SW 33 Final Review Session
Final Exam Format:
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ID Questions: you will be asked to choose from a
variety of items which you must identify. You are
expected to know general time periods and the
significance of each item.
Essay Questions: you will be asked to choose from a
variety of essays. These essays will be focused on
the themes and books assigned in the course.
Cities Before Edo: pre-1600
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Various attempts to build cities based on imperial
Chinese models such as Nara and Kyoto.
During the “Warring States” or Sengoku period, a shift
to a radically decentralized polity led to the rise of
castle towns.
With the development of castle towns, Japan's
population begins to shift northward from Kyoto.
Edo founded by Ota Dokan in 1457 as a relatively
unimportant castle in the strategic Kanto plain.
Rise of the Tokugawa: 1590-1640
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The Warring States period begins to draw to a close as
regional warlords such as Oda Nobunaga begin to
consolidate their power.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the major warlords, transfers
his seat of power to the Kanto with his capital at the
small fishing village of Edo.
Following his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in
1600, Ieyasu becomes the undisputed military hegemon
of Japan. He is granted the title of shogun in 1600.
Edo Period: 1600-1868
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Ieyasu's capital of Edo begins to grow rapidly: men and matériel
stream into the city, and a huge service population increases the
size of the city from 10,000 to 200,000 by 1640.
The Sankin-kōtai or “Alternate Attendance” system requires that
regional lords split their time between Edo and their home
domains.
With their families held hostage in Edo and vast sums of money
spent on their travel, sankin-kōtai places direct controls on
regional lords while indirectly spurring infrastructure investment,
economic growth, and the gradual emergence of national culture.
Edo Period: 1600-1868
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In addition to massive population growth, Edo is marked by the
restructuring of social life along strictly Neo-Confucian lines and
a four class system. The city is further spatially into Shitamachi
and Yamanote.
Shitamachi or the “Low City” was the realm of the merchants
and artisans. This area was marked by commerce and the
flowering of commoner culture.
Yamanote or the “Foothills” was the domain of the samurai. This
was the area surrounding Edo castle, and was home to the vast
compounds and residences of the regional lords who owed fealty
to the Tokugawa.
Edo Period: 1600-1868
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Edo culture developed from the culture of the Shitamachi,
with the driving force being the increasing economic clout
of merchants at the expense of samurai.
Ukiyo-e or “Pictures of the Floating World” exemplified the
entertainment world of Edo in woodblock prints. Pictures of
famous places such as Hiroshige's “A Hundred Views of
Edo” were widely distributed.
“The Floating World” was also marked by sex trades—the
“water trades”—which were centered on the liscened
brothel district of Yoshiwara.
Edo Period: 1600-1868
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After nearly 250 years of peace, the Tokugawa regime became
less stable as it faced natural disasters, foreign threats, and
intellectual crises at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The class contradictions brought about by the impoverishment
of the samurai and enrichment of merchants further destabilized
the regime.
Western incursions into Japanese waters fed both millennial
movements and nativism as the century wore on. Movements
calling to “Revere the emperor” and “expel the barbarians”
gained strength.
Edo Period: 1600-1868
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The arrival of American Commodore Matthew Perry and his
“Black Ships” in 1853 proved a turning point. Perry began what
was to be known as the “opening of Japan.”
Subsequent negotiations led to the opening of treaty ports such as
Nagasaki, Shimoda, and Yokohama where foreigners were not
subject to Japanese law under the principle of “extraterritoriality.”
The opening of the treaty ports would lead to increased agitation
against foreigners, and several southwestern domains would
subsequently rise up and overthrow the Tokugawa in the “Meiji
Restoration” of 1868.
Meiji Period: 1868-1912
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Edo became Tokyo, the seat of a government with a new ruling
class, new imperial institutions, and a growing Western
influence. The new Meiji government sought to preserve the
state through systemic and selective Westernization.
Slogans such as “Rich Country, Strong Army,” “Eastern
Morality, Western Technology,” and “Civilization and
Enlightenment” became the buzzwords of the day.
