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1 I. Japanese Historical, Cultural, and Economic

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1 I. Japanese Historical, Cultural, and Economic I. JAPANESE HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION A. Geographic Location Japan (Nihon, Nippon) is an East Asian island country located off the coast of China, the Korean peninsula, and Russia. The Japanese mainland is composed of four main islands. The largest central island is Honshū which is where major metropolitan areas such as Tōkyō, Kyōto and Ōsaka, are located. The three other main islands which border Honshū are the northern island Hokkaidō, the south-central island Shikoku, and the southwestern island Kyūshū. B. Japanese History 1. Early Japan Based on current archeological evidence, the Japanese main islands have been inhabited since approximately 35,000 B.C.E. Around 14,000 B.C.E., a rudimentary culture known as the Jōmon established a basic agrarian society. However, societal development on the Japanese islands moved at an extremely slow pace. The first time frame that historians can definitively link to the establishment of a Japanese civilization is the establishment of the Yamato court from approximately 250-710 C.E. During their reign, the Yamato established a sphere of influence which encompassed western Honshū and north Kyūshū. It was also during the Yamato period that continental Asian culture began to seriously impact Japanese society. After establishing formal relations with China, Japanese envoys returned with knowledge of the wealth of Chinese culture. This knowledge heavily influenced Yamato court life. Following the adoption of Chinese as the official court language, Chinese merged with the native Japanese tongue to create a hybrid language. Additionally, the Chinese character writing method, known in Japan as kanji, became the official written language for 1 Japan. The Yamato era also witnessed the introduction of Buddhism, through Korea, into Japanese society. During this early period, the Japanese court did not have a fixed imperial city in which it resided. While the imperial court remained in the Nara region of central Honshū, it was not uncommon for a new Emperor (Tennō) to establish a new imperial city upon assuming power. However, in 794 C.E., the Emperor Kanmu (Kanmu-tennō) founded Heian-kyō, modern day Kyōto, as the Japanese capital. This city remained the capital city until its relocation to Edo, modern day Tōkyō, in the seventeenth century. The Heian Era also witnessed the military class’ rise in influence. As the Japanese court sought to expand its borders through military action, it began to conscript increasingly large number of soldiers. The increased size of the Japanese army began to provide military officers with considerable influence in court life. Over the centuries, imperial influence had gradually deteriorated. Incidents such as the Hōgen Rebellion (Hōgen no ran) in 1156 C.E., where two emperors laid claim to the Japanese throne, weakened imperial power while simultaneously increasing the wealth and prominence of the military class. The final blow for the Heian Era and imperial rule was the Genpei War (Genpei kassen), a blood feud for control of the imperial court between the Minamoto and Taira clans. The Minamoto, led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, ultimately defeated the Taira and had the Emperor appoint him sei-i taishogun (shogun). Minamoto assumed control of the Japanese government and established the Kamakura shogunate (bakufu). The Kamakura period is perhaps most famous for the Mongol Invasions (Genkō) which occurred during this era. While the invading Mongolian, Chinese, and Korean forces were ultimately destroyed by the kamikaze (divine wind), these conflicts placed a significant drain on 2 Japanese resources. As a result, relations between Japan and continental Asia became increasingly cool. 2. Civil War, Reunification, Peace, and Isolation Cracks in Japanese national unity began to appear during the early fourteenth century as political intrigue created two warring courts vying for supremacy over Japan. This civil war lasted for fifty years, severely damaged the Japanese infrastructure, and destabilized the central government. The final blow to Japanese unity occurred with the onset of the Ōnin War (Ōnin no ran) in 1467 C.E. The weakened Ashikaga bakufu saw two apparent successors claim leadership over Japan. The regional lords (daimyo) became divided over which successor to support and this led to a decade long conflict. As the war reached its conclusion, the destabilized Japanese government collapsed and the country plunged into the century long civil war known as Sengoku. With no effective central authority, each daimyo ruled with absolute authority over his territory and frequently battled the neighboring daimyo over land and other resources. Constant warfare, famine, and disease ravaged