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VII. Feudal Japan
Teaching Idea
Discuss with students how Japan’s
geography—its island location—
allowed it to develop in isolation. See
that they understand how this isolation
allowed Japanese culture to develop in
its unique way.
Ask students to compare and contrast Japan’s geography and history
with England’s. See that they understand that England’s geography provided a measure of military protection, but
that England was never isolated from
its neighbors and thus developed a culture that, while unique, was also
deeply influenced by its past and its
neighbors.
Shinto shrine
Teaching Idea
Point out that early religions were often
an attempt to make sense of what was
happening in nature and then to
appease those deities, or forces, of
nature to keep them from being angry
and raining down destruction on the
people. Ask students if they remember
other early peoples who worshipped
deities associated with nature. (Greeks:
Zeus, god of Earth and sky; Poseidon,
god of the sea. Romans: Juno, female
deity of the heavens; Vulcan, god of fire
and volcanoes)
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commended Buddhism to the Japanese also brought with them Chinese writing
and ideas about the arts, architecture, and government. The Japanese adopted
some of these ideas. In the 1200s, several sects, or offshoots, of Buddhism developed. One major sect was Zen Buddhism. The word zen means “meditation” and
this is the central element of Zen Buddhism. Rituals and ceremonies are considered useless. Meditation is one important exercise Zen Buddhists use in their
attempt to achieve Satori, or self-understanding. Zen became particularly popular
among the samurai. Today, less than 10 percent of Japan’s population are adherents of Zen, but Zen Buddhism has attracted followers in the west as well.
Shinto
Shinto is the original religion of the Japanese. It did not have a name until
Buddhism arrived and people wanted to distinguish the two. Shinto means the
way of the kami, which are the forces of nature; for example, typhoons, rain, sunlight, earthquakes, a growing flower. A reverence for nature is a major element of
this religion.
Early Shinto had no shrines. After the arrival of Buddhism, the Japanese
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 offering—and no ceremonies other than reciting prayers. The most important building 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
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
after World War II, when the emperor renounced any claim to divinity.
An important aspect of Shinto is ancestor worship. Followers believe that a
person continues to play a role in the family and community after their death. In
some Shinto households, an altar called a tamaya is built to honor deceased relatives.
Buddhism and Shinto are not seen as incompatible religions: The majority of
modern Japanese—about 84 percent—practice both Buddhism and Shinto.
B. Geography
Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan
The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the four oceans, extending over about
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
Japan is an archipelago, that is, a chain of islands. About 3,500 islands make
up the nation of Japan. The islands are the crests of mountaintops that rise above
sea level. Most of the islands are barren and rocky with no inhabitants.
The four largest islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
Honshu is the largest, with about 60 percent of the land area of Japan. None of
the islands is more than 200 miles wide.
Hokkaido is the second-largest island, but is sparsely inhabited because of its
mountainous terrain, great stands of forests, and harsh winter climate. The majority of Japanese live on the island of Honshu. This is an area of heavy industrial
development. Tokyo, the nation’s capital, is located on Honshu, as are other major
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,
the smallest of the large islands, live mostly along the northern coast in industrial areas.
Teaching Idea
Because students using the Core
Knowledge Sequence learned about
Japan in Grade 2, begin by asking
them what they know about the location and geography of Japan.
Create an overhead of
Instructional Master 29, Japan, to
help students locate the island nation
in relation to the Asian continent.
Have them identify those nations in
terms of direction from Japan.
Name
Date
Japan
Study the map. Use it to answer the questions below.
0
250
0
250
500 miles
500 kilometers
RUSSIA
CHINA
Less than 20 percent of Japan is suited to agriculture because Japan is so
mountainous and so heavily forested. As a result, the ancient Japanese learned to
farm rice, their staple crop, in small paddies on the sides of terraced mountains.
Beginning in the late 1800s, wealthy Japanese, with the help of the government,
began a program to industrialize the country. While World War II destroyed
much of the country’s industry and infrastructure, Japan rebuilt and is today a
leading exporter of electronics, automobiles, and other manufactured goods.
Hokkaido
NORTH
KOREA
Sea of
Japan
N
W
SOUTH
KOREA
Honshu
E
S
Tokyo
JAPAN
Shikoku
East
China
Sea
Kyushu
Is
la
n
d
s
PA C I F I C
OCEAN
R
y
u
k
y
u
TAIWAN
Tokyo, on the island of Honshu, is the capital of Japan and its largest city with
around 30 million people in the metropolitan area. Nearly 25 percent of Japan’s
population lives in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Tokyo is also a center of commerce, industry, finance, and education. There are more than 100 colleges and
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.
1. What are the four major islands of Japan?
Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation
Tokyo
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
2. What Asian countries lie west of Japan?
Russia, North Korea, South Korea, China
Purpose: To read and interpret a map of Japan
Master 29
Grade 5: History & Geography
Use Instructional Master 29.
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.
History and Geography: World
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VII. Feudal Japan
Teaching Idea
Have students do research in print
resources and on the Internet to find
out more about typhoons and earthquakes in Japan. Have them use their
information to construct a time line of
major quakes and storms. As an alternative, they could write a report on one
incidence of a natural disaster.
Typhoons and Earthquakes
A typhoon is a tropical hurricane that forms over the western Pacific Ocean,
particularly in the South China Sea to the south of Japan. Typhoons can be so
severe that they result in landslides and floods. 46
Japan, as noted above, is part of the Ring of Fire, an area of active tectonic
movement. Tectonic refers to changes in the structure of Earth’s surface resulting
from the movement of plates. Because of its location, Japan regularly experiences
earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Experts who measure Earth’s
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
Japan’s island location
and geography resulted
in its unique culture and
history.
Review
Below are some ideas for ongoing assessment and review activities. These are
not meant to constitute a comprehensive list. Teachers may also refer to the
Pearson Learning/Core Knowledge History & Geography series for additional information 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 history.” 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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