Life in Ancient Japan

Life in Ancient Japan
Author: Hazel Richardson
Publisher: Crabtree Publishing Company
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2005
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780778720416

Despite the influence of powerful neighbors and periods of civil strife, the island nation of Japan remains a land of ancient traditions. This fascinating new book describes how Japan grew from rule by local chieftains to an emperor-led nation with many noble families competing for prominence. Beautiful spreads and full-color photographs unveil Japan's rich history including early pit dwellings, the development of castle towns, and life as a samurai warrior.

Daily Life and Demographics in Ancient Japan

Daily Life and Demographics in Ancient Japan
Author: William Wayne Farris
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2020-08-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0472901966

For centuries, scholars have wondered what daily life was like for the common people of Japan, especially for long bygone eras such as the ancient age (700–1150). Using the discipline of historical demography, William Wayne Farris shows that for most of this era, Japan’s overall population hardly grew at all, hovering around six million for almost five hundred years. The reasons for the stable population were complex. Most importantly, Japan was caught up in an East Asian pandemic that killed both aristocrat and commoner in countless numbers every generation. These epidemics of smallpox, measles, mumps, and dysentery decimated the adult population, resulting in wide-ranging social and economic turmoil. Famine recurred about once every three years, leaving large proportions of the populace malnourished or dead. Ecological degradation of central Japan led to an increased incidence of drought and soil erosion. And war led soldiers to murder innocent bystanders in droves. Under these harsh conditions, agriculture suffered from high rates of field abandonment and poor technological development. Both farming and industry shifted increasingly to labor-saving technologies. With workers at a premium, wages rose. Traders shifted from the use of money to barter. Cities disappeared. The family was an amorphous entity, with women holding high status in a labor-short economy. Broken families and an appallingly high rate of infant mortality were also part of kinship patterns. The average family lived in a cold, drafty dwelling susceptible to fire, wore clothing made of scratchy hemp, consumed meals just barely adequate in the best of times, and suffered from a lack of sanitary conditions that increased the likelihood of disease outbreak. While life was harsh for almost all people from 700 to 1150, these experiences represented investments in human capital that would bear fruit during the medieval epoch (1150–1600).

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan
Author: Charles Dunn
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2008-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1462916511

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan paints a vivid portrait of Tokugawa Japan, a time when contact with the outside world was deliberately avoided, and the daily life of the different classes consolidated the traditions that shaped modern Japan. With detailed descriptions and over 100 illustrations, authentic samurai, farmers, craftsmen, merchants, courtiers, priests, entertainers and outcasts come to life in this magnificently illustrated portrait of a colorful society. Most works of Japanese history fail to provide enough details about the lives of the people who lived during the time. The level of detail in Everyday Life in Traditional Japan allows for a nearly complete picture of the history of Japan. In fascinating detail, Charles J. Dunn describes how each class lived: their food, clothing, and houses; their beliefs and their fears. At the same time, he takes account of certain important groups that fell outside the formal class structure, such as the courtiers in the emperor's palace at Kyoto, the Shinto and Buddhist priests, and the other extreme, the actors and the outcasts. he concludes with a lively account of everyday life in the capital city of Edo, the present-day Tokyo.

Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan

Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan
Author: William E. Deal
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195331265

This book is an introduction the Japanese history, culture, and society from 1185 - the beginning of the Kamakura period - through the end of the Edo period in 1868.

The Life of Ancient Japan

The Life of Ancient Japan
Author: Kurt Singer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2014-04-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134278136

First Published in 2002. This book looks at the small groups of Japanese people who were perpetually endangered by foreign invasions, actual and potential, and even more by the disruptive forces of their own ambitious kith and kin. These people were scattered over a number of islands, each again divided by mountain ranges into a set of island-like districts, and they lived and enjoyed a perilous existence which made them stronger and still more secretive. Traits and tendencies of this order are in the strictest sense ultimate data of sociological analysis. The purpose of the present book is to facilitate these studies, by presenting a co-ordinated number of texts dating from the epochs in which the foundations of Japanese civilization were laid.

