East Asian

Studies
History and Culture of
China and Japan

Marcus Doyle
Mrs. Mercurio
First Semester B3

Content:
China
1. The Three Dynasties Period—the foundation of Chinese culture.
2. Confucianism and the division of war.
3. Romance of the Three Kingdoms--culture preserved in war.
4. The spread of Buddhism and its influence on Chinese society.
5. The Chinese-Mongol Empire-a cultural hybrid.
6. China and the Western World

Japan
7. Classical Japan as the extension of Chinese Culture but the creator of
Japanese distinction.
8. Japanese Feudalism v. European Feudalism.
9. Zen Buddhism and Shinto’s emergence in feudalism.
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East Asian Studies

10. Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa- the cultural
unifiers of medieval Japan.
11. The cultural expansion of the Edo period.
12. The western modernity of Japanese culture.

H O W D O E S C U LT U R E A D A P T A N D R E F L E C T T H E
C H AN G E S I N I N F LU E N C E O F G OV E R N M E N T ?
T H E C U LT U R E O F C H I N A

The Three Dynasties Period—the foundation of Chinese culture.

-How geography of Asia affected the culture of China?

The expanse of Chinese history follows a growth of culture that has

resisted the changes in politics and war. This culture was strengthened by
philosophical ideologies and religious principles that created unity in
divisions of the Chinese people. The Chinese culture stands today as the
most complex of all other nations. These schools of thought that are
distinctly chinese have acted as a binder in Chinese society that have
brought people together under one rule, or unified separated societies under
the rule of opposing dynasties. What created this culture was the
transformation of neolithic and nomadic society to agricultural civilization
with the influences of geography.
At the beginning of Chinese culture, during the primitive societies of
history, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, the principles of later dynasties
are nonexistent; however, it is clear that the roots of these principles are
present. The Xia Dynasty, dating from 2100 to 1600 BCE by most historians,
is primarily unknown, expect for the insight that can be pulled from stories
and tales of its existence. In legend, the last king of the Xia was corrupt and
evil and Cheng Tang, a noble revered by the people, defeated him and took
control, starting the Shang Dynasty. This cultural knowledge establishes the
qualities of a leader and the right of the people to overthrow a king if his rule
does not suit the people’s needs, identical to Thomas Paine’s “Common
Sense.” Both political mandates advocate for ultimate power given to the
people of the state rather than the ruler. This principle later evolves into the
Chinese belief of the mandate of heaven, which identifies a king’s legitimacy
as ruler by divine will. The Xia dynasty, although only known through implied
knowledge, creates the foundation of culture that later becomes
Confucianism.
Because it developed writing and forms of records, the Shang Dynasty
was the first official dynasty in China. The Shang developed bronze for
societal and militaristic reasons, used to write inscriptions on and a variety of
vessels for ceremonial or religious events. The Shang religion involved many
rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices, where most oracle bones, that of turtle
shells and ox bones found in archeology, give insight into the culture of the
Shang because of their inscriptions. Through these rituals, the gods would
answer the kings questions, often based on divine will. One inscription found
details the King Zheng who asked the high god, DI, “If we build a settlement,
Di will not obstruct (but) approve.” (Asia) In Shang society, there was a great
influence of religion. The king would serve as the high priest and lead all
rituals because he was thought to have the closest connection with Di.
Astronomy started in the Shang Dynasty, Mars and comets were seen by the
chinese. Through the production of bronze, the military was supplied with
bronze armor, weapons, and chariots, giving the Shang a strong defense
against the nomadic clans of what is modern western China. Because of
chinese central ties of state and religion, as well as its defense from
invaders, the maturation of its society brought a stronger cultural identity.
The Zhou Dynasty succeeded the growth of chinese culture in the 10th
century BCE. It centralized the Shang government which had become divided
in its later years. Furthermore, in the Zhou Dynasty, Confucius, a chinese
philosopher, developed his school of confucianism, which became the school
of philosophy throughout all of East Asia. Taoism and Legalism, two other
forms of philosophy, shaped government and society. The Zhou society was
based on agricultural production. During that time, the land was divided
among the crops and the Iron Age brought iron-tipped ox-drawn plows and
improved irrigation techniques which increased the agricultural yield, in turn
increasing the population. With the increase in population came greater
wealth, and people started to become merchants and traders. With the
explosion of the merchant and trader class, the improvement of
communication was inevitable. The improvement came in the form of
expanding the horseback communication system. This increase in the
economic situation allowed the rulers to control more and more territories.
From these three kingdoms culture became the product of philosophy,
agricultural society, and religious subordination.

