Transcript Ancient and Medieval Japan - Yeshiva of Greater Washington

Ancient and Medieval Japan
Geography
• Japan is a chain of Islands
– These islands were created due to volcanic
eruption
• Meaning they are mountainous, and prone to
earthquakes
Ring of Fire
• The Japanese Islands are part of the Pacific
Ring of Fire
– A long string of under-water volcanoes where two
tectonic plates meet
– Area marked by active volcanoes, deep ocean
trenches and island chains
The Ring of Fire
Geography
• Japan is made up of 4 major islands
– Hokkaido, the Main Island
– Honshu
– Kyushu
– Shikoku
• Japan has numerous smaller islands, some no
bigger than rocks in the ocean
• Only 20% of Japan is arable land
– Land that can be farmed
Japanese Islands
Geography
• Because it is so mountainous Japan lacks in
natural resources
– Very few minerals in the mountains
– Limited space for people to settle
Climate
• Mountains shield Japan from a great deal of
weather
– Weather is sunny and dry in the winter, wet and
cool in the spring and wet and warm in the
summer
– Perfect for growing rice
Japanese Religion
• The Japanese religion is known as Shinto
– Shinto is a polytheistic religion
• Shinto does not believe in gods, merely greater and
lesser spirits
• The greater spirits are godlike beings known as Kami
• The lesser spirits can be anything from demons to the
ghosts of ancestors
Creation Story
• The Kami Izanagi, in order to demonstrate his
prowess in war, thrust his spear deep into the
ocean. When he pulled it out, the drops that
fell from it became Japan
Creation story
• Japan became the sight of a war between
Susanoo, the kami of storms and Ameterasu,
the kami of the sun
Creation story
• In order to win the war, Ameterasu sent her
own son Ninigi to save Japan. Ninigi taught
the people how to grow rice and how to use a
sword.
• Ninigi’s grandson Jimmu defeated the Storm
God and became Japan’s first Emperor
– Shinto holds that the Emperor is a “Son of
Heaven” and thus beyond question and without
fault
Shinto Temple
Shinto Shrine
Shinto Shrine in a House
Settling of Japan
• The first people to settle Japan were the Ainu
– Settled the region around 1260BCE
– Likely from Eastern Russia
– Hunter-Gatherer society
Yayoi
• Around 200BCE, Japan was invaded by a new
tribe called the Yayoi, from China
• Yayoi introduced a number of new inventions
– Metal tools and weapons
– Rice farming
Yayoi Society
• Yayoi Society was clan based
– Society ruled by a small group of powerful
extended families known as clans
• Early Yayoi society was marked by war
between the clans
– Eventually one clan, known as the Yamato
achieved total control and established the first
Japanese Dynasty
Taika Reforms
• Yamato Prince Shotoku decides to improve
Japanese culture, and military to protect it
from invasion
• Sends a group of Japanese scholars to the
court of the Chinese Emperor to learn how to
govern and organize
– Adopts a Chinese style of government
– Known as the Taika Reforms
Taika Reforms
• Greatly improved functioning of government
• Placed more power in the hands of the heads
of the clans
– No improvement for the life of the peasants
– Poem by Man’yoshu: Here I lie on straw, spread on
bare earth, with my parents at my pillow, my wife
and children at my feet, all huddled in grief and
tears, must it be so hopeless- the way of this
world?
