Japanese Culture Midterm

Orientalism

Reduces a culture to a sense of essences, trying to look at the entire culture in one lens.Looks at a country as stagnant and does not take into account its historical timeline Uses vision, essentializes, and is synchronic.

Post-Orientalism

- Rather than trying to encompass a whole culture in one glance, we explain things through the sequence leading up to any given phenomena.
- We historicize rather than essentialize, and it is diachronic, so changing overtime.

Monolingual Nation-State

19th and 20th centuries - orientalist viewpoint - defined nations as forming around a single ethnic state, speaking one language, and living in one territory

Descriptive vs. Prescriptive

Descriptive: what is seen
Prescriptive: what the authority wants
(Essentialisms were prescribed by Japanese authority to the people and were used as leverage by arguing that if the essentialisms were not followed, one falls out of being "truly Japanese". This is for the leaders to make it easier to rule Japan)
(Essentialisms are not just descriptives, they are also prescriptive
Essentialisms are stereotypes that have shaped a certain way of life)

Nihonjinron

This is in essentialism
Theories and texts about Japanese national and cultural identity; used as tools of social and political conformity; critiqued as Japanese cultural nationalism
Disappeared after WW2.
(But still has some among conservatives in modern life too)

Japonisme

Cultural elites in Europe became obsessed with Japan (art, culture, architecture etc.)
The art (packing material - considered disposable by the japanese) - homage and inspire western artists

1950s - 1960s

The West viewed Japan as "other" (Exteriority)
Japan had a distrust of logic due to Zen thoughts (joy of uncertainty), they had a lack of materialism which was viewed negatively by Westerners who favored material possessions

1970s-1980s

Bubble Economy
Western interest to things that fostered Japan's economic success. (Management practices, Business culture, labor laws, Government investment in industry)
some people said this business culture is because of samurai culture, Bushido.

1990s-present

Bubble collapse
Western interest shifted to Japanese pop culture, especially manga, anime, and video games (soft power: creates positive image of the country which can be utilized in Business dealing)

sakoku

No westerners allowed in.
No Japanese allowed to leave

Commodore Matthew Perry

1853 demanded Japan accept a letter forcing them to open their ports coming back in 1854 with military power

Extraterriotality

foreigners were not subject to foreign law, they were instead to be tried under their own laws
If an American committed a crime in Japan they would be tried under American law under the US embassy.

Most Favored Nation Status

US gets the best rates for trade because they are the favored nation.
(If Japan and US had 14% tariff but Japan struck an 8% deal with Germany, US automatically got 8% deal too)

sonno joi

revere the emperor, expel the barbarians (westerners)

Meiji Restoration (1868)

In 1868
- end of the Shogunate and the return of imperial power which was symbolic power before.
- New government, led by samurai from Choshu and Satsuma adopted Western military and industrial techniques.
- 富国強兵 (enrich the country, strengthen the military)

Bunmei kaika

- "Civilization and enlightenment"
-Encoraged modernization and Westernization.
- The civilization in this context referred to West.
- Goal was to abandon outdated practices and beliefs in favor of adopting Western knowledge and culture.

ittokoku

- First rate nation

- Japan wanted to be the recognized as an equal by Western powers, especially in terms of military, economic strength, legal system and culture.

shosetsu

Prose fiction, became highest form of art during the Meiji period.
- Chinese scripts were the highest before.
- literature in the West was valued especially for its realistic portrayal of human condition for emotions.
- portraying their inner thoughts and their struggles and their contemplations.
- Novels dominates Japanese literature by the next century.

SOV language

Subject-Object-Verb

Hiragana

There was also a need to write in Japanese language such as Japanese poems, for people who didn't have enough education to read or write in Chinese, especially women. Also called women’s writing

Katakana

- Simplified version, write one part of Kanji.
- prononciation of foreign words. Men’s writing

Kanji

Chinoise characters.
- Ideographs: each character represents an idea, not a phonetic information.
Ex. 月、雨、田、雷
- Kanji are used to represent both imported Chinese words and Japanese words that have the same meanings.
Ex. 飲料、飲む
- Often there are more than 2 readings. Same thing happen in English like twelve.
Ex. イン、ノム
- It is not always easy to figure out how to read. Especially technical terms and Buddhist terms because it is from sanskrit.

Keigo

A series of suffixes and prefixes added to words to make them more polite (plus few special words)
Respect language
- the longer the phrase, the more polite it is.

