Unit 14: Flashcards
1
Q
ri-ben
A
- Chinese word where the name Japan came from
- means “origin of the sun” or “land of the rising sun”
2
Q
archipelgalo
A
island group
3
Q
Geography of Japan
A
- 4,000 islands that extend 1,200 mile long
- 4 largest islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku. Kyushu
- lots of mts= only 12% of land is suitable for farming
- late summer/early fall= typhoons
- southern Japan= rain
- natural resources (coal, oil, iron) are in short supply
- 1st historic mention of Japan comes from Chinese writings of the first century BC
4
Q
Shinto
A
- religion
- means “way of the gods”
- based in the respect for the forces of nature and on the worship of ancestors
- believed in kami (divine spirits that dwelled in nature–> beautiful things in nature)
5
Q
Yamato clan
A
- AD 400s= Yamato clan established itself as leading clan
- they claimed to be descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu
- they lacked real power
- chiefs= called themselves emperors of Japan but they did not control the entire country
- when clans fought, the winning clan claimed control of the emperor and ruled in the emperor’s name
6
Q
Buddhism
A
- brought by Korean travelers
- mis 700s= Japanese imperial court accepted Buddhism in Japan
- ppl didn’t give up shinto rituals
- but Buddhist rituals became Shinto rituals and some Shinto god and goddesses were worshiped in Buddhist temples
7
Q
Cultural Borrowing from China
A
- Japanese adopted the Chinese system of writing
- Japanese artists painted landscapes in the Chinese manner
- they followed Chinese styles in the simple arts of everyday living (cooking, gardening, drinking tea, hairdressing)
- Japan modeled its government in China’s (strong central gov)
- Shotoku tried to introduce China’s civil service system but Japan continued to be a country where a few great families held power
8
Q
Prince Shotoku
A
- served as a regent for his aunt (empress Suiko)
- most influential convert to Buddhism
- he sent the first 3 missions to China (study Chinese civilization)
9
Q
regent
A
someone who rules when a monarch is absent, ill, or too young to rule
10
Q
Heian Period
A
- highly refined court society
- rules dictated every aspect of court life (length of swords, color of official robes, forms of address, number of skirts a woman wore
- etiquette was very important
- FUJIWARA CLAN
- The Tale of Genji (world’s first novel)
- strong central gov—> soon declined due to the power of great landowners and clan chiefs (independent/local rulers)
11
Q
samurai
A
- loyal warriors to lords
- means “one who serves”
12
Q
Bushido
A
- unwritten demanding code of behavior
- what samurai lived by
- They were expected to show reckless courage, reverence for the gods, fairness, and generosity toward those weaker than himself
13
Q
shogun
A
- “supreme general of the emperor’s army”
- had the powers of a military dictator
- they ruled through puppet emperors until 1869 (headquarters= Kamakura, emperor ruled from Kyoto)
- Kamakura shoguns were strong enough to turn back the 2 naval invasions sent by Kublai Khan
- However, this drained the shogun’s treasury (samurai were bitter when the government failed to pay them)
- This caused the Kamakura shogun to lose prestige and power
- The samurai attached themselves more closely to their lords, who fought one another like they had fought the Mongols
14
Q
Motives behind European Exploration
A
- For “God, Glory and Gold”
1. desire for more wealth from the trade of spices and other luxury goods - during the Crusades, Europeans were introduced to these spices and other goods
- After the Crusades, Europeans demanded so many spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pepper), the merchants could charge more money for them and therefore make bigger profits
- needed to find a seas route directly to Asia (didn’t want to pay the Italians, who bought the goods from the Muslims and sold them at a hight price (profit), b/c it would cut into their own profits)
2. wanted to spread Christianity - after the Crusades, there were more conflicting feelings between the Muslims and Christians
- Bernal Diaz del Castillo (spanish explorer)= hoped to Christianize the ppls in Asia and obtain goods from them
3. Glory
15
Q
European sailing technology
A
- European ships could not sail against the wind
- They adopted the triangular sail from the Arabs, which allowed the ships to sail against the wind
- the Europeans used the astrolabe (used to calculate latitude and longitude, see how far north/south of the equator the ship was, or measure the height of the stars above the horizon), which was perfected by the Muslims
- they used the Chinese invention of the magnetic compass to more accurately track direction.
16
Q
Prince Henry
A
- son of Portugal’s king
- Portugal’s most enthusiastic supporter of exploration
- wanted to find the source of the exotic spices and treasure (gold, silver, jewels) in the East
- wanted to spread Christianity
- 1419= founded a navigation school on the southwestern coast of Portugal, where mapmakers, instrument makers, shipbuilders, scientists, and sea captains gathered to perfect their trade
- 1460= died
17
Q
Bartolomeu Dias
A
- Portuguese captain
- 1488= sailed down the coast of Africa until they reached the tip
- a storm caused them to be blown to the other side of the tip
- they explored and considered sailing to India but the crew was exhausted and were running low on food supplies
- they returned home
18
Q
Vasco da Gama
A
- Portuguese explorer
- 1497= began exploring the east African coast
- 1498= reached the port of Calicut
- Da Gama and his crew found so many spices, rare silks, and precious gems in the store in Calicut.
- They filled their ships with spices (pepper, cinnamon) and brought it back to Portugal.
- This was all worth 60 times the cost of the voyage itself.
- In later years, many countries began competing for trade routes to the East.
19
Q
Christopher Columbus
A
- Italian sea captain
- Spain financed a voyage to find a route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean
- reached the Caribbean but thought he reached the Eat Indies
- theis voyage opened a way for European colonization of the Americas
- increased tensions between Spain and Potugal
20
Q
The Treaty of Tordesillas
A
- an agreement between Spain and Protugal which they agreed to honor the imaginary line that went through the Atlantic Ocean (north to south)
- After Columbus “reached asia” the Portuguese and Spanish fought over the land.
- 1493= Pope Alexander VI drew and imaginary linegiving some lands to Spain and the others to Portugal
- line of Demarcation= lands west of the line, Spain’s
- east of line= Portugal, most of the Americas
- Portugal complained that it gave too much to Spain
- THEN the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed
21
Q
Portugal’s Trading Empire
A
-thoughout the Indian Ocean
-took control over the spice trade from Muslim merchants
1514= built a fort on Hormuz, which established control of the Straits of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and Arabian sea and helped stop Muslim traders fro reaching India
-1510= Portuguese captureed Goa
-Afonso de Albuquerque= stressed Portugals desire to crush Muslim-Italian domination over Asia trade but they did not
-merchant brough back goods from Asia ata bout 1/5 of what they cost when purchased throught the Arabs and Italians
-more Europeans could afford these items
-their success attracted attention from Spain, who wanted to estaclish their own trade empires in the East (Ferdinand Magellan), and Dutch
