spacejaicen's Journal

JAPANESE HISTORY
JOMON (10,000 - 300 B.C.) Prehistoric period of tribal/clan organization.
Stone Age hunters and gatherers who make jomon (rope-patterned) pottery inhabit Japan. 660 B.C. Mythological Jimmu ("Divine Warrior"), descendant of sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, founds empire.

YAYOI (300 B.C. - A.D. 300) Rice cultivation, metalworking, and the potter's wheel are introduced from China and Korea. Era named "Yayoi" after the place in Tokyo where wheel-turned pottery was found.
In Shinto, Japan's oldest religion, people identify kami (divine forces) in nature and in such human virtues as loyalty and wisdom. 100-300: Local clans form small political units.

KOFUN (YAMATO) (300 - 645) Unified state begins with emergence of powerful clan rulers; Japan establishes close contacts with mainland Asia.
Clan rulers are buried in kofun (large tomb mounds), surrounded by haniwa (clay sculptures). Yamato clan rulers, claiming descent from Amaterasu Omikami, begin the imperial dynasty that continues to occupy the throne today. Japan adopts Chinese written characters. Shotoku Taishi (574-622) begins to shape Japanese society and government more after the pattern of China. He seeks centralization of government and a bureaucracy of merit. He also calls for reverence for Buddhism and the Confucian virtues.

ASUKA (645 -710) A great wave of reforms called the Taika no Kaishin (Taika Reforms) aims to strengthen the emperor's power.
New aristocratic families are created. Especially powerful is that of Fujiwara no Kamatari, who helped push the reforms.

NARA (710 - 794) Imperial court builds new capital, modeled upon Chang-an in China, at Nara. Though emperors are Shinto chiefs, they patronize Buddhism in the belief that its teachings will bring about a peaceful society and protect the state.
Legends surrounding the founding of Japan are compiled as history in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan). With the adoption of Buddhism as the state religion, its monasteries gain political power.

HEIAN (794-1185) Imperial court moves to Heiankyo (now Kyoto) to escape domination of Nara's Buddhist establishment. Official contacts with China stop in 838.
Buddhism, in combination with native Shinto beliefs, continues to flourish. Flowering of classical Japanese culture aided by invention of kana (syllabary for writing Japanese language). Court women produce the best of era's literature. Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (ca. 1002) is the world's first novel. Court undergoes decline of power with rise of provincial bushi (warrior class).

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This is the story of the Kojiki, the "Records of Ancient Matters", first published in Japan in 712 of the common era. It is creation mythology, and in it we will find elements common in other myths, as well as some things unique to Japanese tradition. In reading it you may likely find themes from Greek mythology - though there is not any scholarly evidence to indicate there was any transmission between the two societies, the similarities are striking.

Before there was anything else there was chaos, described as an ocean of oil - substance without form, action without order. From this sprang the original deities, known as the celestial gods and goddesses, which were born into the High Plain of Heaven (Takama no Hara). They were born as pairs - a woman and a man - and were at the same time both siblings and mates. The eighth primordial couple were named Izanagi and Izanami, the "Male-who-invites" and the "Female-who-invites". This would be the first couple to bear children.

The existing celestial beings commanded Izanagi and Izanami to create. The pair stood upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven and dipped a jeweled spear into the chaos beneath them. Together they churned the chaos, and when they pulled the spear from the brine the drops that fell formed the island of Onogoro, one of the Japanese islands. This was the generation of firmament.

From this story we can learn about the time and place it was created. The Kojiki was a project initiated by the Japanese Emperor Temmu in a time when that empire was striving to emulate its powerful neighbour China. Chinese influence was felt in religious and philosophical circles, and the Chinese were known for their detailed chronicles of their civilization. Perhaps the role of the Kojiki was to establish a similar history in Japan. By having the Celestial deities form Japan - not only building the islands, but also giving birth to them - indicates that Japan is primary among the world's nations. We can forgive the writers for this bold assumption - it may have been a necessary boast while neighbouring a influential cultural powerhouse which name means "Middle Kingdom". The Kojiki serves a role we will often find in mythology - its purpose is to give history to those who hold it authoritative.

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JIMMU - In Japanese history, Jimmu is the founder of the Japanese Imperial line. In the historical argument of the Nihongi and the Kojiki, Jimmu, or Kamu-Yamato-Ihare-Biko in his proper Japanese name, translated the heavenly rule of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, into an earthly realm. The story of his rule is the story of conquest, in much the same way the story of the Hebrew Book of Judges , is the story of the divinely ordained conquest of Canaan by the Hebrews. Like the Book of Judges, the story of Jimmu emphasizes the divine nature of the mission and the special place of Japan in the world.

