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Early Japan. 10,500 BCE – 1332 | Chapter 8. Japanese Archipelago. There were hundreds of Japanese islands but there are four main islands, those of which are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.
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Early Japan 10,500 BCE – 1332 | Chapter 8
Japanese Archipelago There were hundreds of Japanese islands but there are four main islands, those of which are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Two different types of populations in the islands both of which determine the history of Japanese art and culture due to adaptation. Japanese were able to overcome many challenges, one of the biggest being the mountainous island terrain that caused communications and traveling to be difficult. Though they do take in influences like the idea of Buddhism and Chinese writing systems, they have developed a truly distinct culture. The sea has allowed Japan to remain protected from invasions and allowed it to develop an individual and unique character.
Jomon Period (ca. 10,500 – 300 BCE ) • Jomon is one of Japans earliest and distinctive cultures. Jomon means “cord markings” and refers to the technique that the culture used to decorate earthenware vessels. • The people that lived at this time consisted of hunters and gatherers, but unlike other hunter and gatherer societies, they lived settled lives. • Their villages were mostly consisting of pit dwellings that are, shallow and round excavations with raised earthen rims and thatched roofs. • Due to them living a settled life unlike that of other nomadic societies, they were able to develop distinctive ceramic technology. • Some ceramic shreds found in Japan were dated to be from before 10,000 BCE. • Potters from the Jomon period preferred modeled and not painted ornaments. • Pottery grew to be more impressive during the Middle Jormon period. (2500-1500 BCE.)
Vessel from Miyanomae, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. • Jomon period, ca. 2500 – 1500 BCE. • Approximately 1 feet and 12 feet tall and 1 feet and 1 inch wide. • Now displayed at the Tokyo National Museum.
Yayoi (ca. 300 BCE – 300 ce) • Jomon gave way to Yayoi beginning around 300 BCE. • Increased interactions with China and Korea. • Alongside Korean immigrants, social and technological changes came to Japanese society. • Pit dwellings were still the most common of homes but the villages became larger and developed fortifications that signified a need for defense. • Near the end of the Yayoi period, Chinese visitors noticed that Japan had walled towns and many of it’s small kingdoms. • Wet-rice agriculture was the foundation of social and economic developments.
Dotaku (bell) with incised figural motifs • From Kagawa prefecture, Japan, late Yayoi period 100-300 CE. • Made of bronze. • The Yayoi developed less sculptural and polychrome (painted with various colors) pottery. • They also developed bronze casting and loom weaving. • One of the more intriguing objects that Yayoi artists produced are the bells based on Han Chinese bell forms.
Dotaku Han Chinese Bell Comparison between Dotaku and the Han Chinese Bell that they were based on.
Kofun (ca. 330 – 552 ce) • The period of time succeeding that of Yayoi was Kofun meaning “old tomb”. • The time period was named after the great tumuli that begun to appear in the third century made by horse-riding people from the Korean peninsula.
Tomb of Emperor Nintoku • The Tomb of Emperor Nintoku is located in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. • Made during the Kofun period. • Late fourth to early fifth century. • Believed to be the largest tumulus in Japan. • The site covers 458 acres. • Many objects buried in the tomb to help the Emperor transition into his next life.
Haniwa • A new burial practice that emerged in Japan was the placement and inclusion of sculptures called haniwa on and around the pit grave mounds. • These sculptures are distinctively Japanese. • They appear deceptively whimsical compared to that of the terracotta soldiers and horses buried with the Qin emperor in Shaanxi Province in China. • Hani means “clay”, wa means “circle”. • They served as spiritual barriers protecting both the living and the dead from contamination. • Set into curving rows and scenes around a haniwa house that is placed directly over the deceased buried in the mound.
Haniwa of a warrior figure • Haniwa from Gunma Prefecture Japan during the Kofun period fifth to mid-sixth century. • 4 feet and 1 1/4th inches tall. • Low fired clay. • Now displayed at Aikawa Archaeological Museum.
Shinto • Shinto represents the early beliefs and practices of pre-Buddhist Japan. Shinto means” Way of the Gods”. • Shinto focused on the needs of the agrarian society and included agricultural rites surrounding planting and harvesting. • The villagers prayed to many specialized spirits called kami. Kami were said to exist in mountains, waterfalls, trees and other features of nature as well as in charismatic people. • The shrine of the sun goddess Amaterasu is the greatest of all monuments associated with the religious system known as Shinto. • It’s location, use, and ritual reconstruction of the shrine that occurs every 20 years reflect the primary characteristics of Shinto that are sacred space, ritual renewal and purification. • Clans built shrines for the spirits like the one in Ise and offered them prayers in the spring for successful planting and in the fall for good harvests.. • Once Buddhism arrived in Japan from the mainland in the sixth century, Shinto practices changed under its influence. For example, painted or carved images of Shinto deities did not exist.
Ise Shrine • The Ise Shrine is located in the Mie Prefecture, Japan and appears as rebuilt in 1993. • The priests made offerings of grains and fruits at shrines like this one at behalf of their clans. • The number of rituals of divination, water purification and ceremonial purification at the shrines increased. • The actual buildings of the inner shrine at Ise have been rebuilt every 20 years at least 60 times.
