Japan: Standing Apart

I. Introduction

II. Geography and Identity

III. Borrowing from China and State Formation

A. Early Effort under Emperors

1. Shotoku Taishi (572-622)

2. Taika Reforms

B. Rise of the Shoguns

IV. Later Reunification of Japan

A. Tokugawa Shogunate

1. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1535-1598)

2. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616)

B. Consequences of Unification

V. Managing the European Contact

A. Arrival of European Traders

B. Gunpowder Weapons

C. Spread of Christianity

D. Restricting European Influence

VI. 18th century Prosperity

A. High and Low Culture

B. ‘Dutch Learning’

VII. Conclusion: Successful Managed Contact

Key Terms

Taika Reforms

Shinto

daimyo

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Shogunate

Nagasaki

‘Dutch learning’

Nò drama / Kabuki theater

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