Kingaku Temple in Kyoto, Japan

c. A.D. 300Yayoi peopleorganize into clans

A.D. 646Taika reformsstrengthenemperors powers

1192Rule byshogunsbegins

c. 1300sNoh playsfirst performed

A.D. 300 A.D. 700 1100 1500A.D. 300 A.D. 700 1100 1500

Medieval Japan

Early JapanPhysical geography plays a role in how civilizations develop. Japans

islands and mountains have shaped its history. The Japanesedeveloped their own unique culture but looked to China as amodel.

Shoguns and SamuraiConflict often brings about great change. Japans emperors lost power

to military leaders. Warrior families and their followers foughteach other for control of Japan.

Life in Medieval JapanReligion influences how civilization develops and culture spreads. The

religions of Shinto and Buddhism shaped Japans culture. Farmers,artisans, and merchants brought wealth to Japan.

View the Chapter 5 video in the Glencoe Video Program.

Chapter Overview Visitca.hss.glencoe.com for a preview of Chapter 5.

293

Categorizing Information Make this foldable to help you organize informationabout the history and culture of medieval Japan.

Reading and WritingAs you read the chapter,organize your notes by writing the main ideas with supportingdetails under theappropriate heading.

Step 1 Mark the midpoint of theside edge of a sheet of paper. Jap an

Early Japan

Shoguns and Samurai

Life in Medieval

Japan

Draw a markat the midpoint

Step 2 Turn thepaper and fold ineach outside edgeto touch at themidpoint. Label as shown.

Step 3 Open and labelyour foldable as shown.

http://ca.hss.glencoe.com

Forming your own m

en-

tal images will hel

p you

remember what yo

u

read.

Visualize by forming mental images of the text as you read.Imagine how the text descriptions look, sound, feel, smell, or taste.Look for any pictures or diagrams on the page that may help youadd to your understanding. Read the following passage and answerthe questions that follow.

What part of the city can youbest visualize? Why?

How do you picture the nobleshouses of the city?

What words helped you visualizethe city and the houses?

The city of Nara looked much likeChinas capital of Changan, only smaller. Ithad broad streets, large public squares,government offices, Buddhist temples, andShinto shrines. Nobles and their familieslived in large, Chinese-style homes. Thetypical home of a noble had wooden walls,a heavy tile roof, and polished woodenfloors. It also included an inner garden.

from page 303

Visualizing

Read the following paragraph. As you read, use the underlineddetails to form a picture in your mind.

Visualizing helps youorganize ideas in yourhead before you write,especially when usinggraphic organizers.Read The First Settlersin Section 1. Use atable to write two factsabout each group whosettled Japan.

Read to Write

Unlike Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples were built inthe Chinese style. They had massive tiled roofs held upby thick, wooden pillars. The temples were richly deco-rated. They had many statues, paintings, and altars.

Around their buildings, the Japanese created gardensdesigned to imitate nature in a miniature form. Some ofthese gardens had carefully placed rocks, raked sand,and a few plants.

from pages 311312

A Zen monk sits in aJapanese rock garden.

Based on the descriptionabove, try to visualize how aJapanese Buddhist templemay have looked. Now look atthe photo to the right. How closely does it match

your mental picture? Now reread the passage and

look at the picture again. Didyour ideas change?

What other words would youuse to describe the picture?

Compare your image withwhat others in your classvisualized. Discuss how yourmental picture differed fromtheirs.

295

Read the chapter and list three sub-jects or events that you were able tovisualize. Make a rough sketch ordrawing showing what you visualized.

Early Japan

HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH7.5 Studentsanalyze the geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures of thecivilizations of MedievalJapan.

Looking Back, Looking AheadDuring the Middle Ages, another

civilization developed in East Asia. Itarose on the islands of Japan off thecoast of the Korean Peninsula.