Western historians and modern Japanese historians generally believe the story of Jimmu to be legendary; throughout most of Japanese cultural history, however, the story of Jimmu was a powerful account of true history and the founding of Japan. Whatever the status of Jimmu in history, it is almost certain that a Yamato clan spread eastward across Japan and eventually dominated a large swathe of territory under the control of other clans. This Yamato clan would become the Imperial clan and establish an Imperial rule that lasts to this very day.

In Japanese myth, Jimmu Tenno is the first Emperor and legendary founder of the imperial dynasty. The members of this dynasty were believed to be divine. His original name is Iware-Biko, and he is also known as Kamu-Yamato.

KAMMU - Emperor Kammu (桓武天皇 Kammu Tennō, alternative transliteration Kanmu) (737–806) was the 50th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

During his reign (781–806) the capital of Japan was moved from Heijōkyō in Nara, first to Nagaoka, and then to Heian. This marks the beginning of the Heian era in Japanese history. He was an active emperor who set up new government organisations and fought the Ezo tribes in the north of the country.

born 737, Nara, Japan
died April 9, 806, Heian-kyo [now Kyoto]

in full Kammu Tenno , personal name Yamanobe 50th emperor of Japan, who established the Japanese capital at Heian-kyo, where it remained until 1868. His accomplishments laid the basis for the Heian period (794–1185).

Enthroned in 781 as the emperor Kammu, he was one of the strongest rulers Japan had known for several centuries. When he assumed office, the Buddhist religious leaders, because of their…
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KOJIKI -
Of all the mass of Japanese literature, which lies before us as the result of nearly twelve centuries of book-making, the most important monument is the work entitled Kojiki or "Records of Ancient Matters," which was completed in A.D. 712. It is the most important because it has preserved for us more faithfully than any other book the mythology, the manners, the language, and the traditional history of Ancient Japan. Indeed it is the earliest authentic connected literary product of that large division of the human race which has been variously denominated Turanian, Scythian and Altaic, and it even precedes by at least a century the most ancient extant literary compositions of non-Aryan India. Soon after the date of its compilation, most of the salient features of distinctive Japanese nationality were buried under a superincumbent mass of Chinese culture, and it is to these "Records" and to a very small number of other ancient works, such as the poems of the "Collection of a Myriad Leaves" and the Shinto Rituals, that the investigator must look, if he would not at every step be misled in attributing originality to modern customs and ideas, which have simply been borrowed wholesale from the neighboring continent.
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LADY ROKUJO - Rokujo - Lady Widow of Prince Zembo and a longtime mistress of Genji. She has high pride, and her jealousy is so strong that her wandering spirit kills Yugao and Aoi and attacks others. The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu.

As the play opens, a court official (wakizure role) explains that Lady Aoi, the pregnant wife of court noble Genji, is ill, and the sorceress Teruhi has been called in an attempt to identify the spirit possessing her. A folded robe placed at the front of the stage represents Lady Aoi.

The sorceress (tsure role) summons the spirit possessing Lady Aoi.

The spirit (shite role) approaches. (The shite wears the deigan mask used for vengeful female spirits.) It is Lady Rokujo, Genji's neglected mistress. Speaking for herself and through the chorus, Lady Rokujo tells of the ephemeral nature of happiness in this world and of her resentment toward Lady Aoi as the wife of the radiant Genji. (Lady Rokujo had been further humiliated when her carriage was pushed aside by that of Lady Aoi at a festival not long before.)

The spirit of Lady Rokujo moves forward to strike Lady Aoi with her fan and then moves to the back of the stage. There, shielded from the audience by a robe held by attendants, the shite changes from the deigan mask to the hannya female demon mask.

The court official calls a messenger to summon a Buddhist mountain ascetic (waki role) to exorcise the spirit.

After the exorcism rite begins, the shite returns to center stage, now wearing the demon mask and wielding a demon rod. They fight and the angry spirit of Lady Rokujo is overcome by the ascetic's prayers. This triumph of Buddhist law and saving of Lady Aoi contrasts with The Tale of Genji; in the novel, Lady Aoi dies giving birth to Genji's son.

RITSURYO-

Ritsuryo (律令) is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryo is called "Ritsuryosei" (律令制). Kyaku (格) or Shiki (式) are amendments to Rituryo.

During Nara period (710 - 794), the imperial court, trying to replicate China's rigorous political system, created and enforced some collections of Ritsuryo. Later, Rituryo had become obsolete, as the shogunate came to be the principal political system where the code of samurai was respected.
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SHOMU-
Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇 Shōmu Tennō) (701 - May 2, 7561) was the 45th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He was the son of Emperor Mommu and Fujiwara no Miyako, a daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito. Shōmu's aunt and predecessor, Empress Genshō, gave him the throne when she abdicated in 724. In, 749, Shōmu himself abdicated in favor of his daughter, Empress Kōken, but continued to control the government.