African Samurai

African Samurai
Author: Thomas Lockley
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2019-04-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1488098751

This biography of the first foreign-born samurai and his journey from Africa to Japan is “a readable, compassionate account of an extraordinary life” (The Washington Post). When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traveled much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child, he had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, he was learning the traditions of Japan’s martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. Now African Samurai presents the never-before-told biography of this unique figure of the sixteenth century, one whose travels between countries and cultures offers a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan. “Fast-paced, action-packed writing. . . . A new and important biography and an incredibly moving study of medieval Japan and solid perspective on its unification. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Eminently readable. . . . a worthwhile and entertaining work.” —Publishers Weekly “A unique story of a unique man, and yet someone with whom we can all identify.” —Jack Weatherford, New York Times–bestselling author of Genghis Khan

The Life of Ancient Japan

The Life of Ancient Japan
Author: Kurt Singer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2014-04-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134278063

First Published in 2002. This book looks at the small groups of Japanese people who were perpetually endangered by foreign invasions, actual and potential, and even more by the disruptive forces of their own ambitious kith and kin. These people were scattered over a number of islands, each again divided by mountain ranges into a set of island-like districts, and they lived and enjoyed a perilous existence which made them stronger and still more secretive. Traits and tendencies of this order are in the strictest sense ultimate data of sociological analysis. The purpose of the present book is to facilitate these studies, by presenting a co-ordinated number of texts dating from the epochs in which the foundations of Japanese civilization were laid.

Ancient Japan

Ancient Japan
Author: Captivating History
Publisher:
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2019-12-11
Genre:
ISBN: 9781647481421

Japan, the country of the rising sun, is today known as one of the most prosperous and technologically advanced nations despite not having many natural resources. This guide will lead you into that dive, showing how those characteristics synonymous with the Japanese civilization gradually appeared, formed, and transformed through time.

Japan's Medieval Population

Japan's Medieval Population
Author: William Wayne Farris
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0824829735

"Japan's Medieval Population will be required reading for specialists in pre-modern Japanese history, who will appreciate it not only for its thought-provoking arguments, but also for its methodology and use of sources. It will be of interest as well to modern Japan historians and scholars and students of comparative social and economic development."--BOOK JACKET.

Ancient Japan

Ancient Japan
Author: Captivating History
Publisher:
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2019-03-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781799090069

If you want to discover the captivating history of ancient Japan, then keep reading... Japan, the country of the rising sun, is today known as one of the most prosperous and technologically advanced nations despite not having many natural resources. It is full of hardworking, ethical people that live with a mix of old-time traditions and new-age progressive lifestyles. It's the land of famed and virtuous samurai warriors, for whom loyalty is everything, and of legendary and adept ninja assassins, capable of bypassing any obstacle. No less famed is Japanese art, unique in its style and form, from short haiku songs to breathtaking watercolor paintings, both amazingly vivid and simplistic in form. It's the country of Buddhist Zen masters, who were wise and spiritual, symbols of moderation and morality. At the same time, it's the culture of geishas, who represented indulgence, entertainment, and corporeal desires. Today, it is one of the most liberal and democratic countries, yet it still has an emperor on the throne and a long tradition of shōguns, who were more or less military dictators. All in all, Japan seems to be a country of paradoxes and oppositions, of yin and yang. Yet it doesn't seem to suffer from it; instead, it is thriving, growing, and developing, and it has been doing so for a long time. From those contradictions, a sense of unity and pride arose, guiding Japanese history and civilizational development through the ages, leaving an unquestionable mark on the world heritage and mankind. But this is only the surface of an astonishing culture that deserves a deeper look. This guide will lead you into that dive, showing how those characteristics synonymous with the Japanese civilization gradually appeared, formed, and transformed through time. Learning about Japan's history, its past failures and successes and how they shaped their nation, will also illuminate how this civilization developed, while at the same time presenting a full array of interesting stories, persons, and events. In Ancient Japan: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient History of Japan, Their Ancient Civilization, and Japanese Culture, Including Stories of the Samurai, you will discover topics such as Origins of Imperial Japan and Its People Birth of Imperial Japan and Its Culture History of Classical Japan Early Medieval Japan Late Medieval Japan Japanese Society Warriors of Ancient Japan Religious Life in Japan Japanese Culture And much, much more! So if you want to learn more about ancient Japan, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!