Medieval Japan

Medieval Japan

1. Religion

   • Polytheistic
   • Buddhism.
   • Shinto (the way of the god)
   • Bushido (the way of the warrior)
   • Confucianism (considered a way of life rather than a religion)
   • emperor considered a god
   • During Suclusion period religious cerimonies became important

2. Environment/Geography

   • An archipelago of islands surrounded by water.
   • Lived in mountainous, forest environments
   • Farm land was rare.
   • 20% of land used for farming
   • 4 biggest islands: Honsau, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku.
   • neighbours with: China, Korea

3. Living

   • Lived in timber houses, protection from earthquakes.
   • Several generations lived together
   • castles were built for protection
     • Were very decorative
     • Built from timber but later on built from stone
     • 17th century castle building ended
   • peasants lived in single storied buildings with 1 room

4. Diet

   • Rice was the staple food
   • Ate little meat, ate chicken as meat.
   • Zehn buddhism influenced appearance of food
   • Ate seafood as water surrounded Japan.
   • Meal times were important
   • food was a work of art

5. Society

   • Jomon people, made pots with lines that gave them their name.
   • emperor
     • shogun
       • warrior class + daimyo
         • peasants
           • artisans + craftsmen
             • merchants
               • ronin (samurai with no master)
               • weren't highly regarded
         • included samurai
     • didn't exercise power
     • Lived in Kyoto
     • Izanagi & Izanami were the ancestors of Japanese emperors.
   • Harmony was important
   • Social hierarchy was based on usefulness
   • Izanagi & Izanami put a sword into the water and the droplets that fell off were said to be the islands, this was a myth.
   • original inhabitants of Japan were called ainu

6. Buildings

   • castles were built for protection
     • were built from timber and later stone.
     • were decorative.
   • buildings were mostly made from timber
   • architecture emerged in the 17th century
   • Family home
     • Father was in charge of the household
     • needs of family came before needs of individuals
     • respect for elders was important
     • children were educated for the good of the family

7. Shogun

   • shogun had more power than the emperor
   • Tokugawa shogunate 1603CE - 1868CE
     • Tokugawa shogun renamed Edo to Tokyo
   • Type of military government that gave all power to the shogun or military ruler
   • Edo was the capital where the shogun lived
   • controlled where people built castles
   • 1st shogunate government is established in 1192CE
   • position inherited from father to son.

8. Inventions

   • Origami and Kanji calligraphy,which was originated in China.
   • Calligraphy was used as a form of writing and considered art
   • Art was very special

9. Feudal system

   • A form of the system was used in Japan

10. Art and literature

    • influenced by Zehn buddhism
    • sculpture important in society
    • painting is special
    • woodblock printing-cheap for of art
    • 7 forms of calligraphy
      • Kanji, language used by most educated people
    • origami were used as offerings in temples
      • 8th century paper arrived from China
    • Haiku
      • haiku poetry had17 syllables & 3 lines.
      • no rhyming words
      • 1st line 5 words, 2nd line 7 words, 3rd line 5 words

11. Clothing

    • highest level wore decorative and elaborate garmits.
    • lots of material used because lots of layers
    • government restricted what clothes + colours you could wear
    • yellow, green, red, purple were colours of high status
    • silk valuable, saved for empress
    • peasants + artisans wore practical clothes for working, had better clothes for sunday
    • clothes depicted where you are in the social hierarchy

12. Women

    • Were expected to act like a samurai
    • Had to educate their child
    • Had to complete house work
    • Women married to samurai had to be loyal, brave and take on revenge.
    • women oversaw the harvesting of crops,managed servants, took financial business.
    • Kept a dagger in their sleeve.
    • women had to defend the family home
    • a naginata, considered suitable weapon for women.
    • Had to listen to the men in the family an follow any orders given.

13. Commodore Matthew Perry

    • Came to Japan from the USA in 1853 with 4 warships, with a message saying that they're coming
    • Perry came back in 1854 with 8 ships.
    • a treaty known as the "convention of Kanagawa" was created, this was the end of the isolation period
    • Japanese people hated this treaty
    • New emperor Meiji, decided to upgrade Japan.
      • strict rules eased, land owned by shogun went to emperor, position of samurai was weakend, military conception was mandatory, Japanese army was re-built, language was unified, education became compulsory, freedom of religion, written constitution
      • Meiji - the enlightened rule
    • the shogun collapsed in 1868 because of this

14. Sport

    • sumo wrestling had strict rules
    • several types of marshall arts
    • samurai could carry 2 swords but this was taken away when Meiji became emperor

15. Zehn buddhism

    • concentrated on thoughts and meditation.
    • Japanese gardens
      • Had limited geographical size
      • influenced by Zehn buddhism and Chinese civilisation.
      • included: water, bridge, carefully arranged rocks, lanterns, a pavilion if you had a big garden
      • Bonsai - trimming of a tree in a pot.