Key
Red – Critical information, must be copied EXACTLY
Purple – Great information, good for studying
Green – doesn’t need to be written, but good to remember
Geography
Japan is located on a series of islands. It is slightly in smaller size than the state of California, but although California has 35 million people, Japan has a population of 130 million people. It’s population is very large, 4 times the size of California’s! Japan relied on the sea for food (main food was fish) and transportation. The sea also kept Japan isolated from the rest of the world.
Society
Early on, Japan ‘s society was mostly based off of China’s. Ideas spread from China, through Korea, and into Japan. Chinese influence spread through Korea: Buddhism, Rice, Divine Emperor, Love of Nature, and Writing. Later on, Japan started to create its own culture. The main idea of their culture was miyabi, appreciating small things for their beauty. Those in the Court of Japan were expected to be calm, respectful, and beautiful at all times.
Writing and Literature
Writing and Literature were brought over from China. This eventually split into two different styles. Japan needed their own style, as they had broken away from China. Poetry had later become popular.
THE TALE OF GENJI
The Tale of Genji was the worlds first novel. It was written around 1000 AD by Lady Murasaki. It was a long romantic story about a young prince. It was amazing, because most girls weren’t taught to read or write.
Haiku
A haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. They always have 3 lines: first line – five, second – seven, last – five. They usually have a deep meaning, but few words in them.
Japanese Buddhism\
Remember, that Buddhism taught people how to escape suffering. It came to Japan, from Korea who got it from China. It had developed two different forms of Buddhism in Japan: Pureland and Zen. Pureland: Stressed chanting the name of Amida Buddha over and over again. It also emphasized happiness in the afterlife, unlike other forms of Buddhism. Zen: Followed by many of the samurai, practiced self-discipline and meditation to reach self enlightenment. Discipline was important, book learning and logic are not. Zen put a heavy focus on meditation. You must clear your mind and be calm to do so. A Zen garden has a simple layout and some only used rocks and sand.
Government
A prince named Prince Shotoku wanted his people to follow Buddhism. He wanted Japan to be more like China, because China was RICH and POWERFUL. He also wanted more power for himself like the Chinese emperor had. This made Japan’s people angry.
Taika Reforms
The Taika Reforms was a set of laws to make Japan more like China. The emperor took over all the farmland outside the capital and clan leaders were assigned to oversee that land. Peasants had to give up land to make a profit from them.
Japanese Feudalism
The Shogun, was like a king for the feudal land. The shogun was the feudal lord. Just like the Middle Ages and their Feudalism, this one was just the same but some positions had different names. The Daimyo were landowners who supported the Shogun. The Samurai were soldiers who protected the daimyo’s land. This is the order of Japanese Feudalism: Shogun > Daimyo > Samurai > Peasant – this system rose out of the Taika Reforms. This followed the ethnic ways of Bushido (the way of the warrior).
Bushido
The way a warrior should live their life: They will live it with Honor, Self-Discipline, and Respect.
Mongolians
After conquering China the Mongols tried to conquer Japan. However, each time they tried they were stopped by huge storms known as kamikaze, or ‘divine wind’. The Mongols never returned after that. Japan now had a HUGE army, but no way to pay for it. With the enemy gone, there was no need for an army. This started the spark for samurai to become Ronins and randomly fight and bother peasants. This was a SERIOUS problem. But, there was an upside to it.
NINJA
The Ninja were a very secret group of warriors from feudal Japan. They were created because of Samurai bothering and abusing peasants. So a group of peasants decided to become the Ninja because they were unhappy with the treatment of peasants. They built up a reputation of being invisible and almost impossible to defeat. Unlike the Samurai, the Ninja preferred stealth fighting, not just rushing into battle and taking people head on. They tried to avoid open conflict as much as possible. If they were to run into an enemy, they fought very well.
History Plus 