End of the Yamato
• 710CE The Yamato Emperor is overthrown by
his consort, a young woman of the Fujiwara
Clan named Genmei
• Genmei moves the Capital to the city of Nara
– Makes a series of improvements to Japan
– Builds roads, irrigation networks and dams
– Era known as the Nara Period
Nara Period 710-794
• Extended period of peace in Japan
• Emperors establish themselves as powerful
rulers by building religion
– Hundreds of temples and shrines constructed
across Japan
– Emperor as Son of Heaven becomes the center of
the religion
The Heian Period
• The Heian Period was marked with the
Emperor becoming a figurehead
– Someone who is propped up as the head of the
government but has no actual power
– Emperor continues to be revered as a religious
leader
– Power increasingly in the hands of the nobility, the
heads of the clans
Rise of the Samurai
• Local lords, known as Daimyo, each had their
own armies, led by personal retainers known
as Samurai
Samurai
• Samurai were given control of farmland and
personal wealth in exchange for their loyalty
in warfare
• Mark of the Samurai was their swords
– Each Samurai had two weapons
• The Katana: A long slashing sword designed for warfare
• The Wakizashi: a short sword, chiefly designed for
committing suicide in the case of dishonor
Bushido
• Samurai were expected to live by a warrior
code known as Bushido
– Valued personal honor and loyalty above all else
– Should a Samurai be dishonored, he was often
expected to commit Seppuku, or suicide
– Only Samurai were allowed to legally use and
display swords
• Led to an underground network of sword trading and
the creation of special weapons like Cane Swords
Cane Sword
Outside of Honor
• Jobs that required movement beyond the
code of honor like spying and assassination
required the hiring of Ninja
– Samurai without a lord
• Could still carry swords but had no personal honor and
thus could be hired for a number of jobs
• Used a wide variety of weapons including Shurkien
(throwing blades), and poisoned blow darts for
assassination
Samurai Armor
Ninja Armor
Ronin
• Samurai who lost their land, or had no
holdings often became Ronin
– Little better than bandits, they would attack
farmers and steal their crops
– Still considered Samurai
– Often hired to join armies of local lords going to
war
Rise of the Shogun, Medieval Japan
• By the 12th Century, Constant war raged
between the clans
– A powerful noble named Minamoto Yoritomo
defeated his rivals and established a new capital
Edo (modern Tokyo)
Medieval Japan
• Known as the Kamakura Shogunate
• Several reforms made to government
including the creation of the Shogun
– Supposedly Shogun served the Emperor as his
chief general
– In reality Shogun controlled the entire country,
keeping other nobles in line with the military
The Divine Wind
• New System seems to be endorsed by the
Kami thanks to an invasion from the Mongols
– Mongols attempt to launch an armada of ships to
invade Japan
– Ships destroyed by a typhoon that the Japanese
called the Kamikaze (divine wind)
• Shogun argues this demonstrates his rightful status
Kamikaze
Castles
• Japanese Daimyo each built large fortresses to
as a symbol of their power
• These were often made of wood, and thus
could be destroyed easily
– Japanese armies did not fight siege warfare, but
relied on meeting each other in open war
Himeji Castle
End of the Shogunate
• The Kamakura Shogunate lasted for 300 years.
– Collapsed due to a lack of a clear line of
succession
– Noble families fight for control
– Eventually leads to all out civil war, as no one
family is strong enough to defeat all the others
Buddhism in Japan
• Japan sees the rise of numerous Buddhist
sects
– Buddhism borrowed from China during the Taika
Reforms
– Popular in Japan due to Shinto’s lack of a clear
moral law
Buddhism in Japan
• Several powerful Buddhist sects rise across
Japan, competing with one another
• The Pure Land Sect
– Believed that an ancient Japanese Prince named
Amida achieved enlightenment
– Amida left to establish a perfect kingdom across
the sea
Pure Land Sect
• Believers in the Pure Land Sect are
distinguished by always facing toward the
setting sun while praying
• Taught that believers would be reborn into an
earthly paradise in Amida’s Kingdom rather
than in Nirvana
Zen Buddhism
• Founded by a monk named Nichiren
– Believed that finding enlightenment was
hampered by logic, academic trappings and
learning
• Felt that enlightenment could only be found from
within with rigid spiritual and mental discipline
• Became popular with Samurai class
Ceremonies
• Zen Sect introduced ceremonies designed to
clear the mind and enforce personal discipline
• The Tea Ceremony: Long elaborate ceremony