Confucianism and the division of war.

-Why can China be considered a Confucian State?

Dating 200 BCE to 600 CE, the Han Dynasty’s rule presented China
with its first empire that set the framework for the growth of the Chinese
Empire for years following. Under all this tension, the foundation of the
Chinese people remained intact because of threads of philosophy uniting the
people and their decorum. Throughout the entirety of the empire,
Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism, philosophies from the Zhou Dynasty in
Classic China, influenced politics, war and culture. These Philosophies acted
as a binding agent for the people of China during separation of kingdoms and
invasion and rule of northern civilizations.
The Han successfully ruled from 200 BCE to about 200 CE. In this
period, Han emperors advanced the borders of the empire, defended against
invading tribes from the west and north, and established communication
with western civilization. Education became more important during this
period, as a new class of gentry was introduced. A result of this was the
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compilation of many encyclopedias. The best known is the Book of the

Mountains and Seas, which contained everything known at the time about
geography, natural philosophy, the animal and plant world, and popular
myths. Sima Qian, considered to be China's greatest historian, wrote his
famous Records of the Historian (Shiji) during this time. This history book
became the model by which all other histories would follow. It was one of the
first attempts in China to make a record of the past in a proper form.
Because he did not leave a direct heir, at the death of the emperor
Ling Ti struggles for power arose. The Commander-in-Chief, the empress’
brother and the emperor’s eunuchs fought violently for control of the Empire.
Civil War broke out and the collapse of the Han Dynasty gave way to the
formation of three distinct kingdoms. The disunity of government allowed
mongolian invasions from the north to easily overcome the shattered state of
China. However under Mongolian rule, the chinese culture continued to grow
because it had the strength to influence mongolian culture through
confucianism. Because of this, the chinese culture stayed intact and proved
to be strong for the remaining history of pre-modern China. The succession
of a unified China came easily again because of the universal cultural ties
between the two nations.
After three hundred years of division the chinese people had not lost
their identity and preserved the tradition of unity and a common culture.
Confucianism’s strength and success led it to become state philosophy in
most Asian countries including Japan and Korea. Though Confucianism does
not have a priesthood or a sacred doctrine that explains the afterlife, the
teachings of Confucius have had a lasting effect on society and Confucianism
remains an important cultural influence in China to this day.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms—culture preserved in war.

The Early Han Dynasty preserved prosperity for hundreds of years and
furthered the societal greatness that was becoming of this ancient
civilization. However, the leaders of the Han were unable to adjust to what
this prosperity brought; a growing population and increased wealth. The
pressures of domestic maintenance and rivalries with surrounding
civilizations on China’s north and south border caused the Han Dynasty to
collapse in 220 CE. The resulting political make-up was a divided land of
kingdoms that entered into the greatest Chinese civil war. The dominating
kingdoms of this period were Wu, Shu, and Wei. However, the historical
content of thsi war was not significant until the 14th century because of the
novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong. His
recounting of the history romanticized the chivalry and heroism between the
famed warriors of those kingdoms. The culture of the 3rd century and the 14th
century is portrayed in the literature which makes it one of the greatest
pieces of literature in Chinese history.
 The story follows the spectrum of the lives of the leaders of Wu, Shu,
and Wei; the Sun family, Cao Cao and his son, Cao Pi, and Liu Bei and his
brothers, respectively. Liu Bei, his brothers and other roles within the Shu
kingdom play as the protagonist of the novel, while Wu and Wei are depicted
as villainous antagonist. According to Moss Roberts, a professor of Chinese
culture at New York University, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang, key leaders
in the Shu Kingdom, represent the values of the Chinese. Liu Bei is a
hardworking, charismatic leader, loving and caring to his people and his
kingdom; he represents the physical strength value. Guan Yu, Liu Bei’s
brother, is loyal and family debted. He is also pious and has a strong
Buddhist influence; he represents the religious strength value. Zhuge Liang is
China’s most respected military tactician and general. He is wise and
composed; he represents the intellectual strength value. These character’s
stories compose the Chinese values that were present in the Han Dynasty
and the Ming Dynasty.
The affect of this novel on China was limitless. To the contemporary
society of the Ming Dynasty, this novel worked in the same way as Vergil’s
Aeneid because it glorified the country and brought about national pride. The
Shu Kingdom’s story was interpreted as the Ming Dynasty’s journey,
overcoming obstacles through the brilliance of its leaders. The characters
and heroes of the stories became idols in society. Emperor Wanli, later ruling
in the Ming Dynasty, glorified Guan Yu to god status based off the
romanticized journey of his life in Guanzhong’s novel. Although the Shu
kingdom is defeated in the end, they are treated with the respect of a Greek
hero dying at the end of his quest. The novel seamlessly ties the culture of
China in war stories, redefining the values and preserving them for the
future.