This new Japan was exemplified by the Ginza, a shopping
street with brick buildings and stone edifices that wedded
Japanese sensibilities and new Western styles and technologies.
Meiji Period: 1868-1912
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The Meiji government invited Westerners such as
Massachusetts resident William S. Clark to Japan, inaugurating
the “Age of Experts.”
Men such as Clark established educational institutions and
advised both the government and private enterprise on methods
which might help Japan “catch up” with the West.
Even as Western ideas became fashionable within Japan, Japan
in the form of “Japonisme” inaugurated fascination with Japan
abroad. This can be seen in Gilbert & Sullivan's “The Mikado,”
Puccini's “Madame Butterfly” and Boston's “Japan Craze.”
Meiji Period: 1868-1912
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In the latter part of the Meiji period Japan began to take part in
adventures abroad, acquiring Taiwan as a colony in 1894, winning
the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and annexing Korea in 1910.
By the end of the Meiji period Tokyo was transformed:
electrification was nearly complete, public transit crisscrossed the
city, and Tokyo was connected to the rest of Japan by a system of
railways.
The Japanese economy boomed under zaibatsu conglomerates and
the economic boost provided by the outbreak of World War I.
Though Japan did not take part in hostilities, it was able to
strengthen its position in South and South East Asia.
Taishō Period: 1912-1926
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The Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923 destroyed much
of Tokyo and Yokohama. Over a hundred thousand people
perished, and the earthquake would have lasting repercussions
In the aftermath of the earthquake police used the disasters as
pretext to round up dissidents such as anarchists and socialists
while at the same time taking part in the massacre of Koreans.
Following the earthquake, Osaka temporarily gained an
economic advantage over Tokyo. However, the government
soon undertook ambitious plans to modernize and rebuild the
city of Tokyo.
Taishō Period: 1912-1926
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Rapid urbanization brought with it changes in family
structure, as the nuclear family began to replace the older ie
family system among the urban middle class.
As Tokyo and Japan were linked by railways, cities were
characterized by a new form of “railway urbanism.”
Railway companies built stores and attractions at the end of
railway lines, real estate developments boomed in between.
Attractions such as the Takarazuka Theater, an all-female
theater troupe, defined railway urbanism in a modern Japan
grappling with industrialization and new gender roles.
Early Shōwa Period: 1926-1945
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Japan became increasingly belligerent abroad, founding
the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” to secure
economic dominance in Asia.
The Japanese military pushed for greater military
expansion into China, culminating with the creation of the
Manchukuo puppet state in 1932 and full-on war with
China in 1937.
Domestic life in Tokyo was also characterized by
increasingly militarization and national austerity measures.
Latter Shōwa Period: 1945-1989
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Following the fire bombing of Tokyo and the complete
destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic
bombings, Japan surrenders, ending World War II.
Though Japan is totally defeated, the Japanese state
survives: the governmental apparatus is largely left intact,
and Emperor Hirohito remains on the throne.
The United States undertakes extensive planning for
postwar occupation of Japan, working through existing
government channels and staffing the occupation forces
with well-trained, non-combat officers.
Latter Shōwa Period: 1945-1989
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The Occupation ushers in a host of reforms in Japan, such as
the renunciation of imperial divinity, the disestablishment of
state Shinto, and the expansion of women's rights and suffrage.
Reforms culminated in the 1947 Constitution, which was
written largely by Americans. The Constitution and the
Occupation were both shaped by postwar American geopolitics.
Though American troops and civilians were spatially
segregated in occupied Tokyo, they interacted through both the
black markets and the sex trade.
Latter Shōwa Period: 1945-1989
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American geopolitics sought to make Japan into a
dynamic capitalist democracy which could serve as a
bulwark against Communism in East Asia.
Japan and Tokyo rose from the ashes after the war thanks
to a hard work ethic, an expanding middle class, and
national policies for economic growth.
Tokyo flourished with the rebuilding of infrastructure and
the domestic economy. Export-oriented industry led to
high speed economic growth from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Latter Shōwa Period: 1945-1989
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The 1964 Olympic signaled Tokyo's recovery after the
war and Japan's return to the world stage. They were the
first Olympic Games to be held in Asia.
