Early Japan Geographic Isolation Japan and China have

Early Japan

Geographic Isolation ►Japan and China have always been very different societies, partly because of their very different geographies. ►While China took shape on the huge Asian Continent-- ►Japan developed on a series of islands.

The Four Main Islands 1. Hokkaido 2. Honshu 3. Shikoku 4. Kyushu

Size and Land ► Japan is only about the size of Montana ► Mountain terrain takes up much of Japan’s 146, 000 square miles. ► Only 11% of the land can be used for farming.

The Rise of the Japanese State ► The Yamato § Organized into clans led by local rulers § Considered the ancestors of the Japanese ► Eventually one Yamato clan became more powerful than the rest. ► Prince Shotoku began to centralize the Yamato government, based on the example of the Tang Dynasty.

Nara Period ► Time ►A after Prince Shotoku’s death Yamato ruler remained the “emperor” ► But the Fujiwara clan was starting to gain more and more control. ► Called the Nara Period, because that’s where the capital city was located.

The Heian Period ► The capital moved to Heian (present day Kyoto) ► “Emperor” was then just a title, with no real political control. ► The Fujiwara clan had all of the real power. ► Japan became decentralized again ► Powerful clan members started hiring samurai to protect them.

Bushido: The way of the warrior

Rise of The Kamakura Shogunate ► By the 12 th century the fighting among the nobles had caused nonstop civil war. ► Minamoto Yoritomo eventually defeated enough of his rivals to claim sole power. ► He established a new system called the shogunate, with the emperor as the figurehead and the shogun (general) as the one really in charge. ► The capital was moved to the same place as modern day Tokyo

Decline of the Kamakura Shogunate ► The system worked from 1192 to 1333 ► In 1281 Kublai Khan and 150, 000 Mongols tried to attack Japan. ► They were famously prevented from conquering Japan when the fleet was destroyed by a giant typhoon. ► But fighting with the Mongols still weakened the stability of the Shogunate.

Fall of the Shogunate ► In 1333 the Ashikaga family overthrew the Shogunate government. ► Throughout early Japanese history, aristocratic families would find ways to avoid paying taxes, and this would make centralized control impossible to maintain. ► These “daimyo” continued to rely on the samurai for protection.

Onin War ► The Onin War, a huge civil war, tore Japan apart from 1467 to 1477 ► Eventually everything remotely like a government just completely broke down. ► By 1500 Japan was in complete chaos. ► The different armies passed through cities burning them to the ground and terrorizing civilians.