Japanese Art and Culture

Jomon Period

12,000 BCE - 300 BCE

Hunter gatherers, pottery, nomadic, sunken pit dwellings

Yayoi Period

300 BCE - 300 CE

Came from the mainland (China+Korea)

Higher built houses to keep out rats

Loved Chinese Bronze Mirrors

Dotaku (Bronze bell)

Magatama (beads)

Himiko/Pimiko

The very first person recorded in written Japanese history

Ruled over Yamatai (Jomon Period)

Shamaness

Kofun Period

300 CE - 552 CE

"old tomb"

Elaborate tombs

Haniwa

Terracotta statues from the Kofun Period

552 CE

Introduction of Buddhism to Japan via Korea

Accretion

The gradual accumulation of styles, forms, and tastes that undergo an internal transformation creating new styles, forms, and tastes

Uji

Aristocratic clans who controlled different parts of Japan

Most powerful lived in Nara

Shinto

Japan's newfound religion

"the way of the gods" (kami/divinities)"

Kegare: filth, dirt, grossness

Harae: purity

Kojiki

Japan's first piece of written literature

Written in 712

Was written to justify why the Imperial family has the right to rule and show that like the Chinese they have the same level of civilization

Ise Shrine

Amaterasu's home

Restored every 2o years to strengthen Shinto's cleanliness qualities

Misogi

Purification Rites

cleanses the body and spirit

First performed by Izanagi

Performed when someone dies

Male tradition

Kagura Dancing + Singing

Performances of singing and dancing with bells, drums, flute, etc. to summon Kami

Buddhism

Originated in India from Guatama Buddha

Prince Shotoku

Founder of Japanese Buddhism

Instituted 12 ranks of nobility

Sought centralized Japanese empire

Horyu-ji

1st important Buddhist temple in Nara

Taika Reforms

645

First time Japan tries to organize into a structured, coherent nation (wanted to be like China)

Wanted to break the power of the Uji

Nara Period (710-784)

Yamato Clan ruled Japan

First permanent capital

Fujiwara clan appeared

Hierarchy

Transformation of culture

Emperor Shomu

(Tenpyo Era of the Nara Period)

Reign took place during the T'ang Dynasty in China

Built many Buddhist temples around Japan

Built Todaiji temple - Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall

Impermanece/Mujo

Buddhist theme that we are not everlasting and must accept death

Shimenawa

the twisted rope seen at shrines, indicates the presence of kami, size shows importance

Yomi

The Afterwolrd

Theravada Buddhism ("lesser vehicle")

monks that aspire to be arhats (perfected person who has achieved nirvana)

Mahayana Buddhism ("greater vehicle")

monks that aspire to become bodhisattvas (sub-buddha who stay and teach)

Sutra

A Buddhist text

Waka/Tanka

Japanese Poetry

5,7,5,7,7 (31 Syllables)

Man'yoshu: Collection of 10 Thousand Leaves

Japan's first collection of native poetry

(written in Chinese characters/Man'yogana)

Contains Choka (long), Waka/Tanka (short), and Sedoka (head-repeating poem)

Elegies (poetry of death), expressions of intimacy, miscellaneous, love and nature

(early Nara)

Heian Period

794-1185

Heian-kyo (capital (modern day Kyoto))

Most classical literature, culture, etc. comes from this period

Fujiwara Clan

They were the Nakatomi from the Nara Period, they opposed the Soga since they accepted Buddhism and the Fujiwara didn't

Courtly Refinement (aesthetics)

Cultured elegance in behavior or manner

Awareness of beauty

Attentive to nature

Sensitivity

Miyabi

refinement and sophistication

Aware

sensitivity to beauty or pathos in the sights and sounds of nature or the human condition

Mono no Aware

sadness of things passing

Nikki

Private diary literature

Zuihitsu

Prose miscellany

Kokinshu (905)

Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (waka)

Seasons/love predominate

Nobility only

Fallen Cherry Blossoms =

Soft Impermanence

Edward Morse

Excavated early Jomon ruins

When did Nara move to Heian-kyo?

794

Man'yogana

Chinese characters used for their sound to write Japanese prior to the invention of kana

Ritsuryo System of Government

Kanpaku

Chancellor

Sei Shonagon

Female author of the Pillow Book

Lady Murasaki

Female author of the Tale of Genji

Rokudo: Six Paths of Existence

The six realms of rebirth based on one's karma

Lotus Sutra

A Mahayana Buddhist text where Enlightenment is made available not only to monastics, but to all because of the great compassion of bodhisattvas

Vimalakirti

Vilamalakirti, a wealthy buddhist lay bodhisattva, feigns illness. When the ruler of the region and officials visit him, he expounds the Dharma teachings.

Nihon shoki (nihongi)

Japanese creation myth