Japan - Midterm

Mahayana

"Great Vehicle" Consisting of saints who have become enlightened but who unselfishly delay nirvana to help others attain it as well, as the Buddha did. The primary practice of Buddhism

Ariwara no Narihara

"Hero" of the Ise Monogatari, Japanese courtier and poet, many renowned love affairs.

Amaterasu no Omikami

"great deity shining in the sky" ancestress of the imperial family of japan traditionally symbolized by a mirror called Yatano Kagami preserved in the Ise Shrine

What are the four plates that make up Japan's geography?

1) Eurasian plate 2) North American plate 3) Philippine Plate 4) Pacific Plate

Jomon

A hunter-gatherer culture that achieved a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity. Rich with tools and jewelry made from bone, stone, and shell

In what sort of locations can the dominant type of settlement of these people be found and what was their protein staple?

A number of Jomon settled in pit dwellings located away from the shores due to fear of tsunamis; these Jomon obtained their food from gathering, fishing, and hunting.

Mandate of heaven

A principle used to justify the power of the Emperor of China. The Zhou created this idea that there could only be one ruler legitimate ruler of China at a time, that this ruler had the blessing of the gods. When a ruler was overthrown, it meant he lost his blessing for being unjust. The Zhou used this principle to overthrow the Shang.

Gishi wajinden

An account of the people of Wa

Explain the rise of this culture in terms of the global warming stating at the end of the last Ice Age.

At the end of the Last Ice Age, sea waters rose which separated the Japanese archipelago.

Murasaki Shikibu

Author of "The Tale of Genji", managed to acquire fluency in Chinese, despite Heian woman being excluded from learning.

Sei Shonagon

Author of the Pillow Book.

What are the social and religious consequences of this position on the globe?

Because of how consolidated everyone is, the Japanese have learned to get along with each other and are very polite. Shintoism included respect for nature and the concept of kami.

What was the main objective of premodern Chinese thought?

Benevolence to obedience, reflected by the 5 Relationships

Five Classics

Book of changes, Book of documents, Book of poetry, Book of rites, Spring and Autumn Annals.

Pillow Book

Book of observations, musings, and gossip on events in courts, personal thoughts, and opinions of contemporaries. Valuable as a historical document.

Describe the religious changes occurring in Japan at the same time as the rise to power by the warrior class and the disintegration of the Chinese style imperial state.

Buddhism had initially been kept to the nobility as they were literate, but progressively reached the lower ranks over time. The Tendai sect had favored nobility and received private estates and wages, indicating the corruption that was present in the imperial state. Honen establishes the Pure Land sect and preaches against and exposes the Tendai sect, resulting in his exile. Shinran reignites the Pure Land sect with ideas of caring for others as cost of entry to paradise. After the invasions of Kubilai Khan, Zen buddhism began to spread with the Rinzai Zen school and the Soto Zen school with the upsurge of newfound unity and Japanese nationalism.

What were some of the immediate results of the adoption of Buddhism?

Buddhist temples were assembled that also functioned as schools, hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages, and refuges for old people. Possibly inspired literacy in order to understand scriptures.

Tale of Genji

Classic work of Japanese literature, renowned for its internal consistency despite 400 different characters, the "first novel". Genji born to Emperor and low-ranking concubine, removed from line of succession, wants to **** his mom, has a shit ton of affairs, kidnaps a child to raise to be his wife, ****s his mom anyway and has a child that overthrows his father, no real plot.

What are the common characteristics of the Chinese culture sphere?

Confucianism, Literary Chinese was the language of administration and scholarship, Chinese characters, Cuisine.

Yamato

Dominant native ethnic group of Japan (Wa)

When and by whom was Buddhism brought to Japan?

During the Asuka period (538-710), where a Korean king sent over a gift consisting of monks and image of Buddha to Emperor Kinmei of Japan.

Kanmu

Emperor Kanmu of Japan, initiated the relocation of the capitol to avoid conflicts with monks. Action proved to be disastrous.

Explain the central tenets of Buddhism.

Existence is suffering, suffering has a cause which is craving and attachment, there is a cessation of suffering (nirvana), and there is a path to nirvana.

Five Element Theory

Fire, water, earth, wood, metal. This element system is embedded into the Chinese writing system.

Fujiwara-kyo

First capital built on a grid-pattern on a Chinese model.

Gokinai

Five home provinces during the Asuka period. Settsu, Yamashiro, Yamato, Kawachi, Izumi.

Shinran

Founder of the Jodo Shinshu, first priest to marry, believed that taking care of others is the way to enter paradise

Honen

Founder of the Jodo or Pure Land Sect, his doctrine of faith in Amida and nenbutsu chants become threat to existing sects, resulting in his religious titles being stripped and banished to Shikoku and dies in exile.

Pimiko

Himiko is the modern pronunciation, meaning "the honorable child of the sun" and is claimed to be the descendant of the sun goddess. Received 100 bronze mirrors that became a sign of political power.

