Shinto & Nature
This ancient Japanese religion is based on the belief that sacred spirits called kami inhabit natural objects like mountains and trees.
What is Shinto?
In Japan's feudal hierarchy, membership in each class was determined by this, meaning it depended entirely on who your parents were.
To limit uprisings after unifying Japan, the shogun required daimyo to spend every other year in Edo and leave family members behind. This system is known as what?
What is alternate attendance?
In 1853, this American naval commander arrived in Uraga Harbour with four "black ships" and demanded that Japan open itself to trade.
Who is Commodore Matthew Perry?
The Meiji government emphasized loyalty to this figure as the foundation of a strong nation, moving the imperial court from Kyoto to Tokyo to strengthen the connection.
Who is the Emperor?
According to the Japanese creation myth, this sun goddess descended from the heavens, and her earthly heirs became the emperors of Japan.
Who is Amaterasu?
These warriors without a master were considered the lowest and least honourable rank in the samurai class.
Who are Ronin?
Under the Exclusion Laws, trade with Europeans was restricted to this single island in Nagasaki harbour.
What is Dejima?
The 1854 agreement that opened two Japanese ports to American ships and addressed shipwrecked sailors was called this.
What is the Treaty of Kanagawa?
To modernize Japan, the Meiji government abolished this warrior class, whose members had to find new occupations.
Who are the samurai?
Japan's frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons contributed to the Japanese people developing this quality — the ability to endure hardship with patience and emotional control.
What is stoicism?
The teachings of this Chinese philosopher, brought to Japan by Buddhist monks, emphasized fixed social roles, loyalty, and obedience — helping justify the feudal hierarchy.
The MAIN reason the shogun ordered the disarmament of peasants — collecting their swords — was to prevent this.
What is rebellion?
The inclusion of the phrase "powerful squadron" in President Fillmore's letter to Japan changed the tone of his request into this.
What is a threat?
Japan's rapid industrialization during the Meiji period was catching up to this broader technological revolution that had taken over 100 years in Europe.
What is the Industrial Revolution?
Japan's ability to rely entirely on its own natural resources and domestic production — without needing foreign trade — is described by this term.
What is self-sufficiency?
In the Edo feudal order, these tradespeople occupied the very bottom of the official social hierarchy — below even peasants and artisans — because they did not produce any goods themselves.
Who are Merchants?
These European traders were allowed to remain in Japan after all other Westerners were expelled, primarily because they showed no interest in spreading Christianity.
Who are the Dutch?
Japan's decision to sign trade treaties was strongly influenced by what had happened to China after this war with Britain, when China was forced to sign humiliating "unequal treaties."
What is the Opium War?
The Meiji slogan that replaced "Civilization and Enlightenment" — when Japan decided to slow Westernization and blend old with new — was this.
What is "Western Science, Japanese essence"?
This crop was so central to Japanese life that it served as both currency and a measure of a lord's wealth, and even today the emperor symbolically tends it.
What is rice?
The story of Lord Asano and the 47 loyal samurai who avenged his death is celebrated in Japanese culture as the ultimate example of these two values.
What is duty and honour?
The shogun passed the Exclusion Laws primarily to protect this — his centralized political power — from threats posed by Christian missionaries and foreign influences.
What is the shogun's centralized power?
In 1868, the last shogun resigned, and this young emperor came to power, selecting a new name meaning "enlightened rule."
Who is Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito)?
Japan's military victories over China and Russia, and the Conscription Law of 1873, marked its transformation into this type of power — one that acquires foreign territories and resources.
What is an imperial power?