the population and significantly weakened what remained of the Japanese state. It was not until the sixteenth century that strong unifying figures emerged to reestablish order. The first Japanese figure who began the campaign for unification was Oda Nobunaga. A militarily ambitious and innovative man, Oda planned to conquer the other feuding daimyo using advanced European munitions and tactics. Oda had acquired Portuguese guns and been instructed in the finer point of European military tactics. The other daimyo, who still fought using swords and bows were outmatched by Oda’s superior forces. During his military 3 campaign, Oda conquered many remaining daimyo and nearly achieved the goal of a unified Japanese state. However, Oda died before he could finish subduing the other daimyo. Afterwards, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a close ally of Oda, rallied Oda’s army and proceeded to finish the process of reunifying Japan. With Toyotomi’s ascent to power, he instituted many reforms to ensure that the local daimyo would no longer be able to divide the country through conflict. He reorganized the old Japanese provinces into the han system whereby loyal daimyo were allotted fiefs of land. The peasants who worked the farms were bound in service to the daimyo. Toyotomi placed a strict emphasis on caste structure with the samurai on top, followed by the farmers, and finally the merchants. The Japanese were strictly bound to the caste to which they belonged and, regardless of wealth, could not change their social status. Following Toyotomi’s death in 1599, one of his chief allies, Tokugawa Ieyasu, exploited the fact that Toyotomi’s successor was a child to seize power. Several years of war followed between those who remained loyal to the Toyotomi clan and supporters of Tokugawa. This conflict culminated in the Battle of Sekigahara (Sekigahara no Tatakai) which established Tokugawa Ieyasu as the ruler of Japan. Subsequently, the emperor declared Tokugawa shogun and the Japanese capital moved east to Edo (modern day Tōkyō). From the seat of power, Tokugawa established a bakufu which ruled over Japan for an unprecedented two and a half centuries of relative peace. Like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated his power base by instituting further changes to Japanese society. In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu enacted the law for military houses (buke sho hatto). These new rules placed considerable restrictions on the daimyo and limited movement between han. Additionally, the daimyo were required to frequently alternate 4 their residence between the han and Edo. As a result, the daimyo incurred numerous costs which depleted their monetary reserves. One major side effect of this policy was the population expansion in Edo fueled by the vast number of escorts and retainers the daimyo needed in order to journey to the capital. Additionally, Tokugawa further lessened the risk of his family being overthrown when he demilitarized the samurai class. Firearms were outlawed and most remaining guns were collected and destroyed. As the Japanese government became increasingly bureaucratized, the samurai were tapped to fill these newly created positions. Samurai culture transitioned from one primarily focused on the study and practice of military arts, to one where formal education became extremely valuable. One result of the samurai’s bureaucratization was that the formalization and romanticizing of the famous Japanese warrior concept, bushidō. Perhaps the most famous policy implemented by the Tokugawa is Sakoku, the near complete isolation of Japan from foreign contact. While the Japanese had maintained relations with the Portuguese for some time, the seventeenth century witnessed the European colonial wars reach Japan. Early into the Tokugawa reign, the English and Dutch established relations with the Japanese government. However, these European entanglements threatened to destabilize Japan. After several relatively minor incidents had strained Japanese and European relations, the European forces governments supported a Christian Japanese uprising in Japan’s west known as the Shimabara Rebellion (Shimabara no ran). The Portuguese had maintained a trading presence near the port city of Nagasaki. During that time they had actively worked to convert many Japanese to Christianity. In the past, this activity had been largely tolerated by the Japanese. However, during the Tokugawa’s ascent to power, many western Christian samurai supported the shogun’s enemies. As a result, the 5 Tokugawa instituted a formal program of Christian persecution. While many Japanese chose to renounce the Christian faith rather than face torture and execution, a significant number remained loyal to the foreign religion. In 1637, 30,000 Christians, armed with munitions supplied by the Europeans, rebelled against Tokugawa rule. While the
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