 | Term | Definition |
| |
Four Largest Islands of Japan |
Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku |
| |
Lacking Resources |
coal, oil and iron |
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Natural Threats |
earthquakes, tidal waves and typhoons |
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Shinto |
"way of the gods" --> Japan's earliest religion; it had no complex rituals or philosophy; based on repect for the forces of nature |
| |
kami |
spirits that lived in trees, rocks, waterfalls and mountains |
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Yamato Emperors |
claimed to be descendents of Amaterasu; werefigure heads only and the power was controled by various strong clans who ruled in the emperor's name |
| |
Buddhism |
thisreligion was brought to Japan in 700s and was combined with Shinto beliefs and rituals |
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Prince Shotoku |
served as a regent for his aunt Empress Suiko, in 607, he sent the first three missions to Tang China |
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Tang China |
the dynasty that ruled China during the time of the missions from Japan |
| |
Missions to Tang China |
600 scholars, painters, musicians, and monks traveled on each mission in order to study from China firsthand |
| |
Writing System |
adapted from Chinese after it was brought to Japan by the Koreans |
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Chinese Ways of life |
Japanese took simple activities such as cooking, gardening, drinking tea and hairdressing |
| |
Last Mission |
the imperial court had decided that it had learned enough from the Tang dynasty which had fallen into decline |
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Heian |
the capital was moved from Nara to this city (modern day Kyoto) in 794 |
| |
Heian Period |
era of highly refined court society from 794-1185, the Fujiwara family held power |
| |
Rules of the Heian Court |
dictated the length of a sword, color of official robes, forms of address |
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Poor Etiquette |
loud laughter and mismatched clothing |
| |
Lady Murasaki Shikibu |
wrote the Tale of Genji which is about the life of a prince in the imperial court |
| |
Sei Shonagon |
published her diary into a book and titled it "The Pillow Book" |
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Large Landowners in the Countryside |
these people set up private armies to protect them, small landowners traded parts of their land to a strong warlord in exchange for protection |
| |
samurai |
a bodygaurd of loyal warriors and lived according to a demanding code |
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Bushido |
the code which expected warriors to show reckless courage, reverence for the gods, fairness and generosity to the weak |
| |
shogun |
"supreme general of the emperor's army" |
| |
Yoritomo |
the emperor in 1192 C.E. gave this Minamoto leader the title of Shogun |
| |
Kamakura Shoguns |
powerful shoguns that blocked the two invasion attempts from Kublai Khan |
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