Heian Japan, which is commonly known as the golden age had many influences on Japan, but the Kamakura Shogunate may have had more effects on Japan. During the golden age Prince Shotoku brought Buddhism to Japan, but before that there were many confucian scholars. These two religions went hand in hand in both the teachings and writings. Many of the Japanese ideas were collected from Korea. Like China, Japan made an examination system, although it was actually more of a formality. As the book The Asian World 600-1500 says, “The nobles refused to accept the idea that they would have to compete with commoners for government jobs and the highest positions continued to be reserved for aristocrats” (Des Forges and Major, 70), meaning that they let …show more content…
As yet again Roger and John say, “About 1% of the population enjoyed a golden age at the expense of everyone else”(Des Forges and Major, 74). So as the aristocrats sat around in a perfect luxury dome, the rest of the people were forced into labor, and were made to send food and resources into the capital. A big reason for this setup was the fujiwara. They were able to infiltrate the royal family and merge with them until they became royal themselves. This system obviously did not work, so there were great rebellions, and soon the fujiwara were overtaken. Not everything came out badly during the golden age however, there was more poetry and art than ever before. There was also a new writing system developed by the female aristocrats. The men started off by mixing their letters into the chinese, which was both difficult, and not very effective. The diplomats and men who worked in the government had to learn chinese. Later on, because of the free time they had, some aristocratic women fully developed japanese writing. (Des Forges and Major, …show more content…
The kamakura are the group that ends up defeating the fujiwara in the rebellion. The first tribe that does this makes two major mistakes. Firstly instead of reconstructing the government, she settles in just as the fujiwara had done previously. The second mistake was that they did not kill all of the sons of the other major clan. the sons of the other clan acts up as soon as they are old enough, and seize control of Japan. the concept of the Samurai Warriors started with Minamoto and Yoshisune. Minamoto chased after his brother trying to kill him, but Yoshisune valued his brother’s honor more so than he did his own life. so instead of being caught and killed by his own kin he decided to comment noble suicide by disembowelment. After this brave feat, any warrior who dishonored himself or his leader would be expected to commit the honorable suicide. a new political system was made called the Bakufu. The Bakufu is a tent shaped government. each person involved in the Baku had a job, and each layer is very tightly bound to the others. The order went from the emperor who was actually more of a religious head than a political leader next the Shogun who was the general, but in actuality the Shogun was the political leader. next there was the daimyo who were the military aristocrats. the daimyo had the samurai, and the samurai had the stewards. the last and
The concentration of power into the emperor’s hands led to many changes in the government of Japan. The samurai class was quickly abolished, a national army was formed, political parties formed, an upper House of Peers and lower House of Diet were formed, and a constitution was drafted.
The Minamotos won, and the emperor made Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. Yoritomo however wanted more and took all power away from the emperor and made himself dictator. At this time the samurai gained power, through land given to them by the new shogun. Their rise in status was beginning.
Unlike the Europeans they did not have much political control but were very wealthy.After a while the nobles took over and there were no more emperors.The Shogun which had the most political control and became the ruler of Japan. The Shoguns also had control over the army of Japan.The Shoguns were considered the vassals to the Emperors. The different rulers for both European and Japanese Feudalism were similar and had many rules and regulations that they had to follow.
In 1159, Kiyomori of the Taira clan was victorious over the Minamoto clan. Kiyomori murdered all the adults of the Monamoto clan and forced the children into exile. The emperor rewarded Kiyomori victory by giving him an advisor position in the government. This event was significant because Kiyomori was the first warrior in Japan’s government. Like the Fujiwara family, Kiyomori desired a royal bloodline within the Taira clan. So the Taira clan consorted with the imperial family in efforts to secure an imperial bloodline. Later, Kiyomori obtain a higher government position and more importantly a grandson was born and is heir to the throne. Feeling cheated an imperial prince sought the exiled Minamoto to overthrow the Taria clan. In 1180, Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan formed an army and battled with Taira clan that is known as the Genpei War. Eventually, Kiyomori died and the Taria clan shortly declined after him. During these battles warriors ran amok pillaging the Japan’s cuntryside. To end the chaos and violence the imperial turned to Yoritomo. Yoritomo in return raise an army of samurais and took complete control of the government and transformed it into a military government. The Kamakura government consisted of the emperor, shogun, and the house men. The emperor served merely as a figurehead, he little to no control of his government. The shogun had
During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just
The young warriors were taught to sacrifice everything for the emperor or lord. In Japan, the emperor represented the laws and the state and was considered divine. Loyalty was an ethical demand stemming from this political theory. A samurai was obligated to appeal to the wisdom of his lord by committing seppuku.
