Japanese Civilization Terms Midterm (part two)

ryosai kenbo

"Good wife, wise mother", Confucianist ideal of subservient and compliant womanhood that emerged in Tokugawa period

sabi

Age, rust, humble simplicity, refers to Zen-inspired aesthetic of plainness, austerity, and artful imperfection

sakoku

Tokugawa policy of national seclusion enacted early in the 17th century

sankin kotai

"Alternate attendance", Tokugawa policy that required daimyo to establish and maintain official residence in Edo

satori

enlightenment, central tenet of Japanese Buddhism

seishin

spirit, key term in essentialist discourse of Japanese uniqueness

sengoku jidai

"Period of civil strife", century of virtually constant fighting among Japan's daimyo, including Onin War

shingaku

Confucianist ethic of achievement and hard work popular among chonin

shinju

popular genre of Tokugawa drama, whose formulaic plot involves double suicide of star-crossed lovers

shi / no / ko / sho

Samurai / farmer / artisan / merchant, confucianist social hierarchy

shogun

leader of Japan's hereditary feudal administration

sonno joi

"respect the emperor, expel the barbarian", rallying cry of Tokugawa loyalists who wanted to end shogunal rule and counter Western threat

tariki

"power from without", Buddhist notion of reliance upon external agency

tenko

conversion, enforced renunciation of leftist beliefs among writers and intellectuals

tenno

emperor, symbol of Japanese sovereignty and Shinto divinity

terokoya

Schools established in Buddhist temples throughout Japan during the Tokugawa era

torii

gateway to Shinto shrine, iconic symbol of traditional Japan

tsu

Savoir fare, one of the "stylishness" traits admired and emulated by Tokugawa chonin

ukiyo-e

"pictures of the floating world", woodblock-print genre that depicted denizens of the pleasure quarter

waka

orthodox genre of Japanese poetry, verse form of 31 syllables, widespread among Heian courtiers

wa / kan, wa / yo

Japan / China, native Japan vs. adapted Chinese styles

Japan / West, native Japan vs. adapted Western styles

wakon yosai

"Japanese spirit, Western knowledge/technique", Meiji slogan that points to nationalist goals of the state, which envisioned competition with the West as requiring aggressive modernization and an emperor-centered identity

yin / yang

Chinese cosmological principle of complementary opposition, feminine yin element balanced by masculine yang

yukaku

Generic term for Tokugawa-period pleasure quarters

zaibatsu

elite group of family-run industrial and financial combines that controlled economy of pre-war Japan

zazen

seated meditation, gradual path to enlightenment

Amaterasu

Sun goddess of Shinto mythology

Amida

"Saving Buddha" of salvationist Pure Land Sect

Francis Xavier

Portuguese Jesuit who introduced Christianity to Japan

Godaigo

Emperor whose attempt at achieving restoration of strong Imperial rule ended in a secessionist Imperial court and rise of Ashikaga family to the shogunate

Heike

powerful family whose decline and fall is narrated in one of Japan's greatest literary works, the tale of ________

Hideyoshi

peasant who became the greatest military leader of Japan

Hojo

bushi clan that became power behind shogunal throne during the Kamakura period

Ieyasu

great daimyo of the Tokugawa clan who completed reuinification of Japan

Jimmu

mythical first emperor of Japan, descended from Amaterasu

Kannon

Buddha of mercy and compassion

Nichiren

charismatic religious leader who advocated absolute faith in the Lotus Sutra

Nobunaga

Daimyo who began project of national reunification during after century of civil strife

main three leaders responsible for reunification of Japan

Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu

Shotoku Taishi

Imperial regent who succeeded in opening up Japan to Chinese influence

Taira

Warrior clan that dominated Japanese politics under headship of Kiyomori

Tokugawa

clan that succeeded in reunifying Japan under Ieyasu

Yoshimitsu

third Ashikaga shogun, patron of Zen Buddhism