Focusing on the Japans mountains and islands isolated

Japan and shaped its society.(page 297)

Japan was settled by people whocame from northeast Asia. They wereorganized into clans and ruled bywarriors.(page 298)

Prince Shotoku created Japans firstconstitution and borrowed manyideas from China. (page 299)

The Japanese religion called Shintowas based on nature spirits. (page 301)

Meeting PeopleJimmu (jeemmu)Shotoku (shohTOHkoo)

Locating PlacesJapan (juhPAN)Hokkaido (hahKYdoh)Honshu (HAHNshoo)Shikoku (shihKOHkoo)Kyushu (keeOOshoo)

Content Vocabularyclan (KLAN)constitution

(KAHNstuhTOOshuhn)animism (AnuhMIHzuhm)shrine (SHRYN)

Academic Vocabularyoccur (uhKUHR)portion (POHRshuhn)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Create a diagram to show the basic beliefs ofthe Shinto religion.

c. A.D. 300Yayoi peopleorganize into clans

c. A.D. 550Yamoto clanrules most of Japan

A.D. 646Taika reformsstrengthenemperors powers

A.D. 300 A.D. 500 A.D. 700A.D. 300 A.D. 500 A.D. 700

Shinto Religion

296 CHAPTER 5 Medieval Japan

WH7.5 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan.

N

S

W E

Lambert Conformal Conic projection400 km0

400 mi.0

30N

40N

130E 140E

150

PACIFICOCEAN

Sea of Japan(East Sea)

YellowSea

Honshu

ShikokuKyushu

Mt.Fuji

Hokkaido

Edo(Tokyo)

KamakuraNara

Heian(Kyoto)

Geography of Japan

CHAPTER 5 Medieval Japan 297

Japans Geography Japans mountains and islands isolated

Japan and shaped its society.

Reading Connection Have you ever been in a placewith no television, radio, or telephone? How would youfeel if you did not know what was going on outside yourhome? Read to learn how Japans geography isolatedthe Japanese and shaped their society.

Japan (juh PAN) is a chain of islands thatstretches north to south in the northernPacific Ocean. Japans islands number morethan 3,000, and many of them are tiny. Forcenturies, most Japanese have lived on thefour largest islands: Hokkaido (hah KY doh), Honshu (HAHN shoo), Shikoku (shih KOH koo), and Kyushu (kee OO shoo).

Like China, much of Japan is covered bymountains. In fact, the islands of Japan areactually the tops of mountains that risefrom the floor of the ocean. About 188 ofJapans mountains are volcanoes. Manyearthquakes occur in Japan because theislands lie in an area where parts of theearths surface often shift.

Because of Japans mountains, onlyabout 20 percent of its land can be farmed.Throughout Japans history, local armiesoften fought over the few patches of fertile

farmland. Just as in ancient Greece, therugged terrain forced many Japanese toturn to the sea for a living. Early on, theysettled in villages along the coast and fishedfor food. Fish and seafood are still animportant element in the Japanese diet.

The sea surrounding Japans islandsmade it easy for people in ships to travelalong the coast and from island to island. Itencouraged people to become merchants,traveling from village to village with goodsto trade. The vast ocean around Japansislands, however, kept the Japanese peopleisolated, or separate, from the rest of Asia.As a result, Japan developed its ownintensely independent society with its ownreligion, art, literature, and government.

Describe How did Japansgeography shape its society?

Mount Fuji is an important national symbol.How did the regions mountains affect earlysettlement in Japan?

1. Regions List, from north to south, the four major islandsthat make up Japan.

2. Location What body of water separates Japan frommainland Asia?

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Masao Hayashi/Dunq/Photo Researchers

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

WH7.5 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan.

The First SettlersJapan was settled by people who came

from northeast Asia. They were organized into clansand ruled by warriors.Reading Connection Do you have many relatives?Do your relatives all come together to do things? Readto learn how the early Japanese people were organizedinto groups made up of people who were all related toeach other.

Japans earliest people probably camefrom northeast Asia between 30,000 B.C. and10,000 B.C. At that time, Japan was joined tothe Asian continent by land. These earlypeople hunted animals and gathered wildplants. They used fire and stone tools, andthey lived in pits dug into the ground.

Who Were the Yayoi? About 300 B.C., anew group of people appeared in Japan.Modern archaeologists have named thisculture Yayoi (YAH yoy), after the place inJapan where they first dug up its artifacts.

The Yayoi were the ancestors of theJapanese people. They introduced farmingto Japan and practiced a number of skillsthat they might have learned from theChinese and Koreans. They made potteryon a potters wheel and grew rice in paddies.A paddy is a rice field that is flooded whenrice is planted and drained for the harvest.

The Yayoi also were skilled in metal-working. They made axes, knives, and hoesfrom iron, and swords, spears, and bellsfrom