involving drinking and serving tea
– Designed to focus the mind on the simple
beauties of life
– Used beautiful teacups depicting nature
Ceremonies
• Zen Rock Garden
– Raking sand as a form of meditation
– Goal was to create a perfect pattern with no
footsteps around the rocks to resemble a calm sea
and islands
Meditation
• Known as Zazen
– Expected to be perfectly still and focused during
meditation as a sign of devotion
– Monks would often hit practitioners with sticks
who were not sufficiently quiet and still
Buddhists and War
• Buddhist temples maintained their own
groups of warriors to serve them known as
Sohei
• Most famous Buddhist warrior was Miyamoto
Musashi
– Developed a two-sword fighting technique
– Eventually wrote about his fighting style in the
Book of Five Rings
Genpei War
• At the end of the 12th Century, Buddhist
temples went to war against each other
• Eventually turned on the Shogun
• Shogunate eventually put down the Buddhist
uprising
– Could not ban Buddhism but put laws in place
limiting the number of temples that could be build
and the number of sohei
Life in Medieval Japan
• Women in Japanese Life
– Noble women enjoyed some equality with men
– Expected to be educated
– Could own property, and were allowed to divorce
husbands
– Could serve as Empresses
– Some women became full-time Samurai warriors
• Known as Onna-Bugeisha
Onna-Bugeisha
Life in Medieval Japan
• Most of the wealth was concentrated in the
hands of nobility
– Lived a life focused on warfare and artistic
pursuits
– Guided only by the laws of honor
Art
• Samurai often wrote poetry
• Most common was known as Haiku
– Special poem usually dealing with topic of nature
– Made up of three lines
– 5 syllables
– 7 syllables
– 5 syllabes
Painting
• Japanese art typically consisted of painting
either on canvas or on porcelain
• Japanese also practiced calligraphy as an art
form
– Doing calligraphy considered a form of meditation
Theater
• Japan had two major types of theater
– Noh Theater: Depicts mythic stories of humans
interacting with spirits
• No speaking, similar to ballet
• Loved by the nobility
– Kabuki Theater: highly stylized theater depicting
moments of Japanese history or love stories
• Loved by the peasants
Writing
• Japanese writers produced some of the first
novels
• First great Japanese writer was Mursaki
Shikibu who wrote The Tale of Genji
– Story of war and conflicting loyalties popular with
nobility during the Shogunate
Architecture
• Due to the typically mild weather in Japan
Japanese houses were often made of wood
frames
– Doors and walls often made of rice paper to
create open, airy spaces
– Curved, sloping roofs part of Shinto, designed to
ward away evil spirits
– Japanese houses commonly held gardens
designed to glorify the beauty of nature
Traditional Japanese House
Medieval life
• Bulk of the population made up of peasants
– Many restrictions on their life
• Could not travel without permission from their noble’s
land
• Tax collectors took nearly all of their crops, leaving just
enough food not to starve
• Could not carry weapons
• Could be killed by their noble for any offense real or
imagined
Rise of the Merchant Class
• Rising prosperity in Japan leads to creation of
merchants living in cities
• Merchants created the first money economy
using gold and silver coins
– Prior to that, Japan was a barter economy
• Merchants help to destabilize the old order, by
often becoming richer than Samurai
– Demanded more rights
Modernizing Japan
• After years of Civil War, a powerful warlord
named Oda Nobunaga briefly gains control,
before dying, his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu
establishes a new government known as the
Tokugawa Shogunate
• In 1542, Japan is visited by Portuguese
explorers
– Prior to this Japan had limited trade with rest of
world
Tokugawa Ieyasu and the arrival of the
Portuguese
Blunderbuss
Ban on Foreigners
• Portuguese trade guns and supplies with
Japan, establish permanent bases
• After Portuguese begin converting Japanese to
Christianity, Shogun bans the religion and
expels all foreigners
• Japan becomes isolationist
– Japan bans all foreign imports, bans foreigners
landing on their soil
End of the Samurai
• In 1866, two powerful leaders among the
Daimyo choose to support the Emperor in
regaining power
– Known as the Meiji Restoration
– Ended the Shogunate
• Motivated by the attack on Japan by American
fleet commander Commodore Perry
End of the Samurai
• Japan introduces a modern army
• Bans the Samurai
– Makes wearing swords a crime
• Samurai attempt to rise up in the Satsuma
Rebellion
– Quickly put down by modern army equipped with
rifles, cannon and gatling guns