The spread of Buddhism and its influence on Chinese society.

Buddhism in China came about through the Chinese Silk Road trade
with India. This religion was introduced in the second century BCE however,
it did not gain popularity or much recognition until the second century CE
Buddhism was originally repressed by the Han Dynasty, treated similarly to
the beginning Christianity in the Roman Empire. At the fall of the Han
Dynasty, during the Three Kingdom period, the civil war created a tumult in
society. Seeking repentance and salvation, the people turned to Buddhism.
This change of faith parallels the strong movement towards Christianity in
Medieval Europe.
Following the civil war, buddhism had strongly established its place in
society. Because buddhist values were seamless with those of philosophy of
Taoism, the convergence into society was met with ease. Many Chinese
philosophers saw Buddhism as a foreign branch of Taoism because the
concepts between them were very closely related and often shared terms.
However, in relation to Confucianism, Buddhism was met with opposition.
Confucianism followed a school of thought that related to the principle of
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East Asian Studies

how individuality can aid society and the state and the Buddhist thought of
self growth to Nirvana seemed useless and selfish in the eyes of Confucians.
Buddhism became a state religion during the northern and southern
dynasty. The shock of complete division following the collapse of the Jin
Dynasty in 420 CE created a void in Chinese society between the north and
the south. Chinese nobles and politicians who were Buddhist used the
societal discord to press Mahayana Buddhism as a state religion in both
dynasties. The north dynasty, strongly emigrated with the Xiabei kingdom of
eastern Mongolia, adapted Buddhism rapidly and instated it as the state
religion. Emperor Xiaowen of the North built over one thousand temples for
his people. Because of the neighboring relationship with southern asian
civilizations such as India and Thailand which had established Buddhism as
its state religion through trade and commerce, Buddhism took a hold on
southern chinese society. Buddhism evolves with chinese culture through the
significant changes of the later dynasties, taking on new forms, such as
Tibetan buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty. Its rooted position in culture shapes
China’s history and society.

The Chinese-Mongol Empire-a cultural hybrid

-Describe the Chinese Imperial system.

Prior to the 13th century, China had become the leading nation in East
Asia. The golden rules of its emperors throughout the imperial age had
furthered chinese society to be the pinnacle civilization of the world. China
however was not abcest of war and strife. In the 13th century, the strong
nomadic clans had mounted a force so great that it wiped through the Jin
dynasty of northern China and the Song dynasty of southern China. Chinese
civilization had become suppressed entirely to Mongolian rule. However,
through the benevolence of the mongol emperor, Kublai Khan, and the
strength of chinese culture, chinese society continued to grow and prosper,
instead of be erased. Because of Kublai Khan’s political activism in chinese
culture, Chinese-Mongol Empire recreated the strength of the chinese
society that had been weakened by the political disunity from 907 to 1279
CE.
The chinese culture went through rapid growth because of the
connections it made with other nations under the Mongol Empire. The
mongols had territory stretching from modern day Tibet to Russia, and Iraq
to Korea. Many civilizations were integrated together.The chinese were
exposed to a stronger influence of middle eastern religions, such as islam,
which were not foreign to the Chinese from the trade of the Silk Road. Also,
Tibetan Buddhism overtook chinese religion because it was enforced by the
Mongols as the state religion. Chinese culture became fused and influence
with this additional cultures.
Under Kublai Khan’s rule, culture matured within itself because of
Kublai’s policies and reforms. His main principle of rule was to gain the
people’s favor, unlike his predecessors who ruled through tyranny and
suppression. Kublai took a special interest in China over the other states
within his vast empire. He situated the Mongol Empire in the capitol of Dadu,
China, modern day Beijing, and took control of the entire chinese imperial
system. He centralized the government and made himself an absolute
monarch taking charge of all policies. Kublai hires the Han chinese people
into government positions to gain their political support, however, the racial
suppression of the Han chinese, kept any of them from reaching any position
of power. Marco Polo came to China during the reign of Kublai Khan and
documented that he was benevolent, relieving the people’s taxes in times of
trouble, building hospitals and orphanages, and distributing food to the poor.
Marco Polo brought back with him to the Europe the existence of the China,
beginning the relations between the eastern world and the western world.

