Japan History

798 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shinto and Buddhism similarities

Shinto

Shinto is the aboriginal spirituality followed by the Japanese people. In the 8th century, Shinto practices were for the first time, archived in codified records of history of the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki. Shinto today is a term that is related to community shrines matched with various human ceremonies like historical memorials, marriage, harvest festivals and worship. People who practice Shinto express their varied values with a standard way of communication and activities, implementing similar ancient dress code and rituals.

There are two main Buddhism branches in existence and Mahayana is one of them. The term Mahayana means great vehicle. The origin of Mahayana Buddhism is India (Mason & Caiger 98). Out of the two major Buddhism traditions in existence today, Mahayana is the largest. The Mahayana traditions teach that the tradition is a path of quest, for absolute enlightenment for the benefit of all mortal beings. Mahayana is also referred to as Bodhisattvayana (Mason & Caiger 98). The history of Mahayana shows the spread of the tradition from India to other Asian countries. Mahayana Buddhism traditions exist even today.

The Heian period is a historical time in Japanese history, happened between the years 794 to 1185. During this period, Buddhism, Taioism and other Chinese traditions were at peak (Morton & Olenik 23). The Heian period was named after the capital Heian-kvo, the modern Kyoto City. It was also the peak of the Japanese imperial court. The period is noted for its literature, art and poetry (Morton & Olenik 23). During this period, the Imperial house had the power although the real power was held by the noble Fujiwara clan who had intermarried with the Japanese emperor. In Japanese, the term Heian means peace and tranquility.

The establishment of Kamakura shogunate in Japan happened after the then ruling Taira clan was defeated in Genpei war. Kamakura shogunate was headed by shoguns (Mason & Caiger 158). The shoguns were hereditary military dictators of Japan. The shogunate was based in kamakura, and controlled the entire nation.

Court Life in Heian Japan

The Heian period saw the Fujiwara clan hold the real power. The Fujiwala clan was noble and so, they had great influence on politics and culture in Japan (Mason & Caiger 249). The noble families’ life was focused on manners and beauty guided by a powerful civil code called miyabi. At the Kyoto court, etiquette, appearance and self-discipline were stressed (Mason & Caiger 106).

Show More
Related

  • The American and Japanese Trading: The Meiji Restoration

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    The samurai were the hereditary warrior class of feudal Japan who trace their creation to the “Heian period in around 794 when the capital was moved to Heian-Kyo” . The warriors were hired by wealthy landow...

    Read More

  • Comparing Britain To Japan

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    The establishment of the Japanese archipelago assumed its present shape around 10,000 years ago. Soon after the era known as the Jomon period began and continued for about 8,000 years. Gradually they formed small communities and began to organize their lives communally. Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small estates under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu set up a government in Edo (now Tokyo) and the Edo period began. The Tokugawa regime adopted an isolationist policy that lasted for more than 200 years, cutting off exchange with all countries except China and the Netherlands. The age of the Samurai came to and end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social and economic systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation in politics.

    Read More

  • Influence of the Samurai on Modern Japanese Society

    1723 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.

    Read More

  • Modernization of Japan and its effects on traditional performance arts

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the gradual decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the restoration of the Imperial title, Japan began its second phase of foreign borrowing by entering ‘secondary civilization,’ or industrial society (Suzuki, 1995 p.773). Beginning in the late Tokugawa period, the power of the shogun and the damiyos progressively began diminishing under political pressure and the deteriorating financial condition of the nation. Dissatisfied with the conditions, the people began leaning towards the restoration of the nation as an Empire, which occurred in 1867-68 with the resignation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (15th Tokugawa Shogun), marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The transfer of power to the Emperor proceeded smoothly, indicating the beginning of Japan’s radical influence and changes from the west. At the beginning of the Meiji period, Japan was primarily an agricultural nation with a weak military and scarce technological development still largely traditional in nature. Power was transferred into the hands of noble samurai that had opposed Tokugawa rule, acting in the name of the Em...

    Read More

  • Japan Tokugawa Period

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book explains the historic of Japan in a different era. Beginning from the Japan’s early developmental years what it is today; Japan in the 21st century. There are breakdowns in this book that tells the story of the different periods in Japan too. Tokugawa Era was considered a critical period in Japan’s history as it helped Japan evolved to pre-war period and Japan’s 21st century. The main highlight of the book was in regards to Tokugawa Era as the author mainly focused on this critical period and there was elaborate research on this topic. Tokugawa Era was brought about by Tokugawa Ieyasu who was a military dictatorship and he helped achieve hegemony and stability over the entire country after the control and ruling of Japan for over 200 years since the 1600. The author was an Asian history professor and knows what he is writing and many years of research and effort have been placed in this book which is apparent. In conclusion, this book does provide relevant and sufficient research on this topic of interest.

