More Homework...all I have time to post

Our main topic today is going to be about Japan and their move throughout history.

There are four main ages which we will be looking at. The Jomon, Yayio, Kofun (I know it was under a different name in the lecture, but I looked it up and it wasn't online), and Imperial age.

660 BC - 400 AD: During this time, it was called the Jomon age. It is believed that the first emperor on the throne began in either 660 BC or 300 AD. It is not known because the Japanese did not keep their own records during the primitive age. But what we do know is that for about 2 1/2 millennium, there was a complete line of rulers with no break in the line. One whole family ruling for that long. During that time, Japan was never successfully invaded. They lost plenty of wars to be sure, but there were never truly invaded. This was mainly because they were vicious to fight for their homeland. In fact, on very interesting bit of information that I found fascinating was that even in 1974, there were men found on Pacific Islands who had not heard that WWII was over. That was how bad the communication was between the Japanese. They were still there, protecting and guarding their land nearly 30 years after the war was over.

The Japanese culture and fashion was built around the royal family because they were known to have such wonderful tastes in progessionalism and traditionalism. They had a way of combining new and modern fashions with older and more modern fashions.

The next age is the Yayoi age lasting throughout 400 BC-250 AD. During this time, a group of Chinese moved to a section in Korea and began to influence Japan. At this time, the Japanese were thought of to be rather barbaric. They had a gruff way of speaking, a one piece garb, and maps tattooed on their faces. The Chinese brought more gentle and beautiful things into their culture so as to "tame" them. They brought to them technologies and advances elsewhere in the world because Japan was far behind and rather primitive. I found an interesting paragraph in Wikipedia that I thought I would share:
"Direct comparisons between Jōmon and Yayoi skeletons show that the two peoples are noticeably distinguishable.The Jōmon tended to be shorter, with relatively longer forearms and lower legs, more wide-set eyes, shorter and wider faces, and much more pronounced facial topography. They also have strikingly raised brow ridges, noses, and nose bridges. Yayoi people, on the other hand, averaged an inch or two taller, with close-set eyes, high and narrow faces, and flat brow ridges and noses."

The third age that we will look at is the Kofun age. At this time, the Mongols are introduced. They also influenced the Japanese. They brought in their different beliefs. They Mongols either worshiped pantheism, animism, or Buddhism. The Japanese took Buddhism, copied it, changed it to be what they wanted it to be, mastered it, and then produced it out on a large scale.

600 AD: This is the last age we will study. In the Imperial age "Shinto" was introduced. The definition of this word is basically "the way of the gods...or following in the footsteps of the gods." They believed that the emperor was a descendant of the gods. So what they had was basically emperor worship...but surprisingly, it wasn't a tyrannical rule that the emperor had over the people. In fact, he was barely involved at all in the governmental issues. He was more involved in spiritual things. So, really, he acted more as a high priest. When you think about Japanese, you think quiet, calm and serene. This is because of the working of the "high priest."

There is one more short period in time which we will look at...this is the Engi period. It is here that Japan really begins to flower. They get a huge military group, and also a high level of literacy. Every man, woman and child could both read and write. The city was like a huge garden. Every bush and tree was groomed by hand...every pebble and rock was placed. These were people who knew what they believed. They were powerful because of this and dominated the region.

In 1,000 AD, Ghengis and Kubla Khan began to explore the sea. Korea and Japan were targeted. Korea was flowering at this point too. They were being influenced by Japan now. Japan became so powerful that it began to influence other people instead of being influenced itself. Medicine was very highly developed at this point in both Korea and Japan. And so, the invasions by Kubla Khan. These were massive invasions with no mercy. Kubla had never been beaten before this. This was the first time. And after he had been beaten...Ghengis started in...and was beaten. After that, Japan, though not defeated, was badly destroyed. It was at this point that shoguns were introduced. Shoguns were generals who were put in charge of little cities and towns. This was because of everything being so completely destroyed that it couldn't be ruled by one ruler. Local lords.

In 1200 AD, there began to be rival shoguns. They would carve out their territory and acted like modern-day gangs would. The unified culture of Japan was splintered.

Soon after all this happened, an older shogun, Ashikaga, who was steeped in traditions, began to make some headway with uniting Japan. His warriors were very fit and prow, and they were monks of war for the sun god and his son, the emperor. They didn't fight just to fight as many other shoguns and their warriors did. they were so spiritual that they even fought like monks...that's how they got their names "monks of war." They fought with martial arts. Their other name was Samari. The Samari learned to master martial arts...and they practiced day after day as their meditation. This made them very frightening to others...they had a disembodied prayer life. Along with all that, they were more or less invincible. They wore a peculiar type of garb...robes like the high priest Aaron and other significant articles of clothing. Evey piece meant something special. This made them very devoted to their homeland; they were rooted there. Their art and literature was beautiful because of this.

Eventually, the Samari moved so that they lived near Siberia and Korea now. They made their belief so that they defined virtue for themselves. It went like this: Honor, family, and place. It was like a code of chivalry. Honor comes first; without honor, you can have nothing. If an individual stands for honor, he must never fall. He must never yield. If two Samari warriors were to fight each other, they should walk away eventually with no one hurt. After all...neither must fall. They don't fight for a draw though...someone must die. Fighting is like the outpouring of wrath. Nothing must matter when you fight, but honor, family and place.

In 1500 AD, Japan is reunified. All powers become united. Tokugawa was a great shogun who became their first prime minister. But he wasn't involved in the governmental issues either, he was more into their spiritual things.

About 200 years later, Japan becomes a bureaucracy and under one rule under the rule of Hideyoshi.

At the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century, Tokyo was leveled to the ground and many of the artifacts were destroyed. Shintoism begins again at this time. They begin to look around themselves at the best in the world. This is what turned Tokyo into the most high tech and advanced city ever known. the whole reason for this is because culture is religion externalized. You can always tell what a culture believes by their culture.

Totemism: it's mainly a spirit worshiping cult, but if it's a domestic cult then it worships ancestors; if it's a communal cult, then they worship larger clans; and if it's a imperial cult, then the worship the emperor and family. These cultures would see wind, water, trees and so forth. They were also rooted at home.

Shintoism is a mix of everything that they like put together to make a culture for themselves.

The mystical side of Buddhism works its way into their culture too.

They take what they want and ignore what they don't want. This is just normal for them. With their culture, it is very easy to see their religion and beliefs because it is so obvious.