2.

07 Medieval Japan NOTES

- Beginning as early as the 4th Century CE, upper-class Japanese had been
eager to imitate China. From China they learned of and adopted Buddhism as
their chosen religion. The japanese adapted China's ideographic (written
symbols to represent ideas) writing system for the Japanese language. They
also learned to read Chinese and were reatly influenced by classical Chinese
texts.
- CHINESE TANG DYNASTY (618-907 CE) was the most important model for
the Japanese in creating a centralized government. At this time, China was
ruled by a divine monarch who sat atop an enourmous government
bureaucracy. In Tang China, a high-class aristocracy ruled from a central
capital city. The large bureaucracy that was created employed Chinese men
who passed difficult civil service exams that tested their knowledge of the
teachings of Confucius (A Chinese philosopher and teacher)
- Japan imitated this pattern. In 6th century, the Yamato clan proclaimed their
divine rule and set up a vast bureaucracy to attempt to overn Japan. Scholars
were sent to China to learn its ways of governing and the wisdom embodied
in Confucianism. The Japanese monarchy south to force buddhism upon the
reluctant Japanese people. Yet many ordinary Japanese continued to cling to
their native Shinto (a form of polytheistic nature worship that had guided
them for centuries) religion

Heian Period:
The history of monarches and dictatorships is rife (of common occurence;
widespread) with coups (a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from
a government), battles, and violent overthrows of one leader to install
another.
However, the families and clans of the Heian period in Japan were not
immune to this type of power grab. Some Japanese emperors or empresses
ruled peacefully. But others were forcibly overthrown. Some of this changed
when Emperor Kammu (782-806 CE) gained the throne. His devout Buddhism
brought a period of relative peace and a flowering of the arts to Japan.
Monasteries were established and artists were supported by the imperial
court.
Kammu was NOT a pacifist (someone opposed to violence as means of
settling disputes). Kammu assembled an army to destroy the ancient and
troublesome Jomon people of eastern and northern Japan. The general he

named to lead his victorious army was a warrior commander, a role and title
that would evolve into that of a shogun (a title applied to the chief military
commanders in Medieval Japan).
- Kammu moved his capital to Heian (today's Kyoto) where it remained for
nearly a millennium. His reign was peaceful, but had little control over the
most far-flung provinces.
9th Century- China's Tang dynasty was in decline. Japan lost respect for China
when that nation's Buddhists were fiercely persecuted. Because of this Japan
become more and more isolated, and turned inward.
This period marked the rise in Japan of the Fujiwara regency (the duration of
a monarch's or government's power) when leaders of this clan became highranking officials in government. Though they were not emperors, their power
was such that they effectively ruled the nation. As they gained power, the
Fujiwara extended their influence over more regions of Japan. They came to
own and rule vast regions of the nation. They also became fabulously
wealthy. Fujiwara Michinaga became so powerful that by the year 1000 he
could overthrow emperors at his liking. Some historians have called the
Fujiwara "hereditary dictators".

ARTS:

The Fujiwara also became patrons of the arts. Both literature and painting
flourished during this period.
Women were vital to Japan's literary arts during this time. Aristocratic
Japanese women were taught to read and write Japanese. They were not
taught Chinese, however, because that was reserved for the political leaders
who were all men.
3 women in particular who trhived at court during the late 10th and early
11th centuries made vital contributions to the development of Japanese
literature. One of the first books written by a woman was Kagero nikki (The
Gossamer Years), whose author was known only as
"The Mother of Michitsuna". Another important work Makura no soshi
(The Pillow Book) was written by Sei Shonagon. These early writings were
primarily stories of romance and courtly life.
In 1021, Murasaki Shikibu wrote what many scholars consider to be the
world's first novel, Genki monogatari, or the Tale of Genji in English. The
Tale of Genji is known for its intricate plotting and intriguing characters and

situations. It offers a revealing glimpse into the mindset of the Japanese

artisocracy of the time.
Indigenous forms of poetry (waka) evolved in Japan. The Tanka is a type of
poetry that, like the haiku, ha a rigid form, with a set number of syllables
making up each of its five to seven lines. The tanka was the main poetic
form during this period.
The tanka was the most popular poetic form during the Heian period. Many
tanka had 5-7 syllables per line in its first rhythmic set (lines 1 and 2), then 57-7 syllables per line in the second rhythmic set (lines 3-5) of the poem.
[line 1] 5 syllables
[line 2] 7 syllables
[line 3] 5 syllables
[line 4] 7 syllables
[line 5] 7 syllables

Here is a five line Nara-period tanka by Yamanoue no Okura translated into

English:

What are they to me,

Silver, gold, or jewels?
How could they ever
Equal the greater treasure
That is a child? They cannot.

