STUDY GUIDE FOR EARLY JAPAN
1. USE THE MAP ON PAGE 221 TO LABEL THE FOLLOWING:
CHINA
China
Korea
Yellow Sea
Sea of Japan
Pacific Ocean
Japan
Korea Bay
SEA OF
JAPAN
Korea
Bay
KOREA
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Yellow
Sea
Fill out the following chart with facts on Shinto and Buddhism (NOTES)
Shinto
No founder
Kami
Shrines
Focuses on this life
No sacred texts
Torii
Informal priesthood
Japanese weddings
BOTH
Buddhism
Festivals
Necessity for cleanliness
and purifying one’s self
Human nature and
nature sacred
Founder
Sacred texts
Temples
Focuses on the afterlife
Formal priesthood
Japanese funerals
3. Why did the Japanese emperor decide to leave Nara for a new capital in AD
770? (page 223)
Buddhist monk tried to overthrow the emperor
STUDY GUIDE FOR EARLY JAPAN
4. (Notes) Based on the physical geography of Korea, what type of industry was
found in the coastal kingdoms?
Shipping industry
5. (Notes) List some examples of Chinese influence on Japan.
Buddhism, Art, the Chinese written language, architecture, city planning, the
government structure, Confucian beliefs in the government, etc
6. What is the traditional native religion of Japan? Shinto
7. What is the term for the Shinto nature spirits? Kami
8. Who wrote the Tale of Genji, which is credited as being the first novel
written? Lady Murasaki Shikibu
9.What does the word Shinto mean? “way of the spirits”
10. Which religion that is still practiced today, came to Japan from Korea and
China? Buddhism
11.How did Prince Shotoku reform the Japanese government?
Wrote the first Japanese constitution and based in on the Chinese
government
12. How did the Japanese government hire officials during the Nara period?
The emperor gave positions to nobles from powerful families
13. In the Shinto religion the kami are honored with rituals. What forms do the
kami take?
Natural objects and creatures, guardian kami of clans – ancestors, creative
forces, etc
14. In 710 the first permanent Japanese capital was founded. Where was it
located? Nara
STUDY GUIDE FOR EARLY JAPAN