Muromachi Period

While ongoing change became the status quo in late-Tokugawa era Japan the ideals of the samurai—and the respect they receive—endured. And, because samurai could still fall back on the prestige their class represented, members of society still

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

The emperor is an important religious figure, he swapped lands swapped land with nobles exchange for their support for he couldn't handle all the land far far away from him. In the shogunate period the emperor didn't have much power for the shoguns had basically controlled the government.

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.

The death of emperor Hideyoshi and subsequent ascension to the throne of Hideyori in 1598 set into motion events that would alter the political landscape in Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years. Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his quest to become absolute ruler of Japan defeated Hideyori loyalists in the battle of Sekigahara and was appointed Shogun by Hideyori in 1603. This military “coup d’état” effectively gave Tokugawa complete control of Japan and reduced the emperor to little more than a figurehead in the governing of Japan. As history would show, the feudal system of government that Tokugawa created ultimately led to

Temujin was a great, fearless, tactical man, who was feared by his enemies, sought vengeance with a passion, and loved by his people. He created the largest connected empire ever without guns, tanks, or even a navy; as such his tactical greatness may never be replicated. In the opposite side of the coin he could also run a nice kingdom, kept his spy network at work all the time, ran the world’s first post office as well. This ruler was the embodiment of every cloud has a silver

Empire Building through Religion Embracing our own mortality can be a very scary concept for us. People might often wonder what the point of living is if all they will ever do is live, breath, wither and eventually die. Perhaps this inability to fight the cycle of life is why so many seek to establish a lasting legacy that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

In ancient Japan the imperial court became too large for the Emperor to control, to fix this the Emperor's men broke into different clans. However, because the leaders all wanted the most land civil wars soon broke out. 2 of the biggest clans (Taira and Minamoto) gained power due to the support of factions. By 1185 this lead the leader of the Minamoto people, Minamoto no Yoritomo formed a military gout, in which the people had to obey him as the shogun. Therefore the Emperor ruled over the Shogun, however the Shogun had the power over the people and made the decision. To conclude, the Emperor is the figurehead of the land much like the Queen in modern day society, and the Shogun is the Emperor’s speaker, much like the Governor General, in the 21st century. This solution to the civil wars of Japan was only meant to be a temporary solution, this was not however the case as for the next 700 years the Shoguns ruled Japan. How did the Shoguns

In 1588, he disallowed Japanese citizens to own any weapons or swords they had. Hideyoshi was also known as one of the most "remarkable" men to have lived in that era then.

Japan in the 10th century was experiencing change and disorder as its relatively new central government sought techniques for a strong and enduring legacy. In this period lived a man named Taira no Masakado. In events which are swirled with mystery and legend, Masakado found himself in direct opposition with the government, even proclaiming the title of the “New Emperor”. His legacy endures to this day and is a fundamental component in contemporary Japanese folklore. Was Masakado a product of his environment or a self-motivated rebel, examining this question is important in the discussions of the motivations behind his actions. Whether he should be viewed as a villain or a hero is to be considered by the reader.

James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902) was among the first artists to purchase Japanese items and in large quantities throughout the 1860’s; one of his more prized possessions was his kimono. At least five of his paintings have Japanese subjects from this time period. While these works do not focus on adopting a Japanese form, they are heavily doused in Japanese content (Janis 1968, JSTOR). In La Japonaise au bain, 1864, a young woman with long

made a deal with the castle he was sieging and rushed his forces to Kyoto and defeated

In 1866 the seclusion conflict in Japan could only be resolved by war and forcing the ruler of Japan to step down. The Satsuma and Choshu became allies against the Shogun. Shortly after the Shogun responded by having an army go to Choshu but the Shogun's army has weak soldiers and not well equipped leading to their defeat. When the Shogun was asked to give up his lands he refused and moved his army to fight against Kyoto. A civil war followed after this in 1867 and the power of the Tokugawa clan was destroyed. The Tokugawa clan ruled for over centuries and wanted Japan to stay isolated, and the Satsuma and Choshu clans wanted the Emperor to have full power, not the Shogun. When Emperor Komei died in 1867 Mutsuhito took thrown but failed to

Post-war Japanese society is a world where High and Low art is blurred together by otaku, such as anime, and social class. However, Takashi Murakami straddles the line. Murakami spills a mix of Nihanga and Otaku into the canvases, plastic toys, handbags, shoes, etc; endorsing his own theory/style named “Superflat”. Using strategical subject matter such as popular Japanese comic figures combined with ukiyo-e(traditional Japanese block prints), and addressing these contrasting qualities to outside cultures; Murakami intensifies what Pop Art accomplished, art versus material. On other feelings, one could argue that “Superflat” isn’t a unique, Japan-identified style, that “Superflat” is a humiliation to the Contemporary Art world because of its commercialism. Lastly, that is a continuation of the already well developed Pop Art. On the supporting side, Murakami’s “Superflat” is a high-energy, cross-culture style that serves as a new way to represent the high and low of art that is considerably unique to Japan. To support this, Murakami’s past and present artwork will have to be established chronologically to illustrate how the timeline affects his work.

Japanese art has had a huge impact on the Japanese culture. It was created in various forms. New styles and techniques were created like sculptures, paintings and pottery. Mirrors have played a big role in their culture and was incorporated in people’s everyday routine. It has significance in their lives and symbolizes several things for them, especially the Japanese Bronze Mirror. The mirror symbolizes the value of the Japanese culture and itself is a beautiful image to look at. In this culture, their beliefs and values teaches important things to us and shows how their tradition is something more than art.