China and the Western World

Western influences on chinese culture started in the 12th century Yuan

Dynasty because of the exposure of the other regions in the Mongol Empire
to China. Marco Polo’s journey to China documented the most significant
connection between China and Europe. Through the Mongols and Marco Polo,
Europe saw the exploits available, spices, teas, and silk, all luxurious items
that can benefit the European court life. Trade began in the Yuan Dynasty,
but distinctly chinese run trade started in the Ming Dynasty. Although China
maintained its cultural identity as it stepped onto the global stage, the
demands of the western world were too great for the chinese structure to
withstand.
In the 16th century, the Ming Dynasty exported silk and porcelain to
Europe, as well as teas and spices. In return, the chinese received mainly
European silver that replaced their use of bronze, and brought their
economic standard from copper and paper banknotes to silver. Beyond silver,
the Ming received crops from Portugal such as potatoes and peanuts. These
plants could grow in the conditions rice could not, creating a greater food
supply, increasing the population. The globalization of the chinese culture
benefited its society. However, Europe’s demand for chinese goods only
increased as time went by. These demands could not be supported by the
technologically disadvantaged civilization of China.
In the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty to rule China, the trade
ties between the east and west became hostile. China denied British ships
into its ports to cut off the trade of the drug, opium, which was causing an
epidemic of addictions. The Opium War arose in 1840, ending in the
suppression of China to british rule. As strong as the chinese culture and
society had been, the western world overcame those strength through
superior technology and warfare.
The Opium War ended in China’s defeat to Britain, losing Hong Kong to
be a colony of the British Empire, and ceding all control of ports to western
powers. Trade was enforced and the Chinese had to allow western
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missionaries passage throughout China. In addition, the Chinese payed the

British and French large amounts of silver, depleting their reserve. Silver had
become the chinese’s new standard of precious metals and this damaged the
chinese economy. Because of what left the Qing Dynasty unstable, a great
civil rebellion arose against the government. The reformers of the Taiping
Rebellion sought to replace confucianism, buddhism, and other forms of
chinese religion with christianity. The Chinese suffered from the intrusion of
western powers. Chinese culture and identity were lost in the fight to
maintain them by chinese government. Following the Opium wars, Britain
and France took a close position in imperial government, which led it to be
overthrown by the people in favor of a republic. Imperial China had ended in
1911 bringing forward the new age chinese culture that met the demands for
China to become a world power.

T H E C U LT U R E O F J A P A N

Classical Japan as the extension of Chinese Culture but the creator of

Japanese distinction.
-How geography of Asia affected the culture of Japan?
-In what ways was Imperial Japan a fusion of chinese influence and
traditional Japanese attitudes?

As civilization formed between the scattered villages and towns on

Japan, the structure of government and society was pulled from the model
set by China, which was the leading nation in all of eastern Asia. Japan drew
four cultural platforms from China; imperial rule, confucianism, buddhism,
and the chinese writing system. Chinese culture was the basis of Japanese
culture, but the people of Japan uniquely expressed them to make them
entirely japanese.
The creation of a centralized government and ruling imperial family
was taken from the Chinese empire to serve as the Japanese structure of
politics. From the time of the Nara period in the 8th century, family lineage
dictated legitimacy for the japanese throne. However, as this principle
applies to chinese culture, family lineage was determined by the “mandate
of heaven” which gave divine justification to that imperial family to rule the
empire. The Japanese applied their own religious justification to the imperial
family. The mythology was that the Sun Goddess of Shinto faith sent her
grandson to rule Japan, and imperial families from then on claimed to be
ancestors of that grandson. Chinese political creed was redefined as a
japanese cultural principle.
Schools of thought and religion also were adopted by classical Japan.
The chinese socio-political philosophy of Confucianism became an
underlaying theme for all japanese politics, however, confucianism was
never a state ideology. Prince Shotoku of the 7th century wrote in his
constitution many laws of the state that are clearly influenced by confucian
principle.
“The Ministers and officials of the state should make proper behavior their first
principle, for if the superiors do not behave properly, the inferiors are disorderly; If
inferiors behave improperly, offenses will naturally result. Therefore when lord and
vassal behave with propriety, the distinctions of rank are not confused: when the
people behave properly the Government will be in good order.” (Asia)
The Belief that the order of government was essential to the order of
society illustrated by Prince Shotoku was strictly confucianism. Buddhism
faith also was integrated into Japanese culture. At first, the faith of buddhism
was largely misunderstood by the japanese people because what had arrived
in Japan was a number of different interpretations of the religion from the
myriad sects of Buddhism from China and Korea. Largely, Shinto was the
state religion for most of Japanese history, and buddhism had assimilated
with that faith allowing it to grow in Japanese Society. During classical Japan,
Buddhism was not adopted by the japanese as a fully practiced religion but
certain basic premises on which Buddhism is based upon, such as fatalism,
karma, and the influence of past lives, could be readily understood,
appreciated, and embraced.
The spoken language was japanese at the start of Japanese civilization,
however, the writing language was chinese because the people that came to
the japanese islands were originally chinese descent. A chinese written
language continued as a state institution for many years, similar to the
language system of early medieval europe, in which latin stood as the
written language for scholars, priests, and state ministers. Chinese was the
language of literature, official documents, and studies until the Japanese
crafted their own written language, system of syllables called Kana. This
written language involves the use of traditional chinese characters along
with a kana character that transforms the word to be known as japanese.
The establishment of this language brought the japanese cultural identity
forward and created it as a culture entirely separate of China.
The foundation of japanese culture resides in the foundation of chinese
culture, although, due to the contrast in the political landscapes of each
nation’s history, the two cultures grow in different directions. China becomes
the target of surrounding nations because its advancement in development
threatens all around it, while Japan develops in an entirely different way
faced with all its conflicts from within its geographical isolation. Because of
the constant domestic reformation of Japan’s history, its culture was forced
to adapt more rapidly, achieving the development China did, but in half the
time, a span of 800 years. Through civil war, political revolution, agricultural
growth, and artistic furtherance, this base of culture became the most noted
society of its time.

