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Medieval Japan

Medieval Japan. Periods of Early Japanese History. Jomon: 8000 bce-300 bce – prehistoric Yayoi: ca. 300 bce-300 ce – 1 st Chinese influence Yamato or Kofun: ca. 300 ce-645 ce – writing introduced Asuka: 645-710 Nara: 710-794 Heian: 794-1185 – period of The Tale of Genji

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Medieval Japan

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  1. Medieval Japan

  2. Periods of Early Japanese History • Jomon: 8000 bce-300 bce – prehistoric • Yayoi: ca. 300 bce-300 ce – 1st Chinese influence • Yamato or Kofun: ca. 300 ce-645 ce – writing introduced • Asuka: 645-710 • Nara: 710-794 • Heian: 794-1185 – period of The Tale of Genji • Gempei War Period: 1156-1192 – civil wars • Kamakura Shogunate: 1192-1333 • Ashikaga Shogunate: 1333- 1467 • Onin War: 1467-1477

  3. Jomon Period8000 bce-300 bce • The earliest inhabitants of the Japanese islands were gatherers, fishers and hunters. • Stationary communities of houses with flower gardens, cemeteries and domesticated dogs. • Jomon is the name of the era's pottery: the earthenware pottery typically had rope like patterns on the surface. Jomon means "pattern of ropes".

  4. Yayoi Periodca. 300 bce-300 ce • Immigration of rice growers from China mixed ethnically and culturally with Jomon-ji • Introduction of rice agriculture • More advanced pottery techniques • Access to metal wares: bronze and iron • Clan culture • Emergence of nature religion, precursor to Shinto

  5. Rice Cultivation Farmers' life became the standard for the Yayoi-jin. When the sun was up, they went to the rice paddy for a day's work and when the sun was down, they went home. Life became more managed, otherwise, harvesting a satisfactory crop was not possible. Management of the seeds, time, water, and people became the main concern of the Yayoi-jin.

  6. Yayoi uji: clans • Clans headed by single figure -- both war-chief and priest • Women held prominent place in uji, perhaps even serving as clan head or priestess • Each clan associated with a single god or kami -- which represented a force of nature • When one uji conquered another, it absorbed its kami into its own religious practices resulting in a complex pantheon of kami

  7. Yamato or Kofun Periodca. 300-645 ce • Yamato : “great kings” • Kofun: giant tomb mounds • Military aristocracy • Capital at Naniwa (Osaka) • Imported Chinese culture via Korea: • Writing • Confucianism • Buddhism

  8. Prince Shotoku573-621 • Regent during reign of Empress Suiko (r. 592-628) • Wrote the Seventeen Article Constitution, the earliest piece of Japanese writing and basis for Japanese government throughout history • Led Japanese court in adopting Chinese calendar and sponsoring Buddhism Prince ShotokuKamakura period, early 14th centuryGilt bronze

  9. Asuka Period645-710 • Capital in the Asuka District • Establishment of Imperial Power under Taika Reform Edict • Temple building and sculpture introduced with Buddhism -- heavily influenced by Korean and Chinese models

  10. Taika Reform Edicts: 645Fusion of Buddhism and Shinto • Influence of Chinese culture -- institutions, language, philosophy concept of national unity symbolized by Emperor's dual role: • Shinto religious leader with elaborate rituals, ceremonial functions • Chinese-like secular Emperor • Emperor ruled by Decree of Heaven with absolute authority and by descent from Amaterasu, the sun goddess • United provinces ruled by central bureaucracy • Government control of land culture

  11. Shinto • Shinto is a general term for the activities of the Japanese people to worship all the deities (kami) of heaven and earth • Towards the end of the 6th century, the 31st Emperor Yomei prayed before an image of Buddha for the first time as an emperor for recovery of his illness. In accepting Buddhism, a foreign religion, the Japanese realized the existence of a tradition of their own faith. • The Japanese called the worship ritutals 'Way of Kami’ (the deity or the deities). • This indigenous faith, Shinto, has developed into four main forms: Koshitsu Shinto (Shinto of the Imperial House), Jinja Shinto (Shrine Shinto), Shuha Shinto (Sectarian Shinto), and Minzoku Shinto (Folk Shinto).

