Japan

japan l geography & religion

I Origins

• c. 500—the Yamato clan united the Japanese

  • believed their chiefs descended from a sun goddess

    • Gave them the right to rule

II. Geography

• Japan is an archipelago

  • a stretch of sea with many islands

  • Affect of mountains

    • little arable land

      • suitable for growing crops

    • ate more seafood as a result

III. Animism

• definition

  • Belief all of nature has a soul

    • e.g. rocks, trees, creatures

• Belief of most Japanese

• Natural disasters common in Japan—impact?

  • Make nature happy, no disasters

IV. Shinto(ism)

• traditional religion of Japan

• example of Animism

• no founder or holy book

• focuses on nature & Kami

  • spirits

  • they exist in “earthly” objects like trees & mountains.

  • people connect w/ Kami through rituals

  • Humans become Kami in death

V. Ancestor Worship

• Japanese worshipped dead ancestors

  • At death, your soul reunited w/ dead ancestors

• The living hold ceremonies to respect the dead

  • Their dead ancestors strengthen & protect family

    • Called “guardian deities”

VI. Buddhist Influence

• 552—Buddhism reached Japan from China and Korea

  • blended well w/ Shintoism

  • why did it arrive in Japan later than China & Korea?

    • Japan is further away from India (origin)

    • isolated (island)

Japan II foreign influence

I. Cultural Blending

• Japan borrowed four cultural elements from China & Korea:

            1.strong central gov.

            2. Buddhism

            3. Confucianism

            4. writing/language

• caused cultural blending

  • when one culture interacts w/ another & adopts aspects of it

    • think of examples

II. Central Government

• China believed in the Mandate of Heaven—what was it?—T&T

  • Emperors’ right to rule was divine

    • of or from God

    • but a bad emperor could lose that right to rule

  • japan adapted this concept

    • believed the emperor’s right to rule was permanent

      • led to stability