Cultural Influences Section 1
This peninsula was a major source of early cultural influences on Japan, including ironworking and bronze casting.
What is the Korean Peninsula?
This Japanese prince began adopting Chinese ideas about government and wrote the Seventeen Article Constitution in 604.
Who is Prince Shotoku?
In 710, Japan built this Chinese-style capital city to support its growing government.
What is Nara?
Buddhism first came to Japan in 552 through this country.
What is Korea?
Before developing their own system, the Japanese used this country's writing for documents and literature.
What is China?
The earliest Japanese literary works were this type of writing from the 7th and 8th centuries.
What are poems?
Like Buddhism, the earliest sculptural ideas in Japan began in this country before spreading through Central Asia, Korea, and China
What is India?
These tower-like Buddhist structures, featuring multiple curved roofs, came to Japan from China.
What are pagodas?
These two rulers accelerated Japan’s contact with the Asian mainland starting in 593.
Who are Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku?
Unlike the Chinese emperor who ruled as the sole authority, Japanese emperors shared power with these clan groups.
What are the uji?
Nara was modeled after this capital city of China.
What is Chang'an?
Japan’s original religion, this belief system emphasizes nature, kami, and purity.
What is Shinto?
This is the name for the “Chinese writing” that Japanese scholars first used to write Japanese words
What is kanji?
Japanese poets used this Chinese-based writing system to compose tanka poems.
What are Chinese characters (kanji)?
Early Japanese clay sculptures found near burial mounds included warriors, horses, and these women.
Who are robed ladies?
Buddhist temple design began in this country, where structures called stupas had bell- or bowl-shaped roofs.
What is India?
In early Japanese families, this parent usually raised the children and had relatively high status.
Who is the mother?
In China, government officials were selected through this system based on exams and ability.
What is merit or the merit-based examination system?
Nara was designed with this type of street pattern, similar to Chang’an’s organized layout.
What is a checkerboard pattern?
This path, taught by Siddhartha Gautama, is the way to enlightenment in Buddhism.
What is the Eightfold Path?
Kanji was difficult to use because Japanese and Chinese differ in these three major language features.
What are grammar, sounds, and pronunciation?
A tanka has this many total syllables, arranged in a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7.
What is 31 syllables?
This material was used by Japanese artists in the 7th century to carve Buddha statues near Kyoto, giving the art a more natural look.
What is wood?
This Japanese prince founded the Horyuji Temple in Nara, one of the first Buddhist temples with a pagoda
Who is Prince Shotoku?
To learn from Chinese culture, Japan sent these groups of people to China, where they often stayed for years.
Who are officials, students, translators, and monks?
This emperor and his wife took land from clan leaders and redistributed it to strengthen central power.
Who are Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō?
Compared to Chang’an’s 2 million people, Nara had this approximate population.
What is 200,000?
These spiritual beings in Mahayana Buddhism delay entering nirvana to help others reach enlightenment.
What are bodhisattvas?
This system, developed by the Japanese around 900, uses simplified Chinese characters to represent Japanese syllables
What is kana?
Tanka poetry often focuses on these two themes.
What are love and the beauty of nature?
From the 6th to 7th centuries, immigrants from these two countries were responsible for most of Japan’s religious art.
What are China and Korea?
Shinto shrines were designed to reflect Japan’s love of nature and often featured these two design elements.
What are raised floors and thatched roofs?
Rather than replacing old customs, the Japanese did this with new ideas from the mainland.
What is blended them with their own traditions?
Despite early efforts to base government jobs on ability, this group ended up controlling all high positions in Japan by the 9th century.
Who are the aristocrats or the noble families?
Unlike Chang’an, Nara lacked this major defensive structure.
What is a city wall?
This uji clan from Korea supported the spread of Buddhism in Japan.
Who are the Soga?
These two writing systems, both developed from Chinese characters, are still used in modern Japanese.
What are kanji and kana?
Tanka poetry developed from this older Japanese practice of passing down stories and songs by word of mouth.
What is the oral tradition?
This type of material and technique was used by a Korean artist to make a golden Buddha statue.
What is bronze covered in gold leaf?
Buddhist pagodas were built to house these sacred items connected to the Buddha and bodhisattvas.
What are relics?