Japan Flashcards
What was China’s impact on Korea during the 4th century?
China spread their religion (Buddhism), shared their culture, and spread their art sculptures.
How does Japanese geography impact where people settled and their relationship with other countries?
Cultural ideas traveled to Japan from China and India by the way of the Korean Peninsula. This geographically impacted trade, defense and culture, making it a good place to settle. Also mountains were not a good place to settle because it was not good to farm.
Explain how Japan was before the new influence impacted them and how they adapted ideas from neighboring countries in at least TWO of the following areas:
- Government
- Religion
Government: The emperor in China was the only ruler. However, in Japan, the emperor had only loose control over the somewhat independent uji. Uji controlled their own land. Their leaders struggled among themselves for the right to select the emperor. Japanese emperors depended on local leaders. However, the Chinese emperor ruled with the help of several government officials.
Religion: They took part in Buddhism, which came from India, and continued to practice Shinto, their original religion, as well.
How did Prince Shotoku influence Japan?
Shotoku started using the Chinese philosophy of moral society and government called Confucianism in Japanese politics to rewrite the constitution and reorganize the government.
What was the Fujiwara Clan’s influence towards Japan?
The Fujiwara family used their power to better their own lives. However, they also kept peace in Japan for nearly three centuries, which helped Japanese culture blossom during the Heian period.
How was Literature, beauty, entertainment used in Heian Culture?
Beauty was a main factor in the Heian Culture, women had to powder their face white, put blush on, paint over their lips, make their teeth black, and pluck out all their eyebrow hairs just to gain a ranking.
Entertainment was another essential in the Heian Culture the main activities involved were horse riding, sumo wrestling, and archery contests. These contests tested, artistic, athletic, and poetic.
Literature was also a main factor in the Heian Culture. In Japan, Poetry was apart of the daily life. The Japanese would write poems every day in the mornings inside of their diary. If someone wrote you a poem during the Heian Kyo Period you were expected to write back in the same style, mood, and imagery.
What social ranks/rules did the Heian Culture follow? Where they?
They thought that your ranking was completely determined by your birth family. To them it mattered more that qualities or skills. They used fans to determined their rank (the number of folds) . The social ranking system had 9 main ranks. High nobles appointed the top 3 ranks. Less important officials filled the 5th ranks. The nine main ranks were divided into classes, such as senior and junior, upper and lower. In total there were 30 subranks.
How did the samurai train?
The samurai trained spiritually, mentally, physically (military fighting), they trained in writing and literature, and lastly for tea ceremonies.
What values did Samurai live by?
It called on samurai to be honest, fair, and fearless in the face of death, and samurai were expected to value loyalty and personal honor even more than their lives.
How did religion impact Samurai’s lives?
They used to believe that all of Japan’s emperors were descendants of the gods and goddesses. Shinto and Zen Buddhism were practiced by many. Shinto was for their daily life, and Buddhism and Zen were for preparing for life to come, enlightenment, etc.
How did the status of women change overtime?
The position of women in samurai society declined over time. In the 12th century, the women of the warrior class enjoyed honor and respect, but by the 17th century, samurai women were treated as inferior to their husbands.
How are samurais similar to/different from medieval European knights
The code of Bushido, like the code of chivalry in medieval Europe, governed a samurai’s life.
