 
| Early History to the Ashikaga Shoguns |
Japan's early history is lost in legend. The
divine design of the empire—supposedly founded in 660 BC by the emperor Jimmu, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess
and ancestor of the present emperor—was held as official dogma until 1945. Actually, reliable records date back only
to about AD 400. In the first centuries of the Christian era the country was inhabited by numerous clans or tribal kingdoms
ruled by priest-chiefs. Contacts with Korea were close, and bronze and iron implements were probably introduced by invaders
from Korea around the 1st cent. By the 5th cent. the Yamato clan, whose original home was apparently in Kyushu, had settled
in the vicinity of modern Kyoto and had established a loose control over the other clans of central and W Japan, laying the
foundation of the Japanese state.
From the 6th to the 8th cent. the rapidly developing society
gained much in the arts of civilization under the strong cultural influence of China, then flourishing in the splendor of
the T'ang dynasty. Buddhism was introduced, and the Japanese upper classes assiduously studied Chinese language, literature,
philosophy, art, science, and government, creating their own forms adapted from Chinese models. A partially successful attempt
was made to set up a centralized, bureaucratic government like that of imperial China. The Yamato priest-chief assumed the
dignity of an emperor, and an imposing capital city, modeled on the T'ang capital, was erected at Nara, to be succeeded by
an equally imposing capital at Kyoto.
By the 9th cent., however, the powerful Fujiwara family had
established a firm control over the imperial court. The Fujiwara influence and the power of the Buddhist priesthood undermined
the authority of the imperial government. Provincial gentry—particularly the great clans who opposed the Fujiwara—evaded
imperial taxes and grew strong. A feudal system developed. Civil warfare was almost continuous in the 12th cent.
The Minamoto family defeated their rivals, the Taira, and became masters of Japan. Their great leader, Yoritomo , took the title of shogun , established his capital at Kamakura, and set up a military dictatorship.
For the next 700 years Japan was ruled by warriors. The old civil administration was not abolished, but gradually decayed,
and the imperial court at Kyoto fell into obscurity. The Minamoto soon gave way to the Hojo, who managed the Kamakura administration
as regents for puppet shoguns, much as the Fujiwara had controlled the imperial court.
In 1274
and again in 1281 the Mongols under Kublai Khan tried unsuccessfully to invade the country (see kamikaze ). In 1331 the emperor Daigo II attempted to restore imperial rule.
He failed, but the revolt brought about the downfall of the Kamakura regime. The Ashikaga family took over the shogunate in
1338 and settled at Kyoto, but were unable to consolidate their power. The next 250 years were marked by civil wars, during
which the feudal barons (the daimyo ) and the Buddhist monasteries built up local domains and private armies.
Nevertheless, in the midst of incessant wars there was a brisk development of manufacturing and trade, typified by the rise
of Sakai (later Osaka) as a free city not subject to feudal control. This period saw the birth of a middle class. Extensive
maritime commerce was carried on with the continent and with SE Asia; Japanese traders and pirates dominated East Asian waters
until the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th cent.
| The Tokugawa Shoguns and the Meiji Restoration |
The first European contact with Japan was made
by Portuguese sailors in 1542. A small trade with the West developed. Christianity was introduced by St. Francis Xavier , who reached Japan in 1549. In the late 16th cent. three warriors,
Nobunaga , Hideyoshi , and Ieyasu , established military control over the whole country and succeeded
one another in the dictatorship. Hideyoshi unsuccessfully invaded Korea in 1592 and 1596 in an effort to conquer China. After
Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu took the title of shogun, and his family ruled Japan for over 250 years. They set up at Yedo (later
Tokyo) a centralized, efficient, but repressive system of feudal government (see Tokugawa ). Stability and internal peace were secured, but social progress was
stifled. Christianity was suppressed, and all intercourse with foreign countries was prohibited except for a Dutch trading
post at Nagasaki.
Tokugawa society was rigidly divided into the daimyo, samurai , peasants, artisans, and merchants, in that order. The system was imbued
with Confucian ideas of loyalty to superiors, and military virtues were cultivated by the ruling aristocracy (see bushido ). Oppression of the peasants led to many sporadic uprisings. Yet despite
feudal restrictions, production and trade expanded, the use of money and credit increased, flourishing cities grew up, and
the rising merchant class acquired great wealth and economic power. Japan was in fact moving toward a capitalist system.
