Medieval Japan Notes Flashcards
1
Q
The Geography of Japan
A
- An archipelago of islands
- Mountainous
- Rugged
- Isolated/remote from other countries
- Limited natural resources/space
- Limited flat/habitable land
- Few rivers
- Apart of the Pacific Ring of Fire
2
Q
Geographical Advantages
A
- Outside invasion difficult
- Can ignore the outside world and focus on themselves
- Lots of fish and seafood
- Volcanic soil is very fertile
3
Q
Geographical disadvantages
A
- Mountains are hard to develop for farming or living
- Limited natural resources (12% arable land)
- Vulnerable to natural resources
- Difficulty asserting centralised authority
4
Q
Religions of Medieval Japan
A
- Shintoism
- Zen Buddhism
- Both religions influenced each other and in some aspects melded together
5
Q
Shintoism
A
- Traced back to the indigenous people of Japan (the Ainu)
- Considered the indigenous religion of the country
- More like a custom or traditions
- Means ‘the way of the gods’
- No founder or scriptures
- No places of worship
- Belief in kami or spiritual powers which exist in the natural world (objects)
- Humans can become kami after they die
- Emperors believed they were descendants from Amaterasu or the Sun Goddess (main kami) → divine connection allowed them to maintain power
6
Q
Zen Buddhism
A
- Buddhism was introduced from China in the 6th century
- Zen Buddhism arrived in the 12th century
- Popular with military classes (eg. samurai) as it was ideal for their way of life
- A philosophy
- Shintoism adopted Buddhist elements
- Way to inner peace is through meditation and self control/discipline
- Followers search for enlightenment
- Try to experience each moment directly
- Living in the present with complete awareness
- Rituals such as martial arts, painting, specially designed gardens, paradoxical puzzles and meditation are practiced to receive enlightenment
7
Q
Samurai
A
- Member of the Japanese warrior caste (noble class)
- Worked directly under daimyos and purpose was to serve and protect them
- Originally aristocrats but then included everyone
- Dominated Japanese government
- Fans of Zen Buddhism
- During the Edo period, it was a time of peace and prosperity → they became obsolete → became government (shogunate) officials rather than warriors
- Abolished in late 19th century
8
Q
Feudal System
A
Emperor (has no real political power)
↓
Shogun (Military leader who ruled Japan)
↓
Daimyo (Noble lords)
↓
Samurai (Paid soldiers)
↓
Ronin (Masterless samurai)
↓
Peasants (Farmers and fishermen, 90% of the population)
↓
Artisans (Craftspeople)
↓
Merchants (Salespeople)
9
Q
Tokugawa Shogunate
A
- Went from 1603- 1867 during the Edo period
- Founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Final period of traditional Japan
- Period of internal peace, political stability and economic growth
- Daimyo had to maintain households and live in Edo (Tokyo) several months each year → ensured a more centralised form of control
- Closed Country Edict of 1635 → Isolationist Japan
- Sakoku → ‘locked country’
10
Q
Tokugawa Shogunate- Sakoku
A
- A system where strict regulations were placed on commerce and foreign relations by the Shogunate
→ Relations and trade between Japan and other countries were limited
→ Foreign nationals banned from entering Japan
→ Japanese people banned from leaving
→ Small exceptions with Dutch and Japanese - Ban of Christian missionaries before fully closing borders → fearful of Western influence
- Culture and industry thrived
- Rigid but stable class system
- Various clans lived as one
- Idea that Japan was physically and spiritually separate from default human experience
- However came at a cost for freedom
- Sakoku was enforced through severe violence
11
Q
Bakufu
A
Government ruled by a Shogun
12
Q
Shogun
A
Japanese military leader of government from 1185 to 1868
13
Q
Shinto
A
‘Way of the gods’
14
Q
Ainu
A
Earliest Japanese people
15
Q
Samurai
A
Territorial warlord
