Day 2 Early Japanese Society

Day 2 Early Japanese Society

The First Japanese 

• The people who lived south of the Ainu eventually became the Japanese.

• They lived mostly in small farming villages. These villages were ruled by powerful clans or extended families.

• Other people in the village, including farmers and workers, had to obey and respect members of these clans. 

Multiple Choice

What are clans?

• The Vineland Clan

• A group of ruling family members

• A village of people where no one rules

The Chief

• At the head of each clan was a chief. In addition to his political power, each chief also had religious duties. 

• The Japanese believed that their clan chiefs were descended from nature spirits called kami (KAH-mee). Clan chiefs led their clans in rituals that honored their kami ancestors.

Multiple Choice

Clan chiefs were descended from nature spirits called

• Komi

• Kami

• Jami

Multiple Choice

Who was head of a clan?

• Priest

• King

• Chief

Shinto

• These rituals became a central part of the traditional religion of Japan, Shinto.

• Shinto teachings everything in nature has kami. The sun, the moon, trees, waterfalls, and animals—has kami. 

• This helped people live and keep them from harm. They build shrines to kami and perform ceremonies in which they ask the kami to bless them.

Multiple Choice

These rituals became a central part of the traditional religion of Japan called

• Shinto

• Splinto

• Yammi

Open Ended

What did the Shinto teach?

Not All Clans Were Seen as Equals

• The clans of early Japan weren’t all equal.

• Some clans were larger and more powerful than others.

• In time a few of these powerful clans built up armies and set out to conquer their neighbors. 

The First Emperors

• One clan that gained power in this way lived in the Yamato region, the western part of Japan’s largest island, Honshu.

• In addition to military might, the Yamato rulers claimed to have a glorious family history.

• They believed they were descended from the most powerful of all kami, the goddess of the sun. 

Multiple Choice

Who claimed to have a glorious family history?

• Shinto Rulers

• Yamato rulers

Multiple Choice

They believed they were descended from the most powerful of all kami, the goddess of the sun.

Yamato Emperors

• By the 500s the Yamato rulers had extended their control over much of Honshu.

• Although they didn’t control the whole country, the leaders of the Yamato clan began to call themselves the emperors of all Japan.