Japan's Geography and Political Development

daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

archipelago

A chain of islands

shogun

A general who ruled Japan in the emperor's name

Tokyo

Capital of Japan

samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Daimyo who took control of almost all of Japan

Oda Nobunaga

Defeated his rivals and seized the imperial capital Kyoto in 1568

Minamoto Yoritomo

Founder of the first shogunate, the Kamakura Shogunate

Mount Fuji

Japan's highest mountain peak.

Heian period in Japan

Last division of classical Japanese history. A majority of the religions that were in Japan reached their height during this time period.

Prince Shotoku

Leader who brought Chinese culture to Japan

Edo

Tokugawa capital city; modern-day Tokyo; center of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Lady MUrasaki

Woman given credit for writing the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji.

Tokugawa Shogunate

a dynasty of shoguns that ruled a unified Japan from 1603 to 1867

Ainu

original inhabitants of Japan

Kyoto

the capital city of medieval Japan

Tokugawa Ieyasu

this man established a shogunate that would dominate Japan for hundreds of years

The Tale of Genji

written by Lady Murasaki; first novel in any language; relates life history of prominent and amorous son of the Japanese emperor's son; evidence for mannered style of the Japanese society.