Japanese Feudalism v. European Feudalism.

-Compare and contrast feudalism in Japan and Europe.
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East Asian Studies

Japanese feudalism is the most prevalent political system in all of its

history. Spanning from the 13th century to the 17th century, the japanese
feudal system brought about a clear distinction of its culture through the
people’s response to civil strife and political instability. War between the
feudal lords drove the japanese people into religious solace because of the
fear of death. The ceaseless warfare destroyed many villages, cities and
homes. The combined japanese religion of Shinto and Buddhism gave the
japanese people comfort in this time of strife because they gave promises of
an eternal afterlife void of suffering, especially Buddhism. Furthermore,
Buddhism explained that the current state of affairs was a result of human
desiring and karma of all the japanese people, who saw no explanation for
political instability. This brought social reform because the people in turn
acted with more discretion to protect their following lives.Compared to
Europe, christianity provides the same service protecting the class system
with the promise of eternal afterlife.
Japan and Europe were thrown into civil wars because of the instability
of feudalism. The relationship between the japanese samurai and daimyo
and the european knight and lord held the same significance. The effects on
society were identical as well; the people, largely an agricultural society,
sought religious sanctity. In both, social class was hereditary and people
could not move between classes; those born a peasant, died a peasant. This
class system also brought about more religious appeal. The peasantry
worked as their repentance for their previous sinful lives and were rewarded
with an eternal afterlife free of suffering if they maintained their religious
values. The religion kept social order because people worked or fought in one
life to receive a better life, and there was no questioning of bettering oneself
or uprising.
The Japanese did not have a distinct land owing hierarchy like
european feudalism. The fiefs under the daimyo’s controls were to pay and
service the emperor and imperial system, but because of the rugged terrain
of Japan, absolute control was impossible. Thus, local lords that did not
provide their services had much more power and resources.

Zen Buddhism’s emergence in feudalism.

-What impact has Zen Buddhism had on Japanese Culture?

Japan was exposed to all forms of buddhism, but at the later periods of
medieval Japan, Zen Buddhism flourished. Unlike other sects of buddhism,
which let practitioners put all their faith of salvation from the suffering of the
world in other beings, Zen allowed one to act against suffering and achieve
salvation, nirvana, through personal enlightenment. It stressed simplicity in
daily life and rejected all material desires, promoting in its place meditation
and introspection. Zen rituals include famous japanese customs of tea
ceremony and sand gardening. The calm of Zen gave the japanese a lifestyle
that counteracted the strife of the Sengoku period; tumultuous and ceaseless
civil war.
Zen leaves its largest footprint on art because buddhist principles such
as simplicity shaped japanese painting. The japanese art style of sumi, a
monochromatic inkwash painting derives from Zen art. In sumi, the artist
displays natural scenes, such as landscapes, flowers, or animals, in a few
distinct brushstrokes. The style gives a simple, black silhouette of the figure,
leaving the mind to interpret the figure’s physical characteristics like texture
and color. Zen buddhism is identical to this art style because monks use
simplicity in daily life in order to expand upon interpretation with the mind to
find the enlightened self.
Zen buddhism finds its home with the japanese warrior class; the
samurai. Because of the fear of death, Samurais spent their time outside of
battle in zen practice establishing their enlightenment. Samurai would often
meditate prior to battle or in some cases, paint. It was believed that finding
this enlightened self could alleviate the emotional pains caused by fear of
death or killing. Meditation is the key practice of Zen buddhism because
through it, individuals can focus in on self enlightenment. The discipline and
practical approach of Zen made it a strong religion in medieval Japan. Zen
monks occupied positions of political influence and became active in literary
and artistic life. Zen monasteries, especially the main temples of Kyoto and
Kamakura, were educational as well as religious centers.
The Zen influence on Japanese culture has a broad range including
poetry, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremonies, flower arrangement, and
landscape gardening. The popularity of Japanese Zen declined during the
16th and 17th centuries, but its traditional forms were revived by Hakuin,
from whom all present-day Rinzai masters trace their descent.

Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa- the cultural

unifiers of medieval Japan.

Medieval Japan is most known for the civil strife of the feudal system in
which 400 years were spent in disunity and turmoil. The Sengoku period of
Japan, from 1457 to 1585, was the most brutal time of civil war, where battle
was constant and there was no political stability. Daimyo families fought
viciously for power and the emperor had no control of the warlords. Each fief
became its own state. It wasn’t until the Oda clan of the Owari province that
had the strength and intellect to take the first steps to unifying Japan.
Nobunaga Oda, leader of this daimyo, was assassinated by his retainer after
asserting himself as the most potential leader of all of Japan. Following in his
place was his another retainer of emmense potential, Hideyoshi Toyotomi,
Hideyoshi Habashi at that time, who revenged Nobunaga’s death by
defeating his assassin, Mitsuhide Akechi, at the battle of Yamazaki, and
bringing together the momentarily shattered forces of Nobunaga. His
cunning and strength in war allowed to unify Japan, including the lesser
islands of Shikoku and Chosabe. He died of illness before the Emperor had
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East Asian Studies

named him Shogun, and the land was once again thrown in disorder. Two
major forces, divided between members of Hideyoshi’s regime, warred for
succession to Hideyoshi’s Japan. The western force led by Mistunari Ishida
fought against Ieyasu Tokugawa, who controlled eastern Japan. Ieyasu won
the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and took control of Japan. He was named
Shogun in 1603 and stated the Edo period of a unified Japan. These three
rulers brought about a successive growth to Japanese society and culture
and prepared it for the cultural modernity of the Edo period.
Nobunaga Oda redefined imperial power and societal class. His reign
brought about a calm unknown to the japanese for over a hundred years,
and during his brief rule through his militant suppression of other warlords,
Nobunaga reformed failing aspects of japanese society. To deal with the
immediate issues within the feudal structure, Nobunaga changed the amount
of power held within daimyos, usually given based on family relations, to a
people of merit. He also divided territories by the amount of rice production
so that fiefs held the same economic power. Nobunaga used his military
prowess to eliminate all rebellions or clans against his rule with brevity. The
Oda had control of Japan supported by the people, however, Nobunaga did
not reach all this ambitions and dreams to unify Japan completely because
he was unexpectedly assassinated by his retainer, Mistuhide Akechi. The
reforms planned by Nobunaga were carried into the policies of Japan’s
second unifier, Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a general for Nobunaga Oda, was a promising
individual whose clever and wit in battle gained him favor from Nobunaga.
He started his military life as a peasant mercenary named Kinoshita
Tokichiro. Despite Hideyoshi’s peasant upbringing, he became a
distinguished general, naming himself Hideyoshi Habashi. Hideyoshi worked
swiftly after the assassination of Nobunaga to mount a force against
Mistuhide Akechi and gain support to his succession. Following his victory
over Akechi at the battle of Yamazaki, he then overcame Nobunaga’s other
retainers, Katsuie Shibata and Ieyasu Tokugawa, claiming succession to
Nobunaga’s power. With this, he took no time to suppress the remaining
daimyos of Japan, the Chosokabe, the Shimazu, and the Hojo. His unification
of Japan was absolute and he officially ended the warring in Japan. Hideyoshi
sought social reform to maintain his control. He effectively froze the class
system, by implementing living quarters in cities dividing social classes, and
furthermore, he denied all classes except for samurai to carry weapons. He
maintained unification by assigning territories to Daimyos distinctively. For
example, Hideyoshi assigned Ieyasu Tokugawa, whose support was
questionable, to the Kanto region far from the capitol, with trustworthy
daimyos in-between. Because of a twice failed campaign to conquer Korea,
Hideyoshi severely harmed the japanese economy and military, and before
he could repair both, he died of illness in 1598. The land was then thrown
into a brief war, the Sekigahara period.
Ieyasu Tokugawa brought back peace and unification indefinately to
medieval Japan, after winning the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. In his reign
and the entirety of the Tokugawa rule, japanese cultural was entirely
expanded and adapted. After Ieyasu was named Shogun, he abdicated his
position to his son, Hidetada, in order to divid the power of the Tokugawa
protecting it from assassination, and also to make a smoother transition of
power to Hidetada when Ieyasu did die. Although Hidetada carried out the
role of Shogun, Ieyasu held most of the power. Ieyasu’s most significant
reform was with foreign affair. He oversaw the diplomacy with Dutch and
Spain for the first years of the Tokugawa rule, but chose to limit Japan from
western countries, except for exclusive trading rights for the Dutch. His rule
gave Japan a foundation of cultural growth that would continue through the
Edo period to the Meiji restoration.
These rulers arose from the chaos, redefining social standards and
bringing Japan together after many years of war and disunity. Each left a
special footprint on Japanese culture that followed into the later and last
years of Imperial Japan. What becomes of Japan in the Edo period is a result
of the Sengoku period. Japan could not have been so greatly reformed and
reconstructed without the corrosive warring period. The Edo period could not
have done so much for Japan without the foundation of reform created by
these three men in the midst of chaos.

