The Temple of the Golden Pavilion – Kinkaku-ji  a temple and villa dating back to the 14^th Century and  the 3^rd Shogun of Ashikaga.  (taken by HGTL Sept 1998)

This has been the most challenging topic I have had to resource recently.  Many  textbooks have excellent chapters on this era in Japan but there doesn’t seem to be an excess of digital information (unlike another Yr 8 topic – Medieval Europe).  I have particularly found the environmental (dot point 3) difficult.

Aug 2012 – It appears that this is my most popular guide.  Would love to know who is using it and how?  Please consider a comment or an email (see about/contact). This might help me decide my next guide (currently working on Ancient China for Yr 7). Thanks!

Australian Curriculum  – Shogunate Japan (c.794 – 1867)

• The way of life in Shogunate Japan, including social, cultural, economic and political features (including the feudal system and the increasing power of the shogun) (ACDSEH012)
• The role of the Tokugawa Shogunate in establishing a feudal system (based on daimyo and samurai) and in increasing foreign trade (ACDSEH063)
• The use of environmental resources in Shogunate Japan and the forestry and land use policies of the Tokugawa Shogunate (ACDSEH064)
• The significance of modernisation and westernisation in the decline of the shogunate, including the adoption of Western arms and technology (ACDSEH065)

General Information

The first place many kids will go is Wikipedia.  In the case of Shogunate Japan the information is quite good and well referenced. However, it is quite text dense. May I suggest the often forgotten school or local library databases (encyclopedias) . To use effectively, generate a set of keywords or terms, such as:  Japan – history, samurai, Japanese warriors, damaiyo house codes, Bushido, feudal,  military elite, shogun (military ruler), shogunate, Tokugawa,  and look these up and you will get hits such as

Shogunate. (2012). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/541431/shogunate

I can’t provide links to such sites as they are “by subscription” but here are some hints

Look up specific topics for the best information eg Samurai, Shogun, Meiji, Japan History – NB Britannica is better than World Book for this topic

Follow these steps – Modern World History>Japan:Modern History>Japan:Meiji Restoration      OR  Ancient and Medieval History> Japan: Medieval> Japan, Medieval: Tokugawa Shogunate

See topics such as Tokugawa Shogunate, Meiji Restoration, Samurai

Search for specific topics like Tokugawa Shogunate, Meiji Japan

Textbook chapters:

Links to Shogunate Japan chapters in two popular Australian texts:

http://www.hi.com.au/bookstore/hmann/pdf/hum2_ch05v2.pdf

http://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/326251/05_SAL_BAH8_SB_CHAPTER_5.pdf (note  – uncorrected page proofs)

Way of Life in Shogunate Japan, Feudal System and the role of Tokugawa

• Fill in Feudal System Chart – this is a basic chart that would be good with an IWB or smartboard

http://www.media.pearson.com.au/schools/cw/au_sch_kiem_ownw_1/dnd/7_feudal.html

• Enter Edo

This is an excellent PBS Series called Empires – Japan, Memoirs of a Secret Empire and an accompanying website.  This site has all a novice on this era could want.  More specifically there are sections on different types of people such as shogun,  samurai, craftsmen etc, a timeline and a glossary.  The video and website would be my starting point for most classes. http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/enteredo.html

The Will of the Shogun Uploaded to Youtube by PBS on Mar 30, 2009 http://www.pbs.org/empires/

• Welcome to Edo

During the reign of the Tokugawa Shoguns, Japan’s emperor reigned in Kyoto whilst the Shogun lived and ruled the country from Edo (known today as Tokyo). This site will take you on an interactive tour of Edo, and looks at what life was like there in the 18th century. In this site, when you move the mouse over the images, sometimes pop-up boxes will appear with further information. If you can’t see all the text in the box, go to the “View” menu, then to “Text Size” and select a smaller size.

http://www.us-japan.org/edomatsu/

• The Samurai – A Brief History

This website attempts to briefly explore the military aspects of Japan’s history from the Early through Pre-Modern periods. It focuses on the Samurai but there is a good deal here about more general Japanese history. As of April 2012 it seems to only go up to 1200 AD (unless I am navigating it incorrectly) Includes biographies of famous samurais, translations of original daimyo house codes, and samurai culture. Quite text rich  –  for more able students

http://www.samurai-archives.com/historyindex.html

• Samurai life in medieval japan

A PDF from Colorado University that focusses on primary sources as a way to learn about samurai and daimyo life in medieval Japan (1185-1603).

http://www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/curriculum/imaging-japanese-history/medieval/pdfs/handout-M2.pdf

• British Museum article

A short overview of the samurai with a sidebar that links to museum objects.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/j/japanese_samurai_and_shoguns.aspx

• Japan Guide

More tourist type information and LOTS of ads, but easy to understand and visually appealing

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2127.html

Impact of the West

• Commodore Perry and The Opening of Japan

Very useful for primary source images and brief history but hard to navigate

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai_02/bss_visnav01.html

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai/bss_essay01.html

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai/cur_student/bss_cur_toc.html

Units of Work

• Learning by Design, Shogunate Japan,  Prue Gill, Stephen Ahern, 2011  – These wonderful people have written and published a whole Aust Curriculum Unit of Work. I love how it has a teacher and a student column. https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/web_works/shogunate-japan-c794-1867?category_id=learning-by-design-modules-k12
• PBS Study Guide – already mentioned great resource http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/resources_3.html
• Asia for educators http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1750_jp.htm#modernization
• Mr Donn-  Japan provides lesson plans  http://japan.mrdonn.org/index.html
• Imaging Japanese History is an online curriculum designed to enhance students’ visual literacy skills, historical thinking skills, and knowledge of Japanese history. Various modules including Tokugawa and Meiji  http://www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/curriculum/imaging-japanese-history/tokugawa/index.html
• PowerPoint  – http://www2.rcscsd.org/cpettinato/ppt/PP%20Japan,%20Unit%20XXIII.ppt
•  How did the Tokugawa Shogunate centralize the Japanese government? Global ed.org have a developed a series of lessons called the Japan Project. Within this project there are lessons such as this one. http://globaled.org/japanproject/lessons/lesson19_1.php
• Document based activities on Shogun Japan http://www.dedicatedteacher.com/samples/DDTr/sstzp235es.pdf  is an extract from a book/website on primary sources and Japan, it is useful because of the questions it contains and then the links it sends you to such as this (Click on Shogun Japan) http://www.socialstudies.com/c/worldlinks.html?s@PW5jguy8cwjNU#5
• A fun experiential lesson on Japanese Feudalism  – a good starting activity http://ncta.osu.edu/lessons/japan/history/netter-japan.pdf

Note: parts of the above guide have been influenced by a Libguide I constructed whilst working at my previous school. This guide and others are readily available in the public domain and can be located through typing Shogunate Japan into the libguide community site.