Japan

Important terms from ancient Japan to modern Japan

Bureaucracy

A system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

Commodore Mathew Perry

Forced Japan open to trade sent by President Millard Fillmore to persuade (with force if necessary) Japan to open its doors to trade with the West.

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai. Similar to China's gentry and Europe's landlords.

Emperor

The ruler of Japan claimed to be the descendant of the God Amaterasu. Ruler until they became a figurehead.

Minamoto Yoritomo

Japan's first shogun and created the first Shogunate. Moved the capital at the time to Kamakura.

Samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to the Shogun in return for land.

Shogunate

The government of the shogun; the advisors of the shogun were called this. First made by the first Shogun called Minamoto Yoritomo.

Hideyoshi

1536-1598 Suspicious of the Europeans, kicks out foreign missionaries and bans Christianity. He also unified Japan under one Shogun again.

Fujiwara

Aristocratic family that dominated the Japanese imperial court between the ninth and twelfth centuries.

Shogun

A general who ruled Japan in the emperor's name

Tokugawa Ieyasu of Japan

Established the Edo Shogunate, restricted marriage to your own social class, persecuted Christian Japanese, closed off trade except from the Dutch, and founded the Tokugawa Dynasty.

Yamato Clan (Tenno)

The first clan to unite most all of Japan. During this clan ideas from the Chinese were taken and implemented into Japan such as written language, government structure, Confucianism, and Chinese art and architecture.

Hirohito

Emperor of Japan during WWII

Mutsuhito

Young emperor (enlightened one) of Japan took control of the nation's government from the shogun in 1867. He led a reform and modernization movement in Japan that resulted in it being a world power

Kyoiku mama

A Japanese pejorative term which translates literally as "education mother". Is a term that refers to a mother who relentlessly drives her child to study. The measure of a successful mother is a successful kid.

General Douglas MacArthur

Commander of the US forces in the Philippine Islands directed the Allied occupation of Japan

Prince Shotoku

Japanese leader who brought Chinese culture to Japan. Taika's "Great Change"

Okinawa

The U.S. Army in the Pacific had been pursuing an "island-hopping" campaign

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Two Japanese cities on which the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs to end World War II.

Kyoto

the capital city of medieval Japan
traditional home of the Imperial court (Emperor's court)

Manchuria and Korea

2 regions that Russia and Japan fought over

Edo

Tokugawa capital city; modern-day Tokyo; center of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Heian

Capital city of Japan under the Yamato emperors

Taika

The reforms enacted in 646 by Prince Shotoku that intended to thoroughly incorporate chinese culture and politics into Japanese society

Heian Court

Lasted from AD 794 to 1192. It was an imperial court that ruled Japan during a period of peace and security. It was from the Fujiwara Family. Eventually it lost credibility through its extravagance and waste and was replaced by feudalism.

Meiji

(1852-1912) Emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912. He was responsible for the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the rapid modernization and industrialization of Japan.

Shinto

"Way of the Gods"; Japanese worship of nature spirits

Kami

Any sacred being worshipped in Shinto including nature spirits and ancestors

Buddhism

the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire

Zen Buddhism

a Buddhist sect that emphasizes enlightenment through meditation and stresses simplicity and discipline

Matsuri

Festivals held every spring and fall to please the kami of each Japanese clan and village

4 Affirmations

1. Tradition and family must be honored.2. Love of nature3. Physical cleanliness4. Rituals and Celebrations must be honored.

Archiplego

A chain of islands

Battle of Midway Island

A naval and air battle fought in World War II in which planes from American aircraft carriers blunted another assault on Hawaii and did enough damage to halt the Japanese advance. Was a major turning point in the war against Japan.

Bushido

the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai during the Feudal period.

Diet

The new legislature of the Japanese during the Meiji Restoration.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king

Figurehead

A person who appears to rule even though real power rests with someone else

Gaman

Enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity

Island Hopping

The strategy of the Allies in World War 2 of capturing some Japanese-held islands and going around others. The goal was to get close enough to Japan to bomb it's mainland.

Juku

An additional school in Japan for preparing students for college. Also called "cram schools"

Kana

in the Japanese writing system

Kumi

Japanese homeroom

Keiretsu

Japanese business groups after the post-WWII dismantling of the zaibatsu. They are Alliances of corporations each often centered around a bank. They dominate the post-WWII Japanese economy.

Megalopolis

a very large

Militarism

A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war

Monsoon

rainy season in southern Asia when the southwestern monsoon blows

Russo-Japanese War

A 1904-1905 conflict between Russia and Japan

Seppuku

Ritual suicide or disembowelment in Japan; commonly known in the West as hara-kiri; demonstrated courage and a means to restore family honor.

Typhoon

A tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian oceans

Zaibatsu

The large family-controlled monopolies that controlled all of the resources in Japan. Made it cheap for Japan to construct things and get resources.

Sensei

A term of respect and title of special honor given equally to kindergarten teachers and university presidents. Teachers are expected to assume a parent-like role toward their students.

Treaty of Kanagawa

1854 treaty between Japan and the US. Japan agreed to open two ports to American