roofs while Shinto shrines were undecorated and had thatched roofs.
Did the instruments change when they arrived in Japan?
No
What is the sheng/sho?
A wind instrument that is designed to look like a phoenix
When was the Heian period?
794-1185 CE
What started the Heian period?
Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Heian-Kyo, now Kyoto.
Who helped shape court life and often ruled behind the throne in the Heian-Kyo period?
The Fujiwara
What was rank determined by?
Birth
What determined the rank a person held during the Heian period?
The status of the family into which they were born into
What did rank determine?
Everything, from your job to your clothes to the number of folds on your fan
What did Heian society prize?
Beauty, elegance, and fashion
What was most important of Heian person?
The ability to recognize beauty
What were the beauty standards of a Heian man?
Pointy beard, black teeth
What were the beauty standards of a Heian woman?
Black teeth, white powdered face, red lips and cheeks, really long hair (as long as they were tall) tied up in an elegant bun
What are yamato-e paintings?
Paintings of landscapes, usually cherry blossoms
What is the world’s first novel?
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki - a tale about the life and loves of a young man named Genji.
What did the Fujiwara do?
They controlled Japan without being the official rulers
Who dominated the court in the Heian-Kyo period?
Aristocrats - they created a golden age of Japanese court culture
What did Heian society value?
The ability to recognize beauty more than generosity and honesty
What is the Festival of the Snake?
A festival in which cups are floated in a stream
What is kemari?
Courtiers kick a leather ball back and forth
What is rango?
Young women try to balance stones on one finger
What is sumo wrestling?
Large men try to throw each other out of a ring
What is bugaku?
Dancers wear masks and act out simple stories
How did the Heian period end?
Civil war
Why did the Heian period end?
Top nobles were given large estates that were tax-free, and eventually the government could not collect enough tax.
Bandits were completely free in the countryside, since the government was too weak from the tax-free land to provide a form of police.
Some lords’ power combatted the weakened government, and eventually civil war broke out.
How did power shift after the Heian period?
The emperor lost control and the power shifted to the shoguns, who were the top of the samurai class.
Where did the shoguns rule?
The shoguns ruled in the military capital of Kamakura.
What is a samurai?
A medieval Japanese warrior
What was a samurai expected to be?
Honest, brave, and loyal to the shogun and their daimyo (warrior-lords who helped the shogun rule).
What were the different ranks in samurai society?
(Most power to least power) Shogun, Daimyo, Samurai
How did Minamoto Yoritomo change Japanese government?
Minamoto Yoritomo became the shogun in 1192, allowing him to take control of the government. He had a military government in the city of Kamakura, where samurai warriors eventually became Japan’s ruling class.
What did the shogun expect from the daimyo? What did the daimyo receive from the shogun in return?
The daimyo was to be obedient to the shogun, and the shogun would reward the daimyo in return with land, money, or administrative office.
What was Bushido?
“The Way of the Warrior” - it was a code that told a samurai what and what not to do.
What was the most often used poem during the time of the samurai?
Haiku - 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables
How did the position of samurai women change from the 12th to the 17th century?
In the 12th century, samurai women were respected and honored just as much as men and sometimes fought alongside men. In the 17th century, however, the role that samurai women played changed. The men were unquestionably in charge of the household and young women did not get to choose who they married. They had to get up early, go to bed late, wear simple clothes and eat simple foods, and stay away from all forms of entertainment like plays and singing.
What was the tea ceremony?
A ceremony that fostered reverence, calm, and harmony, and was sometimes used as a way to make political alliances.
How was the tea ceremony performed?
The room was a small room, with a door so low that they had to crawl in. The tea master made and served the tea while the guests talked about the way they admired the utensils and the way the tea master combined them. Each guest would take the bowl that the tea was in, take three sips from it, and wipe the rim of the bowl before passing it to the next guest.
What was a samurai mask supposed to do?
Frighten the opponent as well as protect the face.
What was in samurai armor?
It was made of rows of small, lacquer-coated metal plates that were laced together with colorful silk cords. Boxlike panels of armor covered samurai’s chest and back, and metal sleeves covered their arms. Broad shoulder guards and panels that hung over their hips provided additional protection. Some samurai wore thigh guards as well.
What was underneath a samurai’s armor?
A colorful robe called a kimono
What are some examples of the weapons that samurai used?
Katana (longsword), wakizash (short sword) bow and arrow, spear, etc.
What was a samurai’s most prized weapon?
Samurai’s most prized weapons were their swords. Japanese sword makers were excellent craftsmen, and samurai swords were considered the finest in the world. They were flexible enough not to break but hard enough to be razor sharp. Samurai carried one long sword and one short sword, both of which had curved blades. Wearing a sword was the privilege and right of the samurai, and swords were passed down through generations of warrior families and given as prizes to loyal warriors. Even after peace was established in the 17th century, samurai proudly wore their swords as a sign of their rank.
What were bows used for?
Their wooden bow could be up to eight feet long and required great strength to use. Bows were mainly used on horseback, pulling arrows from the quivers on their backs and firing them at the enemy.
What were spears used for?
Spears were used by foot soldiers to knock the enemy off of horseback.
Aside from military training, what was one of the most important part of a samurai’s training?
Mental training
How were young samurai trained in self control?
They went for days without eating, marched barefoot in snow on long journeys, and held stiff postures for hours without complaining.
How were young samurai taught to not fear death?
They were told to think of themselves as already dead.
How did samurai know when danger was coming?
Samurai had to develop a “sixth sense” about danger and did so through long and grueling training.
What is an example of a samurai being trained to develop a “sixth sense”?
A young samurai’s fencing master used to whack him with a wooden sword throughout the day whenever he least expected it. These painful blows eventually taught the young student to always stay alert.
What were the two kinds of Buddhism that samurai were attracted to?
Zen Buddhism and Amida Buddhism
What did Amida Buddhists believe?
They believed that all people could reach paradise. Believers could do this by relying on the mercy of the Amida Buddha. Amida had been an Indian prince. When he became a Buddha, it was said, he set up a western paradise called the Pure Land. Believers could enter the Pure Land by prayerfully repeating Amida’s name. Then, when a believer died, Amida Buddha and a group of bodhisattvas would be waiting to escort the believer into the Pure Land.
What do Zen Buddhists believe?
To reach enlightenment, Zen Buddhists meditate for hours, during which they must sit erect and cross-legged without moving. According to the beliefs of Zen Buddhism, becoming enlightened requires giving up everyday, logical thinking. To jolt the mind into enlightenment, masters pose puzzling questions called koans.
Which form of Buddhism are most samurai drawn to?
Zen Buddhidm
Why are most samurai drawn to Zen Buddhism?
It has an emphasis on effort and discipline.
What is calligraphy?
The art of beautiful writing
Why did samurai study caligraphy?
Samurai had to be students of culture, as well as fierce warriors. They were expected to be educated in both writing and literature.