  12. Shinto: The Grand Shrines at Ise • The present buildings reproduce the temple first ceremoniously rebuilt in 692 CE by Empress Jito. The first temple had been built by her husband Emperor Temmu (678-686), the first Mikado to rule over a united Japan. • Emperor Temmu had established Ise as the principal cult shrine (jingu) of Imperial Japan, but the site itself, and the cedar trees that grew on it, were already sacred before then. • Besides trees, at the Ise Shrine, are many subsidiary shrines of rocks from the sea which are regarded as the abodes (iwakura or rock abodes) of deities. Jingu:http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english

  13. Ise Grand Shrine is Japan's most important Shinto shrine and serves as the center of all shrines nationwide. Situated near the banks of the Isuzu River, the shrine is surrounded by 800-year-old Ise Grand Shrine cedars. The smooth pebble-lined approach to the shrine lends the site a majestic air.

  14. The shrine consists of two groups of buildings: the Imperial Shrine (Kotai Jingu), also known as the Naiku (inner shrine), and the Toyouke Shrine (Toyouke Daijingu ), the Geku or outer shrine. The Naiku is dedicated to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami (Heaven-Illuminating Great Deity), and the Geku to the Goddess of Cereals Toyouke Omikami (Abundant Food Great Deity). Both shrines are constructed of wood, and every twenty years both are totally rebuilt on an adjoining site. The only building on the empty site, which retains its sacredness for the intervening twenty years, is a small wooden hut (oi-ya) with post about seven feet high known as shin-no-mihashira (sacred central post). The new shrine will be erected over and around this post. Oi-ya

  15. The Naiku • The most revered of all Shinto shrines, the Naiku, is located at Ise. • The Naiku enshrines Amaterasu Omikami, the ancestral goddess of Japan's imperial house and the great ancestral deity of the Japanese people.

  16. Nara Period: 710-794 • 710: first permanent capital established at Nara • 712: A Record of Ancient Matters:first book of orally preserved historic legends • Emperors embraced Buddhism leading to rapid and dramatic expansion • 759: The Manyoshu: first poetry anthology • 784:Rise in political power of Buddhist monasteries led to capital being moved to Nagaoka

  17. COURTLYJAPAN

  18. Earliest Japanese Literature • 712 : The Kojiki(Record of Ancient Matters) -- an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories • 713:The Fudoki(Records of Wind and Earth), compiled by provincial officials describe the history, geography, products, and folklore of the various provinces. • 720: Nihon shoki(Chronicle of Japan) -- a chronological record of history.

  19. The Kojiki • The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) is traditionally viewed as Japan's first book. It was written in 712 by the courtier Ono Yasumaro (? - 723) at the behest of Empress Gemmei (661-721) and is in three volumes. • The Kojiki recounts the history of Japan from its mythological origins to the era of the Empress Suiko (554-628) in the Yamoto era and includes myths, legends, Imperial genealogy, history, and poetry. • Ono Yasumaru's work was based on the oral recitations of Hieda no Are

  20. Wakawa-Japanese ka-poetry • Waka were first composed orally to celebrate victories in battle and love, or for religious reasons • Around the 8th century the fixed forms Choka (long poem) and Tanka (short poem) emerged. These Waka are based on a set number of Mora (syllables). • During the first great age of written waka in the seventh and eighth centuries, nagauta or choka 'long poems‘ were composed for performance on public occasions at the imperial court. • At the same time, tanka 'short poems', consisting of five 'lines' in the pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, became a useful shorthand for private communication between friends and lovers, and the ability to compose a tanka on a given topic became an essential skill for any gentleman or lady at court. • It was not uncommon for parties to be thrown just to recite waka. One ritual was the Utokai. At Utokai parties each guest would come with an original waka and recite it to the group. All of the waka would then be judged by the host and the winner would be welcomed to eat at the head table.

