| 1. |
Focus Question: What led
to the new institution of the shogunate and how did it function?
What were its weaknesses? |
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How was the Minamoto Yoritomo victory different from the earlier one
of Taira Kiyomori? Why did Yoritomo decide to establish his headquarters
at Kamakura? What condition of feudalism is controversial in its
application to Japanese history, why? What qualifications are necessary
to consider the Kamakura military band feudal? How did the Kamakura
vassals manage to rule Japan despite their small numbers? What role
did the Hojo play in shogun politics after the death of Yoritomo?
How was the second invasion of Japan by the Mongols of Kublai Khan repulsed?
Despite victory, how did the Mongol invasions negatively affect the shogunate?
What was the position of women in Japan and what most affected their status
in society? Why and how did Japanese inheritance practices change
in the fifteenth century? What tensions developed in late Kamakura
society? How was the Ashikaga shogunate different from the Kamakura?
What factors complicated the relationship between the Kyoto bakufu and
the Ashikaga vassal states? How urban was Japan until the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries? During the late Heian, what practice shifted
more agricultural surplus into local hands and what was its impact? What
prompted the expansion of commerce and markets within Japan?
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| 2. |
Focus Question: What was
the nature of medieval Japanese culture? |
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How was Japanese medieval culture different from classical culture?
What were the main doctrines of Pure Land Buddhism? Why did it become
the dominant form of Buddhism in Japan? How was Nichiren buddhism
different from Pure Land? How was Zen Buddhism a religion of paradox
in Japan? In what cultural area did Japanese Zen excell? What
were the characteristics and main themes of No plays? Which three
countries of Asia were most affected by Chinese culture? What explanation
can be given for the parallels of feudal culture which characterized both
northwestern Europe and Japan?
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| 3. |
Focus Question: What
was the origin and teachings of Buddhism and what were its main branches?
How did they differ? |
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To what other religious traditions is Buddhism related? Who was the
founder of Buddhism? Why did Gautama renounce his wealth and family? Buddhism
is considered the "middle path" between what two extremes? What are
the "Four Noble Truths"? What was Gautama's attitude of war, slavery
and taking life? What was the result of poverty according to Gautama?
What is the goal of Buddhism? When was the great missionary age of
Buddhism and where did it spread? What was the fate of Buddhism in
India? What is the difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?
Where is each form of Buddhism strongest? During which dynasty was
the greatest age of Buddhism in China? Which ideology challenged
Buddhism in China and southeast Asia for allegiance among the scholar-gentry
class?
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bakufu
Ashikaga
daimyo
shogun/Sei tai shogun
Joei Code
Nun Shogun
kamikaze
nirvana
Theravada/"Way of the Elders"
Mahayana/"Greater Vehicle"
bodhisattva
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