The cultural expansion of the Edo period.

-What does Japan borrow and adapt from other cultures in the Imperial Age,
Tokugawa Shogunate, and Meiji Restoration?

With the Japanese state unified under the Tokugawa, the Edo period
brought a complete cultural reformation. Japanese art, intellect, economy,
and literature prospered. Mass education occured in Japan which led to
developments in math and science. The Japanese society was reconstructed
into four classes and ensured the safety of the government. The feudal
system was rearranged and strengthened serving the needs of the Tokugawa
to have control over Japan. Through the implemention of sound policy,
Japanese culture, structure, and society flourished.
The greatest cultural achievements in the Edo period were that of
education and literature. Education was provided for most men, giving way
to advancements in sciences. Education also began to disengage chinese,
buddhist, and confucist studies for early japanese studies, this was called the
kokugaku, ‘japanese revival.’ Japanese art was influenced by the use of
polychrome print makers. Artist moved away from the monochrome,
simplistic style of sumi to a more detailed and colorful painting. With an
abundance of cultural expressions in Japan, the brute Samurai class became
integrated into it. Most samurai were poets or artist when they wait for battle
 Marcus Doyle
East Asian Studies

or war, and following the unification of Japan, beyond maintaining the peace
for some soldiers, most samurai did not see battle again. Buddhism had
rooted itself into Japanese culture, and at the root of Japanese religion,
Shinto was apparent, however, uncommonly practiced. In the later Edo
period, in response to the modernization of Japan, the Emperor called for a
revival of Shinto to reestablish the spirt of Japan. Japanese culture furthered
into a natural modernity of findings and advancements building the
Japanese’s knowledge of the world around them through their cultural ties
and beliefs.
The Tokugawa reformed the structure of government and economy as
much as the japanese culture or society. Ieyasu and his son Hidetada, the
first two shoguns of Japan in the Edo period, sought to centralize the feudal
system to maintain its stability. They took absolute charge, commanding all
daimyo’s underneath them by dividing them into levels of relation. By
establishing this hierarchy, the Tokugawa could suppress daimyo’s of a low
level with daimyo’s on a higher level as means to check support to the
Tokugawa rule. A second key policy that strengthened the feudal system was
forcing daimyos to spend every other year in court. Because of the travel
necessary for some daimyos, road systems were greatly improved as well as
means of transportation. By bringing daimyos to court, the Tokugawa
maintain more direct relationships with them, gaining their support. The
economy was developed to match the growth in culture, government, and
society. Developments included urbanization, the selling of domestic and
foreign commerce, and the shipping of commodites. Through this,
agricultural production increased and agriculture itself advanced in
technology. The structure of Japan was rebuilt and fortified to match the
demands of the Japanese people undergoing prosperity and change.
Social changes were important to restructure the japanese people so
used to disunity and chaos. Also, japanese people for the entire Sengoku
period knew only their local lord as their monarch and the Tokugawa rule was
difficult to accept. Ieyasu knew this to be the case and broke the japanese
society into rigid classes to disrupt any social structure set by daimyos. The
top of Ieyasu’s social hierarchy was
“... the true master of the way of the warrior is one who maintains his martial
discipline even in time of peace. ... the farmer’s toil is proverbial ... He selects the
seed from last fall’s crop, and undergoes various hardships and anxieties through the
heat of the summer until the seed grows finally to a rice plant. ... The rice then
becomes the sustenance for the multitudes. ... the artisan’s occupation is to make
and prepare wares and utensils for the use of others. ... the merchant facilitates the
exchange of goods so that the people can cover their nakedness and keep their
bodies warm....” (Asia)
These four classes were enforced to live in certain, seperate areas of a castle
town. This furthered the Tokugawa’s protection against civil rebellions and
uprisings.
Ieyasu brought a cultural reformation by secluding Japan from the rest
of the world, giving it the opportunity to mature and grow. Ieyasu feared
exposing Japan to the western world and he closed ports to traders. By doing
this, the seclusion of Japan left only domestic policy to be focused on. Within
the 200 years of the Edo period, Japan reached an equal modernization of
culture and society in China who took 600 years starting in the Yuan Dynasty.
Because of its modernity from the Edo period, Japan had been set for the
cultural revolution to take place when its seclusion was forced open by the
western world.