    Read More

  • Feudal Europe and Japan similarities and differences

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The emperor was just a figurehead for the shogun. The shogun was a powerful military leader that ruled in the emperor’s name. Daimyo were powerful landlords. The daimyo often led armies of samurai. These samurai were trained professional warriors who served daimyo and shoguns. The samurai had to follow a certain code of rules for samurai called Bushido. One of their rules included to always have self-discipline to become a good samurai. The samurai warriors wore light armor, helmets (usually shaped like an animal), and had two swords around their waist. Their armor had a lot of detail and color to it, like their unique helmets. After the samurai comes the peasants, which included farmers and fishermen. They usually always work, then pay takes to the shogun. They usually gave the shogun what they earned from working like food or crops. What made their jobs a bit difficult was their topography. Japan’s topography included many mountains, undersea volcanoes, and barely any flat land to farm on. The Japanese didn’t only work they also practiced their religion. For example, they practiced Confucianism, Buddhism (...

    Read More

  • Samurai vs Knight

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...

    Read More

  • Meiji Period

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Meiji Period, also known as Meiji restoration, was a turning point for Japan as it created equality amongst all Japanese people. The new Japanese government (after the failure of the Tokugawa government) successfully broke down the boundaries between the social classes, established human rights such as the religious freedom, and took all the land that belonged to the former feudal lords (daimyo) and returned it to the government. With an effort to expand to acquire Western skills in all fields of technology, legislation and science, Japan sought all aspects of western culture and education. While receiving the skills and knowledge, Japan also received its first European style constitution in 1889.

    Read More

  • Meiji Restoration

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    The inception of the Tokugawa Shogunate around 1600 would reduce the impact of foreign relations throughout Japanese society. This bulwark helped resist change and development in Japan, although it continued throughout the western world. Following two hundred years of self imposed seclusion from the rest of the world, the forceful re-entry of the foreigner brought about considerable change in Japan. While managing the foreign threat, there was also an imbalance of power in the current feudal system of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This imbalance created uncertainty for Japan and the imperialistic foreigners. This imbalance and uncertainty would lead to the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the emergence of the Meiji Restoration. However, to understand the transition between the current Shogunate government and the modernization through the Meiji Restoration, it is imperative to realize not only the necessity of modernization but also difficulties modernizing presented. To achieve modernization, Japan would have to abandon or modify various traditional cultural institutions and ideologies which were weakening the Japanese Nation.

    Read More

  • Pearl Harbor

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Japanese Empire became an empire in the year 1868. They quickly spread their empire out and became rulers over 7,400,000 square kilometers of land. “They quickly became known for war crimes against their ow...

    Read More

  • How Did Shinto Changed Over The World

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    All over the world religions change in order to adapt to fit the environments needs. Religions change for many reasons such as the government, or even the religions are being practiced in. The Japanese religion Shinto is no different than any other religion when it comes down to change. For Shinto the biggest amount of change happened around the time of World War II. The changes within Shinto as a whole were mainly due to Japan’s government's authority and law pre-WWII and post-WWII.

    Read More

  • Gender Ideals in Heian Society

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.

    Read More

  • Hara-kiri - the spirit of Japan

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japanese society has a history of only 120 years since shedding its feudal system. The origin of feudal system is more than 1,000 years ago, so it is still underlying thought of Japanese. Hara-kiri performed especially by the warrior called samurai as indicated above. The samurai were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors. Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword. Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.

    Read More

  • Japan and Japanese Culture

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.

    Read More

  • Mahayana Buddhism

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    History proves that as Buddhism spread throughout the Asian world in the early 1st century, it was occasionally altered to fit the specific needs and beliefs of people it touched. Mahayana Buddhism is one such example of this gradual evolution. It was primarily a movement started and kept alive by monks that slowly gained popularity amongst lay people but was in no way a unified movement. Mahayana Buddhism still adheres to the basic fundamental beliefs presented in the Pali Canons, however, it Sutras often expand upon these basic ideas and traditions in order to answer the questions of a later generation. After closer study of the Mahayana texts the “A Sutra for Long Life” and “The World Universe as a Sutra”, it seems evident that, although Mahayana Buddhism is based on the teachings of the traditional Pali Canon, it places a larger emphasis on philosophical inquires; and ultimately creates a more accessible version of enlightenment, and the Buddhist faith in general, for all.

    Read More

More about Japan History

Open Document