Geography of Japan The Geography of Japan Japan

Geography of Japan

The Geography of Japan � Japan Hokkaido is an archipelago—a chain of islands is made up of four main islands: � Japan Honshu Shikoku Kyushu ◦ ◦ Kyushu Shikoku Honshu Hokkaido

The Geography of Japan � Japan is separated from continental Asia by the Sea of Japan (or East Sea) � The islands of Japan are volcanic islands—which means Japan has a mountainous terrain ◦ Nearly 72% of Japan is considered mountainous � While Japan was isolated for much of its early history, its close proximity to China and Korea allowed for cultural diffusion

Map of China, Japan, and Korea 1) 4 2) 7 6 5 3) 3 4) 2 1 5) 6) 7) Key:

Map of China, Japan, and Korea Key: 1) Kyushu 2) Shikoku 3) Honshu 4) Hokkaido 4 7 6 5 3 2 1 5) 6) 7) Korea Sea of Japan China

Chinese Influence on Japan

Chinese Influence on Japan � Early on Japan isolated itself from China but gradually became sinicized* ◦ Sinification=adopting Chinese culture � Buddhism spread from China and Korea to Japan � The Japanese adopted the Chinese alphabet

Chinese Influence on Japan � Chinese pavilions influenced the Japanese architectural design of the Pagoda � Confucianism was adopted to help run the government ◦ Japan was originally organized into clans that often fought ◦ Chinese influence strengthened Japanese imperialism ◦ The Japanese emperor was seen as divine

Examples of Sinification: Chinese Alphabet Chinese Pavilion Japanese Alphabet Japanese Pagoda

Religion in Japan

Shinto (Shintoism) � Shinto Japan is the ethnic religion of ◦ It is concerned with the creation of Japan and the Japanese people � Shinto was also the state religion of Japan ◦ The emperor was divine and worshiped literally means “the way of the gods” and is both polytheistic and animistic* � Shinto ◦ Animism is the belief in natural spirits (i. e. forests, mountains, rivers, animals, etc. )

Shinto (Shintoism) � The spirits worshiped in Shinto are known as kami ◦ Kami= spirits in nature and ancestral spirits � In Shinto the people and kami occupy the same realm � There are shrines and sites were the natural and supernatural intersect and the kami are worshiped ◦ Torii’s are gates that mark the entrance to sacred sites (the symbol of Shinto)

Buddhism � Buddhism was also practiced in Japan (after it spread from China and Korea) � In Japan Buddhism and Shinto coexisted ◦ Meaning people practiced aspects of both and identified as both

Buddhism � Today the most common form of Buddhism in Japan is Zen Buddhism (or Japanese Zen) � Zen focuses on reaching enlightenment through regular meditation (known as zazen) ◦ Enlightenment does not come from religious doctrine or worship but through personal experience and a teacher (a bodhisattva)