Ritsuryo

Historical law system based on the principles of Confucianism and Chinese legalism.

What are the four main islands of Japan?

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu.

Fujiwara no Michinaga

Most successful bureaucrat of the Fujiwara clan, dominated the court for 30 years, two sisters married emperors whose 4 daughters married more emperors.

Bodhisattva

Humans who have attained enlightenment during a previous existence, and although for that reason that they were entitled to enter Nirvana, they chose to be reborn as teachers of mankind instead. They are characterized by attaining enlightenment without effort in childhood. They can be recognized by their elongated earlobes.

When and by what route was agriculture introduced to Japan?

Incorporation of metalworks led to updated tools to better rice farming practices.

Give an overview of modern Japan's geographical location, its general geological configuration, and the basic facts of its meteorological position in East Asia.

Japan is an archipelego, surrounded by water, subject to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis, many mountains that result in poor agriculture which causes a reliance on seafood and trade.

What do we know about their culture, world view and/or religion? In what sense can we call them Japanese?

Jomon culture valued fertility and the female body; practiced phallicism which is indicative of the stress for fertility. The name is derived from the "cord markings" that characterize the ceramics made at the time.

10 Evils

Killing, stealing, adultery, lying, use of immoral language, slander, equivocation, covetousness, anger, false views.

Heian-kyo

Kyoto's former name, was the capitol of Japan for nearly 1000 years, housed the nobility at the time.

4 Noble Truths

Life is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, there is a way out and obtain a release from suffering, the way is to follow the eight-fold path.

Heike (Taira)

Major japanese samurai clan

Who was the first European to discover Japan?

Marco Polo

Mt. Hiei

NE of Heian-kyo, where the first temple of the Tendai sect of Buddhism founded, the mountain that. Capitol resides on the SW side of the mountain.

Explain the circumstances of the creation of Japan's classical civilization in terms of the time frame, the set, and the setting.

Nobility remained in the capitol that was relocated several times before ending up on the SW side of Mt. Hiei. Conflicts between monks and the nobility due to unequal pay influenced the relocation. It was believed that the mountains deflected the evil spirits that originated from the NE. The city is arranged based on rank, and is aligned in a North-South fashion. The sun always rises on the Emperor's left

Explain the rise of the Japanese warrior in terms of the political and social environment in which warriors functioned.

Nobility wanted to the proliferate the untaxed lands, in which the state refused to pay for so the nobility needed to hire guards. Abolition of the draft deprives provincial governor of a constant supply of manpower to police the public.

Who patronized Buddhism and why?

Oda Nobunaga actively suppressed Buddhist institutions because he feared the increased power of the leading temples and monasteries which sided with his enemies. He favored Christianity for purely political reasons.

Asukadera

One of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan.

Shakyamuni

Originally Siddhartha Shaka, adopts a new name after leaving his previous life behind. After an 18-year meditation quest sitting under the Bodhi or fig tree, he received enlightenment and became the Buddha

5 Deadly Sins

Patricide, matricide, killing a saint, injuring a Buddha, causing discord among a community of monks.

Confucius

Philosopher of how to get along, focused on how to live without friction, was depressed because of Chinese fighting with other Chinese.

6 Realms

Rebirth occurs in any of the six realms. Hell (anger), starving ghosts (greed), beasts (stupidity), blood-thirsty devils (selfishness), human beings, and realm of the gods.

8-fold path

Right Views (learn about Buddhism) Right Intentions (want to follow its teachings) Right Speech (do not say anything contrary to Buddhist teachings) Right Action (act according to Buddha's teachings) Right Livelihood (choose your profession in accordance with teachings) Right Effort (make time for your meditation every day) Right Mindfulness (when you meditate, do not let your mind stray) Right Concentration (try and perceive reality without interference from the senses)

shingon

Shingon was also an esoteric set with mantras that had magic properties, usually done at Mt. Koya. Founder of the Shingon sect was Kobo Daishi who also designed the two syllabaries, Hiragana and Katakana.

Prehistory and history are two different disciplines aiming for the same result: the description of the past. What is the difference in data collection for the two disciplines?

Since prehistory is designated as before anything was written, data collection is limited to analysis of ancient artifacts and remnants. With history, data collection can now analyze writings and such.

haniwa

Terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funeral objects. Haniwa pottery had a part in organizing political hierarchy with their extravagant graves.

Genji (minamoto)

The "teeth and claws" of the Fujiwara clan. Major japanese samurai clan

What was an important Chinese tradition that Japan did not adopt?

The Japanese decided not to adopt the Mandate of heaven, because they wanted to hold power forever.

Why did China's civilization start so early compared to that of Japan?

The Japanese did not have their own writing system at the time, thus no method of writing accounts of history.

Explain the importance of China to Japan.

The Japanese first adopted the Chinese language as their writing system, acquired the practices of Buddhism and Confucianism, adopted the government structure of China, and used their city structure as a guideline for their own development

Who were Japan's earliest inhabitants?

