Sections Japan

This table below refers to the sections of Medieval History: Japan.

BIg Ideas
Early Japan
 * Japan's mountains and islands isolated Japan and shaped its society.
 * Japan was settled by people who came from northeast Asia.  They were organized into clans and ruled by warriors.
 * Prince Shotoku created Japan's first constitiution and borrowed many ideas from China.
 * The Japanese religion called Shinto was based on nature spirites.

Shoguns and Samurai
 * During the A.D. 700s, Japan built a strong national government at Nara, and Buddhism became a popular religion.
 * Japan's civilian government and the emperor came to be dominated by military rulers known as shoguns.
 * As the shogun's power weakened, Japan broke out into warring kingdoms run by rulers known as daimyo.

Life in Medieval Japan
 * Buddhism and Shinto shaped much of Japan's culture.  These religions affected Japanese art, architecture, novels, and plays.
 * Some Japanese nobles, merchants, and artisans grew wealthy duringthe shogun period, but the lives of women remained restricted in many areas of life.