JapanJapan600-1450600-1450

Early BeginningsEarly Beginnings

According to Shinto belief, Jimmu is regarded as a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu and claimed the title

of Emperor.

Original prehistoric inhabitants were of Polynesian stock, called Ainu. The Ainu were displaced by people of Mongolian background around 500 CE.

This gave rise to the first dominant clan called the Yamato.

(573-621) — One of Japan's best early rulers•Played a crucial role in the transmission of Chinese culture to Japan. •Pro-Buddhist faction won control at the Yamato court, and established Buddhism as the official religion of Japan.•Used Chinese Confucian principles to organize the government.

Prince ShotokuPrince Shotoku

The Taika (Great) Reform of 645:

•Declared the Japanese ruler to be the heavenly emperor, the head of a theoretically centralized land. 

•Abolished private land ownership, making all land belong to the emperor

•Instituted Chinese-style law codes, tax system, Chinese-style bureaucratic practices and ceremonies.

•Japan was divided into provinces and counties with Chinese-sounding names.

•Japanese women lost ground as a result of the Taika reforms, as they were gradually barred from the imperial succession.

710-784 CE•The Yamato Emperor established a capital in Nara and ruled there until 794 CE•The Japanese continued to “selectively borrow” from China

The Nara PeriodThe Nara Period

What did the Japanese borrow from the Chinese?

The Great Wall of China design

Chinese civil service exam

Chinese Characters in the written language

Mandate of Heaven

Confucian Literary classics

Chinese architecture

Court etiquette from the Tang Dynasty

Buddhism

794-1185 CE•Capital city and Emperor’s court was moved to Heian (Kyoto)•“City of Peace” established a long period of peace in Japan known as the “Classical Era”

The Heian PeriodThe Heian Period

Emperor became more isolated and simply stayed in Heian and oversaw Shinto rituals

- figurehead

Lords controlled the political realms of Japan

Various noble landowning clansmen vied for the title of Kwampaku, or Chancellor.

They ruled in the Emperor’s name

Led to the rise of powerful families with private armies – the Fujiwara, Tairo, and

Minamoto families were the most influential

Oversaw an artistic and cultural flowering at the court

Cultural Developments: The traditional Japanese religion is Shintoism.

Everything in nature possesses a spirit and natural forces govern the earth. Traditional

Japanese customs combined with Buddhism produced Zen Buddhism.

Contacts with China were halted during the Heian Period (794-1185) as the Japanese were encouraged to express traditional Japanese

culture.

Women dominated literature. The Tale of Genji was written by Lady Murasaki. Women

enjoyed considerable legal and economic rights compared to later periods.

Economic Development:

Japan was a predominantly agrarian society with a local

artisan class of weavers, carpenters, and iron workers.

Most people worked on land that was owned by other people and

had to pay an in-kind tax on their harvests on a yearly basis.

The Heian PeriodThe Heian Period

Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199AD) set up a new government close to the present city of

Tokyo. The new government was called bakufu or “tent government,” suggesting a

military encampment.

Although the emperor continued to exist in Kyoto, his role would only be ceremonial.

Yoritomo simplified the government processes and instituted a basic legal code, although the court in Kyoto retained much

of its form and administrative function. Large family domains retained varying

numbers of samurai. Common people tilled the land, much as they had always done.

The Kamakura PeriodThe Kamakura Period

Geography: Island configuration of Japan led to the development of isolated communities,

Political Developments: Attempts at centralizing the Japanese state were relatively unsuccessful during the first millennium. The

Japanese also attempted to fashion their bureaucracy in the image of the Chinese

Confucian model. Emissaries and scholars were sent to China to study.

The Rise of Feudalism:

Eventually a system of feudalism developed in which a central figure, the Shogun, reigned as

supreme military general and political authority over Japan. The power of the shogun was

depended on the loyalties of the local daimyos and samurais.

1185-1333

The Kamakura PeriodThe Kamakura Period

Feudal JapanFeudal Japan

CastlesCastles

Comparison of Feudalism in Europe and Japan

  Europe Japan

Nobilityking, lord, lesser

lordemperor, shogun,

daimyo

Warriors knights samurai

Code of conduct chivalry bushido

Evolution•Both practices developed in response to the need for security and stability •everyone had well-defined social roles •helped preserve law and order

Samurai WarriorsSamurai Warriors

Zen Buddhism

The mental posture involved in sitting meditation is that of concentration. One’s attention may be focused on an object, such as one’s breathing or on a koan. A koan is a kind of riddle, for example:

“What was the appearance of your face before your ancestors were born?”

“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Stressed austerity, meditation and the complete control of the mind to attain a state of detachment from the physical world. This detached state was brought about by strict self-discipline and constant meditation. Samurai believed that by perfecting themselves in this way, they would be able to face their enemy and even death without fear. Samurai believed that through the practice of Zen Buddhism, they would develop the intuition to respond quickly to a sudden and dangerous situation by attaining a state of awareness and physical detachment which would lead to the domination over their enemies.

Seppuku: Ritual SuicideSeppuku: Ritual Suicide

Japanese Landscapes

European Landscapes