Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Japanese History - Introductory

Explore the history of Japan by reviewing this list of essential vocabulary. Learn about the samurai and shoguns of the feudal period, major religions like Shinto and Buddhism, martial arts, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. annexation
    the act of acquiring something by conquest or occupation
  2. archipelago
    a group of many islands in a large body of water
  3. artisan
    a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft
  4. Buddhism
    a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
  5. cannon
    a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
  6. civil war
    a war between factions in the same country
  7. clan
    group of people related by blood or marriage
  8. colony
    a geographical area controlled by a distant country
  9. conquest
    the act of defeating and taking control of
  10. constitution
    law determining the fundamental principles of a government
  11. court
    the family, advisors, and retinue of a sovereign or prince
  12. democratization
    the action of making something democratic
  13. dynasty
    a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
  14. emperor
    the male ruler of an empire
  15. empire
    the domain ruled by a single authoritative sovereign
  16. empress
    a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
  17. etiquette
    rules governing socially acceptable behavior
  18. feudalism
    the social system in which vassals were protected by lords
  19. geisha
    a Japanese woman trained to entertain men with conversation and singing and dancing
  20. guild
    a formal association of people with similar interests
  21. haiku
    an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
  22. Hokkaido
    the second largest of the four main islands of Japan
  23. Honshu
    the central and largest of the four main islands of Japan
  24. imperial
    befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress
  25. industrialization
    the development of commercial enterprise
  26. isolation
    a country's withdrawal from international politics
  27. judo
    a sport adapted from jujitsu and similar to wrestling
  28. jujitsu
    a martial artform that involves defending oneself by hand
  29. kamikaze
    a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash
  30. karate
    a traditional Japanese system of unarmed combat
  31. Kyushu
    the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan
  32. landowner
    a holder or proprietor of land
  33. martial art
    any of several East Asian arts of weaponless self-defense
  34. merchant
    a businessperson engaged in retail trade
  35. militarist
    a person who advocates war or warlike policies
  36. missionary
    someone sent to a foreign country to spread a religion
  37. modernization
    the act of making up-to-date in appearance or behavior
  38. monastery
    the residence of a religious community
  39. musket
    a muzzle-loading shoulder gun with a long barrel
  40. noble
    of or belonging to hereditary aristocracy
  41. occupation
    the control of a country by forces of a foreign power
  42. origami
    the art of folding paper
  43. pagoda
    an Asian temple
  44. parliament
    a legislative assembly in certain countries
  45. Pearl Harbor
    a harbor on Oahu to the west of Honolulu
  46. peasant
    one of a class of agricultural laborers
  47. prime minister
    head of government, especially of a parliamentary democracy
  48. rebellion
    organized opposition to authority
  49. regent
    someone who rules during the absence of the monarch
  50. samurai
    Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal aristocracy
  51. Shikoku
    the smallest of the four main islands of Japan
  52. Shinto
    the ancient indigenous religion of Japan lacking formal dogma; characterized by a veneration of nature spirits and of ancestors
  53. shogun
    a hereditary military dictator of Japan
  54. shrine
    a place of worship associated with something sacred
  55. sumo
    a Japanese form of wrestling
  56. tanka
    a Japanese verse form of 5 lines with 5 or 7 syllables
  57. Tokyo
    the capital and largest city of Japan
  58. treaty
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
  59. typhoon
    a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific or Indian oceans
  60. warrior
    someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
  61. wood block
    engraving consisting of a block of wood with a design cut into it; used to make prints
Created on Wed Feb 15 08:41:37 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:36:27 EDT 2017)

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