  21. The Manyoshu • Collected ca. 759 • Anthology of over 4500 poems • Includes wide variety of poems: courtly, rustic, dialectical, military, travel • Identified and anonymous poets • Syllabic poetry: 5-7-5 • Choka: indeterminate number of lines culminating in a 7-syllable couplet • Tanka: 31 syllable poem: 5,7,5,7, 7

  22. Heian Japan • 794-1185 • Capital at Heian: present-day Kyoto • Highly formalized court culture • Aristocratic monopoly of power • Literary and artistic flowering • Ends in civil war with emergence of samurai culture

  23. Heian Style • A culture more independent of Chinese influence • miyabi : courtlinessmakoto : simplicityaware :melancholymono no aware : evanescence • Emphasis on the exquisite and evanescent • Literary: poems, letters, pillow books • Extreme sensitivity to nature • Nocturnal • Importance of convention andfashion

  24. Heian Society • Patriarchal but women inherited: matrilineal and matrilocal • Polygamous • Sexuality viewed as normal and necessary part of life • Men exercised political power, but marriages created political alliances, and women could exercise significant political influence

  25. Onna-e rich colors and subtle outlines. the medium for courtliness, appropriate to the literature of miyabi, such as The Tale of Genji. "cutaway" painting, in which interior scenes are painted by "cutting away" the roof. primarily concerned with the Japanese life that goes on inside the court or house Otoko-e strong calligraphic outlines on figures with washed colors so that these strong lines would not be overwhelmed by the color the medium for action subjects involving war or conflict; primarily concerned with the public life outside the court or house. Heian Painting: Yamato-e

  26. The Kokinshu(Collection of Ancient and Modern Times) • Anthology commissioned by Emperor Daigo (r. 897-930) • 1111 tanka poems in 20 books • Set the pattern for later anthologies • Books divided by subject:love, seasons, felicitations, parting, travel, names of things, etc. • Poetic sequences – linked narrations • Renga: 'linked verse' : pairs or groups of poets would compose jointly, with one poet supplying the initial 5-7-5 of a verse and another the concluding 7-7, often building up to hundred verse sequences. • The initial 5-7-5 of a rengabecame a poetic form on its own, the haiku A confused array of red leaves in the current of Tatsuta River. Were I to cross, I would break the fabric of a rich brocade

  27. Japanese Writing • Adapted from Chinese calligraphy, but a totally different language • Kanji: ideogrammatic use of Chinese characters • Manyo-kana:ideogrammatic and syllabic • Kana: syllabic • Hiragana: onna de or “women’s writing” -- cursive, does not require knowledge of Chinese • Katakana -- cursive, derived from Chinese

  28. Heian Literature • Men continued to write Chinese-style poetry • Women began to write in Japanese prose • First novel: Genji Monogatari by Lady Murasaki Shikibu • Diaries: • The Pillowbook by Sei Shonagan • As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams by Lady Sarashina

  29. The Tale of Genji • The Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its English translation. • The novel has three gradual stages: • 1. The experience of a youth (Chapters 1-33): Love and romance • 2. The glory and the sorrow (Chapters 34-41): A taste of power and the death of Genji’s beloved wife • 3. The descendants (Chapters 42-54): After the death of Genji • The Tale of Genji depicts a unique society of ultra-refined and elegant aristocrats whose indispensable accomplishments were skill in poetry, music, calligraphy, and courtship. • The novel is permeated with a sensitivity to human emotions and the beauties of nature.

  30. Gempei War Period Civil Wars • 1156: Hôgen Disturbance--Taira (or Heike) and Minamoto (or Genji) on both sides • 1160: Heiji Disturbance-- Taira were solidly aligned against the Minamoto. A Taira victory enabled the clan to become the new aristocracy at court from 1160 until the early 1180s • 1180: Taira-Minamoto War -- Minamoto chieftains rose in the provinces that led to the defeat of the Taira

  31. Samurai • Literally, "one who serves" • Also known as bushi ("military gentry") -- the warrior elite of pre-modern Japan that emerged in the provinces from at least the early 10th century and became the ruling class of the country from the late 12th century until the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

