Medieval Japan and Comparative Feudalism – Viewing Guide

Vocabulary of Note

• Medieval Japan – the period in Japan’s history ranging from 1185–1600 CE, during which time the capital moved from Kyoto, to Kamakura, then back to Kyoto. This period included the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates.
• Shogunate – a military government (bakufu) led by a shogun, the supreme general and de facto ruler of the nation.
• Jitō (stewards) and shugo (governors) – new officials appointed by the Kamakura shogunate responsible for conducting bureaucratic duties, such as collecting taxes.
• Bodhisattva – someone who has achieved enlightenment but forgoes it to stay on earth and help suffering people.
• New schools of Buddhism – these increased the accessibility of Buddhism by simplifying ways to achieve the ultimate goal of enlightenment, or salvation.
  • Pure Land Buddhism – enlightenment achieved by chanting the name of the Bodhisattva Amida.
  • Nichiren Buddhism – enlightenment achieved by reading the Lotus Sutra.
  • Zen Buddhism – enlightenment achieved by performing seated meditation for an extended period of time, especially popular among the warrior class for its emphasis on discipline and self-control; Zen is associated with a minimalist (simple) style.
  • Wabi-sabi – an aesthetic movement which sees value in the imperfections of everyday life (Example: an imperfect, asymmetrical tea bowl), found in clothing and other artistic media.
• Ikebana – the practice of flower arranging in a Zen-like fashion.
• Noh theatre – highly stylized theatrical form from the 14th century characterized by its minimalist aesthetic—only the main character wears a mask and costume, and the musicians are all visible on stage.
• Shoin architecture – inspired by Zen Buddhism, shoin also emphasizes minimalist ideals through its incorporation of only a few intentionally placed decorations focused on a single point in a room; it is a simple style free of clutter.
• Turtle ships – warships used by the Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a 16th-century samurai and feudal lord who unified Japan.
• Samurai – a title referring most generally to men of honor who held high-ranking positions in the shogunate; many were warriors.
• Bushido – the moral code of honor by which nobles, including samurai, lived.

Names of Note

• Eisai – a Buddhist monk who participated in religious travels to China, and brought back tea (1187–1191 CE).
• Kublai Khan – leader of the Mongols during their attempted invasion of Japan.
• Shimabara Rebellion – a failed Christian rebellion against the shogunate which served as Christianity’s “last gasp” in Japan, ending the “Christian Century” of 1543–1637.
• Hasekura Tsunenaga – a Japanese explorer who visited Rome during the early 17th Century.
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi – a powerful samurai and leader who attempted to conquer Korea.
• The Tale of the Heike – a famous sensationalized warrior epic, or story, which emerged in the 1300s during the Kamakura period, about the struggle for power between the Taira (or Heike) and Minamoto (or Genji) clans.

Outline of Presentation – with [Timecode]                                  

When, Where, and What is Medieval Japan [00:37]

• Medieval Japan refers to the middle period of Japanese history (1185–1600 CE); it follows the Classical Period.
• It can be further divided into three sections [01:22]
  • Kamakura Period (1185–1333 CE)
  • Muromachi Period (1336–1573 CE)
  • Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1603 CE)
• The last half of the Muromachi period is referred to as the Sengoku period and marked a difficult, stressful time when much of the country was at war [02:07].
• Medieval Japan is noted for the establishment of the shogunate as a military government, which essentially ruled the country [03:44].
  • The emperor still presided, but in a reduced role.
• New schools of Buddhism arose [05:47] and represented a moment in which commoners (not just elites) began practicing Buddhism [06:03], straying from the Classical Period norm of a client relationship between the temple and wealthy Buddhist priests.
• New arts and aesthetics emerged, yet did not replace those from the Classical Period. Instead, these new styles were layered as new ideas were introduced [07:25].
• These new ideas include wabi-sabi [08:28], ikebana [09:19], noh theatre [10:08], and shoin architecture [11:08], all of which focus on minimalism akin to Zen Buddhist ideals of anti-materialism.

Medieval Japan and the World [13:00]

• Contrary to popular understanding, Medieval Japan was not isolated with little outside contact—in fact, Japan had regular contact with a variety of world cultures [13:16].
  • Buddhist monks such as Eisai visited China to bring back tea, which was used to keep practitioners awake during Zen meditation [13:23].
• The Mongols, led by Kublai Khan, invaded western Japan on land during the Kamakura Period [13:57].
• Portuguese Christians and Jesuits, and Spanish Franciscans brought Christianity to the Japanese archipelago starting in 1543 [15:02], which marks the beginning of the “Christian Century” when there were possibly up to 100,000 Christians in Japan, largely on the island of Kyushu [15:14].
  • This period ended with the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637 and the Christian rebels were eliminated by the government [15:51].
• Engagement with the rest of the world includes traveler Hasekura Tsunenaga’s voyage to Rome in 1615 [16:00].
• The end of the Medieval period is marked by Japan’s invasion of Korea led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who clashed with Admiral Yi Sun-sin [17:17].

3 Challenges for Teaching Medieval Japan [17:53]

• What was feudalism? The feudalism problem [18:12].
  • Was Medieval Japan a feudal society? People debate this; some say yes because of the importance of land ownership to power and status. But the answer is complicated because of the differences between feudal Japan and feudal Europe. The comparison can be useful to see differences, but you should consider Medieval Japan on its own terms to understand things that were unique to Japan.
• Who really were samurai? The samurai problem [19:53].
  • The idea of a “samurai” has constantly changed over time. Though now they are often depicted strictly as warriors, their identity during Medieval Japan was broader and quite simply the term just meant “men of honor,” as the roles and responsibilities changed a lot during this period.
  • When working with students, remind them to engage with primary sources to determine your own definition of who samurai were and what they did.
• Did samurai really live by a bushido code? The bushido problem [21:46].
  • The idea of “bushido,” or a unified code by which samurai lived, originated in the book Bushido by Nitobe Inazo, which was originally published in English for a foreign audience.
  • Bushido was not a commonly used term before the book came out.
  • This issue also offers a good opportunity to work with students on the differences between prescriptive history (how people were supposed to act) and descriptive history (what people were actually doing).

New Understandings about Medieval Japan [23:20]

• The spread of Buddhism was due to the fact that more people could practice Buddhism during the Kamakura period; due also to the breakdown of political order and stability, Buddhism spread among commoners much faster than previously realized [23:39].
• The status of women: a historical focus on studying only government and positions of power and office meant there was little study of the roles of women. This changed in the 21st century [24:34].
  • Now, the scope of research is wider, and there is an increased study of women during Medieval Japan, and their influence and leadership.
• The role of “peasants”: despite peasants’ reputations as having limited roles as simple farmers, this was not always true, and new findings have shown they also served important roles in shipping and other industries like mining [25:44].
• Sources: new sites are still being discovered and they shed light and transform the way we think about the Medieval Era. For example, Rokuhara was the site of a palace (from The Tale of the Heike) that people thought was made up or exaggerated, but archaeological discoveries show this to have existed [26:42].
• Archaeology and local archives are changing how and what we know about Japan.