Shōmu is mainly remembered for commissioning the sixteen-meter high statue of the Vairocana Buddha in the Tōdaiji Temple of Nara. At the time, this was such a massive undertaking that later chroniclers accuse him of having completely exhausted the country's reserves of bronze and precious metals. The former emperor personally painted in the statue's eyes at the opening ceremony in 752three treasures: the Buddha, Buddhist teachings and the Buddhist community, making this the closest anyone ever came to declaring Japan a Buddhist nation. He likewise established the system of provincial temples. and declared himself a servant of the

Shōmu is also known as the first emperor whose consort was not born into the imperial household. His consort Kōmyō was a Fujiwara woman. The two had a son who died in childhood.
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SILLA-

Silla (also spelled Shilla) was one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea. Silla conquered the other two kingdoms in the 7th century C.E., Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. Historians sometimes refer to Silla in the period after it conquered the other two kingdoms as Unified Silla.

It is believed that Silla, also known as Seorabeol or Saro, was founded by Bak Hyeokgeose in 57 BC, by unifying and expanding the loose confederation known as Jinhan. By the 2nd century, it existed as a distinct kingdom in the south east of Korea. King Naemul356-402) established a hereditary monarchy. By annexing the eastern half of the kingdom of Gaya state in the 6th century, Silla emerged as a fully grown kingdom. (

King Jinheung (540-576) established a strong military force. In the 7th century Silla allied itself with the Chinese Tang dynasty. In 660, under King Muyeol (654-661), Silla subjugated the kingdom of Baekje. In 668, under King Munmu (King Muyeol's successor) and the famous General Kim Yu-shin, Silla conquered Goguryeo in the north. After this Silla fought for almost a decade to expel the Chinese forces and established a unified kingdom in Korea.

The capital of the Silla kingdom was Gyeongju. A great number of Silla tombs can still be found in the centre of Gyeongju. Silla tombs took the form of a stone chamber which was surrounded by a soil mound. A great number of remains from the Silla period can be found all over Gyeongju. The historic area around Gyeongju was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000. Much of it is also protected as part of Gyeongju National Park.

The Bronze Bell of King Seongdeok the Great attracts a large number of national tourists. The bell produces a distinctive sound, about which there is a legend. The Cheomseongdae astronomical observatory near Gyeongju is remarkable for its time. It is the oldest extant observatory in East Asia.
History of Korea

Gojoseon
Samhan
Three Kingdoms :
Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla
Unified Silla and Balhae
Later Three Kingdoms
Goryeo
Joseon
1900-1950
Divided Korea :
N. Korea, S. Korea

The importance of Buddhism is reflected by many buddhist carvings left behind by Buddhist monks, mostly on Mt. Namsan. These statues and reliefs are carved in stone, which meant that many have been preserved over the centuries.
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SOGA-

More exchange occurred between Japan and the continent of Asia late in the Kofun period. Buddhism was introduced from Korea, probably in A.D. 538, exposing Japan to a new body of religious doctrine. The Soga, a Japanese court family that rose to prominence with the accession of the Emperor Kimmei about A.D. 531, favored the adoption of Buddhism and of governmental and cultural models based on Chinese Confucianism. But some at the Yamato court--such as the Nakatomi family, which was responsible for performing Shinto rituals at court, and the Mononobe, a military clan--were set on maintaining their prerogatives and resisted the alien religious influence of Buddhism. The Soga introduced Chinese-modeled fiscal policies, established the first national treasury, and considered the Korean peninsula a trade route rather than an object of territorial expansion. Acrimony continued between the Soga and the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans for more than a century, during which the Soga temporarily emerged ascendant.

The Kofun period is seen as ending by A.D. 538, when the use of elaborate kofun by the Yamato and other elite fell out of use because of prevailing new Buddhist beliefs, which put greater emphasis on the transience of human life. Commoners and the elite in outlying regions, however, continued to use kofun until the late 7th century, and simpler but distinctive tombs continued in use throughout the following period. The Kofun period was followed by the Asuka period.

TAIKA REFORMS- The Taika Reforms of 646 were a massive attempt by the central government to establish in Japan systems of government and administration which were closely patterned on Chinese models. Included was the redistribution of all land which was also placed under public rather than private ownership, a nationwide system of taxation, and a highway system including post-towns. Not all the reforms worked well, but government and society were dramatically transformed forever.

The Taika Reforms (大化改新 Taika no Kaishin) were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku in the year 646. They were written shortly after the death of Shōtoku Taishi, and the defeat of the Soga clan, which united Japan. Crown Prince Naka no Ōe (who would later reign as Emperor Tenji), Nakatomi no Kamatari, and Emperor Kōtoku jointly embarked on the details of the Reforms. Emperor Kōtoku then took the name "Taika" (大化), or "Great Reform".

