HIS 105
Chapter 9
Japan: Early History to
1467
Japan
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East of China
4 main islands and other smaller ones
Formed by volcanic eruptions
Mountainous
Only small area good for agriculture
Wet rice is the staple crop
Japan
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Poor in natural resources
Beauty of their islands reflected in their art,
architecture, and religion
Ancestors of the Japanese migrated to the
islands about 5000 B.C.E. probably from
Polynesia and S.E. Asia
Mt. Fuji
Japan
Jomon Culture
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Migrants
Present 8000 – 300 B.C.E.
Hunter/gatherers
Distinctive cord pattern pottery
Jomon Pottery
Cord Pattern
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Many other settlers came in from Korea and
Manchuria and blended into a homogeneous
society with a distinctive language, culture,
and appearance
They drove the previous inhabitants, the
Ainus, north where only a few exist today
Ainus
Yayoi Culture (300 B.C.E – 300 C.E.)
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Wet rice introduced from Asian mainland
Had wheel-turned pottery
Had bronze ware (bells)
Divided into clans
Households were matriarchal
Had a clan deity and rigid social classes
Women had strong position in society:
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Shamans
Empresses
Yayoi Pottery
Yayoi Bronze
Yamato State ( 300 – 600 C.E.)
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Gained dominance over other clans
Imperial cult developed around the sun
goddess (land of the rising sun) and
Shintoism
4th century- Yamato controlled southern
islands and parts of Korea
Had contact with China through trade and
migrants
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Introduction of Chinese script made it
possible for Japanese to learn from Chinese
texts
Buddhism introduced in the 6th century and
existed side-by-side with Shintoism
Shintoism
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Animistic worship of the forces of nature
It included a great leader could be worshiped after
death
Chinese Calligraphy
Shintoism
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Mt. Fuji was holy
Each clan had a nature as its personal deity
Emperors seen as descendents of sun goddess
so were living gods
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7th century – Yamato tried to style
government after Chinese model
This ushered in a 2nd major turning point for
Japanese – the spread of Chinese culture
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Took place from 7th to 12th centuries
Occurred in 3 stages:
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Learning about China
Introducing Chinese institutions
Trying to make Chinese ways Japanese ways
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Japan remained politically independent but
heavily influenced by China
Many copied ways , in the end, did not work
in Japan:
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Government became to heavy
Landlords resisted changes to more central
control
Many Chinese laws made no sense in Japan
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There was a rising opposition to outside
influences
However, a distinctive Japanese culture
resulted
Change in Capitals
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New capital established at Nara in 710 styled
after the Chinese
In 794, the capital moved to Heian (Kyoto)
Much later the capital moved to Edo or Tokyo
in 1869
All capitals were laid out quite elaborately
and those in government lived luxuriously
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Peasants lived in pit houses in small villages
They worked on paddy rice farms
Used slash and burn techniques when
preparing land for cultivation
There were also Buddhist temples
Pit Houses
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Heian rulers followed both Shintoism and
Confucius
Japanese believed they had only one
dynasty in their history – all were
descendents of the sun goddess
Heian Rulers
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By 12th century
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All land belonged to the emperor
It was redistributed every 6 years
Taxes were levied on people, not land
Things were all very stable until the end of Heian
rule when taxes were placed on grain and
landholdings became hereditary
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Nobles and powerful temples were exempt
from taxes
Samurai
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792, the court began to rely on mounted
warriors
They became the official troops of the
emperor
They did not pay taxes
They were known as the samurai from the
word samurau meaning “ to serve “
Samurai
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They were the military of Japan until the 15th
and 16th centuries when the “ foot soldier “
came into practice
Samurai paid for their own equipment and
training, so many came from rich families
They were to preserve local order and to
help collect taxes
Government
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Slowly changed from Chinese model in 9th
century
New agencies emerged
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Audit officers who tried to keep an eye on
revenues
Bureau of Archivists who recorded imperial
decrees
Police Commissioners who were responsible for
law and order
The Court
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Emperor
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Had the power to appoint
Some families gained great influence through
marriage to the emperor: the Fujiwara family
Emperor Shirakawa believed an emperor should
govern and he did from 1072-1086; then he
stepped down but continued to rule for another 43
years
Other emperors followed his example
Culture
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In Nara and early Heian Japan, culture was based in
Shintoism and in village folkways
Court culture was still based in Chinese ways and
teachings
Those in the court would read and write in Chinese
and felt those who couldn’t were beneath them
760 – Japanese began writing their own stories in
Japanese for a change
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Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves
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Chinese characters were used as phonetic symbols
in that book of 4,516 poems
In 951 – a new alphabet or script, kana, was
introduced for the Japanese
Many of the great writings during the Heian period
were done by women
Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu in 1010 was the
world’s first novel
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showed sensitivity, character development, and life
Kana
Buddhism
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Present in Nara Japan
Mahayana Buddhism
Had monks and monasteries living away
from society
Received money from the state
Popular in Japan first because of its rituals,
gods, demons, angels, and its art
Later because of its philosophy
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Not seen as foreign
Was felt deeply by Japanese
Shintoism was almost absorbed by
Buddhism in the late Heian period
Feudal Rule
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1185 – capital was moved to Kyoto and civil
rule was replaced by military rule called “tent
government” or bakufu
This rule introduced the Shogun who was
technically under the emperor
This brought about social reorganization
Shogun
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Taira rule in Kyoto was defeated by
Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) in 1185
It was a national victory
His soldiers were now his vassals
He had military governors in each province
and military stewards on former Taira estates
Any money went to the stewards or to Kyoto
Minamoto Yoritomo
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This was the start of Feudal Japan
After Yoritomo’s death in 1199, there was chaos
In 1266 Kubla Khan demanded that Japan submit to
his rule
He brought in 30,000 troops in 1274, was victorious
but then left
1281- he returned with 140,000 troops in an
amphibious operation
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It didn’t look good for Japan until the
kamikaze (divine winds) hit sinking a good
part of the Mongol fleet; the rest turned
around and left
Women
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Some became prominent like Yoritomo’s
widow, Nun Shogun, who ruled after his
death
Some became writers
There was that sun goddess connected to
the royal family
For a time, women could inherit property
That changed as the warrior state appeared
Ashikaga Takauji
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1331 – another emperor felt the emperor should rule
Ashikaga Takauji was sent to put down this
emperor’s revolt, but he turned on Kyoto and
destroyed the Kamakura government
After the revolt ended in 1336, a multi-state system
emerged
Each state was run by a different warrior group
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Ashikaka set up his own bakufu with its own
organization
Vassals on the land became known as
Daimyos owing lyalty to the Shogun
Statistics
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1200 – Japan had 6 million people
1600 – Japan had 12 million
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Better agricultural techniques
New strains of rice
Iron tools
Peasants became self-sufficient
Barter system
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By 15th century, military weapons, sake,
lumber, vegetable oil salt, sea products were
sold
Copper coins and market places appeared
and permanent towns
Buddhism
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Pure Land Buddhism
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Emerged around 10th century
A variety of Japanese Buddhism that said the true
teachings of Buddha had been lost and that only
faith was necessary for salvation
It remains dominant in Japan today
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Zen Buddhism
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Included meditation
Monks stressed a return to the “uncluttered mind”,
the one with intuitive understanding
The most Chinese of Japanese sects
Religious experience counts more than words
Influenced the arts
No Plays
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Product of medieval Japan
Mystery drama
Bare stage
Male actors wearing beautiful robes and
masks
Poetic language
Spirit possession of a character takes place
and he dances
No Plays