Japan in the
Postclassical Period
By 7th/8th centuries Japanese court at
Nara already full of Chinese imports and
Japanese borrowing from China high
 Shinto views remained central to
Japanese cultural development
 Taika reforms in 646 aimed at revamping
bureaucracy along Chinese lines

Japan: The Imperial Age
◦ Growing Buddhist monastic influence began to
threaten imperial court
◦ After clever Buddhist prelate tried to marry in
the royal court, emperor fled to Heian (Kyoto),
where he tried to oust Buddhist influence
Crisis at Nara and the Shift to
Heian (Kyoto)
◦ Basis of imperial power eroded
◦ Emperors, however, lived in luxury and
aesthetic delights- beauty a focus
◦ Writing verse the most valued art form
◦ Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji (first novel in
any language)
Court Life in the Heian Era
◦ Fujiwara family (aristocratic family that exerted
influence over imperial affairs by mid-9th
century)
◦ Increase in power of aristocrats and Buddhist
monks- but also local lords, which they
competed with
The Decline of Imperial Power
◦ Pursuit of landed estates taken up by elite families
in the provinces who eventually came to control the
land and labor and deny these resources to the
court- they gradually carved out little kingdoms
◦ Warrior leaders or bushi- built up own armies,
samurai
◦ When emperor could not protect himself, samurai
were called in. Soon the court and high officials
hired provincial lords and their samurai to serve as
bodyguards and this proved critical to the
emergence of a warrior class
◦ Warrior code that stressed family honor and death
rather than retreat or defeat (seppuku- literally
disembowelment- in west- belly-splitting)
The Rise of the Provincial Warrior
Elites
◦ As power of provincial lords grew, imperial
household and court aristocracy declined
◦ Mid-12th century competition between two
most powerful families- Taira and Minamoto
The Era of Warrior Dominance
◦ As power of imperial house weakened the
relevance of Chinese precedents and
institutions diminished
◦ Gempei wars (5 years) Honshu
◦ Minamoto emerged victorious and established
the bakufu (military government)
◦ Beginning of feudalism in Japan
The Declining Influence of China
◦ Yoritomo was the leader of the Minamoto. Capital at
Kamakura. He greatly weakened the government
because he feared being overthrown, so kicked out
relatives
◦ Shoguns- military leaders of the Bakufu
◦ After Yoritomo’s death the Hojo (another warrior family)
dominated the Kamakura regime
◦ 14th century- Ashikaga Takuaji- led revolt of the bushi
that overthrew the Kamakura regime and established the
Ashikaga Shogunate (1336 – 1573)
◦ Long period of civil strife weakened the authority of the
emperor
◦ 1467-1477 full-scale civil war
◦ Breakdown and eventually Japan was divided into 300
little kingdoms whose warlord rulers were called daimyos
The Age of the Warlords
◦ 15th-16th centuries- deterioration of chivalrous
qualities of the bushi- replaced by sneaky armies
and betrayals- samurai marched around fighting
overlords’ battles. This upset the peasantry, which
unsuccessfully tried to revolt.
◦ However, there was economic and social growth.
Daimyos tried to stabilize village life with the
introduction of regular tax collection, irrigation
systems, public works, incentives to occupy new
land, guild organization
◦ Growth in handicraft gave some women more
opportunities but overall women’s status declined
as they became mere appendages of warrior
fathers or husbands
Toward Barbarism? Military
Division and Social Change
◦ Zen Buddhism’s simplicity played large role
because it balanced out the destruction in
reality
◦ Development of tea gardens and tea
ceremonies
Artistic Solace for a Troubled Age