By the middle of the 19th cent. the country was ripe for change. Most daimyo were in debt to the merchants, and discontent
was rife among impoverished but ambitious samurai. The great clans of W Japan, notably Choshu and Satsuma, had long been impatient
of Tokugawa control. In 1854 an American naval officer, Matthew C. Perry , forced the opening of trade with the West. Japan was compelled to
admit foreign merchants and to sign unequal treaties. Attacks on foreigners were answered by the bombardment of Kagoshima
and Shimonoseki. Threatened from within and without, the shogunate collapsed. In 1867 a conspiracy engineered by the western
clans and imperial court nobles forced the shogun's resignation. After brief fighting, the boy emperor Meiji was “restored” to power in the Meiji restoration (1868), and the imperial capital was transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo.
RELIGION
Japan is an extremely homogeneous society with non-Japanese,
mostly Koreans, making up less than 1% of the population. The Japanese people are primarily the descendants of various peoples
who migrated from Asia in prehistoric times; the dominant strain is N Asian or Mongoloid, with some Malay and Indonesian admixture.
One of the earliest groups, the Ainu , who still persist to some extent in Hokkaido, are physically somewhat similar
to Caucasians.
Japan's principal religions are Shinto and Buddhism ; most Japanese adhere to both faiths. While the development of Shinto was
radically altered by the influence of Buddhism, which was brought from China in the 6th cent., Japanese varieties of Buddhism
also developed in sects such as Jodo, Shingon, and Nichiren. Numerous sects, called the “new religions,” formed
after World War II and have attracted many members. One of these, the Soka Gakkai , a Buddhist sect, grew rapidly in the 1950s and 60s and became a strong social
and political force. Less than 1% of the population are Christians. Confucianism has deeply affected Japanese thought and was part of the generally significant
influence that Chinese culture wielded on the formation of Japanese civilization.
ARCHITECTURE
The more highly developed religious architecture
of China came to Japan with the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th cent. Late in the 7th cent. the great monastery of Horyu-ji,
near Nara, was near completion. The gateway, temple, and pagoda remained practically untouched until the 20th cent., when
they were faithfully restored. These buildings illustrate the first epoch of Japanese architecture (6th-8th cent.), which
was characterized by gravity, frankness of construction, and simple, vital compositions, sparsely ornamented.
Wood has always been the favorite material, and wooden construction was brought to a structural and artistic culmination as
complete as any of the great styles of masonry architecture. Interior wood columns receive the loads, while the thin exterior
walls are of woodwork and plaster. As in Greek and Chinese architecture, little use is made of diagonal members, and the framing
is almost exclusively a system of uprights and horizontals. Vitality and grace are contributed by the refined curvatures in
the column outlines, in the shapes of rafters and brackets, and especially in the great overhanging roofs.
Throughout the 8th cent. the Japanese continued to emulate the architects of China. The gigantic monastery of Todai-ji was
begun in 745. A great hall was built to house the gigantic statue of Buddha (daibutsu), in front of which stood twin pagodas,
each seven stories high. A distinctly Japanese style of architecture was developed in the late Heian period (898-1185). The
famous Phoenix Hall at Uji, near Kyoto, originally a nobleman's villa, was converted (c.1050) into a temple. It represents
the apogee of Japanese design. Beautifully situated near a lotus lake, it has a new sense of airiness, with its open porch
and lofty central roof.
The emergence of Zen Buddhism coincided with a renewed interest in Chinese architecture during
the 13th cent. The plan of the Japanese temple adhered to the symmetrical simplicity of Chinese design. The hall of worship
contained a spacious chancel with a flat ceiling, usually painted with the Zen theme of dragons in clouds. By the mid-14th
cent. Buddhist architecture tended toward eclecticism and an emphasis on rich sculptural adornment.
Through the centuries Buddhist temples have varied little in general arrangement. In front of the main building, or honden,
stands an imposing gateway. Accessory structures include the five-storied square
pagoda (often omitted), the drum tower, and the holy font protected by a shed.
