Early Japanese History and Society

Flashcards covering early Japanese geography, the Ainu, clan structures, the Yamato rule, Shinto, Prince Shotoku's influence, and the impact of Chinese and Korean culture.

What consists of the top of undersea mountains and volcanoes?

The islands of Japan

How far is China from the Japanese islands?

About $400\,miles$

How far is Korea from the Japanese islands?

About $100\,miles$

What percentage of the land in Japan is flat?

$$20\%$$

Where did the people in Japan build their houses?

On flat areas near the sea

What were the primary food sources for the early Japanese due to being near the sea?

Seafood and seaweed

What was the name of the group that spoke a different language, looked different, and was forced to move to Hokkaido?

The Ainu

Where were the ancestors of the Ainu believed to have come from?

Siberia in eastern Russia

What was the structure of the small farming villages that eventually became the Japanese society?

They were ruled by clans

What is a clan?

A group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent

What were the political and religious duties of the clan chief?

Led the rituals honoring the clan's ancestors

In Japanese belief, what are the spirits found in everything in nature?

Kami

What traditional Japanese religion grew out of the rituals honoring the kami?

Shinto

Which clan from the Yamato region of western Honshu took over much of Honshu by the $500s$?

The Yamato clan

The Yamato rulers claimed to be descended from which goddess?

The goddess of the sun

What did the Yamato rulers call themselves?

The emperors of all Japan

How did the early Japanese record their language before developing their own writing system?

They wrote in Chinese

How long did the Japanese use Chinese characters to represent Japanese sounds before writing in Japanese?

$$200\,years$$

What early tools were brought from Korea that helped the Japanese economy and agriculture grow?

Iron tools such as the hoe and spade

Who served as a regent for his aunt, the empress, from $593$ to $621$ and brought Chinese ideas to Japan?

Prince Shotoku

What philosophy did Prince Shotoku teach the Japanese about regarding family behavior?

Confucianism

According to Confucianism, who should rule their families?

Fathers

In Confucianism, who should younger brothers obey?

Older brothers

What religion did Prince Shotoku work to spread by ordering temples to be built?

Buddhism