Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, Vietnam
 The relationships that Vietnam, Korea, and Japan have
with China today developed out of this time period
(beginnings of feudalism)
The Imperial Age of Japan
 564-857: the period of Chinese imported culture at its
peak
 in 646, the Taika reforms are aimed at revamping the
Japanese imperial administration  recreate the
Japanese monarch into an absolutist emperor. Also
creates a conscript army like in Han China
 from the aristocracy to peasantry, the Japanese people
meshed Buddhist deities with their traditional “kami”
(SYNCRETISM)
Crisis at Nara and the Shift to the Heian
 in 794, the emperor Kammu creates a new capital city
at Heian
 in 760’s a clever Buddhist monk intends to marry the
empress Kokea and reach the throne himself; his plan
gets exposed
 in the new city (Heian), emperor Kammu doesn’t allow
Buddhist monasteries or monks so they ‘re forced to
set up outside the city’s boundaries
 break away from Chinese precedent by establishing
social class at birth
Ultracivilized: Court Life in the Heian Era
 for centuries, Japanese culture switches toward
aesthetic and luxurious delights
 “social status was everything, love affairs were
common, and so was gossip”
 Writing was the most popular form of art in Japan
 Japanese begin simplifying Chinese script to make it
more compatible with Japanese spoken language
 As seen in the Tale of Genji, women were expected to
be poised, cultured, and educated similarly to men
 As in the Islamic world and in China, Japanese
women have an important role as a “cajoler”
Decline of Imperial Power
 By mid-9th century, the Fujiwara family is in imperial
control
 The Fujiwara pack the upper-administration with their
relatives, and they marry them off to other members of
the imperial government
Rise of the Provincial Warrior Elites
 Elite families begin competing for mini-states
 The “bushi” (military leaders) administering the law,
supervising public works projects, and collecting tax
revenue
 The samurai (mounted troops) are loyal to their local
lord, but are periodically called into battle to protect
the emperor
 In the 11th and 12th centuries Buddhist monasteries
hire their own armies  imperial officials request help
from provincial lords and their samurai
 Until the 12th century, samurai typically used the
longbow but after switched to the “curved” sword
 War was based on honor; “seppuku”- the practice in
which a samurai commits suicide after being
humiliated in battle
 Honor and death before retreat and defeat
 Battles in Japan rarely ended in death
 Japanese peasants become tied to their piece of land
Era of Warrior Dominance
 As the feudal lord’s power grows, the aristocracy’s power
declines
 By the mid-12th century, two feudal families compete for
control (Taira and the Minamoto)
 Initially the Taira have the upper hand in this struggle for
power, but over time the Minamoto gain the support of
provincial landlords
Declining Influence of China
 As the imperial house weakens, so does Chinese influence
 Buddhism was transformed into a distinctly Japanese
religion
 In 838, Japanese officials stop journeying to mainland
China to the Tang embassies
 The Gempei Wars in Honshu brought much harm to the
peasantry by destroying their arable farmlands
 By 1185, the Taira family was being replaced by the
Minamoto family as the power in power
 Minamoto establish the “bakufu” military government
 The emperor and his court survive the transition to
bakufu, but the power actually rests with the Minamoto at
this time( START OF JAPANESE FEUDALISM)
Breakdown of Bakufu Dominance: Age of Warlords
 Yoritomo, leader of the Minamoto, weakens the
Kamakura regime because he’s scared of being
overturned by one of his own family members
 Scrambling for a successor, the Hojo family takes over
authority 3 Tiered System:
1. Emperor at (Kyoto)
2. Minamoto family
3. Hojo family
 In the 14th century, Ashikaga Takuaji leads a revolt
overthrowing the Kamakura regime and establishing the
Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573)
 After the Ashikaga Shogunate takes over, the Kamakura
emperor refuses to acknowledge their legitimacy; the
Kamakura emperor is driven out of Kyoto into Yoshino
where they build support to continue fighting the new
shogunate
 Although the Ashikaga were successful in fending off the
imperial center of Yoshino, the authorities of both parties
are greatly hindered
 “bushi” vassals began seizing the lands of the peasantry;
they then parcel up the land to their samurai retainers,
who promise allegiance and military support
 from 1467-1477, rival heirs to the Ashikaga shogunate
feud against one another in civil war.
 While the shogunate was deteriorating, Japan was being
recarved into 300 smaller kingdoms who are ruled by the
daimyo (warlord rulers)
Military Division and Social Change
 Pattern of warfare was transformed when large numbers
of peasants became a critical component of daimyo
armies
 Poorly fed and badly trained, the peasant forces loot and
pillage; this led to the idea that the Japanese peasants
were barbarians
 Japanese women in commercial and handicraft industries
were able to avoid the sharp drop in status that common
women experienced
 Movement toward “primogeniture”, women given away
to cement military alliances are examples of women’s
roles being restricted
Artistic Solace for a Troubled Age
 Zen Buddhism gains popularity among warrior class
because it stressed discipline and created a place for art
in Japanese culture
 Screen and scroll paintings became popular for capturing
natural beauty of Japan
 Zen architectural style is seen in the Golden and Silver
Pavilion (palaces*)