Summary of the Nara and Heian Periods
Justin Aukema
April 21, 2016
"A Scene of Azumaya" from the Genji monogatari emaki
(My reference material for this is mainly James Huffman's Japan in World History. I have also included other sources and links within the text. Please let me know if I have improperly and insufficiently cited or referenced anyone.)
During the Yamato Era (250 – 710 C.E.),
the ruler Temmu (r. 673 – 686), as well as his wife, Jitō, strengthened the
centralizing policies begun by Suiko and Prince Shōtoku. For instance, they strengthened
the army and establish regional heads based on families who had close ties to
them. As we have seen in previous lectures, Temmu also turned to history to
solidify his rule. Namely he did this by commissioning the writing of the
mytho-history the Kojiki in 673. The Kojiki invented the concept of “divine
descent” and traced the origin of this from the first emperor, Jimmu.
“Then began the struggles
between the grandson of the Sun Goddess and the descendants of Impetuous Male.
The conflict ended when the god... retaining spiritual power only gave up his
temporal power to the Sun Goddess' grandson. From the latter descended a prince
who is known as the first emperor of Japan — Jimmu — whose reign the Japanese
have fixed as beginning in 660 BCE. Thus was created a divine sovereign who is
still worshipped as the first in a ‘lineal succession unbroken for ages
eternal.’”
See example of the Kojiki and Nihon shoki here
Temmu was the first to refer to himself
as tennō, the Heavenly Sovereign and,
as the Kojiki also makes clear, he appealed
his legitimacy to rule by claiming to be descended from the gods.
The writing of the Kojiki, however, was not completed until the reign of Empress
Gemmei (r. 707 – 715) who commanded Ō no Yasumaro to complete the task in 711.
With history now firmly behind them, Gemmei and her successors could turn to
establishing the more material byproducts of their rule. Namely, during this
time the first permanent capital is established at Nara, marking the beginning
of the Nara Period (710 – 794 C.E.). Imitating the Chinese capital of Chang’an,
Nara was laid out on a grid with the palace situated in the north. It covered
72 square blocks, stretched eight miles around, and had a population of
100,000. Nara remained the capital for 75 years and through eight imperial
reigns.
The major political development of the Nara
Period was the establishment of the Yōrō codes, a system of legal and administrative
codes, in 718. This established the ritsuryō
system and was modeled on the Chinese Tang Dynasty’s system of rule. The ritsuryō were a massive attempt at
further centralization of governance and rule, with the emperor at the top. The
laws also regulated social life, including marriage and divorce, and implemented
a system of taxes. Furthermore, they divided the land into provinces (kuni) and more than 500 districts.
“When a household
absconds, the group shall be responsible for its pursuit.” (ctd. in Lu 1997)
“The seven grounds
for divorce of a wife by her husband are: (1) if she is childless (e.g.,
without a male child); (2) if she commits adultery; (3) if she disobeys her
parents-in-law; (4) if she talks too much; (5) if she steals; (6) if she is
jealous; and (7) if she has a bad disease.” (ctd. in Lu 1997)
In the cultural and religious sphere, the
Nara Period witnessed the further expansion of Buddhism. This was carried out
especially by the most influential emperor during that time, Emperor Shōmu. He
oversaw the building of the giant Buddha statue at Tōdaiji and also aided to
reconcile Buddhism and Shintō under ryōbu
(two-facet) Shintō. Furthermore, gagaku
court music with shakuhachi and koto boomed at this time, and some of
Japan’s most famous works of poetry such as the Man’yōshū, a collection of 4,500 poems, mostly in the form of tanka, were written.
Since in Karu lived my wife,
I wished to be with her to my heart's content;
But I could not visit her constantly
Because of so many watching eyes —
Men would know of our troth,
Had I sought her too often.
So our love remained secret like a rock-pent pool;
I cherished her in my heart,
Looking to after-time when we should be together,
And lived secure in my trust
As one riding a great ship.
Suddenly there came a messenger
Who told me she was dead —
Was gone like a yellow leaf of autumn
Dead as the day dies with the setting sun,
Lost as the bright moon is lost behind the cloud
Alas, she is no more, whose soul
Was bent to mine like the bending seaweed.
I wished to be with her to my heart's content;
But I could not visit her constantly
Because of so many watching eyes —
Men would know of our troth,
Had I sought her too often.
So our love remained secret like a rock-pent pool;
I cherished her in my heart,
Looking to after-time when we should be together,
And lived secure in my trust
As one riding a great ship.
Suddenly there came a messenger
Who told me she was dead —
Was gone like a yellow leaf of autumn
Dead as the day dies with the setting sun,
Lost as the bright moon is lost behind the cloud
Alas, she is no more, whose soul
Was bent to mine like the bending seaweed.
