MEDIEVAL JAPAN Class notes Chapter 5 lesson 3

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MEDIEVAL JAPANClass notesChapter 5 lesson 3
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LIFE IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN

• I. JAPANESE RELIGION AND CULTURE
• 1. During the Middle Ages, Japanese people
  practiced both Shinto and Buddhism. There was no
  need to select one religion over the other.
• In the same time period in Europe could
  Europeans practice both Christianity and Judaism
  or Christianity and Islam?

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• 2. By the time it reached Japan, Buddhism had
  divided into different sects, or smaller
  religious groups.
• How many Christian
• religions or sects have
• evolved from the Catholic
• faith in Europe?

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• 3. Pure Land Buddhism was a sect that stressed a
  happy life after death.
• 4. Zen Buddhism is another important sect of
  Buddhism brought to Japan from China. Zen teaches
  that people can find inner peace through
  self-control and a simple way of life.
• Why do you think the Samurai class adopted
• these religions easily?

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• 5. Japanese art reveals the Japanese love of
  beauty and simplicity. Art in the Middle Ages
  included wooden items coated in lacquer,
  landscape paintings, folded paper called origami
  and tea ceremonies.

ORIGAMI ART
LACQUER FURNITURE
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• 6. Japanese buildings were influenced by Chinese
  or Japanese styles. Shinto shrines followed
  Japanese styles while Buddhist temples followed
  Chinese styles.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE
SHINTO SHRINE
TORII GATE
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The famous floating Torii gate near Hiroshima
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• 7. The Japanese borrowed and adopted the Chinese
  style of writing using characters. Calligraphy,
  the art of writing beautifully, was important in
  Japan.

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• 8. The tanka is Japans oldest form of poetry.
  The haiku is a poem that is based on syllables
  with a 5-7-5 pattern.
• 9. The Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu
  (SHE-KEY-BOO), was about a Japanese prince in the
  year 1000 AD.
• 10. Noh plays taught Buddhist ideas and were
  performed on a bare stage by actors wearing robes
  and masks.

Can you think of any tales written in Medieval
Europe that have helped historians reveal what
life was like in Europe in that time period?
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• II. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
• 1. Very few people benefited from Japans wealth
  under the shoguns. Most people in Japan remained
  poor.
• 2. Japanese farmers worked hard to grow rice,
  wheat, millet, and barley in the 1100s, advances
  in irrigation and crops allowed them to grow more
  food and their lives improved.

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• 3. Artisans made weapons, armor, and tools for
  merchants to sell. As trade increased, artisans
  began making pottery, paper, textiles, and
  lacquered items.
• 4. Kyoto, the capital of Japan, was a major
  center of production and trade

Why is the capital of Japan today Tokyo and not
Kyoto? Why did the capital city move often?
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• 5. Japanese women had less freedom than men but
  despite their lack of freedom, some women made
  important contributions to Japanese culture.
  During the time of Shotoku, wealthy women could
  be rulers and own property. However, women lost
  those freedoms after the samurai and daimyo took
  control. Marriages were arranged by fathers in
  noble families.

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STUDY REVIEW FOR 5.3 QUIZ

1. Know the difference between Pure Land Buddhism
   and Zen Buddhism.
2. The importance of the novel The Tale of Genji
   by Murasaki Shikibu.
3. Understand the life of the average person during
   the Shogun period.
4. Life of Japanese women and when they lost
   freedoms in society.
5. Understand meanings / importance all of the
   highlighted key terms, people and places.