Civilizations of East Asia The Influence of Neighboring Cultures on Japan
Table of Contents Introduction Japan s Culture China & Japan Korea & Japan Shotoku Taishi Changes Embraced Divine Right of Rule Imitating the Chinese Government Seventeen Articles Constitution New Capitol City Buddhism Comes to Japan Buddhist Moral Code Shintoism & Buddhism Writing Carving & Sculpting Architecture Music End of Presentation
Introduction Japan is a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean off of the northeast coast of Asia. It makes up 4 large islands--hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Natural disasters are common in Japan: Located on the "ring of fire," earthquakes occur frequently, there are many active volcanoes on the island, and Japan lies in the path of typhoons.
Japan s Culture Japan's culture is quite old and can be traced back 10,000 years, however a unified civilization did not appear until around 500 CE. In 593, Prince Shotoku Tashi, encouraged contact with the mainland where Japan's citizens were exposed to Chinese literature, art, philosophy, and government. For the next 300 years, Japan experienced cultural diffusion while absorbing the cultural elements of its neighbors.
China & Japan China was one of the first major civilizations of East Asia, and had created a complex culture, philosophy, and technology, which established it as the dominant power in the region. Japan was primarily an agricultural society, with an uneducated citizenry, and was made up primarily of a number of clans called uji. Unlike China, Japan was far from being a united country.
Korea & Japan Although Japan was very heavily influenced by Chinese culture, politics, and philosophy, most of these did not directly enter Japan from China itself. Korea played a major role in Japanese history as the middle point between Japan and the rest of Asia. Chinese ideas almost always came through Korea before being transmitted to Japan through Korean diplomats.
Shotoku Taishi During the 7 th century, Japan was partially ruled by the Empress Suiko, but the real power was held by the regent, Prince Shotoku Taishi. Taishi admired the efficiency of the Chinese system and was determined to emulate the better qualities of the Chinese culture. At Taishi s initiative, during the next 300 years Japan, sent diplomats, students, officials, and monks to study Chinese politics and philosophy for the purpose of adopting much of the Chinese culture.
Changes Embraced One of the biggest changes Shotoku adopted was the Chinese philosophy Confucianism, which dictated proper moral behavior in government and social life. Confucianism stressed the idea that only those who were truly qualified should run the government and set standards for the moral obligations a government had to the people. Shotoku reformed the Japanese government with Confucianism by reorganizing officials into 12 ranks of power and writing a new constitution focused on the moral responsibility of leadership.
Divine Right of Rule For centuries, China treated Japan as the lesser power. Although Shotoku greatly admired China, he did not see Japan as inferior to China. One of the philosophies that Shotoku borrowed from China was the idea that rulers were chosen by divine right. Shotoku interpreted this to mean that his rule was just as divine as the Chinese emperor's and started demanding that Japan be treated as an equal.
Imitating the Chinese Government Japanese emperors and Chinese emperors had different roles. In Japan, the emperor had only loose control over semi independent clans called the uji. Each uji controlled their own land and governed only a small section. There was a struggle in electing and influencing emperors and getting things accomplished for the betterment of the whole. In China, the emperor was the sole ruler. He was not dependent on local help, he had the power of a whole government bureaucracy to help. Leaders were appointed based on merit by passing a difficult test.
Seventeen Articles Constitution During the 7 th & 8 th century. Shotoku created a set of rankings for government officials to strengthen the central government. He issued the Seventeen Articles Constitution, making the emperor of Japan the supreme ruler. This was strengthened by emperor Tenchi in 645, when he took lands from clan leaders for himself, then redistributed the land to all free men & women. They were then taxed to pay for the government. The Japanese government looked much like China s did until the 9 th century when the aristocracy and nobles took all the government jobs.
New Capitol City Not to be outdone by the Chinese, in 710, the city of Nara was chosen to become Japans new capitol city. It was laid out in much the same way as China's capitol city of Chang'an. The streets were laid out in a checkerboard pattern, a wide boulevard ran down the center and featured numerous Buddhist temples, monasteries and imperial palace buildings. The only difference was that it was not walled.
Buddhism Comes to Japan Buddhism came to Japan via China and Korea. Japans religion was Shintoism. Shintoism expresses the love and respect of nature, followers worship spirits called, kami. Instead of emphasizing a code of morality, Shintoism stresses purifying whatever is unclean. Buddhists are opposites. They see life as being full of pain and suffering. Life is an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. To escape the painful cycle, one must follow the Eightfold Path.
Buddhist Moral Code Buddhism s moral code emphasizes showing respect to others, acting rightly, and achieving wisdom through meditation. Following the Eightfold Path leads to enlightenment then to nirvana, which is perfect peace. A form of Buddhism, called Mahayana or "greater vehicle" is a step up. All people can reach nirvana but choose rather to help others reach total the state of enlightenment. This is the form of Buddhism that came to China, then Korea then Japan.
Shintoism & Buddhism Both Shintoism and Buddhism thrive in Japan creating crossover of many teachings. Marriages are times of celebrations and happiness so they are usually conducted according to the Shinto faith. Funerals are times of great sadness and mourning and are usually conducted according to the Buddhist faith.
Writing Ancient Japanese was a spoken language only. Over time Japan had to learn to apply Chinese characters to the to their language in order to communicate in written form and to record their own history. The Chinese writing of Kanji, was used for record keeping, recording legends, and developing their own literature. By 900, the Japanese invented Kana, which used simplified Chinese letters to stand for syllables. Both Kanji and Kana are still in use today.
Carving & Sculpting Early Japanese carvings date back to the 4 th & 5 th centuries. Objects were at first made of clay and resembled very day objects such as human and animal figures, armored warriors, houses and boats. With the influence of Buddhism, carving subjects were more refined and many were religious in nature. Carvings and sculptures changed to steel, bronze and wood.
Architecture Temple design came by way of India to China to Japan. Design evolved on Buddhist temples to include stupas, but the Chinese added pagodas with 3, 5, 7 or 9 roofs. The Japanese adopted the pagoda design and soon they were all over Japan. Shinto shrines reflect the Japanese love of nature.
Music Japan adopted new music and instruments from China. Japans native music consisted of poems, war songs, folk songs, and Shinto prayers. All songs were using only a few notes and performed primarily with stringed instruments. As contacts to the Asia mainland increased, Gagaku came from China 1,500 years ago. This form of music is still in wide use today.
End of Presentation