Rise of Japanese Warrior Elites

The Decline of Chinese Influence and Rise of Warrior Elites By: Sydney Nesbit, and Kari Melander Ashikaga Shogunate • Starting in the 12th century, Japan went through a number of civil wars which finally ended in the early 1600s due to the rise of the Tokugawa family. • The Fujiwara family began depending on alliances with regional lords. • By the mid-12th century, the Taira and Minamoto families began to openly compete. This caused the Gempei wars from 1180-1185. In the end, the Minamoto family won against the Taira family. • The Minamoto established the bafuku (tent)government, and located their capital at Kamakura. Ashikaga Shogunate Fujiwara family tree Morimoto family tree Ashikaga Shogunate • The leader of the Minamoto family, Yoritomo, made the Kamakura regime weak due to his fear of being overthrown by family members. • Even his close relatives were murdered, including his brother Yoshitsune. • Yoritomo’s shoguns soon gained the responsibility of protecting his throne, and the measures he took left him without an able heir to his throne. Yoritomo Ashikaga Shogunate Ashikaga Takauji • After Yoritomo’s death the Hojo, a warrior family closely allied with the Minamoto family, took over the Kamakura regime. • At the start of the 14th century, one of the heads of the Minamoto family, Ashikaga Takauji, led a revolt that overthrew the Kamakura regime. • He established the Ashikaga Shogunate, which lasted from 1336 to 1573. • The emperor who ruled during the time of Ashikaga’s revolt refused to realize the truth of the situation and attempted to revive imperial power. Ashikaga Shogunate • This emperor was exiled, but he, his heirs, and several warlords fought against the Ashikaga faction for much of the remainder of the 14th century. • Although the emperor was technically in charge of everything, it was the samurai who truly held the power in the government. • Heavenly mandate and centralized power was disregarded, instead regional power was seen during this time. • Even though the Ashikaga succeeded in destroying the imperial authority of the Yoshino center, any authority the emperor had left was destroyed. • The bushi vassals were freely able to defeat local rivals and seize peasant land, the old aristocracy, and competing warlords. Ashikaga Shogunate • The bushi warlords broke the land they acquired into sections for the samurai who in return gave military support. • After the destruction of central authority, a full-scale civil war broke out from 1467 to 1477. During this time, rivals of the Ashikaga Shogunate called upon warlord chiefs to support them. • Samurai went to enemies’ headquarters around Kyoto, and eventually the capital was reduced to rubble. • After the civil war, provincial lords gained more power and Japan was finally separated into almost 300 small kingdoms with rulers called daimyos. Women in the Heian Era • In the Heian Era of Japan between 794 and 1185, Chinese influences gradually diminished over time, and royal courts emerged • Court life in the royal courts of the Heian Era was conniving and melodramatic • Women played very different roles within the courts than men did, especially in writing • Women were relatively influential in courts Women and Religion • In the song era, a modified Confucian philosophy called NeoConfucianism placed women in a low and yielding place in society. Other religions such as Buddhism also placed restrictions on women • Shintoism had relatively positive views on women, limiting NeoConfuscianism’s impact on women, and even portrayed women as divine • Empress Jingu, who claimed heritgae to the sun goddess, was believed to have divine Shaman powers Women in early Samurai period • Women in the early samurai period were held to high expectations, especially when the husband was gone • They were trained in the ways of weapons so that they could defend their families in times of war- the naginata was the weapon of choice for women • This image of women was eventually replaced by an image of submission and quiteness Shogunate rule brings change • Buddhist, Confucian and samurai culture all weakened positive effects of Shintoism for women and greatly limited their rights • During the Tokugawa era, marriage was an expectation for women, and learned from young ages to please their husbands • Leyasu Tokagaw resorted back to former, more restrictive customs for women, restricting rights for women in japan up until modern days Toward Barbarism • The chivalrous qualities of the bushi era lowered very noticeably in the 15th and 16th centuries. During this time, spying, sneak attacks, and betrayals were common. • Peasants armed with pikes became crucial for daimyo armies. Instead of quality of fighting, specifically with samurai, the larger the army was, the more effective and important it was. • Peasants were poorly trained and fed, which contributed to the misery found among the common people. • The peasant soldiers ended up looting and pillaging in the towns they crossed through, which made it appear that the Japanese were reverting back to barbarism. Japanese peasants Daimyos Maintaining Order • Daimyos that were capable introduced tax collection, which supported irrigation systems and certain other public works. These actions strengthened rural communities. • The daimyos also tried convincing people to settle in places that had not been occupied. • New tools were also introduced, along with more common use of draft animals, helped the peasantry with farming. • Peasants were encouraged to produce crops such as soybeans, and items such as silk, hemp, paper, dyes, and vegetable oils. Daimyos Maintaining Order • A new commercial class that dealt with trade emerged. • Guilds developed for artisans and merchants that provided protection for members during the insecurity of the political situation. Taxation on farming Bibliography • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=owdnBMrC_5AC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1 1&dq=women+in+heian+courts&ots=S7Tab6lkbu&sig=ewwuWq1XGNKamfn2HC2f Zwu2jbA#v=onepage&q=women%20in%20heian%20courts&f=false • www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-08.html • www.studentpulse.com/articles/286/women-in-ancient-japan-from-matriarichal- antiquity-to-acquiescent-confinement • www.womeninworldhistory.com/essay-04.html • www.school.eb.com/levels/high/article/39814 • Stearns, Peter; Adas, Michael; Schwartz, Stuart; Gilbert, Marc Jason. “The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.” World Civilizations: The Global Experience (Fifth Edition). Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. .

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