The buildings in medieval Japan are very interesting. Tea houses were small, simple, and usually in palaces or castles. The tea houses had rustic appearances in muted colors. Castles came around in the late 1600's and were kind of like the old Chinese style buildings. The castles had confusing curved roofs that were perched elegantly on top. There are two different kinds of housing in medieval Japan. The first is made with the floor raised to store food so it wouldn't spoil. The second is called a pit dwelling house. Columns are put in a hole in the ground and grass is put around it. (Top: Pit dwelling house,bottom: elevated house)
Japanese architecture was influenced a lot by Chinese and Korean style, however there are a lot of thing that are only Japan. For instance during the medieval times there was a very militaristic design. Many structures were designed to house soldiers and their lord.
Japan's main/oldest religion is Shinto. The word Shinto means the way of the gods. You will only find this religion in japan. It is focused on the gods and nature and is filled with stories /myths passed on verbally. As soon as the writing from China came to Japan the Myths were written down. This religion teaches that there are gods, also know as Kami, every where. Shinto teaches that nature should be respected and are at peace with the environment. Worshiping had to to with shines there were no little statues and people came there to celebrate or when in trouble ask for help. As a part of worship they made offerings like food, drink, sumo fights,and coins. When you are at the shrine you must be clean so the worshipers would wash their hands and face at the shrine.
The Japanese government was shaped greatly by Prince Shotoku. There is a paragraph on him in the museum of man.
The list of Japanese inventions is a mile long but here are a few silk, windmills, printing press, water hammers, mirrors, oil paint, hour glass, magnets, rat traps, gun powder, cannons, and the wheelbarrow are just a few.