  32. Origins of the Samurai • Failure of the central government in Kyôto to maintain adequate administration • Samurai became active in managing provincial governments • The first bushidan, or warrior bands, were family organizations, military units recruited by chieftains from among their kinsmen. • By the 11th century, however, bushidan had developed into more permanent entities structured on lord-vassal ties between fighting men • Taira and Minamoto “clans” emerged in the 10th and 11th centuries

  33. Bushido • Code of honor and conduct of the Japanese nobility requiring unwavering loyalty on the part of the vassal. • Borrowed heavily from Zen Buddhism and Confucianism. • Emphasized loyalty to one’s superior, personal honor, and the virtues of austerity, self-sacrifice, and indifference to pain. • Commerce and the profit motive were to be scorned. • Formulated in the Kamakura period and put into writing in the 16th c.

  34. Kamakura Shogunate 1192-1333 • The victor in the Taira-Minamoto War was Minamoto no Yoritomo: established the first true warrior government in Japanese history, the Kamakura shogunate (1192-1333) • Shogun: the title that Yoritomo demanded when he defeated the Taira: Sei i tai shogun , "barbarian conquering supreme general." • Feudalistic Society

  35. Japanese Feudalism • Classes: • Warriors • Daimyo: feudal landowners • Samurai: knight/retainers loyal to the Daimyos • Bushi: warriors • Peasants: bound as serfs to the land who paid harvest rent to samurai • A third “class” of merchants, craftsmen and entertainers arose as peace settled in. Merchants, especially, became powerful as they became rich.

  36. Mongol Invasion of Japan • Defining moment for the Kamakura dynasty • In 1258, Kublai Khan had conquered the Korean peninsula and in 1266, he declared himself Emperor of China. • In 1266, representatives of the Mongolian court came to Japan and demanded its immediate surrender -- Japan refused. • In 1274, Kublai Khan sent a vast fleet to invade Japan but it was destroyed by a hurricane—the Japanese called this fortunate hurricane kamikaze, or "wind from the gods." • Again in 1281, Kublai launched the largest amphibious assault in the history of the ancient and medieval worlds. Another hurricane struck, and the bulk of the Chinese army sank with the fleet.

  37. Heike Monogatari • Tales of the HeikeWar • Told by professional storytellers, biwa hoshi , whose job it was to establish definitive versions of various tales and commit them to memory-- their profession came to be known as heikyoku("Tales of the Heike Narration"). • By the 13th century heikyokuconstituted the leading contemporary performing art form in 14th-15th century • During this period, the various tales were written down; so the composition of the Heike monogatari can be said to have taken place between 1200 and 1600.

  38. Noh Drama • Emerged in the 14th c. • Frozen in the 17th c. • Invention attributed to Kanami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384) • Perfected by his son, Zeami Morokiyo (1363-1443) A scene from Aoi no ue based on The Tale of Genji

  39. Conventional roles in all dramas Shite: principal character -- the only true “person” Waki: secondary character -- introduces story and asks questions; often a priest Tsure: shadowy companion to shiite and/or waki Kokata: child Kyogen: clown -- usually lower class Noh Characters

  40. Noh Conventions • Very short, plotless, tragic in mood • Highly stylized with very slow pace: 200-300 lines of play can take an hour to perform • Integrate singing, speech instruments, and dancing • No limitation in time or space • Highly allusive, poetic, symbolic language • Less about characters than emotions

  41. Yugen:haunting poetic quality, suggesting quiet elegance and grace, and subtle and fleeting beauty

  42. Types of Noh Plays • A Day’s Entertainment contains: • A god play • A warrior play • A woman play • A realistic play • A demon play • Kyogen Plays: placed between Noh plays as comic relief • No music • Broad humor • About 20 minutes long

  43. In Japan, during the Fifteenth Century the bonds of loyalty between the Ashikaga Shogunate and the daimyo or lords grew increasingly frayed until the outbreak of the Onin War (1467-77) and the descent of Japanese society into the Warring States period of the 16th Century.

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