The Imperial Age - Japan
The Era of Warrior Dominance
Korea & The Making of Vietnam
Chapter 13
Japan: The
Imperial Age
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7th to 9th C – Nara - first
emergence of a strong
Japanese state
Political development –
limited - members of the
imperial family struggled
for power with the
Buddhist clergy
646 - Taika Reforms –
began w/ land reform,
based on Confucianism
True aim was greater
centralization / enhance the
power of the imperial court
aristocracy/Buddhist
monks opposed
Heian Dynasty
- Capital to Heian (Kyoto)
-Abandoned Taika
reforms
-Aristocracy restored to
power
Ultra civilized Court Life
& the Decline of Imperial Power
The last minutes of
Minamoto Yorimasa's life;
he was about to commit the
suicide after losing his war
against the Taira – started
the tradition of honorable
suicide ('seppuku' in
Japanese)
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Elite Codes of behavior
Aesthetic enjoyment
Poetry
Women & men take part
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Fujiwara family
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Lady Murasaki - Tale of Genji – world’s oldest
known novel
Cooperate with Buddhists
Powerful regional lords (bushi – men of the
bow – early Samurai)
Samurai – warriors – loyal to local warlords,
not the Emperor
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Special code
Family honor
 Death rather than defeat 
Peasants lose status & freedom
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Worship Salvationist Buddhism
Era of Warrior Dominance 11th & 12th C
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Taira & Minamoto – violent family rivalries
 fought for control in Gempei Wars 1185
Minamoto (family of famous archers)
victorious
Established Bakufu - military govt
 Declining Influence of China
 Emperor under control of Shoguns
1272-1281 - Mongol invasion of Japan
massive Mongol forces w/ superior naval
technology and weaponry attempted a fullscale invasion of the Japanese islands
A famous typhoon referred to as kamikaze divine wind -credited w/ destruction of both
Mongol invasion forces – strong defenses on
island of Kyūshū
Japanese successful in stopping the
Mongols, the invasion
BUT – devastating repercussions
extinction of the Kamakura shogunate
Age of the Warlords 14th C
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Short reestablishment of imperial rule
under the Emperor Go-Daigo by Ashikaga
Takauji
Ashikaga Shogunate established
 Emperor driven from Kyoto
 central authority weakened
1467-1477 - civil war b/w Ashikaga
factions
300 states - Ruled by regional warlords
(daimyo)
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Toward Barbarism?
 Warfare becomes more brutal
Daimyo support commerce
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Zen Buddhism
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practiced by elite
new connection with China
Samurai boarding Mongol ships in 1281
Korea – influenced by China & Japan
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North & South were separate,
but greatly influenced each other
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109 B.C.E. - Choson kingdom
conquered by Han
Koguryo people - resist Chinese
dominance
Sinification increases after Han
ousted b/c Buddhism
Silla, Koguryo dynasties (668-1392)
 copied Tang cities
 Aristocracy most influenced by
Chinese culture (Confucianist
social hierarchy)
Peak of Chinese influence
Revolts against Koguryo dynasty
Caused by labor, tax burdens
Weakened gov’t
1231 - Mongol invasion- brought
turmoil
1392 - Yi dynasty founded - Lasted
until 1910
The Making of Vietnam
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Chinese push south to Red
River valley
Viets (native peoples) – Retain
cultural distinctiveness
Women generally have higher
status; examples??
Han China Conquest and
Sinification
111 BCE - Vietnam becomes a
tributary to Han Dynasty
 direct political & economic
control
 Chinese culture
systematically (forcibly)
introduced
Roots of Resistance
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Procession
commemorating
the Trưng Sisters
in the early 20th
century
Resistance from
aristocracy & peasants –
united to fight common
enemy PLUS Women
participated!
39 C.E. - Revolt of Trung
sisters
939 - Independence; lasted
until 19th C
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Distance from China helps
resistance
Le Dynasty (980-1009)
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Used Chinese-style
bureaucracy
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The Vietnamese Drive South
Indianized Khmer & Chams
defeated
Viets expand into Mekong delta
region
Expansion and Division
Hanoi - far from frontiers
Cultural divisions develop
following intermarriage w/ Chams
& Khmers
Nguyen dynasty – last ruling
family of Vietnam
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Capital at Hue by late 1500s
Challenge Trinh power in North
Rivalry until 18th century
Nguyen family symbol