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Ancient Japan's currency was known as Kochosen. They used this currency from 690 to 958. It was during the Kocho Era which hence the name Kochosen. During these 250 years, the currency was changed multiple times but Kochosen was still the main currency.

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Some more facts about Kochosen and other currencies of Japan. Ancient and modern.

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Historical events and currencies in use: Contents - Currency Museum Bank of Japan

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In the 16th century, gold and silver coins were minted following active mine developments by feudal warlords. Oda Nobunaga fixed the exchange rates between gold, silver and copper coins, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the mintage of gold and silver coins, including Tensho Oban gold coins. Tokugawa I…

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In Ancient Japan, before the sixth century C.E. and the introduction to Buddhism, the Shinto religion was thriving in the early civilization. The word "Shinto," which in Japanese means "the way of kami"- or the sacred and divine gods and deities of the Shinto religion. There are no official founders, holy books, or established opinions forced upon the believers, but the main beliefs have been preserved over the many years. The Shinto religion often consists of traditional Japanese religious practices and the thought life attitude also ties with these practices. The beliefs is more personal than a laid out religion with specific laws and rules, and is mainly for the people than the government.

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Japan is a civilization in the ancient world and consists of four major and numerous smaller islands. The islands lie in an arc across the Pacific coast of northeastern Asia, forming a part of the volcanic “Rim of Fire.” From north to south this chain of islands is about 1,500 miles, but it is only about 130 miles across its total area is just under 150 thousand square miles.

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Zen Buddhism was another Ancient Japanese religion that was originally from China and spread into Korea and Japan. The religion focuses on the necessity of meditation in order to reach full enlightenment, and that scriptures or written documents cannot describe what must be reached by the human mind alone.

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Buddhism was introduced from China to ancient Korea in the 4th century BCE and adopted as the official state religion by the Kingdoms of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla. The faith split into separate divisions…

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Ancient Japan Feudalism was when vassals offered loyalty and service to a landlord in exchange for access to a specific part of the land and its resources. Feudalism lasted from 1885 AD to 1603 AD. And it ended because of the adoption of modern industries.

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Some women of Ancient Japan were rulers, fighters, and held power in the ancient times. A few famous ones from centuries ago are Queen Himiko (183?-248 CE) and Tomoe Gozen, a legendary female samurai of the late Heian period in Japan. The queen, though seemingly erased from most Japanese history, is recorded in some Chinese history about being a ruler that was unmarried and had 1,000 women serving her (a shaman queen.) Tomoe Gozen, known for her archery and swordcraft, and served as the first captain to Minamoto no Yoshinaka (another male samurai.)

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Women of Ancient Japan — MayaIncaAztec.com

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Common women who resided in urban areas were called chonin. They generally worked side by side with their husbands. This especially applied to the cottage industries that included embroidery, textile weaving, silk production, sewing, ceramics, and umbrella making. If their husbands worked in the pub

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Queen Himiko, also known as Pimiko or Pimiku (183? - 248 CE), was a 3rd-century CE ruler of the territory in ancient Japan known as Hsieh-ma-t’ai or Yamatai, later to be known as Yamato. Considered…

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The common women of Ancient Japan were sorted based on their status in the social classes.

The women who occupied urban areas were called chonin. The chonin women of Japan usually worked alongside their husbands. However, if the work included heavy lifting or manual labor, the women were not allowed to complete tasks such as these alongside the men. This rule was set for all social classes. Women who lived in the urban areas were typically placed as maids, waitresses for various reasons, and entertainment sources. The greatest work a chonin woman could do is work for a samurai family, doing so they are seen as very desirable and pure.

However, most of the women in Ancient Japan were peasants (being almost 90% of females.) No matter the gender, peasants were often in poverty and life was difficult. Peasant women were in charge of harvesting, planting, and transplanting rice seedlings. However, when economic failures and difficulties in the countryside occurred, young peasant women could be sold into a prostitution agreement, and families would profit on the daughter's earnings.

Despite the tedious tasks of some classes of workers, all women of all social classes wore kimonos or kosode robes (almost like a short-sleeved kimono.) These dress-resembling garments could be layered to show significance, but because of the working, it is most likely the clothing was worn with only one layer of the needed pieces. Although all women wore kimonos, only the wealthiest of women in Ancient Japan carried parasols (a type of flat-wing umbrella to prevent sun tanning), combs, tweezers, makeup, and handkerchiefs. They were also known to wear flowers and accessories in their hair.

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Shinto means ‘way of the gods’ and it is the oldest religion in Japan. Shinto’s key concepts include purity, harmony, family respect, and subordination of the individual before the group. The faith…

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Originally founded in 607, the temples were devoted to introducing Buddhism to Japan.

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Horyuji in Nara, Japan 360 Panorama | 360Cities

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360° panorama photo from by Blane Ebersold. Horyuji was built in the year 607 and it attributed with introducing Buddhism to Japan. It is…

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Some advancements were Ancient japan has made unique contributions to world which include the Shinto religion and its agriculture distinctive art objects such as haniwa figurines, the oldest pottery cassel in the world.