The Shinto temple, whose pre-Buddhist type is perpetuated, is a small and extremely simple structure, roofed with bark thatch
and devoid of color adornment. Greatest importance was attached to the landscape setting, a forested and picturesque hillside
being the favored location
HOUSES
The regard for a natural environment is also consistently
reflected in secular building. In the Heian period complex building schemes, known as shinden-zukuri, were devised
for the court nobles. A number of elegant rectangular houses were joined by long corridors that surrounded a landscaped garden
and pond. During the Kamakura period (late 12th-14th cent.), the shinden-zukuri was modified for the samurai class,
and clusters of separate buildings were united under one
roof. During this period the standard for domestic architecture was set and has been maintained to the present day.
The principal style of Japanese dwelling of the upper class is unexcelled for its refinement and simplicity. Interior posts
form a supporting skeleton for the roof. The exterior walls usually consist
of movable panels that slide in grooves. Wood panels (used at night or in rainy weather) alternate with screens of mounted
rice paper (used in warm weather). The interior of the house is flexibly subdivided by screens ( shoji ) into a series
of airy spaces. Important rooms are provided with a tokonoma, an alcove for the display of a flower arrangement and a few
carefully chosen objects of art. Often a separate space is set aside for the tea ceremony, either incorporated within the
house or constructed as a pavilion in the garden.
ART
The stylistic tradition of Japanese art was firmly established at
the time of the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th cent. The teaching of the arts through the medium of Buddhist monasteries
and temples progressed under Korean monks and artisans, who created Buddhist sculpture and pictures representing divinities,
saints, and legendary figures. The close relationship between Chinese and central Asian culture is reflected in the objects
preserved in the Shosoin depository at Nara. Throughout its history Japanese art has relied heavily on forms and techniques
borrowed from China. Rare examples of wall paintings in the golden hall at Horyu-ji, near Nara (early 8th cent.) were based
on Chinese Horyoji sculpture based on Korean models, reflecting the T'ang style of painting.
JAPANESE DRAMA
The Japanese No (or Noh) drama stands in stark contrast to both the
Sanskrit and the Chinese. No plays are very short, virtually plotless, and tragic in mood. Performances of No plays are highly
stylized, and they move at an extremely slow pace, often stretching a text of two or three hundred lines into an hour-long
stage play. Such performances integrate singing, speech, instrumental music (three drums and a flute), dancing, and mime into
a unity in which no single element dominates. Wooden masks are used by the principal character, women characters, and old
people.
The No drama was developed in the 14th cent., bringing together elements from the earlier
sarugaku [monkey music] and dengaku [rustic music]. Its invention is attributed to Kanami Kiyotsugu (1333-84),
while his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) brought the No to its peak of refinement. Zeami was also a playwright who produced
such classics of the No drama as The Well-Curb and The Lady Aoi. There may have been thousands of No plays written,
but only about 250 are still performed. The language of the No is highly concise and symbolical. Quotations from Chinese and
Japanese poetry are included to give the works a traditional basis; they are often central to the theme.
The setting is usually limited to a single place of extreme importance to the main character. All the actors are male. The
plays center around a single character called the shite. Of secondary importance is the waki, who is often a
priest and who serves as a foil to the shite. Both the shite and the waki have one or two attendants.
There is also a chorus whose sole function is to sing. Frequently the chorus sings the lines appropriate for the shite,
while he dances or mimes the action. It is common for characters to speak lines that seem meant for another character or to
finish up another character's speech; finally, a character may speak of himself in the third person. The effect of these devices
is to objectify and universalize what otherwise is a highly emotional and personalized experience.
The usual form of the play is to present two manifestations of the shite. In the first part the shite presents
a false or disguised appearance. In the second part he presents his true or spiritual self. The No stage is a plain platform
about 20 ft (6 m) square with a walkway leading from the back of the stage to the greenroom. The musicians are placed at the
back of the stage, and the chorus is on the right. The positions of all characters are very precisely set, as is the stylized
movement on stage. Developing about the same time as the No was a type of short farce known as the Kyogen. The Kyogen
are placed between No plays as comic relief. They do not use music, take about 20 min to perform, and are broad in their humor.
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