Kyotsugo

Common language
- The language from Tokyo area.
- Taught nationwide by the government as the standard Japanese
- marginalizing a lot of Japanese dialects.

Genbun itchi

Unification of speech and writing.

Jomon Period (4500 - 250 BCE)

Jomon Period is pre-metal era with sophisticated elements.
- The name comes from cord-mark patterns on pottery.

Yayoi Period (250BCE - 250 CE)

They lived in mostly south of Japan.
- Migration from southern China and Korea.

Yamatai

first written record of Japan - by Chinese
kingdom recorded by Wei is ruled by Himiko- there is still speculation as to where this kingdom was actually located.

Himiko

ruler of Yamati
unified the nation in the second century

Kofun period (250 - 538) yamato period obs

- Construction of key hole shaped burial mounds.
- Many are still extant and are undisturbed.

Haniwa

Clay figure buried with the dead in the mounds.
Possibly meant to replace the person's slaves.

Uji

A clan during the Kofun period.
- Based on kinship.
- became huge landowner and political forces.

Ise Shrine

Shrine of the sun goddess, Amaterasu.
every 20 years it is moved between 2 locations
shows architecture of the time

Matrilocal

when a couple gets married, the husband moved in with his wife at her mother's house.

Matrilineal

property inheritance was passed through the mother's lineage.

Kojiki

texts that legitimized Yamato rule and imperial rule.
- Kojiki was in Japanese. It was written in 8th century, was elevated by Meiji reformers to legitimize the new government.

Shinto

A Japanese indigenous religion whose followers believe that all things in the natural world are filled with different spirits before the introduction to Buddhism.

Izanami

God of Sun.

Izanagi

Husband to Izanami, parents to Amaterasu.
God of Moon.

Amaterasu

Sun Goddess
Ruler of heaven
Ancestor of other clans

Susano-o

Amtaterasu's brother.
banished to Earth for being unpleasant.
God of Wind.

Ninigi

grandson of Amaterasu and great-grandfather of Jimmu.
Three Jingu were given to him.

Jinmu

the first emperor of Japan

Jingi (Divine treasure)

Mirror, string of magatama beads, sword kusanagi.   imperial regalia that ancestor gave Ninigi when he was sent from heaven to earth.

Four noble Truths of Buddhism

1. life is suffering (cycle of born to suffer)
2. All phenomena are impermanent, and our attachment to impermanent things is what makes us suffer (all the things that look like they are solid like desk in this world, it is all phenomena in this world. Maybe it will be burnt tomorrow.)
3. freeing ourselves from attachments can end our suffering. (NIRVANA)
4. Following the eightfold path of moral precepts allows us to free ourselves from attachments to impermanent things (you dont have to know the eight fold path)

mujo

impermanence
- major theme in Buddhism

Mahayana vs. Hinayana 

Mahayana: focuses on saving as many people as possible, obtaining help from divine figures such as Bodhisatvas who have already achieved enlightenment (all bodhism in japan is Mahayana)
Hinayana (Theravada): personal enlightenment

Bodhisattva

people or entities who have achieved enlightenment but stay to help others (more like mythical people than real people in this era) (mahayana) (Buddha in Japan was really big, importance of praying to huge figure 東大寺) (法隆寺 is the oldest wooden building Temple in japan)

Taika Reforms

- Reforms enacted by imperial throne which aimed to reduce the power of the uji and increase power of the throne
- This was done by adopting Chinese gov. systems - centralized bureaucracy
- Made it apparent that they gave Uji power, also implemented taxes, offices become hereditary（相続）
- Nationalized the land (in order to reduce the Uji power)

Ritsuryo System

System of laws and ranks created by the Taika reforms.

Nara Period 710-794

First permanent capital with grid city.
- quickly many important temples were built

Man’yoshu

collection of poems, body of the japanese essence.  

man’yo-gana

writing system that was used to write man’yoshu. Uses chinese characters to represent china and sometimes obscure readings.  

masuraoburi

characterized by manliness that was found in manyoushu.

tawayameburi

characterized by the opposite. Femaleness.  

Heian period 794-1185

794-1185
politics was a game of sexual politics
-wealthy powerful men can not become emperor because only emperor's son can be emperor.
- men married their daughters to emperor.

Regency

rules in name of emperor
(Fujiwara clan)

Fujiwara Clan

dominated the Japanese politics of Heian period
-by 1000, direct rule by sitting emperor was over

Insei System

Political power was given to office of retired emperor
(Shirakawa)

Yamato-e

Japanese painting that are highly stylized figures, use of clouds to isolate the artistic subject from background.
Differentiated from Chinese paintings.

