Outline Lecture Eighteen—Heian Period and Medieval Japanese Sensibility Focus Last Lecture: 1) The process through which Japan became a Buddhist nation and Buddhism a Japanese religion 2) Growing power of and meddling by Buddhist temples in Nara Today’s Focus: 1) Heian court turning inward politically, culturally, and religiously—Japan’s period of self- imposed isolation 2) Erosion of centralized imperial authority I) Challenges to Centralized Imperial Authority a) Political Ascendancy of the Fujiwara Clan i) 794 move of capital from Nara to Heian (Kyoto) by Emperor Kammu ii) Fujiwara family’s domination of court politics from the 9th to 11th centuries (1) Use of “Borrowed wombs” (2) E.g. Michinaga Fujiwara (966-1027) (a) His daughter Shoshi placed as imperial consort at age 10 (b) Scene of her giving birth to the future heir to the throne iii) Why did powerful men like Michinaga not become emperors themselves? b) Prevalence of Independent Shoens i) Origin of Shoens (1) Equal-field system during the Nara period modeled after Chinese Juntian (a) Tax exemptions for estates belonging to nobility and temples (2) By mid-8th century, central authority waning (a) Allowed small plots of land to be reclaimed in exchange for grain tax ii) Expansion of Shoens (1) Advantage of economy of scale (2) By 10th century, immunity from taxation and entry iii) Economic impact of Shoens (1) Different groups held shiki in any given shoen (2) Flexible enough to satisfy many disparate class interests (a) “Pyramid of hierarchy”: HonkesRyokesShokesShomins (3) By 12th century, half of Japan’s rice cultivation land was held by shoens iv) Why did the central government not curb this practice? II) The Solipsistic World of the Heian Court a) Political Isolation i) Domestically—court more and more removed from the provinces ii) Overseas contact ended in 838 with last mission to China b) Religious Trends i) Two Main Sects during Heian (1) Tendai—founded by Saicho (767-822); based at Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei (a) 3,000 buildings in temple complex (b) Had its own “standing army” called the akuso (c) Focus on the “Lotus Sutra” and the nembutsu (i) Saicho: “All forms stand an equal basis in attaining Buddhahood” (2) Shingon—founded by Kukai (774-835); based on Mt. Koya (a) Emphasis on esoteric teachings and Tantric practices (b) Nationalistic appeal of Kukai (c) More popular with the Heian elite c) Courtly Culture of Interior Space i) Detachment from the outside world (1) “Heian society became more and more a prey to melancholy and disillusionment” (Beasley 70) (2) Heian sensibility defined by Miyabi ii) Lady Murasaki’s Tale of Genji (1) “Literature of the parlor” (2) Aesthetics of courtship (3) Observations of palace life iii) Influence on a distinctly Japanese aesthetic sensibility .