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A haiku is an unrhymed, poetic form of writing that originated in Japan in the 17th century. The poems are written in a 17 syllable, 5-7-5 three line format that are often about struggles or nature. The poems were never called a "haiku" until the 19th century.

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haiku, unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. The haiku first emerged in Japanese literature during the 17th century, as a terse reaction to elaborate poetic traditions, though it did not become known by the name haiku until the 19th century.

The term haiku is derived from the first element of the word haikai (a humorous form of renga, or linked-verse poem) and the second element of the word hokku (the initial stanza of a renga). The hokku, which set the tone of a renga, had to mention in its three lines such subjects as the season, time of day, and the dominant features of the landscape, making it almost an independent poem. The hokku (often interchangeably called haikai) became known as the haiku late in the 19th century, when it was entirely divested of its original function of opening a sequence of verse. Today the term haiku is used to describe all poems that use the three-line 17-syllable structure, even the earlier hokku.

Originally, the haiku form was restricted in subject matter to an objective description of nature suggestive of one of the seasons, evoking a definite, though unstated, emotional response. The form gained distinction early in the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) when the great master Bashō elevated the hokku to a highly refined and conscious art. He began writing what was considered this "new style" of poetry in the 1670s, while he was in Edo (now Tokyo). Among his earliest haiku is

On a withered branch
A crow has alighted;
Nightfall in autumn.

Bashō subsequently traveled throughout Japan, and his experiences became the subject of his verse. His haiku were accessible to a wide cross section of Japanese society, and these poems' broad appeal helped to establish the form as the most popular form in Japanese poetry.

After Bashō, and particularly after the haiku's revitalization in the 19th century, its range of subjects expanded beyond nature. But the haiku remained an art of expressing much and suggesting more in the fewest possible words. Other outstanding haiku masters were Buson in the 18th century, Issa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Masaoka Shiki in the later 19th century, and Takahama Kyoshi and Kawahigashi Hekigotō in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the turn of the 21st century there were said to be a million Japanese who composed haiku under the guidance of a teacher.

A poem written in the haiku form or a modification of it in a language other than Japanese is also called a haiku. In English the haiku composed by the Imagists were especially influential during the early 20th century. The form's popularity beyond Japan expanded significantly after World War II, and today haiku are written in a wide range of languages.

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Haiku | Definition, Format, Poems Example, & Facts

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A haiku is an unrhymed poem consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.

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Japanese samurai were a significant part of the caste system/military system. They lasted from around 1185-1865. Samurai mainly disappeared after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Meiji was the reason the Tokugawa Shogunate had fallen. The Tokugawa Shogunate was mainly known for keeping balance and restoring order in Japan. Very dolly many of the samurai would master are while mastering the skill of katana's.

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The economy of ancient Japan was based on agriculture. Rice was the main item they traded. And the shogun was like the overlord of Japan. They had the most power out of all the people in Japan. The shogunate era had ruled over Japan for nearly 700 years. And the warlord Tokugawa sized control of the shogunate in 1600.

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This virtual tour of a Japanese museum includes ancient art, statues, and pottery.

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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A video that gives the basic history of Ancient Japanese culture.

Key Moments: 5:25 or 7:40

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Shionjiyama Kofun, or simply known as kofun, are large mound-like tombs built in Ancient Japan for members of an elite society- or superior class of certain people in the civilization.

The kofun originally started as natural, circular mounds of soil that had a stone-lined chamber that contained the deceased member. However, the mound shape changed size to look similar to a keyhole, surrounded often by canals.

The burial grounds can be small (15? meters in diameter), but others are quite large. The largest are burial sites for leaders and emperors, such as Emperor Ojin or Emperor Nintoku.

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(old tumuli) are large artificial mound tombs built in ancient Japan for the ruling elite between the 3rd and 7th century CE. Many measure several hundred metres across, are surrounded by a moat, and, besides containing valuable bronze and iron goods, they were protected by terracotta figurines called . The goods within the tombs illustrate the increasing prosperity of ancient Japan as the rulers of Yamato traded both materials and ideas with neighbouring states. The mounds have given their name to the Kofun Period of Japanese history which covers c. 250 to 538 CE.

Location

Kofun tombs are spread over the Kinai region of Japan which includes the important sites of Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka. The idea of large burial mounds probably spread from contemporary China and Korea where they were also built for burying elite members of society. The earliest mounds were built in the southern plain of Nara, then they appear on the western slopes of the hills above Nara, and finally, they are concentrated on the eastern shores facing the Inland Sea (Sea of Japan). The practice of building kofun eventually spread throughout Japan so that the islands boast some 20,000 burial mounds known today.

