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VII. Feudal Japan

commended Buddhism to the Japanese also brought with them Chinese writing Teaching Idea and ideas about the arts, architecture, and government. The Japanese adopted Discuss with students how Japan’s some of these ideas. In the 1200s, several sects, or offshoots, of Buddhism devel- geography—its island location— oped. One major sect was Zen Buddhism. The word zen means “meditation” and allowed it to develop in isolation. See this is the central element of Zen Buddhism. Rituals and ceremonies are consid- that they understand how this isolation ered useless. Meditation is one important exercise Zen Buddhists use in their allowed Japanese culture to develop in attempt to achieve Satori, or self-understanding. Zen became particularly popular its unique way. among the samurai. Today, less than 10 percent of Japan’s population are adher- Ask students to compare and con- ents of Zen, but Zen Buddhism has attracted followers in the west as well. trast Japan’s geography and history with England’s. See that they under- Shinto stand that England’s geography provid- Shinto is the original religion of the Japanese. It did not have a name until ed a measure of military protection, but Buddhism arrived and people wanted to distinguish the two. Shinto means the that England was never isolated from way of the kami, which are the forces of nature; for example, typhoons, rain, sun- its neighbors and thus developed a cul- light, earthquakes, a growing flower. A reverence for nature is a major element of ture that, while unique, was also this religion. deeply influenced by its past and its Early Shinto had no shrines. After the arrival of Buddhism, the Japanese neighbors. began to build simple shrines in beautiful natural settings in which to worship the kami. These shrines typically have a gateway, called a torii, marking the entrance, and a basin for washing hands before entering the oratory, known as a haiden. The haiden is where a visitor will make an offering and pray. There are no rituals in Shinto—other than washing one’s hands before entering a shrine with an offer- ing—and no ceremonies other than reciting prayers. The most important build- ing in the shrine is the honden, a sanctuary where an important religious symbol called shintai is kept. The shintai is generally a mirror but it could also be a sword, a wooden symbol, or another object. Only the main priest is allowed to enter the honden; all others are forbidden to enter or see the shintai. By the 700s, the imperial family was claiming that it had descended from the female sun deity, Amaterasu [AH-ma-tah-rah-su], in order to legitimize its role and its power. In the later 1800s, Shinto was divided into State Shinto, which Shinto shrine involved worship of the emperor as divine, and Sect, or religious, Shinto. Because the emperor was considered to be a god, he was to be given complete loyalty and obedience. Government ministers manipulated State Shinto in order to develop a sense of national identity, or patriotism, among the Japanese and gain support for the government’s new industrial and military policies. State Shinto was banned Teaching Idea after World War II, when the emperor renounced any claim to divinity. Point out that early religions were often An important aspect of Shinto is ancestor worship. Followers believe that a an attempt to make sense of what was person continues to play a role in the family and community after their death. In happening in nature and then to some Shinto households, an altar called a tamaya is built to honor deceased rela- appease those deities, or forces, of tives. nature to keep them from being angry Buddhism and Shinto are not seen as incompatible religions: The majority of and raining down destruction on the modern Japanese—about 84 percent—practice both Buddhism and Shinto. people. Ask students if they remember other early peoples who worshipped deities associated with nature. (Greeks: B. Geography Zeus, god of Earth and sky; Poseidon, god of the sea. Romans: Juno, female Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan deity of the heavens; Vulcan, god of fire The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the four oceans, extending over about and volcanoes) a third of the surface of Earth. The Pacific reaches from the Arctic to Antarctica

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and separates North and South America from Asia and Australia. Thousands of islands dot the ocean’s surface from the Bering Strait to the South China Sea and beyond to the southeast. These include the islands of Oceania, such as Guam and the Marshalls, as well as Japan, the Philippines, and New Zealand. The Ring of Fire is a series of volcanoes that ring the ocean. The Sea of Japan lies between the west coast of Japan and the east coast of China and North and South Korea. The warm Japanese current, which originates in tropical waters, divides around the islands and part of it flows north through the Sea of Japan.

Four Main Islands Teaching Idea Japan is an archipelago, that is, a chain of islands. About 3,500 islands make Because students using the Core up the nation of Japan. The islands are the crests of mountaintops that rise above Knowledge Sequence learned about sea level. Most of the islands are barren and rocky with no inhabitants. Japan in Grade 2, begin by asking The four largest islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. them what they know about the loca- Honshu is the largest, with about 60 percent of the land area of Japan. None of tion and geography of Japan. the islands is more than 200 miles wide. Create an overhead of Instructional Master 29, Japan, to Hokkaido is the second-largest island, but is sparsely inhabited because of its help students locate the island nation mountainous terrain, great stands of forests, and harsh winter climate. The major- in relation to the Asian continent. ity of Japanese live on the island of Honshu. This is an area of heavy industrial Have them identify those nations in development. Tokyo, the nation’s capital, is located on Honshu, as are other major terms of direction from Japan. cities, including Osaka, Yokahama, Kobe, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. Kyushu is also heavily populated. The island has coal deposits, which helped it become an early center for industry. Nagasaki is a major port city. It was hit by an atomic bomb late in World War II, but it has been rebuilt. People on Shikoku, Name Date Japan the smallest of the large islands, live mostly along the northern coast in industri- Study the map. Use it to answer the questions below.

