To what extent did the religion, ethnicities, and languages of the Japanese region change because of exposure to other cultures?

By shreya.chatterjee
  • 2000 BCE

    Antiquity

    Antiquity
    In *ANTIQUITY, Japan had a *PREHISTORIC ethnicity, language, and religion. There is data that shows that the people of Japan may have migrated east through *SIBERIA(Russia) and into Japan. Once in Japan, the people spoke a language called *JAPONIC (ancient Japanese), which was the earliest language of Japan. *SHAMANISM (belief that there were people who could talk to spirits), ancestral worship, and *SHINTOISM (worship of nature) were all beliefs of these *PROTO-JAPANESE (first Japanese) people.
  • 100

    China and Korea influence Japan

    China and Korea influence Japan
    Japan first got exposed to Chinese and Korean religions, ethnicities, and languages in the 1st-4th century CE because of the proximity of the countries. From China and Korea, Japan got introduced to *BUDDHISM,*TAOISM, and*CONFUCIANISM. This happened because Chinese norms were spread through the *KOREAN PENINSULA and into Japan, exposing Japan to *CHINESE and *KOREAN ethnicities. Additionally, Japan used Chinese *IDEOGRAPHS(words without pronunciation) and Korean influences in its first language.
  • 1543

    Europeans trade with Japan

    Europeans trade with Japan
    In 1543, Europeans began to trade with Japan, which exposed Japan to western religion. *MARCO POLO first introduced the west to Japan, calling the country Cipango, and this made the *PORTUGUESE the first to travel to Japan for trade, followed by *SPANISH, *DUTCH, and *ENGLISH traders. It didn’t take long for *CHRISTIANITY to be introduced to Japan, and some *DAIMYO (great lords) in *KYUSHU (southwestern Japanese island) encouraged Christianity to attract more western traders.

  • Japan enters seclusion

    Japan enters seclusion
    From 1603 to 1867, Japan entered a *SECLUSION from the rest of the world and decided to ban any foreign connections, which included banning a former religion. Under the *TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE (a family of military dictators), Japan looked to reach peace and prosperity and fix the internal health of the country. To prevent any foreigners from conquering Japan and causing war to occur, the government banned international trade and *CHRISTIANITY. This was how Japan was for the next two centuries.

  • Today

    Today
    Today, Japan has many diverse ethnicities, religions, and one main language. For ethnicities, 98.1% of the people are Japanese, 0.5% are Chinese, 0.4% are Korean, and 1% are part of other ethnic groups, like *BRAZILIAN,*VIETNAMESE, and *FILIPINO people. 70.4% of people follow *SHINTOISM, 69.8% follow *BUDDHISM, 1.5% follow *CHRISTIANITY and 6.9% follow other religions or beliefs. Many people follow both Buddhism and Shintoism, while some are *SECULAR. Lastly, the language of Japan is Japanese.