The Olympics were seen as a new beginning for Japan,
symbolized by the unveiling of the Shinkansen, Japan's
high-speed bullet train.
The Tokyo Olympics were shaped by modernist architect
Kenzo Tange, whose ideas of form following function and
modularity shaped both the Olympics and postwar Tokyo.
Latter Shōwa Period: 1945-1989
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The postwar middle class developed thanks to Japan's richness in
human capital, value-added production, and export-based trade.
This middle class was exemplified by the “Salaryman,” an
archetype shaped by the nuclear family, a focus on education, and
Japan's corporate structure.
However, with the burst of the “Bubble Economy” at the end of
the Shōwa period, Japan's economy entered a persistent recession
typified by the end of the permanent employment system, the
fragmentation of lifestyles, and the end of conformist ideas.
Heisei Period: 1989-Today
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The post-Bubble era was also exemplified by the rise of
apocalyptic millennial movements and a general fear of the
future.
In 1995 one of these millennial cults, Aum Shinrikyo, carried out
an attack on the Tokyo subway system. Under their leader,
Asahara Shoko, Aum sought to trigger the end of the world.
In addition to economic concerns, post-Bubble era Japan has also
struggled with a more multi-cultural society, characterized by the
so-called gaikokujin mondai or “foreigner problem.” The influx
of immigrants and migrants has challenged the idea of Japan as a
harmonious
Heisei Period: 1989-Today
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The post-Bubble Japanese economy has been characterized by
the idea of “Gross National Cool,” with content and creative
forces becoming one of the driving forces of the Japanese
economy.
Through the commodification of cuteness in the form of kawaii
characters, character mascots, and the various goods associated
with them, Japan has sought to employ its popular culture as “soft
power.”
This is further exemplified by the spread of Japanese food culture
abroad and Japan's increased focus on tourism as a major part of
the Japanese economy.
Sample ID: Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
Definition: Japanese novelist who wrote Naomi
Time Period:
Tanizaki lived until the middle of the 20th
century, but two of his most famous works
(Naomi and Some Prefer Nettles) were written
in the 1920s (the time of Japan’s Jazz Age and
the Kanto Earthquake, both of which
influenced Tanizaki)
Significance:
one of Japan’s most famous novelists
wrote on a variety of themes that
revolutionized Japanese literature (eroticism,
mental illness, obsession, and the juxtaposition
of “West” and “East”)
books can be read as windows into
different historical periods
Jun’ichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) is one of
Japan’s most celebrated novelists. Among
his works are Naomi, Some Prefer
Nettles, Diary of a Mad Old Man, and
The Makioka Sisters. Tanizaki’s novels
and short stories covered a range of
topics, but focused most heavily on
eroticism, the relationships between
people, and the juxtaposition of the
“West” and the “East.” His works, dark
and oftentimes unsettling, changed the
shape of Japanese literature. For
contemporary readers, his books serve as
examples of cultural trends from different
historical periods.
Sample Visual ID
Title: Pikachu (from Pokemon)
Time Period: 1990s to present
Significance: Pikachu is part
of the massive Pokemon
franchise; this franchise is
indicative of Japan’s global
soft power, and is part of the
cultural phenomenon referred
to as Japan’s “Gross National
Cool.”
Musui's Story
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Social life during the Edo period
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Samurai reality versus perception
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The everyday life of low-ranking samurai and
commoners
Tokyo in Transit
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The role of mass transportation
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Gender roles
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Technology's impact on society, specifically through
the railway system
Naomi
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1920s Japan
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Gender roles
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Moga
Neighborhood Tokyo
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Self-governance
How small parts contribute to the larger city as a
whole
Shitamachi culture
Out
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Race, class, and gender
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The genre of the crime novel
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Life in post-Bubble Japan
Tsukiji
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Self-governance
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Market culture
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How Tsukiji operates
Coffee Life in Japan
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Social resistance and relaxation
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What is a café?
Roppongi Crossing
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Construction state and changing Japan
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Old and new Roppongi
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The “Foreigner Problem”