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Aristocratic Japan

Aristocratic Japan. The aristocratic age covers two historical eras: 710 Nara 795 Heian 1185 Highly developed government and culture Developed much later than China Traditionally regarded as Asia’s cultural center How did Japan get there?. Prehistory: the Jōmon 縄文 era.

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Aristocratic Japan

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  1. Aristocratic Japan • The aristocratic age covers two historical eras: • 710 Nara 795 Heian 1185 • Highly developed government and culture • Developed much later than China • Traditionally regarded as Asia’s cultural center • How did Japan get there?

  2. Prehistory: the Jōmon 縄文 era • ca. 10,000 BCE~400 BCE • Hunter-gatherer culture, including fishing • Settled villages • Simple social order • Distinctive pottery • Jōmon: “rope pattern”

  3. Jōmon era shell mounds • A main source ofarcheological data

  4. Prehistory: the Yayoi 弥生 era • ca. 400 BCE~200 CE • Settled agriculture • Rice agriculturebecomes prominent • More complexsocial order • Distinctive pottery • Note difference from Jōmon

  5. Protohistory: the Kofun 古墳 era • ca. 200~500 CE • Monumental burial mounds • Wider political organization • The ascendance of the Yamato clan

  6. Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子 573-621 • Regarded as: • Establisher of Japan’s first governmental system • Promoter of Buddhism in Japan • The Seventeen Article Constitution • Confucian virtues

  7. The Nara 奈良 Era 710-795 • Japan’s first settled capital • Laid out on a Chinese plan • Chinese governmental structure • Rule by status • National ministries • Provincial governors • All land under the authority of the state

  8. Nara 奈良 Era Culture • First great flowering of Buddhism • Buddhist institutions: • established in the capital • officially recognized • functioned asprotectors of the state • Shōmu and theGreat Buddha • 15 m tall, 250 tons • A political statement!

  9. Some geography • Continental culture:SWNE • Nara and Heian incentral Japan • The kinai region • Kansai to the West • Kantō to the East

  10. From Nara to Heian 平安 • Capital established at the location of present day Kyoto by emperor Kammu • Why move the capital? • To escape Buddhism? • For more space • To secure a power base • Importance of family ties • A time of flourishing culture • At least for the aristocrats

  11. Heian aristocratic culture • Highly refined culture • Learning: the Chinese classics • Etiquette • Romance • Gender distinctions

  12. Heian literature • A high point in the history of Japanese literature • Poetry as a tool for romance • In writing: • men used Chinese • women Japanese • the women areremembered

  13. Heian literature: two women • Murasaki Shikibu • The Tale of Genji ca. 1000 • Sei Shonagon • Ascerbic commentarieson court life • Two masters of thepillowbook genre

  14. Heian court music • Heian court music: gagaku • Used at official court functions • Chinese influences • More a ritual than an entertainment function • Two samples ofgagaku music • Togaku andKomagaku

  15. Heian religion • Two new schools of Buddhism • Shingon, founded by Kūkai • Attainment of Buddhahood in this life • Direct transmission from master to disciple • Tendai, founded by Saichō • Central text: the Lotus Sutra • By 1000, an influential monastery on Mt. Hiei • Both had state patronage • Both promised state protection • Pure Land thought arises out of Tendai

  16. Summary: Nara and Heian eras • Stable government based on the Chinese model • Culture flourishes • Social relations • Chinese learning • Literature: prose and poetry • Music: gagaku • Buddhism develops a place in Japan • The Nara schools and the Great Buddha • Tendai (Saichō) and Shingon (Kūkai)

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