Keynotes 10

Japan - Land of the Rising Sun

Differences and similarities compared to other East Asian nations

• Different from Vietnam or Korea, Japan was never forced to live under Chinese occupation or take over Chinese cultural acievements, but chose to select from foreign cultures, - in the early days from China and Korea, later from the West -, whatever promised to enhanced the quality of life. This pattern pertained to concrete objects as well as abstract concepts. No arrogance limited the Japanese in adopting ideas and techniques, which they then altered and developed according to their own needs.
• The feudal system of hereditary ranks and clear class distinctions was preserved until the 1860s. Like in Korea, the [military] aristocracy ruled the country and had access to education. This social system prohibited political unification until the 17th century.
• The population was small compared to the densely populated areas in China and Vietnam, which were surrounded by cultivated land. Similar to Korea, Japan has very limited space for cultivation (17% of the territory). It is the country with the highest cosumption of chemical fertilizer in the world to which the acidic volcanic soil contributes.

Timeline

Mythical beginnings: The myth of the siblings Izanagi and Izanami who create the Japanese islands, and their daughter Amaterasu, the Kami of the Sun, are recorded in the oldest Japanese historiographical works Kojiki (712; Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihongi (or Nihon shoki, History of Japan; 720). The records were created to provide Japan with an impressive and long history, which could be used by the rulers who linked their origins to the myth of Amaterasu to legitimize their ower. These historical writings were based on the Chinese model.

10.000 BCE oldest pottery in the world
8.000 BCE Jomon: pit dwelings; pottery without the potter's wheel

The 'Age of Cultural Borrowing'

3rd BCE - 6th cent. CE

Yayoi: dwellings on stilts; rice cultivation; simultaneous begin of use of bronze and iron: agricultural revolution, potter's wheel (Chinese influence): hard pottery often in pale orange; Kofun = 'keyhole'-shaped tombs with Haniwa (=pottery models of warriors, houses, animals etc.) as tomb protectors/ indicators of 'tomb territory' (Korean influence)

Yayoi period Tomb mural (Asukamura, Nara prefecture)

Yayoi village (model)

Armor found in a Yayoi tomb

Haniwa figurine

3rd cent. CE competing regional states; some states are united by Queen Pimiko, a shaman queen

Yamato area (Kyoto-Osaka): center of tribal uji-clan organization in which clans are consolidated into a state; clan leaders have political and religious function; their position is hereditary; clans are devoted to ancestor worship and venerate Kami (=supernatural presence/force active in nature as well as in [manmade] objects). Uji members have aristocratic titles (in analogy with Korean titles); non-uji members are artisans, many of whom are from Korea (Paekche; Kaya); indigenous workers; peasants

Shinto: The "Way of the gods/deities": animistic-shamanistic cult (influenced by Central Asian shamanistic traditions) without theological or philosophical canon; no strictly organized religious community. Focus: ritual cleansing to preserve/achieve purity (Rituals performed at shrines, in Sumo, in everyday hygiene); love of nature;

Early rulers served as Shinto priests/priestess.

Map of Itsukushima Shrine, important center of Shinto until today

Sumo wrestlers

Shinto shrine entrance: The torii gate indicates the sacred ground of the shrine

5th -6th century: Chinese characters are adopted for the transcription of Japanese names

513 Confucianism reaches Japan via Paekche with a scholar of the 'Five Classics';

552 Buddhism comes to Japan (via Korea); Kami take 'human shape' (in depictions, dancers as impersonators etc.);

554 Scholars from Paekche bring divination practices, medical knowledge, Confucian ideas, and the Chinese calendar to Japan

562 Territory of Kaya (Korea) taken over by Silla; Japan looses its cultural stronghold in Korea; migration of Korean families (artisans) to Japan lasts until 9th century

604-622 During the reign of Prince Shotoku, the first Tenno = Heavenly Ruler of Japan, Confucian ideas make their way to Japanese ruling class. Buddhism becomes the state religion; Prince Shotoku supports Buddhist teachings and writes interpretations of several sutras; with Buddhism Tang civilization is imported to Japan on a grand scale:

the 17 Article Constitution replaces the uji-organization and emphasizes the supremacy of the ruler/emperor; a bureaucratic administration with 26 ranks is established; the officials are selected by examinations; recruitment of officials from the ranks of the aristocracy

3 year-long embassies are sent to China (607, 608, 614 CE); scholars and students, monks and artists bring back their knowledge of Tang civilization: architecture, urban planning, Buddhist and Confucian teachings in Chinese characters, Chinese laws, taxation system with taxes in kind (rice, textiles) and corvèe services make their way to Japan; construction of Horyuji and Todaiji Temples in Nara by decree of Prince Shotoku; increased spreading of the Chinese script

Horyuji Temple: oldest wooden buildings in the world

Todaiji Tempel

622 Rebellion of former uji-leaders after Prince Shotoku's death; Fujiwara clan becomes dominant; promotion of Shinto instead of Buddhism;

645 The Fujiwara clan leaders install their own Tenno: Tenchi who leads the Taika ('Great Change') refom: the capital is moved to Naniwa (Osaka); taxation and law code are reformed according to the Chinese model; Confucian ideas become dominant.

