1. Ch 9 Lesson 2 A Court of Refinement The Literature of the Court
Andrea Sun, Stephanie Smith, Tace Higuchi, Angel Bribiesca

2. Introduction If green, then copy. If white, don’t copy.
Prince Shotoku was a prince who spread the Chinese culture and Buddhism. Buddhism was accepted with Shinto and people believed that Buddhism brought faith and good to many people. Now, the government has grown and has created a new court of literature and refinement.
If green, then copy.
If white, don’t copy.

3. Beauty Women did things to make themselves beautiful
Considered elegant: long hair and pale face
Blackened their teeth

4. A Court of Refinement In the court, dress elegantly
Fugiwara clan married into imperial family, served as regents
Courtiers (nobles): took part in social life of the court.

5. Religions of the Court Shinto was well known religion
Focused on nature
Ceremonies and rituals
Important are art and learning

6. Poetry Wrote about beauty of nature
Also expressed the sadness of death in poetry, known as aware

7. New Writing System Writing styles were borrowed from China
Hiragana: a set of characters that represent syllables rather than words
Women used hiragana to write literature

8. Styles of Writing Diaries, poetry, and tales = favorite
A famous diary by Murasaki Shikibu, showed her feelings.
She wrote Tale of Genji.

9. Conclusion Overall, courtiers had a much better life than peasants
Courtiers only made up 5% of Kyoto
Courtiers taxed peasants and farmers
Many small landowners gave their lands to the nobles, to avoid paying taxes.