Design

Many early kofun were constructed to include natural mounds which were then developed to increase their size. From the 5th century CE, it was more common for kofun to be constructed on flat ground. The earlier examples, from c. 250 CE, are circular but later kofun follow a pattern and have a keyhole form design. Inside the earth mound is a stone-lined chamber in which was placed the body of the deceased. Many tombs are surrounded by a moat or shallow canal.

One giant kofun is that of Emperor Ojin (r. 270-310 CE) which is 415 metres long & stands 35 metres tall.

The smallest kofun are around 15 metres in diameter, many of the 140 in the Kibi area are over 27 metres high and 335 metres long, while the largest of all kofun can cover over 80 acres. One giant kofun is that of Emperor Ojin (r. 270-310 CE) which is 415 metres long and stands 35 metres tall. Another of the biggest tombs is that of Emperor Nintoku, Ojin's successor, which is also located in the modern Osaka Prefecture. It is 823 metres long and is surrounded by three moats. Nintoku traditionally reigned in the 4th century CE (313-399 CE) and his kofun is said to have taken 20 years to complete, but the mound has never been excavated.

The largest interior tomb belongs to the Miyajidake kofun which is believed to contain the remains of Munakata no kimi Tokuzen. The chamber measures over 22 metres in length and is built of stone slabs which are 4.8 metres tall.

Another construction technique for the interior chamber is seen in the 3rd-century CE Nakayam Otsuka kofun near Kurozuka. This chamber is 7.5 metres long and 1.4 metres wide with 1.5 metre thick walls built up of small concave andesite stones. The walls rise vertically to a height of half a metre and then the stones overlap progressively inwards to create a corbelled roof two metres high. The floor is of hardened clay (in other mounds it is made from pebbles) and the deceased was placed inside a wooden coffin which had largely disintegrated by the time of excavation. The chamber was covered in alternating layers of sandy and clay soil and then covered in a layer of hemp cloth which was dyed with bands of red and black. This inner mound was then covered with more earth to create an even larger mound. As with many other tombs, the slopes of the outer earth mound contained an almost one-metre-thick layer of stones, perhaps to better provide drainage and protect the interior chamber from the elements.

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The prodigious labour needed to construct kofun and the finds within them suggest that they were the burial mounds of the societal elite, perhaps at first only the chiefs and their immediate family. That the individuals thus honoured included non-chiefs is suggested by the smaller scale of kofun built from the 6th century CE. Kofun disappear from the 7th century CE, perhaps indicating the increased influence of Buddhism and the practice of cremation rather than burial. Kofun had been an easily visible display of power and wealth, but this function was now served by the elite funding the construction and upkeep of Buddhist temples.

Artefacts

The tombs contained valuable grave goods such as bronze weapons (swords, spears, and arrowheads) and mirrors. Also common are magatama, the comma-shaped jewels or polished precious stones, common to both Japan and Korea, which may symbolise life and fertility. From the 5th century CE, there are iron goods - weapons, armour, agricultural tools - saddles and horse-trappings such as ornate bridles and horse masks, which indicate a culture where warrior horse riders may have dominated society. Pottery and gilt-bronze crowns, gilt-bronze shoes, gold and silver ornaments, and jewellery all display an influence from ancient Korea and China, and the greater prosperity of rulers following Japan's increased contact and trade with their East Asian neighbours. One tomb at Takamatsuzuka, south of Nara plain, has wall-paintings similar to those found in Korean tumuli.

Placed on top of the tombs in rows and around their perimeters were ceramic figurines known as haniwa. These are made of terracotta and may take the form of humans, animals, houses, and simple plain cylinders. They measure anywhere from 1 to 1.5 metres in height. Their function is not known, but a role as guardians of the kofun - either for the spirit of the interred or to protect the living from that same spirit seems likely. Visible from a great distance they may have simply marked the territory of the tomb as sacred.

This content was made possible with generous support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

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(old tumuli) are large artificial mound tombs built in ancient Japan for the ruling elite between the 3rd and 7th century CE. Many measure several hundred metres across, are surrounded by a moat, and, besides containing valuable bronze and iron goods, they were protected by terracotta figurines called .

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There were many wars in ancient Japan. The Genko war of 1331-1333 is one of the more recognizable wars of ancient Japan. The Genko war ended the Hojo clan and cause the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate.

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a string of more than 3,000 islands to the east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean. The reason for its naming is because it is a group of closely situated islands.

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The basic features of irrigation systems in western Japan were formed during the Kofun and Nara periods (300 to 800 A.D.). and it occurred more in eastern Japan.

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The Kofun period is named after the tomb mounds that were built for members of the ruling class during this time. large artificial mound tombs built in ancient Japan for the ruling elite between the 3rd and 7th century.

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when the Emperor believed that such piety would inspire Buddha to protect his country from further disaster. he decided to build the Buddha hall to dedicate it to Japan in order to eliminate social unrest of that time, such as repeated political changes and riots, with the power of Buddhism.