PaintingThe intensely colored Yamato-e (Japanese-style) paintings depicted the life

and people of the Japanese court. Some also depicted Buddhist monasteries
and the monks who lived in them.

The Warrior Class: Rise of the Shogun:

In Japan, peasants started to resent the imposition of both Buddhism and
Chinese-style governance. It soon became clear that, lacking China's large
population and abundant resources, maintaining a lavish imperial court and
huge bureaucracy was crippling the Japanese peasants who had to support
both. By the end of the Heian era (1185 CE) even provincial aristocrats grew
sick of supporting a corrupt government and the court's lavish lifestyle.

Battles (Disturbances) arose in the mid-12th century. Some wars were fouth
between one or more warrior clans and the central government. Others were
battles for power between warrior clans, or even among factions of the royal
family. Over decades, these conflicts weakened the central monarchy, which
lost control over Japan. The most powerful warrior clans staked out their own
claims- or expanded their territories- where they ruled supreme. Japan
became a feudal nation of antagonistic warlords.
Minamoto Yoritomo, the most victorious warlord at the end of this period,
became the most powerful leader in Japan. Yoritomo established BAKUFU, or
rule of the warrior, as the main administrative authority in Japan. BAKUFU,
which literally means 'tent government', derives from the field headquarters
used by warrior generals during times of conflict. Bakufu became the
established form of government in Japan. It was military governance by
independent warlords, each in his fiefdom, and it shaped fuedalism in Japan.
in 1203 CE, Yoritomo went to the capital, Kyoto, and was given the title
SHOGUN (regent), the highest rank of honor a warrior could receive. (The
office of shogun peristedi n Japan until 1333 CE. Different shoguns set up
headquarters in different towns. For many decades, Kyoto was the home of
the most powerful warlord. Later, the shogun and the center of the power
moved to Edo, today's Tokyo.)

Under bakufu, shogun Yoritomo rewarded his warrior vassals with tracts of
land over which they ruled. Daimyo, or territorial barons, were lords of their
lands. The land and all that it and its resident peasants produced could be
used by the Daimyo at his discretion. Some daimyo gained great wealth from

the crops and goods produced by their serf-like peasants. A portion of these
goods was sent to the shogun. A small amount was left to keep the Japanese
peasants alive.
Despite shogun being a true ruler of the nation, a symbolic monarch was
allowed to hold court in the capital. The emperor was little more than a
figurehead, though a certain amount of prestige accrued to any warrior lord
who was related to the royal family.

SAMURAI:

Samurai are like knights. They became icons of their nation's culture and its
romantic and idealized past. For the Japanese, the samurai represent
courage, battle, skills, and loyalty. These are the emblems of Japan.
Samurai were warrior vassals who were very loyal to their clan or their
shogun. The number and quality of their samurai determined how powerful
and successful warrior clans were. The typical samurai of this time was a
mounted warrior highly skilled in archery. The warlord who had the greatest
number of skilled and loyal samurai usually expanded his landholdings. The
bravest amurai were well rewarded by their warlord, who granted them titles
to tracts of land. By the 13th century, some warlords and samurai were quite
wealthy.
-----

Using peasant labor and agriculture was one way samurai became rich.
However, some samurai helped to develop crafts among their peasants. At
this time, pottery, paper-making, and especially metalworking became
important cottage industries in Japan. Metalworking, which had been
introduced from Korea long before, was supported by increased trade with
merchants in China. Merchants of the Chinese Sung dynasty traded copper
and other metals for Japanese agricultural products and manufactured goods.
By the late 13th and early 14th centuries, Chinese copper coins were
common in Japan.

Culture During the Kamakura Period

(1192-1333 CE) Japan- the rise of Shogun, Daimyo, and samurai (time of
cultural innovation)
Increased trade with China brought new wealth to Japan, as well as new
materials and products.

Rise of Zen Buddhism (one of most important changes). Ordinary Japan

people didn't like the complexity of chinese buddhism, and they wanted a
more simpler/direct teaching. Therefore, Zen Buddhism was creaed, it
focused on personal experience. Zen teaches that enlightenment can be
realized by anyone who makes the effort to achieve perfect concentration
and awareness that is detached from worldly distractions. Zen thus opened a
type of salvation to the peasant and the lord equally.

It had an enormous impact on Japanese culture. Samurai practiced swordplay

as a form of Zen meditation. The tea ceremony, adapted earlier from China,
became an art, a simple act that in its performance revealed a deep Zen
awareness and grace.

NOH THEATER- major performance art at the time. Noh (means skill) is one of
the oldest forms of theater in the world. Very strict. Actors are masked.
Movements are highly constrained, each prescribed and precise.