The Jomon

Ise Monogatari

The Tales of Ise, a collection of poems and associated narratives, whose main character is suggested to be Ariwara no Narihara

tendai

The Tendai sect of Buddhism is an esoteric sect, based on oral transmission as opposed to exoteric (studying from book). In this sect, being born a noble was believed to be indicative of being a good person in previous lives, thus nobility assumes they'll enter heaven/paradise with a little push from the Tendai sect. In assistance with the nobles, the Tendai sect gains private estates and riches. Founder was Dengyo Daishi.

What religious, social, economic, and political changes did the new "mode of production" bring about in the Japanese islands?

The Yayoi set the foundations for what would now be known as medieval Japan with the introduction of rice-growing and metalworking, which allowed for a population expansion and weapons and armor production for military purposes. The development of clans and kingdoms as well as the class system would eventually lead to the system of daimyo, samurai, and the Chrysanthemum Throne with a line of emperors that would remain unbroken to this day.

Yayoi

The Yayoi would mark the transition of Japanese society from bands of hunter-gatherers with little contact with others to an agrarian, metalworking, political, and militarized society. Three major symbols of the culture were the bronze mirror, bronze sword, and the royal seal stone. In comparison to the Jomon, the Yayoi people were taller, high and narrow faces, flat brow ridges and noses.

Nara-kyo

The capital during most of the Nara period.

Karma

The causes of suffering results in accumulation of bad karma, which in turn forces us to be reborn every time we die to start the cycle of suffering again.

What is Japan's classical civilization? What were the characteristics of it? Why do we call it classical?

The civilization is ruled by ritsuryo; consisting of the penal code, the ritsu, the civil code, and the ryo. Written by nobility of Japan, primarily the Fujiwara clan that resided in Heian-kyo. Rank determines position and income. We call it classical because it set the standard for future Japanese culture and organization.

Asuka

The imperial capital of Japan during the Asuka period.

Asuka Daibutsu

The large statues of Buddha

What was Jibenguo/Zipangu?

The name Marco Polo gave Japan before it was declared Japan.

Why is Eastern Japan the home of warrior culture?

The samurai were exiled there until they built up enough people to form the Genji clan.

Three Kingdom period

The tri-division of China between the states of Wei (north), Wu (south), and Han (west).

The period of overlap between prehistory and history is known as proto-history. Describe the characteristics of Japan's proto-historical period.

There are some incidences of writing, some inscriptions on swords and pottery, Himiko/Pimiko's story counts along with the Gishi wajinden.

Five Relationships

Vertical relationships that are essential for a harmonious society. Ruler and ruled, father and son, husband and wife, older brother and younger brother, older friend and younger friend.

6 Robbers

We suffer because of the delusions caused by the robbers: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and ordinary consciousness.

Yin-yang cosmology

When heaven and earth were formed, they were divided into yin and yang. Yang is generated from yin, and yin is generated from yang. When these two attain a stage of harmony, human life is created.

What was the function of Buddhism in transmitting Chinese civilization to Japan?

With the adoption of Buddhism, Japan borrowed more ideas and technologies from China such as: new systems of farming and irrigation, confucian ideas and teachings, a more accurate calendar, and the Chinese written language Kanji.

fault zone

areas with prominent seismic activity

4 Pains

birth, old age, sickness, and death

kubi vs atama

both mean neck, kubi is more commonly used.

dotaku

bronze bell

Kofun

burial mounds

mappo

end of the law

samurai

from saburau = to serve

jinja

granaries/shrines

3 Poisons

greed, anger, and ignorance

plate tectonics

is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of 7 large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of the Earth's lithosphere, over the last hundreds of millions of years.

yoroi

japanese armor

What are the characteristics of the Warrior culture?

organized in bands, led by a leader who provided horses, equipment, and training. leaders were often strongmen of ancient local nobility, former provincial governors with local ties, former imperial princes. utilized horses and archery for mobility. equipped with katana and tachi; katana for head removals, tachi for ritual suicides

seppuku

ritual suicide using the tachi, only way to die with honor for samurai after failure.

kaizuka

shell mounds

kami

spirits found in nature

hinode

sunrise

shoen

tax exempt private estates

What is civilization?

techniques humans use to live in a dense population.

agricultural revolution

the ability to grow more grains than you can eat combined with the ability to preserve your supplies forms the foundation of the creation of wealth. This is the beginning of a new age, for the accumulation of wealth leads to far-reaching societal changes such as: specialization/professions, social hierarchy, political organization and state formation.

amida

the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism

hinomaru

the round disk of the sun

yumiya no michi

the way of the bow and arrow

Kofun period

where the religion of Shinto emerges from the beliefs of previous eras and the Yamato Clan rise to power and eventually become the imperial family. The period is named after the style of burial mounds used during this time.

phallicism

worship of the phallus, especially as a symbol of power, fertility, or of the generative principle of nature