The western modernity of Japanese culture.

-What factors allowed Japan to modernize as quickly as it did following the
Meiji restoration? How is this different from the Chinese experience?

The Japanese culture had been developed and established in the Edo
period. Its growth matched the natural progress of society, however, when
western forces infiltrated Japan through the seclusion set by Ieyasu
Tokugawa, first shogun of the Edo, the japanese culture was put against a
standard of the western world. This forced the culture to be modernized
rapidly and distorted the natural process of modernity. In essense, what
modern japanese culture is today is an influence of euro-american culture on
traditional japanese culture. The period of time that came from the opening
of Japanese ports by Commador Matthew Perry of the US was known as the
Meiji period, where the Tokugawa rule was seen as weak for losing its
security to US battle ships, and was stripped of its rule in a cultural and
social movement of power from the shogun to the emperor. The Meiji
restoration is a time of technological implementation, cultural modernization,
and government reform. To compete globally, Japan needed to modernize,
however, by doing so, traditional japanese culture was lost to technological
and societal advancements established by western principles.
The growth of culture in Japan became influenced by western powers
rather than the culture itself. This twisted and changed traditional japanese
culture into new age japanese culture, one adapted to deal with the western
powers. What became the Meiji Restoration was a rebellion of thought from a
group of young japanese scholars below the samurai class who wished to
institute a new government that centralized on the Emperor, as divine ruler
of Japan, instead of the shogun who gained power through war. In the
preamble of the Meiji constitution, these japanese scholars claim that “the
righs of sovereignty of the State, We have inherited from Our Ancestors, and
We shall bequeath them to Our descendants.” (Asia) The Meiji restoration is
known as a cultural reformation because of this principle, that by instituting
the emperor as monarch of Japan, the roots of Japanese culture will be
reestablished and revive traditional culture that had been affected by
western influence.
While in its attempt to return traditional Japan, the Meiji period
experienced a surge of technological knowledge given by the western world.
The japanese became away of trains and telephones, and japanese
beauracrats used these technologies to give Japan the chance to have an
equal power on the global stage. However, the train tracks and telephone
 Marcus Doyle
East Asian Studies

wires being erected in rural Japan, virtually unknown to technology, were not
welcomed by the majority of the people. They saw the changes in Japanese
lifestyle as evil and many train tracks and wires were destroyed in uprisings.
These technologies went against the natural world principles of Shinto.
Through western influence, Japanese culture rapidly grew through
technological advances and government reform, but the rapditiy overlooked
the people’s response to the change. Most urban located japanese people
accepted these changes, but it was the rural, agricultural people who denied
them and fought against them. These people were seen as traditional culture
and the urban people were seen as the new age culture of Japan. The
struggles between them became the end of Imperial Japan. Due to the
establishment of Japan in a global perspective, the new age culture had
conquered traditional japenese culture, bringing into effect modern Japanese
history.
 Works Cited

Asia for Educators. Columbia University, 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Jan. 2010.
<http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/index.html>.

Fitzgerald, C. P. A Concise History of East Asia. Frederick A. Praeger, 1968.

Print.

Grasso, June, Jay Corrin, and Michael Kort. Modernization and Revolution in
China. Armonk, NY: Sharpe,, 1997. Print.