Self-Sufficient Country
How did Japan's self-sufficiency contribute to
the Japanese worldview?
Resources and Climate
self-sufficient with
- silk worms and cotton plants for clothing
- trees for buildings and fuel
- metal for arts
- fish for food
- farms for providing food
arable - land suitable for farming
Compared to Canada, Japan has a longer growing season because rain and temperate climate.
Rice: Symbol of a Country
What symbols are associated with Canada?
Japan has a symbol that is connected to its country, too; rice. Rice production requires a lot of time and energy. It is also very dependent on the climate.
Rice was historically used as a system of money. The worth of a a piece of land was based on the how much rice it produced. A person's wealth was also determined by the quantity of rice they were able to produce a year.
Other Foods
Two other food sources that were central to the Japanese diet were:
- Soy
- fish
A Homogeneous Society
homogeneous - a group of people similar in nature and character
The Japanese people have always thought of themselves as homogenous people. They shared many aspects of their lives and related to similar worldviews. For many cultures, geography plays in important part to their worldview. However, the Japanese landscape did not allow for the distinct cultural differences that can be found in many other nations. Ex) People living in the prairies related to farming, while those who live in the large cities are accustomed to the faster pace.
The one geographical aspect the Japanese relate to is the sea. Most ideas, beliefs, values and goods were shared via this mode of transportation.
A Distinct People
Like many other countries, there was a group of people that suffered from forced assimilation. The Ainu were forbidden to speak their language and practice their customs, and were forced to live in certain areas that involved farming, even though the Ainu were traditionally fishermen and hunters.