Aristocratic Japan  The aristocratic age covers two historical eras: 710 Nara 795 Heian 1185  Highly developed government and culture  Developed much later than China Traditionally regarded as Asia’s cultural center  How did Japan get there?

Prehistory: the Jōmon 縄文 era  ca. 10,000 BCE~400 BCE  Hunter-gatherer culture, including fishing  Settled villages  Simple social order  Distinctive pottery Jōmon: “rope pattern”

Jōmon era shell mounds  A main source of archeological data

Prehistory: the Yayoi 弥生 era  ca. 400 BCE~200 CE  Settled agriculture Rice agriculture becomes prominent  More complex social order  Distinctive pottery Note difference from Jōmon

Protohistory: the Kofun 古墳 era  ca. 200~500 CE  Monumental burial mounds  Wider political organization  The ascendance of the Yamato clan

Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子  Regarded as: Establisher of Japan’s first governmental system Promoter of Buddhism in Japan  The Seventeen Article Constitution The Seventeen Article Constitution Confucian virtues

The Nara 奈良 Era  Japan’s first settled capital  Laid out on a Chinese plan  Chinese governmental structure Rule by status National ministries Provincial governors All land under the authority of the state

Nara 奈良 Era Culture  First great flowering of Buddhism  Buddhist institutions: established in the capital officially recognized functioned as protectors of the state  Shōmu and the Great Buddha 15 m tall, 250 tons A political statement!

Some geography  Continental culture: SW  NE  Nara and Heian in central Japan The kinai region Kansai to the West Kantō to the East

From Nara to Heian 平安  Capital established at the location of present day Kyoto by emperor Kammu  Why move the capital? To escape Buddhism? For more space To secure a power base –Importance of family ties  A time of flourishing culture At least for the aristocrats

Heian aristocratic culture  Highly refined culture Learning: the Chinese classics Etiquette Romance  Gender distinctions

Heian literature  A high point in the history of Japanese literature Poetry as a tool for romance In writing: –men used Chinese –women Japanese the women are remembered

Heian literature: two women  Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji ca  Sei Shonagon Ascerbic commentaries on court life  Two masters of the pillowbook genre

Heian court music  Heian court music: gagaku  Used at official court functions Chinese influences More a ritual than an entertainment function  Two samples of gagaku music gagaku music TogakuTogaku and Komagaku Komagaku

Heian religion  Two new schools of Buddhism Shingon, founded by Kūkai –Attainment of Buddhahood in this life –Direct transmission from master to disciple Tendai, founded by Saichō –Central text: the Lotus Sutra –By 1000, an influential monastery on Mt. Hiei  Both had state patronage  Both promised state protection  Pure Land thought arises out of Tendai

Summary: Nara and Heian eras  Stable government based on the Chinese model  Culture flourishes Social relations Chinese learning Literature: prose and poetry Music: gagaku  Buddhism develops a place in Japan The Nara schools and the Great Buddha Tendai (Saichō) and Shingon (Kūkai)