The Fujiwara clan dominates politics to a degree that left some emperors in a powerless position who tried to conduct a land reform in order to limit the power of the important landowners (shoen), redistribute land to the peasants, and create tax revenue for the state.

653-669 Five additional embassies to China

710 Capital moved to Nara "first city of Japan"; the layout of Nara follows the model of Chang'an (difference: no city wall)[Nara was supposed to become the permanent capital of Japan; before the establishing of Nara as the capital, the capital had moved with each death of an emperor]

758/760 Compilation of the Manyôshu [Collection of 10000 Leaves]- poetry anthology; 4516 poems in Japanese

Buddhism promoted again; construction of Buddhist temples; Shôsôin (treasure storehouse for imports from China including objects from other countries such as Persia and Central Asian kingdoms)

Shôsôin Treasure House

794-1185 Heian Period - Rule of the Fujiwara clan in Kyoto (858-1185)

Heian (Kyoto) becomes the capital (794-1868); the city layout is based on the map of Chang'an; Heian culture preserves Tang culture (tea ceremony, dance, court music, food, garden culture, bonsai). While the aristocrats live in Tang style luxury, the countryside was backward and unrefined.

The role of the Tenno is reduced to his ceremonical functions as the head of the shinto cult; political power is concentrated in the hands of the leading aristocratic families;
the state territory is divided into provines and districts (Chinese model);
the central government consists of eight ministries (Chinese model: 6 ministries; one additional ministry supervises the Imperial Household; another one the Shinto cult; this seems exaggerated when comparing population numbers: China: 60 mio., Japan 4-5 mio inhabitants;
the local administration is in the hands of local clan leaders who also organize their own defense;
local historiography: local gazetteers report about local geography, history, economy, legends, politics, famous personalities.

Private estates of aristocratic families and monasteries (shoen) become prominent; they are worked by tenants and are often exempted from taxation because they are protected by the ruling clans; while weakening the central government (lack of tax revenues) they grow increasingly independent. They support local development but most of the locally created wealth accumulates in their coffers. In order to defend their estates they recruit local armies which become increasingly powerful. Buddhist monasteries begin to have their own armies as well. The development of the Samurai class within the hereditary aristocracy grows into a power challenging force [return of the uji-clan organization model 'through the back door'].

Differences to the Chinese government model:
- no eunuchs
- no shift from a dominant aristocracy to a dominant bureaucracy: emperor and bureaucrats (of aristocratic background) vs. aristocratic clans; family more important than personal merits

9th cent. Buddhism: The Shingon (magical formulas and incantations; brought to Japan in 806 by monk Kobo Daishi)

Kobo Daishi (founded a monastery on Mt. Koya near Nara)

and Tendai (chin. Tiantai; incorporated elements from Hinduism and Daoism; strict monastic rules; transmitted by Dengyo Daishi when returning from China in 805) sects of Buddhism become dominant at court. Monk Ennin from the Enryakuji Temple in Kyoto travels to China and returns with diaries reporting about Tang lifestyle), while the population follows a Mahayana mixture of Pure Land (Jingtu)/Amida Buddhism from China and Shinto.

Enryakuji Temple, Kyoto

Literature: Calligraphy is acknowleged as the highest art form; narrative painting becomes prominent (scrolls and multi-panel screens), especially in relation to the illustration of the novels by Murasaki Shikibu (ca. 978- ca. 1015): The Tale of Genji (1016) and Sei Shonagon: Pillow Book (ca. 1000), as well as diaries by court ladies; poetry (Tanka, Haiku) is written in Kanji (Chinese characters) as well as Kana (Japanese characters; especially used by women)

Illustration of The Tales of Prince Genji

Historiography: Local gazetteers are compiled by official order. They record local history, give economic data (tax exempts, local products, local politics and involved local celebrities, legends etc.)

Court culture: Centered around Chinese ideas of self-cultivation predominantly expressed in poetry. Garden culture develops beyond the Song Chinese model in a rigidly planned style, selecting plants, rocks, architectural structures like gates or pavilions according the ideal of creating 'windows' that provide views of nature in harmony.

Bonsai

Clothing becomes an art which is used to display (and judge) taste by combining colors and patterns of the most refined artistic textiles.

Kimono in the Philadelphia Museum of Art