Early Japan October 16, 2012

Review What were the three kingdoms of Korea? Which kingdom defeated the other two? Did Silla control all of the Korean peninsula? If not, who controlled the rest? What was Kaya? Who lived there?

Early Korean Religion shamanism---shamans in Korea are people (usually women) who become possessed by the spirits of the recently dead or of heroes from long ago. Buddhism --Korea adopted Mahayana Buddhism from China Wŏnhyo was a particularly famous Korean monk. Korea did not adopt Daoist religion. Koreans also used Confucianism to run their governments.

The Beginnings of Japan The first people on the islands (not yet Ainu but not yet Japanese either) The first culture is called Jōmon (Comb-pattern) culture. The Jōmon people may have come from the south and from the north, and intermingled in Japan. New peoples from the Korean peninsula stimulated the shift to the Yayoi culture (300 BCE to 300 CE) : rice farming, bronze and iron-working, etc. Unlike Korea, there were no zones of foreign occupation in Japan at this time. In the late Yayoi period, we begin to see references to a Wa people in southern Japan and southern Korea.

A Japanese state emerges Who was Himiko and where was her “kingdom”? An uji (clan) society slowly began moving toward centralized government, with China as a formal model. Massive keyhole-shaped tombs reflect the shift toward larger political units. The first real state appeared in the Yamato region, not long after Buddhism was introduced. Chinese model modified by greater respect in Japan for hereditary status and group membership.

The Nara period-- 8th century Preceded by Shōtoku Taishi in the 6th century and Taika Reforms in the 7th century Nara was Japan’s first permanent capital The creation of a monarch, and a bureaucracy (staffed by aristocrats) No civil service exams. Buddhist monks and temples co-existed with the folk religion (later called Shinto)--Todaiji temple erected Sinification didn’t last long, because it went against Japanese political culture, which favored decentralization and an hereditary aristocracy.

Religion in Early Japan Shinto: the “way of the gods” Shinto is the name of the local religion of Japan. Shinto is primarily a religion of local deities, though it also defied ancestors, including imperial ancestors. Buddhism reached Japan from Korea at first. It was Mahayana Buddhism just as seen in China and Korea. It first focused on sutra study but soon the Buddhism of sacred formulas gained a following. Buddhism and Shinto were often seen as more complementary than contradictory.

The lst Japanese histories 8th century histories pushed a history of a unified Japan under one imperial line far back into the past. This is similar to the Samguk yusa of 13th century Korea China’s histories of the Xia Vietnam’s tale of a long dynasty before Chinese rule and the Indian tales in the Mahabharata In each case, we have stories of the ancient past not supported by archaeological data or written records from that time.

Heian Japan Aristocratic rule again (789-1185) Decentralization returns The era of the Fujiwara regents The Emperor becomes a figurehead Sugawara no Michizane--a Fujiwara opponent Retired emperors seize power from the Fujiwara regents.

The Age of Aristocratic Art It was more important to look good than to be good. Murasaki Shikibu and the Tale of Genji Perfume and poetry make a man sexy An architecture designed to look natural Colorful paintings which tell stories Courtly elegance (miyabi) a bitter-sweet appreciation of transitory beauty (mono no aware)

Women Writers: Of Hateful things From the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon A guest who keeps chattering on and on when one is in a hurry. When he is a troublesome person of very little worth, one can simply dismiss him, but when he is an intimate, one finds it hateful. A dog who barks knowingly at a lover whom one wants to let enter one’s quarters secretly. Makes one want to pound the poor creature to death! One has been foolish enough to invite a man to spend the night in an unsuitable place---and then he starts snoring.

One more hateful thing A man with whom one is having an affair proceeds to hint to one about another woman he has previously known. It doesn’t much matter whether the tale is an old one or not; just to mention such things at all is despicable behavior!  So much more so when the event in question is more recent! But then, over and gone or recent, it does not really matter. It is all unspeakably rude! Pleasing things: Someone has torn up a letter and thrown it away. Picking up the pieces, one finds that many of them can be fitted together.

Gender Relations Women rulers in the first centuries of the Japanese state Family were bilineal, both daughters and sons could inherit, and often the groom moved into the bride’s home Women wielded a lot of economic power Both men and women might have multiple sexual partners This ended when warriors took control in the late 12th century.