HIS 114 - Japanese Civilization

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Introductory survey of the civilization of Japan from its origins to the present. Includes the Formative Period (prehistory-A.D. 250); influence of Chinese civilization on Japan (300-794); Heian Period - emergence of uniquely Japanese cultural forms (794-1185); Kamakura Shogunate - establishment of military government (1185-1336); Ashikaga Shogunate - civil war and the reunification of Japan (1336-1573); Tokugawa Period (1600-1867); Meji Period (1868-1912); Taisho Period (1912-1925); Showa Period (1926-1989); and Heisei Period (1990-present).

Gen-Ed: Meets AGEC - HUM or SBS and G; Meets CTE - A&H or SBS and G.

1. Discuss the formative period of Japanese history.
2. Describe the influence of Chinese civilization on Japan.
3. Describe the emergence of uniquely Japanese cultural forms.
4. Explain the establishment of the Shogunate during the Kamakura Period.
5. Describe the civil war and the reunification of Japan.
6. Discuss the Tokugawa Period.
7. Discuss the Meiji Period.
8. Discuss the Taisho Period.
9. Discuss the Sowa Period.
10. Describe the Heisei Period.

1. Formative Period (Prehistory-A.D. 250)
   1. Neolithic Jomon Period (ca. 10,000 B.C.-400 B.C.)
   2. Yayoi Period (400 B.C.-A.D. 250)
      1. Bronze Age
      2. Iron Age
   3. Shinto religion
2. Influence of Chinese Civilization on Japan (300-794)
   1. Yamato Period
      1. Transmission of Buddhism and Confucianism
      2. Adoption of written language
   2. Nara Period
      1. Rapid assimilation of Chinese culture
      2. Evolving power and wealth of Buddhist monasteries
3. Emergence of Uniquely Japanese Cultural Forms and Hein Period (794-1185)
   1. Fujiwara family and the tradition of “oblique control”
   2. Flourishing of literature and the arts
   3. Rise of the samurai class - Gempei War

1. Shogun - Establishment of Military Government and Kamakura Period (1185-1336)
   1. Yoritomo becomes first Shogun (Supreme Military Commander)
   2. Political system of dual authority between the Imperial court and the Shogunate
   3. Zen Buddhism introduced from China
   4. Mongol invasions
   5. Emperor Go-Daigo attempts to restore Imperial rule
2. Civil War and the Reunification of Japan and Ashikaga Period (1336-1573)
   1. Shogun Yoshimitsu - the golden age of Japanese art        
   2. Age of the Country at War’ - virtual loss of power by Ashikaga Shogun
   3. Western traders and missionaries 
   4. Three great reunifiers of Japan:
      1. Oda Nobunaga
      2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi
         1. Great Sword Hunt
         2. Korean invasions
         3. Persecution of Christians
      3. Tokugawa Leyasu becomes Shogun
3. Tokugawa Period (1600-1867)
   1. System of alternate attendance
   2. Shimabara Rebellion - Japan closes to the outside world (1639)
   3. Censorship and reform   
   4. Commodore Perry - commercial treaties enacted (1853-1858)
   5. Fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
4. Meiji Period (1868-1912)
   1. Imperial restoration - constitutional government
   2. Modernization and westernization
   3. Satsuma Rebellion - last stand of Samurai
   4. Growth of Japanese imperialism
      1. First Sino-Japanese War
      2. Russo-Japanese War
5. Taisho Period (1912-1925)
   1. Period of “Taisho Democracy” - high point of liberalization
   2. Great Kanto earthquake stimulates rebuilding of Japan along modern lines
   3. Western influence on art and culture
6. Showa Period (1926-1989)
   1. Recession and impact of The Great Depression
   2. “Red Hunt” - loss of liberal gains of the 1920’s
   3. Backlash from western influence - growing conformity to tradition
   4. Growth of Japanese militarism:
      1. Twenty-one Demands on China
      2. Creation of Manchukuo
      3. Second Sino-Japanese War
   5. World War II
   6. Impact of Allied occupation policies on reshaping Japan
7. Heisei Period (1990 - present)
   1. Contemporary Japanese society
   2. Contemporary Japanese politics