How Did Japan's Geographical Location Affect The Course Of Early Japanese History

Focus Question: How did Japan’s geographical location affect the course of early Japanese history, and how did it influence the political structures and social institutions that arose there?

Japan is an island country that consists of four main islands. It has a temperate climate and natural harbors that provide protection from the winds and high waves. Japanese farmers have been able to harvest two crops of rice annually since early times, but it is very mountainous and only has about twenty percent of land suitable for cultivation. Japan is located at the juncture of the Asian and Pacific tectonic plates, and the mountains are volcanic in origin. An advantage of this is that volcanic soils are extremely fertile, causing high productivity of farmers. A disadvantage is that it is prone to earthquakes. It is significant that Japan is an island country because it strengthened the sense of ethnic and cultural distinctiveness. The sense of racial and cultural homogeneity has enabled them to import ideas from abroad without worrying that the …show more content…
Commerce was slow to develop, and barter was conducted until the twelfth century, when metal coins became popular. Taxes were paid in grain. Paper, iron casting, and porcelain emerged in markets during the Kamakura period. Although Japan remained a primarily agricultural society, it was on the verge of a major advance in manufacturing. In Japan, housing was simple and a majority of people lived in small villages. Most lived in houses made of timber, mud, or thatch. Their diet consisted of rice and wild grasses, millets, roots, and some fish and birds. Women in paintings often appear with men , doing the spring planting, threshing and hulling of rice, as well as acting as carriers, peddlers, salespersons, and