Geography
Describe at least 2 aspects of the geography of Japan. (Bonus 50 points for any additional aspect)
Japan is: mostly mountainous and volcanic, has limited flat land for farming and settlement, has a lot of coastline, has 4 seasons, etc.
What are the nature spirits in Shintoism called?
Kami
Who were the Samurai?
Warriors who served daimyo and followed a strict code of loyalty and honor.
What policy limited Japan’s contact with foreign nations during the Tokugawa period?
Isolationism
Define selective borrowing.
Adopting certain foreign ideas that will benefit your culture and rejecting others that won't.
What does it mean that Japan is a homogeneous society?
It means most people share a similar ethnicity, language, and culture.
Describe one practice a follower of Shintoism would participate in.
Visiting shrines, honoring ancestors, or showing respect to nature.
(Bonus 100 if anyone used the term Torii)
What is one key characteristic of a feudal society?
A strict social hierarchy based on loyalty and land ownership.
Who held the most political power during the Tokugawa Shogunate?
The Shogun.
Define monsoons, and explain which region of Japan gets them the most.
(Bonus: What is an effect of these monsoons?)
Seasonal rain/wind that can last for months; most common in southern Japan.
(Bonus 100 to any group that says rice farming)
Explain the problem with Japan's natural resources.
They do not have a lot of natural resources because they are a mountainous country. They have traditionally traded in order to gain these resources.
What belief is shared by Shintoism and African Animism?
The belief that spirits exist in nature (in animals, rivers, trees, mountains).
Describe the social hierarchy of feudal Japan from top to bottom.
Emperor → Shogun → Daimyo → Samurai → Peasants → Artisans → Merchants.
What was one major result of Japan’s isolation under the Tokugawa Shogunate?
Japan fell behind Western nations technologically.
Who is the Yamato clan, and when did they lose power?
The imperial clan/family of Japan, and they're still in power today.
How did Japan’s mountainous terrain influence where people settled and how they lived?
Most people settled along the coasts, leading to crowded cities and intensive fishing.
What are the main set of rules or rituals for Shintoism?
There are no main set of rules or rituals.
(Bonus 100 points of any group uses the verbiage "not organized")
How did Confucian ideas influence relationships in feudal Japan?
Confucianism emphasized respect for authority, loyalty, obedience, and social harmony, reinforcing the feudal hierarchy.
Why did the Tokugawa government restrict Christianity and foreign influence?
They feared foreign powers would weaken their authority and disrupt social order.
(Bonus 100 points if any grooup used the word "power")
Shogun who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate.
(Bonus 100 points if any group mentions isolationism)
(An additional 100 bonus points if any group mentions he was a samurai)
Explain how Japan’s geographic location allowed it to both adopt ideas from mainland Asia and later isolate itself.
Japan’s closeness to China and Korea allowed cultural diffusion (writing, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc.), but being separated by water made it easier to control foreign contact and later enforce isolation.
(100 point bonus if any team used the term selective borrowing)
Analyze how Shinto beliefs helped shape Japanese cultural identity and social unity.
Shinto reinforced shared traditions, respect for nature, ancestor worship, and loyalty to the emperor, strengthening national identity and unity.
How did the Code of Bushido both strengthen and limit Japanese society during the feudal period?
Bushido strengthened Japanese society by promoting loyalty, honor, discipline, and social order, which reinforced stability within the feudal system. However, it also limited society by demanding absolute obedience, encouraging rigid class structure, and sometimes valuing honor over life (such as through ritual suicide), restricting individual freedom and social mobility.
(bonus 100 points if anyone says the word "seppuku)
Evaluate whether Japan’s isolation under the Tokugawa Shogunate helped or hurt the country in both short and the long term.
It helped maintain stability and preserve culture but hurt Japan by delaying industrialization and modernization compared to Western nations.
What was the Heian period, and what were some of the things they focused on during this time?
Art, poetry, literature, and clothing.
(Bonus 100 points for any group that talks about Japanese court life in any way)