preview

Virtual Museum Of Japanese Arts

Decent Essays

History The island nation of Japan, according to Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts (2016), has a rich history that largely alternates between times of imperial and military control. The Jomon period, which started in 10,000 BC, is the earliest instance of culture in Japan. This period transitioned into the Yayoi period (300 BC), which, according to Columbia University’s Dr. Heinrich (2009), featured a more advanced agricultural society. Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts (2016) continues to describe the Kofu period (300-710 AD), during which ancestors of the current Japanese imperial family founded Japan’s first unified state under the Yamato Court, and Buddhism was introduced in 552 AD. Japan’s first capital was established in Nara during the Nara Period (710-794 AD), and moved to Kyoto during the Heian Period (794-1185 AD) when noble families started ruling in the emperor’s name. During this period, Japan’s then Chinese-dominated culture was replaced by an indigenous one (Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts, 2016) described as a “great flowering of classical Japanese culture” (Heinrich, 2009, para. 6) The Kamakura Period (1185-1333 AD) saw the imperial court overthrown by the the Minamoto family, who started the Kamakura Shogunate era of rule that resulted in a “vigorous, realistic” artistic style representative of the “warrior spirit” (Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts, 2016, para. 5). The following Muromachi Period (1333-1568) was a “period of ‘warring states’” during which

Get Access