0 250 500 miles

al areas. 0 250 500 kilometers

RUSSIA Less than 20 percent of Japan is suited to agriculture because Japan is so CHINA HokkaidoHokkaido

NORTH KOREA Sea of mountainous and so heavily forested. As a result, the ancient Japanese learned to Japan

N

W E SOUTH HonshuHonshu farm rice, their staple crop, in small paddies on the sides of terraced mountains. S KOREA TokyoTokyo

Beginning in the late 1800s, wealthy Japanese, with the help of the government, JAPAN Shikoku

East Kyushu began a program to industrialize the country. While World War II destroyed China Sea PACIFIC OCEAN s d n much of the country’s industry and infrastructure, Japan rebuilt and is today a a l s I

u y k u y leading exporter of electronics, automobiles, and other manufactured goods. R TAIWAN

1. What are the four major islands of Japan? Tokyo Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu

2. What Asian countries lie west of Japan? Tokyo, on the island of Honshu, is the capital of Japan and its largest city with Russia, North Korea, South Korea, China around 30 million people in the metropolitan area. Nearly 25 percent of Japan’s Purpose: To read and interpret a map of Japan Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation Copyright ©Core population lives in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Tokyo is also a center of com- Master 29 Grade 5: History & Geography merce, industry, finance, and education. There are more than 100 colleges and Use Instructional Master 29. universities in the city. The high-speed bullet trains, which can travel over 150 miles per hour, link Tokyo with other cities on the island of Honshu. The city sits at the head of Tokyo Bay, Japan’s busiest port. Originally known as Edo, Tokyo was established in the 1100s. In 1868, it was renamed Tokyo and became the capital of the Japanese Empire. Devastated by earthquakes and the bombing of World War II, the city has been rebuilt several times, making it very modern in appearance.

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VII. Feudal Japan

Teaching Idea Typhoons and Earthquakes Have students do research in print A typhoon is a tropical hurricane that forms over the western Pacific Ocean, resources and on the Internet to find particularly in the South China Sea to the south of Japan. Typhoons can be so out more about typhoons and earth- severe that they result in landslides and floods. 46 quakes in Japan. Have them use their Japan, as noted above, is part of the Ring of Fire, an area of active tectonic information to construct a time line of movement. Tectonic refers to changes in the structure of Earth’s surface resulting major quakes and storms. As an alter- from the movement of plates. Because of its location, Japan regularly experiences native, they could write a report on one earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Experts who measure Earth’s incidence of a natural disaster. activity have found that there are 7,500 earthquakes a year in Japan, of which 1,500 are strong enough for people to be aware of them. About every two years, an earthquake occurs that causes major damage and loss of life. One of the worst was in 1923 when 140,000 people in Tokyo were killed. The Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim refers to those countries in Asia and North and South America that ring the Pacific Ocean. They include • in North America: Canada, the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama • in South America: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile • Australia • in Asia: China, Russia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong These countries have strong trading ties with one another and by the 1970s, trade goods flowing among them had outpaced transatlantic trade. By 2020, the Pacific Rim nations expect to have created a free-trade zone around the Pacific similar to the North American Free Trade Association that links Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

The Big Idea in Review Review Japan’s island location Below are some ideas for ongoing assessment and review activities. These are and geography resulted not meant to constitute a comprehensive list. Teachers may also refer to the in its unique culture and Pearson Learning/Core Knowledge History & Geography series for additional infor- history. mation and teaching ideas. • As a culmination to this section, have students write a report based on the big idea, “Describe how the geography of Japan had an impact on its culture and his- tory.” Have students justify their answers with facts learned in this section. • This section provides an opportunity for students to complete short research reports on feudal Japan. Using the Language Arts section, provide the class with topics for short reports to write in formal style. Each day of a week, provide a mini-lesson on different aspects of report writing, such as correct paragraph form or bibliographies. Share these reports when completed. • Have students write Japanese haiku to illustrate an idea they have learned about feudal Japan from this section. A haiku is unrhymed Japanese poetry with three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables,

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