Taika reforms
Attempt to remake the Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinesestyle emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy and peasant conscript army.
Heian
Japanese city later called Kyoto; built to escape influence of Buddhist monks
Tale of Genji
Written by Lady Murasaki; first novel in any language; evidence for mannered style of Japanese society
Fujiwara
Mid-9th-century Japanese aristocratic family; exercised exceptional influence over imperial affairs; aided in decline of imperial power.
Bushi
Regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies
Samurai
Mounted troops of the bushi; loyal to local lords, not the emperor
Seppuku
Ritual suicide in Japan; also known as hari-kiri; demonstrated courage and was a means to restore family honor
Bakufu
Military government established by the Minamoto after the Gumpei Wars; centered at Kamakura; retained emperor, but real power resided in military government and samurai.
Shoguns
Military leaders of the bakufu
Hojo
A warrior family closely allied with the Minamoto; dominated the Kamakura regime and manipulated Minamoto rulers; ruled in name of emperor
Ashikaga Takuaji
Member of Minamoto family; overthrew Kamakura regime and established Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573); drove emperor from Kyoto to Yoshino
Daimyo
Warlord rulers of small states following Onin War and disruption of Ashikaga Shogunate; holdings consolidated into unified and bounded ministates.
Choson
Earliest Korean kingdom; conquered by the Han in 109 B.C.E
Sinification
Extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions
Silla
Korean kingdom in the Southeast; became a vassal of the Tang and paid tribute; ruled Korea from 668
Yi
Korean dynasty (1392-1910); succeeded Koryo dynasty after Mongol invasions; restored aristocratic dominance and Chinese influence
Trung sisters
Leaders of a rebellion in Vietnam against Chinese rule in 39 C.E.; demonstrates importance of women in Vietnamese society
Khmers and Chams
Indianized Vietnamese peoples defeated by Northern government at Hanoi.
Nguyen
Southern Vietnamese dynasty with capital at Hue that challenged northern Trinh dynasty with center at Hanoi
Kami:
Nature spirits of Japan
Fujiwara
Japanese aristocratic family in mid-9th century; exercised exceptional influence over imperial affairs; aided in decline of imperial power
Minamoto
Defeated the rival Taira family in Gempei Wars and established military government in 12th-century Japan
Tribute system
System in which people surrounding China sent emissaries who offered tribute to the Chinese emperor and acknowledged the superiority of the emperor and China.
Trinh
Dynasty that ruled in north Vietnam at Hanoi, 1533 to 1772; rivals of Nguyen family in South