Term | Definition |
Government | Japan got the idea of having it run by meritocracy from China. Some Confucian ideas were mixed in with the way that it was run. Later, Japan switched to an aristocracy. |
City Design | The way that a city is structured. Japan got this cultural idea from China. The Japanese changed it by making it a smaller version with no wall. |
Writing | The Japanese changed the Chinese version, kanji, to kana, and made the syllables fit better to their language/alphabet. |
Literature | The Japanese changed Chinese poetry into their own, and named it tanka. Tanka had different form than Chinese poetry. |
Music | Gagaku arrived in Japan and was played there. The Japanese adopted the sheng, a musical instrument from China, but pronounced it the sho. |
Sculpture | Buddhism and the idea of carving the Buddha came from India. This idea traveled to China and then Korea, eventually reaching Japan. The techniques of carving changed over time. The Japanese carved Him out of wood and added some original touches. |
Architecture | The art of designing buildings. Went from India to China to Japan. The Chinese took the Indian stupas and made pagodas. The Japanese may have been inspired by this to make permanent shrines that reflected on Japanese ideas. |
Religion | A line of beliefs. Buddhism, which originally came from India, came to Japan from China and Korea. The Japanese mixed Buddhism with their original religion, Shinto. |
Elements of Culture | Objects, ideas, and customs that make a place unique. |
Cultural Diffusion | The spread of cultural elements from one society to another. |
Buddhism | A religion that had begun 1,000 years in India before Japan adopted it. |
Japan's Neighboring Cultures | China, India, and Korea. |
Prince Shotoku | A Japanese prince that admired Chinese and Korean culture and encouraged contact with the mainland. |
Japan (location) | Just off the Eastern coast of the Asian mainland. |
When the Japanese Acquired and Adapted Elements of Other Asian Cultures | From the sixth to the ninth centuries. |
Gagaku | A form of Chinese court music that arrived in Japan in the sixth century. |
Sheng/Sho | An instrument (originally from China) that's sound and look resembled that of a phoenix. |
Pagoda | A tower-shaped structure with several stories and roofs. |
Stupa | A type of shrine that's roof was shaped like a bell or upside-down bowl. |
Tanka | The Japanese form of poetry, consisting of 31 syllables, split up into five lines of 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 syllables. Often devoted to love and the beauty of nature. |
Kana | "Borrowed letters." Simplified Chinese characters to stand for syllables in Japanese words. |
Kanji | "Chinese writing." Chinese characters. |
Shinto | Japan's original religion. Stresses purifying whatever is unclean. Its followers worship kami and celebrate life and the beauty of nature. |
Chang'an | China's capital. Area of 35 square miles and population of 2 million people. |
Nara | Japan's capital. A smaller version of Chang'an. Area of about 8 square miles and population of no more than 200,000 people. |
Aristocracy | In Japan: A ruling class of noble families. In general: A ruling class of wealthy landowners. |
Meritocracy | Rule by scholars. |