With the help of the gun, one warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu, defeated all his rivals
in the early 1600s. The Tokugawa shoguns brought an era of peace and
stability to Japan. The age of samurai warfare was coming to an end.

MONGOL INVASIONS

People from Mongolia wanted to conquer.

Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongolian army, began his campaign to take
over the known world in 1206 CE. To a large extent in just a few decades he
nearly achieved his goal.

Within 50 years, Genghis and his ferocious mounted warriors had extended
their Mongolian empire throughout China and Korea in the east, and as far as
Poland and Russia in the west. In the fall of 1274, Genghis's son Kublai Khan,
had assembled an army of 40,000 Mongol and Korean soldiers to invade
Japan. The mongol army landed in Japan and faced a smaller army of Samurai
and other fighters who had wisely set aside their usual animosity and joined
forces to fight the common enemy. The only thing that saved the Japanese
forces from total annihilation was a timely typhoon that struck the bay and
forced the Mongols to reatreat back to Korea.
in 1281, the Mongols launched a much larger, two-pronged attack on Japan.
Two armies- one with about 40,000 mongol, korean, and northern chinese
troops and the other with 100,000 southern chinese soldiers, all soldiers
under Mongol military control, massed again at Hakata Bay and attacked the
defending Japanese. For seven weeks, the two armies battled each other.
Then unbelievably, a second typhoon hit. This typhoon destroyed all the ships
in the mongol fleet. Nearly all the Mongol forces were trapped in Japan. It is
sad that about 140,000 Mongol fighters were captured by the Victorious
Japanese. Fewer than 5 are believe to have escaped and avoided Japanese
punishment.
The Japanese defeat of the mongols- due more to the weather than military
skill- had a significant impact on Japan. The victory was, of course,
celebrated. But the amount of time and treasure devoted to war preparations
and actual fighting left the nation in economic chaos. The Kamakura bakufu
lost power as many warlords fell into bankruptcy. Teh traditional loyalty
between shogun, daimyo, and samurai was severely strained and often
broken. Kamakura society was breaking down.
The japanese deeply resented the Chinese for siding with the invading
Mongols. A new period of isolationism began in Japan.

ASHIKAGA PERIOD
To bring stability to Japan, the shogun decided that the imperial court would
be shared by two rival groups: the southern court and the northern court.
When on group's emperor died, the other group's most senior memeber
would become monarch.
This power-sharing often caused problems.
Although this proposal worked a few decades, one Southern court monarch,
Emperor Go-Daigo (1318-39CE) decided that he wanted total power for his
court, and the system broke down. When Go-Daigo tried to undermine the

bakufu system, civil war erupted. Clans joined forces to overthrow the
monarch. At first, the clans were defeated by the emperor's forces. But
another civil war- lasting from 1336 to 1392 CE - finally drove Go-Daigo from
power. The rebellion leading shogun, Ashikaga, became the leader of Japan.

Ashikaga period (1392-1573) was notable for the dominance of bakufu.

Whereas previous shogun allowed the imperial court to have at least ome
authority, the Ashikaga sogunate stripped the imperial government of its
remaining power.
The role and power of the daimyo expanded, and these barons gained even
greater wealth. Three clans had daimyo whose power nearly equaled that of
the shogun. The clans' samurai benefited, as well, from this transfer of power
to the daimyo and shogun.
The most powerful daimyo clans began fighting over their relative power and
their choices for shogun and monarch. Soon, conflicts among the Ashikaga
daimyo led to all-out war. During the Onin war (1467-77CE) the capital city of
Kyoto was destroyed, essentially ending the national authority of bakufu. The
power vacuum created by this decade-long war tipped Japan into another
period of chaos. A fierce struggled for land and power ensued.

ART

Zen Gardens- Complex, highly-structured landscapes made up of elaborately

sand, strategically placed rocks, and trimmed bushes and trees. The viewer is
expected to meditate on the forms and the placement of the forms in the
garden. Contemplation of their simple, perfect shape and placement allows
the viewer's mind to enter a state of meitative peace.
Noh Theater- major performance art during the Kamakura period. Oldest
forms of theater in the world. Acting is veryaustere, they wear masks and
their movements are planned and precise. The beauty was its power as a
cultural and historical metaphor.

POLITICAL STRUCTURE:

Bushido- The word bushido means 'way of the warrior-knight'. This uniquely

Japanese code of conduct was an integral part of the samurai life. The code
develope, with the influence of both Shinto and Buddhism, between the 9th
and 12th centuries. The bushido code is typified by the following seven
virtues:
Rectitude, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Honesty, Honor, Loyaly.