See more on the Man’yōshū here
After a period of turmoil from the late
760s, the capital was once again moved, this time to Heian, later known as
Kyōtō and a new era began – the Heian Era (794 – 1185 C.E.). The Heian Era is
marked by almost 400 years of relative peace and security. Moreover, it is
known for its many cultural developments, which have a lasting impact on society
and the arts today.
How did the Heian Era achieve this?
Perhaps the main reason can be traced to the unique political structure at the
time. Namely, political power moved from the hands of the emperors and into
their advisors, in this case the Fujiwara family. The Fujiwara family adeptly
manipulated the emperor system to their advantage, paying lip service to the
myths of divine descent, while all the while holding the reigns. The imperial
mythology, and using the emperor as a figure-head, is a theme that would continue
to emerge periodically throughout Japanese history, most notably during the Meiji
period and the postwar. By claiming that their power and legitimacy was
bestowed on them by the emperor, the Fujiwara were essentially able to shield themselves
from potential political rivals and attacks.
Occasionally, emperors attempted to
reassert their power over the Fujiwara. A famous case of this occurred when two
emperors attempted to give office to Michizane from the rival Sugawara family.
However, the Fujiwara blocked this attempt and banished Michizane to northern
Kyūshū where, two years later, he died of malnutrition. Michizane, however,
lived on in popular culture where he became a vengeful spirit, wreaking havoc on
the capital in the form of natural disasters and other calamities.
“Michizane Attacks the Palace in the form of the Thunder God”
Culturally, the Heian era saw a move
further away from Chinese influence. A key example of this is the emergence of the
Japanese writing script, kana, which
contrasted with Chinese characters, previously the dominant mode of writing.
This, in part, aided in a flourishing of prose writing and poetry during the
era. The Heian Era is especially remembered for two masterpieces in “women’s
prose” from this time: Murasaki Shikibu’s The
Tale of Genji and Sei Shonagon’s The
Pillow Book.
Things that Have Lost Their Power
A
large boat which is high and dry in a creek at ebbtide.
A woman who has taken off her false locks to comb the short hair that remains.
A large tree that has been blown down in a gale and lies on its side with its roots in the air. ...
A man of no importance reprimanding an attendant (Morris 1971).
A woman who has taken off her false locks to comb the short hair that remains.
A large tree that has been blown down in a gale and lies on its side with its roots in the air. ...
A man of no importance reprimanding an attendant (Morris 1971).
Stray Notes
One
has been expecting someone, and ... there is a stealthy tapping at the door.
One sends a maid to see who it is, and lies waiting, with some slight flutter
of the breast. But the name one hears when she returns is that of someone
completely different, who does not concern one at all. Of all depressing
experiences, this is by far the worst (Keene 1955).
See examples from Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book here
And more sections from The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji here
Men and women such as Ono Komachi also
wrote poetry; the Kokinshū is an
especially famous collection of verse from this time.
Color of the flower
Has already faded away,
While in idle thoughts
My life passes vainly by,
As I watch the long rains fall.
Has already faded away,
While in idle thoughts
My life passes vainly by,
As I watch the long rains fall.
See full English translations of the Hyakunin isshū at The Japanese TextInitiative, The University of Virginia)
The peak of the Heian Era and Fujiwara
power came under the rule of Michinaga in the early 11th century.
Following this, emperors began to reassert their power through a system of
retired emperors known as insei (“cloistered
government”). Yet former emperors lacked the military strength to bolster their
claims, and thus they were turned to powerful military families including the
Taira and the Minamoto to secure their positions. As future decades would show,
this turned out to be both a blessing and a curse for them.
Reading
questions:
1.
What major changes and events occur
during the reign of Emperor Temmu?
2.
Discuss the capital at Nara. What is
it like?
3.
What are some major changes and
events of the Nara period? Describe them.
4.
Briefly explain the ritsuryō
system of legal and administrative codes
5.
Discuss some of the cultural
developments of the Nara Period.
6.
Describe the political situation
during the Heian Era. Who holds power and how do they do so?
7.
Describe some of the major cultural
developments of the Heian Era.
Bibliography
Columbia University. Asia
for Educators. Columbia University, 2013.
Huffman, James L. Japan in World History. Oxford
University Press, 2010.
Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese Literature from the
Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth
Century. New
York: Grove Press, 1955.
Lu, David John. Japan: A Documentary History. M.E.
Sharpe, 1997.
Morris, Ivan tr. The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon. Middlesex,
England: Penguin Books, 1971
University of Virginia Library. Japanese Text Initiative. Electronic Text Center. University
of Virginia, 2006.
Image
sources
"A
Scene of Azumaya" from the Genji
monogatari emaki. Imperial court in Kyoto –
Genji Monogatari Emaki published by the Tokugawa
Museum in Nagoya, Japan,
1937., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=451411
“Michizane Attacks the Palace in the form of the Thunder God”
