SBA #3 - East Asia (Japan)

7.08 - describe the origins and central features of Shintoism

7.09 - explain how Japanese culture changed through Chinese and Korean influences

7.10 - describe how the Heian aristocracy contributed to the development of Japanese national culture.

7.11 - analyze the rise of a military society in the late 12th century and the role of the shogun and samurai in Japanese society.

animism - believing that objects have a soul

kami - a sacred power or force that can be found in nature. Can be ancestors, spirits, supernatural powers, or forces of nature

bushido code - a code of conduct that governed a samurai's life

Prince Shotokuruled - as regent of Japan 574-622. He strongly supported Chinese culture and Buddhism and encouraged close ties with China.

cultural diffusion - the spread of cultural elements from one society to another

samurai a Japanese warrior

feudalism - an economic & political system that was developed in the middle ages

shinto - a Japanese religion that combines the worship of ancestors & spirits called kami

hierarchy - a system of organizing people into ranks with higher ranks having more power and privilege

shogun - head of the Japanese military government in the era of the samurai

Japan’s native religion

No founder or sacred texts

super old

Shintoism means “the way of the life of the kami”

Gods are known as kami, drive away spirits

Kami inhabit trees, boulders, mountains, and waterfalls, (natural and powerful forces)

Pilgrimages to pay respects

Buddism arrived in Japan in → 6th century

China and Korea

CONFLICTS, but later coexist

Enlightenment

Four Noble Truths

Deep meditation, zen

Adaptation of Buddhism

Meditation, masters of discipline, self-contemplation, intuition

Serving tea → Zen ritual

Religious practices

Involved in nature