Located
100 miles off the mainland of Asia, at its closest point, Japan was
a land of mystery at the edge of civilization. Isolated at first by
geography and later by choice, the Japanese developed a distinctive
culture that drew very little from the outside world. At the beginning
of what were the Middle Ages in Europe, the advanced culture of Japan
was centered at the north end of the Inland Sea on the main island
of Honshu. Across the Hakone Mountains to the east lay the Kanto,
an alluvial plain that was the single largest rice growing area on
the islands. To the north and east of the Kanto was the frontier,
beyond that lived aboriginal Japanese, known as the Ainu, who had
occupied the islands since Neolithic times.
By the 5th century AD, the Yamato court had become largely ceremonial.
Independent clans, known as uji, held the real power behind the
throne. Clan leaders formed a sort of aristocracy and vied with
each other for effective control of land and the throne.
In 530 the Soga clan became predominant and produced the first
great historical statesman, Prince Shotoku, who instituted reforms
that laid the foundation of Japanese culture for the next 1000 years.
In 644, power shifted from the Soga clan to the Fujiwara clan. The
Fujiwara presided over most of the Heian period, 794-1185. The new
leadership imposed the Taika Reform of 645 which attempted redistribute
the rice growing land, establish a tax on agricultural production,
and divide the country into provinces. Too much of the country remained
outside imperial influence and control, however. Real power shifted
to great families that rose to prominence in the rice growing lands.
Conflict between these families led to civil war and the rise of
the warrior class.
Similar to the experience of medieval Western Europe, the breakdown
of central authority in Japan, the rise of powerful local nobles,
and conflict with barbarians at the frontier combined to create
a culture dominated by a warrior elite. These warriors became known
as Samurai, 'those who serve,' who were roughly equivalent to the
European knight. A military government replaced the nobility as
the power behind the throne at the end of the 12th century. The
head of the military government was the Shogun.
Dark Age
Feudal Age
Castle Age
Imperial Age
Samurai lived by a code of the warrior, something like the European code of
chivalry. The foundation of the warrior code was loyalty to the lord. The warrior
expected leadership and protection. In return he obeyed his lord's commands
without question and stood ready to die on his lord's behalf. A Samurai placed
great emphasis on his ancestry and strove to carry on family traditions. He
behaved so as to earn praise. He was to be firm and show no cowardice. Warriors
went into battle expecting and looking to die. It was felt that a warrior hoping
to live would fight poorly.
The Kamakura period (1185-1333) was named after a region of Japan dominated
by a new ruling clan that took power after civil war. The Mongols attempted
to invade Japan twice, in 1274 and 1281, but were repulsed both times. A fortuitous
storm caused great loss to the second Mongol invasion fleet and became known
as the Kamikaze, or 'divine wind.'
Located
100 miles off the mainland of Asia, at its closest point, Japan was
a land of mystery at the edge of civilization. Isolated at first by
geography and later by choice, the Japanese developed a distinctive
culture that drew very little from the outside world. At the beginning
of what were the Middle Ages in Europe, the advanced culture of Japan
was centered at the north end of the Inland Sea on the main island
of Honshu. Across the Hakone Mountains to the east lay the Kanto,
an alluvial plain that was the single largest rice growing area on
the islands. To the north and east of the Kanto was the frontier,
beyond that lived aboriginal Japanese, known as the Ainu, who had
occupied the islands since Neolithic times.
