Japanese Geography

Geography

• Japan lies on a mountain filled archipelago (group of islands) .

• It is separated by the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea from Korea, China, and Russia, its nearest neighbor on the Asian mainland.

Geography

• For most of its history, Japan had been isolated by:– geography and– choice from the rest of the world.

• There was very little farmable land, so the Japanese got most of their food from the sea.

Shintoism - Religion

• Before 400 A.D. Japan was populated by clans who worshipped ancestral and natural spirits.

• Shintoism had the following features: – importance of natural features – forces of nature– ancestral worship.

• Also, this religion coexisted with Buddhism.

Shintoism

• Another key feature of Shintoism was worshipping the emperor.

• Shintoism was considered to be the state religion.

• Until 1945, followers of Shintoism believed that the emperor was a god.

Torii Gate

Marked the entrance to a sacred space

Shintoism

• A key aspect of Shintoism was the belief in kami. – Kami are the divine spirits that dwelled (lived) in

nature. • Any unusual or especially beautiful tree,

rock, waterfall, or mountain was considered home of the kami.

Government and Culture

• For some years, Japanese methods of government were strongly influenced by China.

• Prince Shotoku sent a group of scholars to China to learn Chinese writing, styles of landscape painting, architecture, and simple daily arts like tea drinking and gardening.

Samurai

• During Japan’s period of feudalism, large landowners hired bodyguards/warriors to protect them, and this type of fighter was called a samurai.

• The samurai (military class) practiced Zen Buddhism which stressed two goals: – living in harmony with nature – reaching enlightenment through meditation and

physical discipline. (video)• (Combining of which two religions?)

Feudalism = holding of land in exchange for service or labor

COPY

Comparing Japanese and European Feudal System

Samurai

• Samurai fought on horseback with bows, arrows, and steel swords

• They followed a code called Bushido, meaning the way of the warrior (video)

• Bushido stressed bravery, self discipline, and loyalty