Literature%20of%20Ancient%20Japan

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Literature of Ancient Japan
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Historical Highlights (488-9)

• Heian Period 794-1185
• High Point of imperial rule
• Highly cultured court develops. Those of the
  court painted, wrote poetry, and participated in
  elaborate ritual
• Feudal system

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H.H. (cont.)

• Kamakura Period
• Daimyo
• Military governors
• Oversaw the samurai
• Oversaw specific regions

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H.H. (cont.)

• Warring states period
• Civil war all over Japan
• Tremendous power struggle
• Pay offs very political

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H.H. (cont.)

• Tokugawa Period
• Edo
• Japans capital
• Edo becomes Tokyo
• closed country policy established until 1854
• Reaction to rapid spread of Christianity
• Christians are persecuted

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People and Society (490-91)

• Rulers
• Emperor
• Highest position in Japanese society
• Never seen by common people
• Symbolic
• Held no political power
• Shogun
• Military dictators
• Real power
• Ruled in emperors name
• Daimyo
• Answered to the shogun
• Every other year in the capital

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P and S (cont.)

• Samurai
• Elite class of warriors loyal to daimyo
• Followed Bushido (way of the warrior) expected
  to show courage, reverence for gods
• Many also practiced Zen Buddhism (form of
  self-discipline and living in harmony w/ nature)
• Only group allowed to carry swords
• Strict code of honor

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P and S (cont.)

• Peasants
• Made up about 80 of population
• Not allowed to carry swords or use their family
  names
• paid hefty taxes (half of harvest)
• Were told what to produce, when to work, what to
  eat, etc.
• Some had to sell family members
• Eventually rebelled

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P and S (cont.)

• Artisans and merchants
• - roofers, masons, carpenters, swordsmiths
• Some swordsmiths became close with samurai
• Merchants not respected because they did not
  produce anything. However, many lived in
  prosperity.
• Became more well-respected over time

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P and S (cont.)

• Women in Early Japan
• If men died in warfare, some women went to war
  themselves
• The supreme duty of a woman was to honor the men
  in her life
• Typical Japanese women were peasants who took
  care of the home.

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Arts and Culture (492-93)

• Theater
• Noh
• Oldest form
• Masks, formal language, mime, gestures
• Kabuki
• Colorful costumes
• History/contemporary urban life
• Bunraku
• Puppet theater

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A and C (cont.)

• Painting usually representative of nature
• Beauty and tradition
• Black ink
• Woodblock prints

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A and C (cont.)

• Literature
• Excelled in poetry
• Tanka
• 31-syllable lyrical poems that deal with nature
  and love
• Haiku
• 17-syllable poem that presents images of nature

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A and C (cont.)

• Religion and Architecture
• Shinto
• way of the gods
• Reverence for nature
• No complex rituals
• Buddhism
• More complicated
• Eliminate attachment to material things to
  achieve peace
• Zen
• Spiritual enlightenment through both
  self-discipline and meditation

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A and C (Cont.)

• Architecture
• Religious building
• Inspired modern buildings as well
• Japanese always try for harmony with nature

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Connect to Today (496-97)

• Food
• Art
• Zen
• Fashion
• Nature

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Time honored tradition
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Mt. Fuji tallest mountain/volcano in
Japan
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Hiroshima only structure left
standing after the bomb
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• Guns/Hunting illegal in Japan
• Monkeys and deer are not afraid of human
  interaction

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Golf in Japan

• One cart per foursome.  It stays on the path on a
  type of track (like a train).
•  One member of the foursome has a button remote
  that starts and stops the cart.
•  The locker rooms are like country club style
  with an Onsen bathing pool.

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Golf Continued

• Cost for golf in Japan is a range roughly between
  100-300
•  24 hour driving ranges are popular and more
  practical for people who want to learn golf.  
• They have double and triple deck driving ranges
  in the cities.  
• We would sometimes work until 11pm, grab a
  sandwich at the 7-11 and head over to the driving
  range.  pretty cool.

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Here endeth the lesson

• Andrew C. Jackson, 2007
• Patrick W. Danz 2014