The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas from China, but the true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the Imperial Court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn seemingly everything from the writing system, religion, literature, and architecture, to even dietary habits at this time. Until today, the impact of the reforms can still be seen in Japanese cultural life.
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Taira no Masakado -

Taira no Masakado (平将門) (?–940 C.E.) was a member of the Kammu Taira clan of Japan. He was the son of Taira no Yoshimasa, shogun of Chinjufu.

In 939 C.E., during the Heian Period of Japanese history, he rebelled by attacking the outpost of the central government in Hitachi Province, capturing the governor. In December of that year he conquered Shimotsuke and Kozuke provinces, and claimed the title of Shinnō (New Emperor). The central government in Kyoto responded by putting a bounty on his head, and fifty-nine days later his cousin Sadamori, whose father Masakado had attacked and killed, and Fujiwara no Hidesato, killed him and took his head to the capital.

YAMATO TAKERU -

Prince Yamatotakeru or Prince Ōsu was the Japanese legendary prince of the Emperor Keikō. He is one of the impressive figures in Kojiki and Nihonshoki and both of those books tells of his tragic epics. One of his sons later became the Emperor Chūai.

His historical existence is uncertain but those books date his life to the 4th century. Details are different between the two books and the version in Kojiki is assumed to be loyal to the older form of this legend. Prince Ōse slew his elder brother Ōsu and his father, the emperor Keiko, feared his brutal temperament. The father plotted to have his son die in battle and sent him to the Izumo province, today the eastern part of the Shimane prefecture and then the land of Kumaso, today Kumamoto prefecture. But Ōsu succeded in defeating his enemies. One of enemies he defeated praised him and gave the title Yamatotakeru, meaning the Brave in Japan. But Keiko's mind was unchanged.

Keiko sent Yamatotakeru to the eastern land whose people disobeyed the imperial court. Yamatotakeru met his aunt Princess Yamato, the higest priestess of Amaterasu in Ise province. His father attempted to kill him with his own hands, however Princess Yamato showed him compassion and lent him a holy sword named Kusanagi no tsurugi which Susanoo, the brother god of Amaterasu found in the body of the great serpent, Yamata no Orochi. Yamatotakeru went to the eastern land. He lost his wife Ototachibanahime during a storm, when she sacrificed herself to soothe the anger of the sea god. He defeated many enemies in the eastern land, and legend has it that he and a local old man composed the first renga in the Kai province and their theme was Mount Tsukuba (now in the Ibaraki prefecture). In return he brasphamed a local god of Mt. Ibuki in the border of the Omi province and Mino province. The god cursed him with disease and he fell ill.

Yamatotakeru died somewhere in the Ise province. According to the legend the name of Mie prefecture was derived from his final words. After death his soul turned into a great white bird and flew away.

YOSHINOGARI-

Yoshinogari is considered one of the ministates that prospered during the Yayoi Period (B.C. 250-250). It was discovered in 1986 when the area was being surveyed for a housing development.

Archaeological digs uncovered numerous holes from pillars of pit dwellings as well as what are believed to be watchtowers, ritual and storage sites, plus moats surrounding the village and burial mounds.

About 2,500 burial pots of different sizes were also found, including 400 with human bones and some with jewelry, pieces of silk or hemp cloth and arrows, Shichida said.

The Yayoi Period is generally considered to be the time when ancient Japanese took up rice farming, brought over from the Korean Peninsula. Findings from the Yoshinogari site indicate that a class society already existed at that time, he added.

Yoshinogari was designated by the government as nationally protected historical remains in 1990 and special remains the following year.

With exhibitions of the findings and replicas of pit dwellings, watchtowers and storage areas with raised floors, the site attracts more than 900,000 visitors annually. "There is so much to this place. It really has historical interest. I wish I could spend more time here," said Reiko Hishikawa, 52, who came from Nagoya as part of a three-day trip with her colleagues from work.

One of Yoshinogari's charms is its resemblance to Queen Himiko's legendary state of Yamatai that dominated Japan in the late second and early third centuries, as described in "Account of Wa People," a sixth-century Chinese chronicle.

Whether the Yoshinogari ruins were the state described in the book has sparked controversy among experts and the media, and has made the site even more attractive to history buffs. Shichida admits many Yoshinogari findings have their origins in China and Korea.

The circular settlements surrounded by moats at Yoshinogari are similar in structure to ancient Chinese castle walls, he said. Such structures with moats during this era are found at only 12 sites in Japan, and nine are from ancient ruins in Saga Prefecture including Yoshinogari.

Last year, a type of bronze bell found in other parts of Japan was found in Kyushu for the first time at Yoshinogari. Other findings include moats that date back to a century before the beginning of the Yayoi Period.

While the excavation continues, Yoshinogari is currently preparing to become a national historical park. Along with the replicas and exhibition areas, Yoshinogari Historical Park -- scheduled to open in 2001 -- will feature some restored excavation sites for visitors to appreciate.