Japan: Geography and Early History

On your map, label:

❑ Japan ❑ N. Korea (NK) ❑ S. Korea (SK) ❑ Russia ❑ Mongolia ❑ China ❑ Pacific Ocean

Japan is an Archipelago (Chain of many small Islands)

Japan is very mountainous (4/5ths of Japan is a mountain!!!!) and has very little

arable Land- so it uses terrace farming

Mount Fuji

Terrace Farming examples

Japan gets a lot of its food from the sea. This is another way they adapted to their geography

Japan has very few natural resources

Iron ore

Coal

Japan has a very high Population Density (a lot of people in a small space)

Population: • California:

38,802,500 • Japan:

127,103,388

Land mass (sq. km) • California

423,967 • Japan

377,915

Japan is a little smaller than California but has more than 3 times the population

In Japan, there are people employed as “pushers” who push people onto the train during rush hour so more people can fit) See a video here: https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLK9VU9JSfc&list=PL7-MIQJGkdsfXXLQ-W-2uzRr-YaPpaESD

A capsule hotel is a type of hotel developed in Japan that features

a large number of extremely small "rooms" (capsules) intended to provide cheap, basic overnight accommodation for guests who

do not require the services offered by more conventional

hotels. There are also “regular” hotels in Japan, but these are helpful to provide more cheap rooms for such a big population

Japan is a homogeneous Society (people all have the same genes, ethnicity and basic culture)

(America is the opposite of a homogenous culture; we are very DIVERSE)

Japanese religion is a blending of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and

Shintoism

-Spirits in Nature -Similar to animism

The Japanese have a truerespect for nature

They practice Selective Borrowing which is when a country deliberately takes on only certain aspects of a culture (ideas mostly came from

China and Korea)

– Missionaries from China introduced Buddhism, Confucianism and writing

– Japan sent people to China to study their government, art, science, literature, etc.

– Ignored ideas like the civil service test which did not fit with their culture (in Japanese culture you inherited your position rather than having to earn it through a test)

Korea acts as a cultural “bridge” between China and Japan

Japanese Feudalism

Feudalism: Social Hierarchy Comparison

Name: ________________________________________

Rulers

Landowners

Warriors

Lowest Class

The Church: Also had political power

The Emperor: Was just a figurehead

Europe Japan

King

Samurai

Daimyo

Shogun

Peasants/Serfs

Knights

Nobles

Peasants (Farmers, Craftsmen, Merchants)

Feudalism is a system in which land is exchanged for military service and loyalty

• It provided social & political stability because everyone had a clear place/role in society

• It provided a way for rulers to preserve law and order

• It is very similar to European feudalism

Samurais followed Bushido (a strict code of behavior) similar to chivalry that European knight’s followed.

Tokugawa Shogunate• The Tokugawa shoguns gained control of Japan

in the 1600s o Tokugawa= the name of the warrior family that

ruled Japan from 1603-1863 o Shogun= the leader of Japan’s military (this job

was hereditary/inherited)

• Increase in social order/ stability oMore peaceful conditions oMore trade and travel on rivers and roads oGrowth of cities

• Tokugawa shoguns enforced a policy of isolationism. o 1600-Missonaries, Japanese Christians, and foreigners

are persecuted o 1639They banned almost all contact with the outside

world

▪Foreigners cannot come in

▪ Japanese cannot come back if they leave

▪Not allowed to build oceangoing ships

o Strengthens homogeneous culture & leads to a more

unified nation