RELIGION:
Zen Buddhism- Zen buddhism became very popular. It plays down the role of
a set of theoretical knowledge and encourages the practitioner to attain
elightenment through personal meditation. It fit neatly with the customs and
traditions of the samurai in Japan.
Shinto- is indigenous to Japan. It's less of a religion in the traditional sense
that it is a collection of folklore, history, and mythology. Followers of Shinto
hold that Japan was created by two gods, one male and one female. These
gods were given a spear that they used to create the island of Japan. Because
the islands were created directly by the gods, the link between the beauty of
nature and the people of Japan is very strong in Shinto.
LITERATURE:
Yamato-e painting from Tale of Genji - The novel recounts the story of high
courtiers in Heian Japan. It tells the story of the good-looking son of the
Japanese emperor. It describes both methods of romance and the customs of
the artisocracy of this era in Japan. For this reason, it continues to provide a
unique insight into this era of Japanese courtly life.

INTRUDERS: EUROPEAS AND CHRISTIANITY

Despite political unrest, trade with China flourished in the second half of the
Ashikaga period. Villages grew into modest cities. Fish, rice, salt, and
manufactured goods were traded in growing market towns. Some aimyo
became a type of merchant class.
In 1543, shipwrecked portugese sailors turned up on the shores of Japan.

These were the first Europeans the Japanese had ever set eyes on. The
stranded portuguese obliged their hosts by teaching them how to make and
use European-style muskets. This weapon would transform Japanese warfare.
Years later, Christian missionaries reached Japan with the intent of sharing
the teachings of Jesus with the natives of Japan. in 1549, the Jesuit Francis
Xavier arrived. He spent two years converting some of the Japanese to
Christianity, enticing potential converts with offers to European trade goods.
Another tactic was to forbid European trading ships to dock at ports whose
controlling daimyo was not a Christian. Some daimyo did convertbut mainly
for reasons of trade, not salvation.
Within a few years, trading ships from Spain and the Netherlands were also
making regulars stops at Japanese ports. Weapons, fbrics, glassware, clocks,
and other europeans goods were traded for Japanese gold and silvers, as well
as rice and other things.
Japan turned out to be one of the most receptive countries Christian
missionaries had yet found. Despite cultural differences, thousands of
Japanese converted. By 1582, about 150,000 Japanese (2% of the population)
had become Christians and about 200 churches were built.
The Bakufu could not tolerate this outside influence. By 1587, laws were
passed prohibiting proselytizing and practicing Christianity. Ten years later,
Japanese law encourage the active persecutiion of missionaries and Japanese
christians. Although trade with Europeans continued, in 1640, Christianity
was suppressed throguhout the country and all missionaries were expelled
from Japan.

TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE AND THE RETURN TO ISOLATIONISM

Latr 1500s- the most powerful shogun in Japan, Oda Nobunaga, deafeated
the battling Ashikaga daimyo. He used force to bring more provinces into the
unified Japanese nation he was trying to create. Nobunaa was assissinated.
One of his top enerals, Hideyoshi Toyitomo succeeded him. Hideyoshi was a
ruthless dictator who crushed all rivals.
His greatest ambitionw as to conquer China. In 1592, his arys of 200k soldiers
swept into Korean, then a Chinese vassal state. Hideyoshi's forces were
crushed by the combined might of the Korean-chinese amry. During peace
talks, the defeated Hideyoshi demanded that China accept Japan as an equal.

The chinese scoffed. Hieyoshi invaded Korea again in 1598 CE, but the
invasion ended with his death.
After him came another warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and his ascendency began
the era of the Tokuaga shogunate. Leyasu's victories over the last of the
rebellious daimyo virtually united Japan as a nation. The capital was moved to
Edo (today's Tokyo). The Tokugawa period brought Japan 200 years of stability
and peace. Bakufu was modified, as elements of non-military administration
were added. A hierarchy of dimyo was created to guarantee loyalty to the
nation's Tokugawa shogun.
Tokugawa mistrust of non-Japanese influence resulted in a law, dated 1635
CE, which prohibited any Japanese from leaving Japan. Any Japanese citizen
who did leave would be forever denied re-entry.
Christianity was defeated utterly. Any remaining missionaries were kicked our
or executed. A new edict required that every Japanese citizen had to register
at a temple as either aBuddhist or a believe in Shinto.
Japan remained in isolation for the next 200 years. Tokugawa society used
Confucian teachings to maintain social order. Yet the Tokugawa period was
not one of the stagnation. There was some external trade, however limited,
and trade among Japanese provinces improved. The arts, too, flourished. Noh
theater was challenged by Kabuki theater as the entertainment choice for the
upper-class Japanese. Haki became the most popular form of poety. Japanese
painting and calligraphy from the era are considered masterworks today.