Tendai

Representative of all Buddhism.
They are important not because of religious reason but also they were the power figures with armies of warrior monks.
Tendai focused on lotus Sutra (most important text in Buddhism) as main focus.

Shingon

Type of Buddhism that are associated with Yamabushi, Mountain monks.go away from regular society to practice very strict spiritual exercise and rituals, and people believe they gain special religious power by doing so.

Honji suijaku

Buddhist idea which says that Buddhist gods can take on different forms, including local gods, Kami that people already believe in.

Kokinshu

the first official collection of Japanese poetry put out by the emperor

Waka

syllables of 5/7/5/7/7. Became the standard of poem 

kanajo

first statement of japanese poetics. Poems are the leaves that grow from the seeds that are in the human heart. Poetry is something that springs from the human world, songs of humans.  

mitate

poetic technique of getting one thing visually confused with another on purpose.  

joryu nikki bungaku

women's diary literature. First kana prose literature. Private but were written for a diary.  

sei shonagon

author of the pillow book, a lady in waiting for an empress. Educated by her father, but unlike most she did know Chinese. Renowned for her knowledge.  

Pillow Book 1005

maybe wrote it to list things that later to write poems of. Great works of japanese literature. Characterized by a bunch of nouns. Huge in poetry.  

okashi

charming and the aesthetic of the pillow book.

Murasaki Shibiku

author of tale of genji, lady in waiting of an empress.  Shikibu is the office and Murasaki is a character, we do not know her real name.  

Genji monogatari

tale of genji is notoriously hard to read due to the complex sentences and formations.

Hikaru Genji

main character, hikaru means shining could mean attractive or have an aura of amaterasu. Genji is people who are noble. Genji is a classical liminal hero.

hitogata

persons substitute. Major theme of Genji. The way to bury grief is to find substitutes.

murasaki no yukari

lavender connection. A connection between all three that says they are replacements.  

naka no shina

middle rank woman.  

Mononoke

spirit possession. They could be sick because they believed that they were possessed by spirits, spirits of the dead, sick, alive.  

Shoen

privately owned tax free estate.

shiki

rights to income from land
This can be sold or inherited like stock market in modern life.
Shoen owner governed the Shoen and this rights.

Samurai

a member of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, especially a member of the class of military retainers of the daimyos.

Taira/Heike

Invited to the capital and lived there for many decades. Famous for being more refined and aristocratic. 

Minamoto/Genji

genji means minamoto clan, they were rough and less refined. got power through the east.  They were good with fighting on horses.  

Genpei War 1180 -1185

major civil war that was fought throughout the whole nation. Many civilizations were affected and there was the collapse of imperial government. Huge nationwide conflict.  

Tale of the Heike

A great warrior epic, compared to the Iliad. This tale was always important. Like the Iliad it has the pride before the fall at the start.  First work of literature that was available for everyone. 

biwa hoshi

loot priest or loot monk, connected to religious temples. 

chinkon

a theme that says to hone the souls of the dead. Tale of the Heike is devoted to the spirits of the dead Heike. 

Taira no Kiyomori

the taira leader who brings prosperity to the clan at first but then brings the clan down. He had no reverence and just wanted revenge and he was a tyrant and some admired that.

Minamoto no Yoritomo

leader of the minamoto clan, stayed at modern day tokyo.  

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

half brother that led the minamoto clan to victory as a general.  

Ichi no tani

yoshitsune leads 400 horsemen down slope, turning point of the war.  

Dan no ura

sad image of the nun of the second rank. Throwing themself to the sea to drown. Final battle of the civil war.

Kamakura era 1185 - 1333

marked as the beginning of the medieval time for Japan.  

shogun

general, had more power than the Emperor

bakufu

tent government, the military government the government of the samurai.  

wako

Japanese pirates  

mongol invasions

attempts of invading Japan and it was saved by a huge tycoon that killed ten of thousands of their soldiers.  

Kamikaze – the divine wind.  

seppuku

committing suicide by opening one's own abdomen
Usually practiced to make up for some transgression by killing themselves in such a painful way, they can show their courage and have their crimes pardoned in order to protect the honor of their family

zen

everything is an illusion. We are all Buddhist you just must realize it.  koan - zen riddles, seemingly paradoxical

Nichiren

becomes signifiant as it believed that the japanese styled buddhism would go to other parts of the world. Became popular in WW2.