Transcript Japanese History to 1467 AD

Japanese History to 1467 AD
Japanese Origins
• Humans: 30,000 BC
• Pottery: 10,000 BC
• Jomon style (cords) Pottery: 8,000
– Hunter-Gatherer with Horticulture
• Yayoi Culture: 300 BC --Agriculture,
Bronze, Iron From Korea
The Yamato State
• 300-600 AD: Rise of Yamato State
– Regional Aristocrats Pledge to Yamato Plains
Great King
– Western Honshu and Northern Kyuushu
– Extended Family--Uji + He (workers)
– Korean Cultural Influence
– Confucianism: 513 AD
– Buddhism: 538 AD
Religion
• Shinto: Way of the Gods
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Reverence of Natural Features
Anthropomorphization of Spirits (Kami)
Yamato Clan Goddess --> Ruler of the Kami
Writing + Buddhism Forces Codification of
Shinto--Kojiki (680 AD) and Nihon Shoki
(720 AD)
Nara (710 to 794 AD) and
Heian Japan (795-1185 AD)
• Adoption of Chinese Culture
• ‘Wa’ to ‘Nihon’
• Taika Reforms (Emperor Temmu, 680s)
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Chinese Law Code
Tang Style Government
Land Survey and Census
Creation of Nara (710 AD)
• Heian Capital (Kyoto, 794 AD)
Nara and Heian Society
• Tiny Super-Rich Elite Live High Life
• Most are dirt poor peasants in pit houses
• Tiny Government (6,000 govern 4-5
million)
• Fujiwara Clan (856 AD - 1068 AD)
• Equal Field System: In theory, reallotment
every 6 years. In practice, rich monopolize
land increasingly
Rise of the Samurai
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End of Conscript Armies: 792 AD
Samurai--Mounted Tax-Exempt Warriors
Bow is Primary Weapon
Regional coalitions of Samurai Arise
1156 AD--Taira Kiyomori seizes the capital
Aristocratic Culture and
Buddhism
• Aristocrats = under 1/10th of 1% of
population
• Education Based on Chinese Culture
• Japanese Poetry
• Rise of Kana phonetic Script
• Women Dominate Japanese Literature
Japanese Literary Women
• Sei Shonagon (c. 966-1017)
– Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (1001-10 AD)
• The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikubu, 1010
AD
– Aristocratic Culture, Love, Intrigue, and LOTS
OF LETTER AND POETRY WRITING
Nara and Heian Buddhism
• State Supported Temples
• Tendai Sect (805 AD)
– Ability to gain enlightenment inherent in all
things
– The world expresses Dharma
– Thus art is a contemplation of dharma
– Army of Warrior Monks
Nara and Heian Buddhism (II)
• The Shingon Sect
– Kukai (774-835 AD)
– All Buddhas reflect the COSMIC Buddha
– Enlightenment flows from your spirit potential,
your Buddha Nature
– Shingon = ‘True Word’ or ‘Mantra’
– Esoteric Sect
Early Feudalism / Samurai Rule
• Fall of Civilian Rule in 12th century
• Bakufu (Tent Government) and Shogun
• Kamakura Era (1185-1331 AD)
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Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199)
Shoguns soon become puppets of Hojo Family
Kamikaze weather defeats Mongols
Is this a Feudal State?
Ashikaga Era (1336-1467 AD)
• Emperor Go-Daigo and the Kemmu
Restoration (1331-6 AD)
• Ashikaga Takuji takes over
• Kyoto area Bakufu
• Served by regional Daimyos (lords)
• Semi-Feudal
The Onin War (1467-77 AD)
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Economic Distress + Succession Dispute
Shogunate is now impotent
Daimyos lose control to lesser Daimyos
Spiral of collapse
Agriculture, Commerce, Guilds
• Rise of primogeniture weakens women’s
position
• 1200 AD: 6 million --> 1600 AD: 12
Million
• Better farming
• Shogunate: Commercialization of
Economy
Buddhism
• Pure Land Buddhism: FAITH WILL
SAVE!
– Honen (1133-1212 AD): Faith in Name of
Amida Buddha will save
– Shinran (1173-1262 AD): Pure Faith will
save; rules of monasticism unnecessary
– Congregational system
– Militarized by 15th century
Nichiren Buddhism
• Nichiren (1222-82) and the Lotus Sutra
(1st century AD)
• All have innate Buddha nature and can
achieve enlightenment now
• All other forms of Buddhism = WRONG
• Emphasis on Ecstatic States and Recitation
of Lotus Sutra
• Daily religious practice (Gongyo)
Zen Buddhism
• From Song Dynasty China
• Return to the ‘original mind’
• Experience > Words and Intellectual
Argument
• Rigid obedience + schedules
• Koans: Parables for intuition
The No Play
• Musical Theatre; Male Actors in Masks
• Chanted words; stylized action
• Each performance is unique; actors practice
alone but perform together
• One Actor, Many Characters
• ‘Invisible’ Stage Hands