Musui 's Story is a samurai 's autobiography that portrays the Tokugawa society as it was lived during Katsu Kokichi 's life (1802 - 1850). Katsu Kokichi (or Musui) was a man born into a family with hereditary privilege of audience with the shogun, yet he lived a life unworthy of a samurai 's way, running protection racket, cheating, stealing, and lying. Before we discuss how Musui 's lifestyle was against the codes that regulated the behavior of the samurai, it is essential that the role of the samurai in Japanese society be understood.
Shogun - a Japanese military dictator, appointed by the emperor who had little other power
A golden age is a specific time where peace, happiness and prosperity flourishes within a civilization. In China. This period was known as the Song Dynasty, which lasted from (920-1279). China’s Golden Age was followed by the Yuan Dynasty, which dated from the years (1271-1368). During this period the Song Dynasty was exciting to people. Agriculture flourished leading to the inventions of the moveable typewriter and magnetic compass, paper money, and even gunpowder. The Song Dynasty led to China’s most significant achievement, Neo-Confucianism. Despite the influential importance art and creativity had on the Chinese people, it did not perform as much of an important, helpful part to the Chinese people as Agriculture and Neo-Confucianism did.
The samurai, members of a very powerful military castle in feudal Japan began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century. Their job was to back up the authority of the shogun and gave him power over the emperor (Mikado). They would dominate Japanese government and society until the Meji restoration in 1868. Even though they were deprived of their privileges, many samurai's would enter the elite ranks of politics and industry of modern Japan. More importantly, the traditional code of the samurai was honor, discipline and morality which is known as Bushido meaning "the way of warrior".
By the 900’s, the Japanese government began losing control over rural areas due to its weak ruler and the samurai warrior class stepped in to take control. This was due to a civil war called the “Hogen Rebellion” in 1156. This rebellion was due to conflicts regarding Imperial Japanese succession and unexpectedly laid the groundwork for the samurai clans to gain dominance. With both “would-be emperors” losing the Hogen Rebellion, the imperial government of Japan lost all of its remaining power. This led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 which was fought between two samurai clans, the Minamoto and Taira. With the victory of the Taira clan, the first samurai-led government (Shogunate) was formed. This type of government was controlled by the samurai clans, and the Emperor of Japan was only used as a figurehead to the government.
China and Japan are two unique civilizations that went through similar, yet vastly different changes throughout their histories. Their growth and response to other nations differed in many ways in government, lifestyle, and general well-being. One of the main causes for such difference between the countries is the way the West influenced each region, and the way China and Japan responded to this influence. China focused more on the idea of being a "status oriented" society, while Japan was more "goal oriented" based. In China, anyone had the ability to better themselves and change their status through civil examinations given by the government. Western impact however slowly changed this old age system. Japan's caste system viewed
Transitioning into the classical era, an extremely important ruler in regard to diffusion of Chinese culture into Japanese society was Prince Shotoku, who ruled as regent from 593 to 622. Shotoku sought to transform Japan from a loose-knit society of Ujis, into that of a centralized state based on Chinese governmental institutions. Shotoku ordered that all history was to be recorded – much like the Chinese did – to aid in the legitimacy of the throne. The most significant contribution of Chinese assimilation of Shotoku can be seen in his drafting of the, “Seventeen Article Constitution.” The constitution infused elements of Buddhism, and Confucianism which William Beasley makes clear when he describes, “It begins with a quotation from the Confucian Analects, asserting that 'harmony is to be valued.' It then enjoins reverence for 'the three treasures': that is, the Buddha, the Buddhist Law and the Buddhist priesthood.” (Beasley, 22).
This thriving golden age might have flourished, but it started out small, just like any other era. The Heian period began when the capital was moved from Nara to Heian, modern day Kyoto. Many noble families moved along with it (Charles). The Nara period had just ended, and aristocrats violently fought for power. Therefore, for the sake of peace, that’s why the capital was moved. The Fujiwara family rose to power, and the golden age began. As Japan 's second great period of Japanese culture arose, it brought many accomplishments with it (Fitzgerald).
War played a central part in the history of Japanese samurai. As regional clans gathered manpower, resources and struck alliances with each other, they formed a hierarchy centered around a toryo, or chief. This chief was typically a relative of the emperor