A History of the World: Chapter 18: Civilizations of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia

Many shamans were women. They carried out rituals—songs, dances, and chants—to convince the spirits to help people. Shamans were thought to have the ability to cure illnesses.

The printing of Buddhist sacred texts with wooden blocks was another Silla achievement.

The Yi dynasty was forced to surrender. They had to pay tribute to China's Manchu rulers.

Japan is an archipelago, or a chain of islands, that runs north to south in the Pacific Ocean.

Still, the seas around Japan kept the Japanese isolated, or separated, from the rest of Asia.

The early Japanese believed that humans, animals, plants, rocks, and rivers all have their own spirits. This idea is known as animism.

Shinto later became linked to Japan's rulers. Their duties included taking part in Shinto rituals to ensure the well-being of Japan.

About A.D. 600, a Yamato prince named Shotoku ruled Japan on behalf of his aunt.

He wanted to give Japan a strong, well-organized government, so Shotoku created a constitution, or a plan of government. Shotoku's constitution stated that the emperor was an all-powerful ruler.

The nobles gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them. These warriors became known as samurai. In battle, samurai fought on horseback with swords, daggers, and bows and arrows.

In 1192, he gave Yoritomo the title of shogun, or commander of the military forces.

Many samurai became vassals of a daimyo. These samurai gave an oath of loyalty to their daimyo and pledged to serve him in battle. In return, each daimyo gave land to his samurai.

This bond of loyalty between a lord and a vassal is known as feudalism. A similar form of feudalism existed in Europe between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the early modern period.

For the most part, Japan's wealth came from the hard labor of its farmers.

More and more artisans and merchants began to live in Kyoto. They set up groups called guilds, or za in Japanese, to protect their jobs and increase their earnings.

By the time Buddhism reached Japan, it had formed into many different sects, or small groups.

Followers of Zen disciplined their bodies through martial arts, or sports that involved combat and self-defense.

Zen Buddhists also practiced meditation. A person who meditated sat cross-legged and motionless. The person tried to clear the mind of all worldly thoughts and desires. Meditation was considered a way for people to relax and find inner peace.

South and east of the region's mainland are thousands of mountainous islands. Part of a geographical area known for being unstable, these islands hold many active volcanoes. These volcanoes provide rich soil for farming.

A tsunami is a huge ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake. Tsunamis usually strike coastal lowlands, killing many people and destroying buildings.

They set up a trading network that exchanged goods and ideas among the peoples of Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East.

States on the coast became maritime, or seafaring, powers that controlled shipping.

Supported by Khmer kings, architects created a new style of building based on Indian and local designs.

Like the Thai, the Burmese adopted Buddhism, as well as Indian political institutions and culture.