Foundations of Eastern Civilization | Japan - Geography and Early Cultures (Lecture 27)

Lecture 27: In the next four lectures, we will discuss early Japanese culture and history, beginning with the environmental context in which Paleolithic humans first settled the islands, then moving through the Neolithic, Yamatai, Nara, and Heian periods, up to the transformation of Japan from an imperial to a feudal society late in the 12th century. We will explore the interplay of local and imported cultural influences in early Japanese societies. As was the case with Korea, Japanese culture was deeply influenced by Chinese cultural prototypes, but Japan, too, became much more than just a carbon copy of China. Instead, sealed off from the East Asian mainland by geographical barriers, the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago developed their own unique traditions.

Suggested Reading:
Barnes, China, Korea and Japan.
Pearson, Ancient Japan.

Lecture 28: https://www.bitchute.com/video/0CErvxzlPj6w/