Chapter 92: Japan, the Frontier of the East
Japan, otherwise known as the land of the Rising Sun, emerged in the 3rd century AD as a civilization independent of China and Korea, following the merger of the Jomon (southern) and Yayoi (northern) cultures. The endonym (native name) for the Japanese ethnic group is the Yamato, or Wajin, and the endonym for the Japanese nation-state is Nippon, or Nihon. The islands in which the Yamato inhabited were Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu.
The origin of the Japanese language is heavily debated amongst scholars, even to the modern day. The dubious Altaic theory claims that Japanese, along with neighboring Korean, are related to Tungusic, Mongolic, and Turkic, the dominant language families of the Eurasian steppe. An even more controversial theory claims that Japanese is actually an offshoot of the Austronesian languages, a family encompassing Taiwan, the Philippines, southern Thailand, Nusantara, and Madagascar. The most accepted hypothesis is that Japanese is a language isolate, in a family of its own.
The origin of the Japanese nation is one where fantasy and reality blend. According to traditional lore, Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, united all the warring tribes and brought unity to the archipelago in the year 660 BC. However, Jimmu was born in 711 BC, and died in 585 BC, which would make him 126 years old at the age of death, which is highly unlikely for anyone who lived at the time. The most reasonable explanation of Japan's origin would be the start of the Kofun period in 269 AD, when the Yamato clan rose to power in the southwest, founded the Imperial House (the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world) and gave the namesake to the Japanese endonym.
The indigenous faith of the Japanese is Shintoism, which was practiced ever since the nation's founding. The tenets of Shintoism include the worship of kami (spirits), the belief that kami inhabit all things (animate and inanimate), and that shrines are dedicated to such kami. Modern-day scholars classify this religion as animistic and pantheistic. However, over time, Shinto eventually became more of a way of life instead of dedication to specific deities. Buddhism arrived in the archipelago around the 6th century AD, brought over by missionaries from Korea, which inherited the religion from China, which inherited it from India. This variant of Buddhism was known as Mahayana, which differentiates itself from Theravada in that it encourages bodhisattva, a utilitarian, hedonistic ideology that seeks complete enlightenment for all sentient beings. Although originally condemned, Shinto and Buddhism eventually came to coexist in the archipelago, with each acquiring traits from the other.
The successive periods to the Kofun were the Asuka (539-710), Nara (710-794), and Heian (794-1185). During these several centuries, Japan continued to inherit influences from the larger China, including Taoism, Confucianism, and even way of life. The imperial court funded a golden age of art, architecture, literature, and poetry. However, although the imperial court held some degree of power, a new form of government came to prominence: The shogunate, a form of feudalism combining military rule and honor codes with territorial hierarchies and social stratification.
As of 1200 AD, Japan had few political connections to the outside world, aside of some trade links to China and Korea. Christianity, Judaism, and Manichaeism still haven't made their way to the archipelago yet; its isolation by sea makes it difficult to reach. The current ruling family is the Kamakura dynasty, which had recently taken power; the head of government being Minamoto no Yoriie[1]. Not even a single European has visited Japan, as China was the center of attention. Japan was doing its own thing, for a really long time. However, sooner or later, they eventually had to be integrated into the greater Afro-Eurasian geopolitical network.
Paleographic map of Japan. The writing system, kanji, which adopted influences from traditional Chinese orthography, consisted of thousands of characters.
Linguistic map of Japan. The Ainu, which inhabited northern Honshu and Hokkaido, spoke their own language isolate, unrelated to Japanese.
Religious map of Japan. The Shinto faith found its way amongst the Ainu, as they found its animistic elements favorable.
Societal map of Japan. The state was organized in a manner similar to feudalism, but the military class, known as the samurai, were at the top, not the nobility or clergy.
Political map of Japan. The Kamakura shogunate was the dominant over Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu, while the Ainu still maintained sovereignty over Hokkaido.
[1] Son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Kamakura shogun.