Preparation Guide for Japan Quiz (Friday, April 3)

Like our quiz on traditional China, the second E100 quiz will be a half-period (25 minute) objective test, covering reading and lecture material from the beginning of the course section on Japan through the lecture of Thursday, April 2.  Each section will have a different quiz, but both will be designed to cover basically the same material.   Quiz question formats will include multiple choice, T/F, and short-answer (no more than one phrase).  Below is a list of study questions or study directions that can help guide your review.  At the bottom of the page is a timeline, with the dates you'll be expected to know on the quiz. 

[Material relevant to the following questions can most easily be found in Readings 16 & 17 and associated lectures.]
To what US state is Japan comparable in size?
Is Japan rich in arable land? natural resources?
You should know how many major islands Japan consists of, and the name of the largest.
From what areas of the world did the early settlers of Japan migrate?
Approximately when do we first begin to hear of a Japanese state in historical accounts?   Whose accounts?
Why don't we have early historical records from Japan?
What is the name and approximate period of the earliest Japanese state?
You should know what Shinto is, and be able to characterize its basic features.
You should know the traditional view of the origins of the emperor, and what sets him apart.  
            - You should also be clear on how the emperors of China and Japan were different sorts of rulers.
What are uji and why were they important (both in history, and as an indication of Japanese social structure)?
When was the period of borrowing from China, and just what did Japan borrow?

[Material relevant to the following questions can most easily be found in Reading 18, the "Pillow Book," and associated lectures.]
Why do we call the "Heian Period" by the name "Heian?"  What was Heian modeled on?  What is Heian's modern name?
What was the role of the Fujiwara clan?
Where did Japan's written language come from?  How did Japan modify that writing system?
What class produced the great literature of the Heian?  What group within that class?
How did the Heian civil service exam function differently from the Tang exam system?
You should know who both Sei Shonagon and "Lady Murasaki" (Murasaki Shikibu) were.
What is aware, and how is its aesthetic role related to Buddhism?
How is Nature viewed in Heian literature; how is this different from Chinese views?

For the periods of Japanese feudalism, be sure to review the CHART of developments.

[Material relevant to the following questions can most easily be found in Readings 20-22 and associated lectures.]
You should be clear about the break between Heian civil society and Kamakura "feudalism."
You should know the process that gave rise to the samurai class, and how its creation brought with it a code of loyalty.
Who was the shogun?  What was a bakufu?  Who were the daimyo?   What were the han?
What was seppuku?
You should know who Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu were.
Who was Hideyoshi and what did his "Korean wars" achieve?
What fundamental changes in feudal political culture were instituted by the Tokugawa founders?
Where was the Tokugawa capital (and what is its modern name)?  Why were daimyo often there?
You should understand how Confucianism fit in the ideology of the Tokugawa state.
How did these changes affect the role played by samurai?  How did they affect their finances?
What were the purposes of the "sword hunt" and the closing of Japan to foreigners?
What is the Hagakure, when was it written, and how is it an expression of the samurai concerns of its time?
How does the ideology of Buddhism affect samurai culture? How do we see this in the Hagakure?
Can you note a couple of ways in which samurai culture included elements of the Heian aristocratic style, 
            and also the Confucian literatus style?

NOTE: For the quiz, I will not directly select questions based on Reading 24. However, Reading 24 will be part of the coverage of the final exam.

[Material relevant to the following questions can be found in Reading 23 and associated lectures]
What class became the competitor of the samurai, and how did that class gain power during the Tokugawa?
You should be able to characterize some of the basic values of urban merchant culture which the samurai found distasteful.
You should know what the term ukiyo-e denotes and the significant cultural features reflected in ukiyo-e art.