The Muromachi Period

Japan’s warring state period ended after the consolidation of power by the Tokugawa family in 1603, and the new Tokugawa Period was one of Japan’s most peaceful eras that lasted for nearly two and a half centuries up till 1868. The Tokugawa period had many major developments that alter the lives of how Japanese people functioned during this time period, and one such person who lived during time was Katsu Kokichi (1802 – 1850), who wrote an autobiography, Musui’s Story, showcasing how these new developments affected his life. These new developments that happened during this time period was the introduction of Neo-Confucianism to the samurai class, the role of adoption into other samurai family, and pleasure quarters that were established and

The role of tradition within religion in medieval Japanese society was of great significance. Shinto and Zen Buddhism were two of the major religions practiced in medieval Japan. Shinto was mainly concerned with daily life, while Zen Buddhism prepared the people for the life to come. The samurai also followed an important code called Bushido, a form of warrior philosophy. The ancient Japanese religions helped people understand the universe and also provided a connection between the physical world on earth and the spiritual world.

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 Samurai’s Garden, written by Gail Tsukiyama, incorporates the various aspect of myth throughout the plot, from how the Japanese worship to the rituals they perform. Stephan-san, a young Chinese man, when he first arrived in Tarumi Japan, discovered the Japanese ritual of being clean. The Japanese in this book had a strong desire to be sanitary in every aspect of their life both physically and morally. They used to be physically clean to visualize being spiritually clean. Another part of the mythology in this novel was the worshipping of the kami deities. These deities dwelled in the shrine near Tarumi and Stephan-san along with Matsu traveled to the shrine to worship and pray to the kami fox deity, the Inari. Two facets of The

Around the age of six years old, Hokusai began painting and even spent time as an apprentice wood-carver in his youth. He began the art of print making when he was eighteen. His most famous painting, The Great Wave, can be seen in museums all over the world even though Japan delayed it from catching on worldwide. Many believe that it was painted in the early 1800s, but Japan was not interacting culturally with other countries apart from trade with China and Korea. It wasn’t until 1859 when the Japanese were forced to open their ports that prints of The Wave spread across Europe. Originally, this piece wasn’t viewed as real art by Japanese politicians and art historians. Wood-block printing was used for commercial use and as a popular form of expression. The Japanese government wasn’t too thrilled “that such a seemingly lowbrow art form had come to define them” (15 Things). About five thousand to eight thousand prints were made but it is speculated that only a few hundreds of The Great Wave remain. The painting actually inspired music like Debussy’s La Mer.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi born 1797 was one of the last great masters of the japanese ukiyo-e style woodblock prints and painting.

As a scholar taking the class ‘Introduction to World Religions”, I had the opportunity to take part in a culture that is not normally found in the western world. I entered the Mon Buddhist Monastery in Akron, Ohio on October 2nd, 2016 only to be amazed at their way of life. Going into the temple, I knew of the basic religious practices and traditions that the monks and Buddhists had participated in daily. When I was coming up to the monastery, it did not look like anything other than an old brick building, but once we were inside it looked like a recreational area. Somewhere where they would meditate, hold daily activities, and teach the younger Buddhist about their way of life. On the far back wall, there was a stunning shrine dedicated to the Buddha where one would pray. Many figurines were displayed as well as flowers and offerings along it.

They would often create landscape images that symbolized their longing to escape responsibility and to commune with nature. Many artists and poets began to creating lots of things that had to do with escaping into nature. Even many of the scholar-officials began creating artwork including different types of poetry, calligraphy, and a type of calligraphic painting. These scholar artists created images of beauty in nature. Lots of literature and poetry was written at this time, much of it in the ci format which was popular in the 1000s and 1100s AD. Philosophers and writers from this timeframe include Su Shi, Mi Fu, ZiZhi Tongjian, and Fan

AT: Zen Buddhism was the main religion in #Medieval #Japan especially among the Samurais who meditated to eliminate their fears. #cncfacts

It was here where Shōtoku taught the idea that Buddhism could exist with Shrine to which was the official Religion of Japan. The structure had an asymmetrical layout, which differed from any of the temples. The Buddhism Period continued through the Nara period, Buddhism extended from the religious temples to the courts. This is where Japan becomes a hierarchical society, all of the powers come from the emperor. As religion shifts from the temples and made its way into politics, the location of the settlement did as well. Instead of settling in the rural parts of the country, they settled in the city. Although they settled in the city, they still used the land and built close to their natural materials. The shift to the city made the gap between

With all the struggle the Japanese went though, they finally were grasping a sense of themselves. This age of curiosity and exploration of a country, that the world would later know as Japan, was called the Tokugawa period. As a result of their newfound self, came art and more specifically, woodblock prints. These woodblock prints are significant to the Tokugawa era because they reflected what was going on during that period, including: what was currently happening, how the people viewed the world, and what new discoveries were made. During the Tokugawa era, the woodblock prints show that this was a time of peace because of the often travel, economic growth and significance of nature.

However, Shinto was not as much of a dominant religion as Buddhism was. During the Muromachi period, there had been a renewed interest in Shinto. Shinto was lacking in its own scriptures (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002). Throughout the years, Shinto had adopted Buddhist rituals. Shinto reemerged as the primary belief system and eventually developed its own scripture (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002). Zen Buddhism was also responsible for influencing artistic culture throughout the regions in Japan. For example, there was an increasingly popular use of Zen-inspired painting techniques (The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

The Tokugawa Period, also known as the Edo Period, ranging from 1603-1867 was the final period of traditional Japan. It was said to promote internal peace, political stability and economic growth and was under the Shogunate (military dictatorship) created by Tokugawa Ieyasu. During this period of Japanese history, there were three main contributors to its successes and failures. Tokugawa Ieyasu shaped the period by creating supremacy over the whole nation, the agricultural flaws of the land opened new and innovative doors for food and culture and the Bushido code developed an honourable way of life and created hard-working social classes for many years. Therefore, the three aspects of key individuals, geography and Bushido was significant to the growth and success of Japan.

Zen, also known as Ch’an Buddhism in China, is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that was established in China about 1500 years ago. Zen is a form of religious practice of mainly concentrating the mind to a single point in which then results in self-realization and/or enlightenment. Zen philosophy is interpreted that all humans are capable of reaching enlightenment, which is generally blocked by ignorance. The idea emphasizes enlightened masters over forms of scriptures, and is the least “academic” of all the Buddhist schools.

Japanese landscape painting developed from a multitude of influences and incorporated many themes and ideas, from native beliefs in japan to influences from China and Korea and even from Europe all which gradually changed painting in japan. The main artistic influence in Japan up to the mid 19th century was China and and Chinese Landscape painting in Japan was brought over by traders and became very influential to academics, scholars and the aristocracy, far from merely copying Chinese painting japan was able to bring their influences to create a very unique type of painting.