Centuries of deliberate self-isolation in Japan have taken their toll. Despite the strong influence of Chinese tradition, in the island pot under the lid of Sakoku (as the Japanese called their policy of closed borders), a bizarre dish of a unique culture has been cooked for two hundred years. For European tastes, Japanese art, whatever one may say, is a little strange. But some old creative trends are truly strange.
What does it mean?
First of all, it is worth emphasizing: the Eastern understanding of creativity is somewhat different from the Western one. We, light-headed gaijins, to be honest, have always valued art in art more: the very embodiment of measure and harmony under the shadow of a veil of ideas. Only in the middle of the 19th century - with the advent of impressionism and the advent of the avant-garde era - did the walls of the temple of academic culture begin to shake somewhat. But they survived. To this enlightened day, the creations of modern art evoke bewilderment and cynicism in the unprepared viewer. In the Eastern world (that environment, which includes Japan, which we are considering), a cultural tradition has formed, which should be assessed not so much from the position of skill, but through the prism of Zen Buddhism. Researchers identify several fundamental concepts that help to understand the Japanese aesthetic worldview. Many of them are difficult to interpret, and particularly tricky aspects can only be understood after simmering in that civilizational soup for a couple of generations. But you and I will try to understand them, right? The concept of the “fluid world” runs through the entire Japanese culture. Beauty is determined not by frailty, dying away to make way for the new, but by variability. Change occurs not in destruction, but in rebirth. Nothing disappears without a trace, it remains to live in a different form - and this is a very important point. To describe the state of the soul at the moment of realizing the ephemeral nature of the world, a special term was invented - “mujo”. Another important concept, “monono aware,” originated in the 10th century, but only fully blossomed in the classical Heian era (IX-XII centuries). It literally means “the sad charm of things” - the captivating elegance hidden in frailty and transience. If monono aware implies admiration of obvious beauty, then yugen, described in the 13th century, expresses a non-rational understanding, an intuitive comprehension of the essence of things, read between the lines. Another important aesthetic principle was formed quite late, in the 17th century, but it still remains decisive not only in art, but in the entire culture of Japan. We're talking about wabi-sabi. “Wabi” and “sabi” are inverted concepts; they mean approximately the same thing, but from different positions of awareness, it is difficult to unambiguously translate them. This is “modest simplicity”, and “detachment”, and “muffledness on the verge of disappearing colors and sounds”. Often the concept of “nare” is intertwined here - a velvety patina of time, like loose snow, conducive to leisurely contemplation. When a single stroke is missing to perfection, but it is never completed, it is wabisabi. And when you admire a thing faded with age, worn out by many hands, which retains the stamp of its former grace, this is also wabi-sabi. When charm, sensitivity, awareness of the essence behind the shine of things and the ability to detachedly contemplate the tragedy of endless loneliness under the muddy haze of time merge together, Japanese aesthetics is born. And now that you are ready to perceive the sublime, forget about it! Because our story is not about subtle matters, but about the strangest art of Japan.
Waste culture
Just 15-20 years ago, the windows of souvenir shops of all kinds were filled with netsuke - simple “Chinese” figurines made of material of unknown origin, desperately trying to look like patinated bone. They cost a penny, vaguely looked like antiques and looked quite exotic - what else do you need for a simple gift from the “cheap and cheerful” segment? A sort of grandma's porcelain elephants in a new form. But if you dig a little into the history of cute oriental trinkets, a vast layer of Japanese history will be revealed. Initially, netsuke were an important element of everyday costume - counterweight keychains, figured weights, attached with laces to wallets or pouches to make them more convenient to wear in a belt. They cannot be called a unique Japanese invention. Similar devices existed among many peoples of Eurasia, who wore clothes without pockets, but with a belt - from China and Mongolia to Hungary, from the Far North to Ethiopia. But in Japan, the art of cutting netsuke developed into bizarre forms. Netsuke are miniature figurines made of bone (less commonly, wood, jade, amber or metal). Their production is painstaking work, which is why they are highly valued. Individual antique specimens, produced by famous mathematicians, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Strictly speaking, the figures that we are accustomed to calling “netsuke” are not such. And the point here is not only the terrible quality of workmanship and low-grade material. A mandatory attribute of netsuke is holes for threading a cord, while figurines that are not intended for hanging are called “okimono” and serve only to decorate the interior. In their usual form, the first netsuke appeared in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries, when a clear regulation of acceptable luxury for the “noble” and “mean” classes was formed. Belt keychains were one of the few decorations allowed to non-noble townspeople, so they were crafted as best they could when making them. The very structure of the composition and the manner of performance encoded the idea of Zen - an intuitive comprehension of one’s own nature at the moment of contemplation. We got it. Nature turned out to be unique. Gradually, on the boring to the edges of the official soil of traditional katabori, sashi and manju (common configurations of netsuke) with images of people, animals, bodhisattvas and scenes from life, figures appeared depicting the most incredible, and sometimes comical scenes. Just look at the “Octopus Playing the Shamisen (a three-stringed plucked instrument),” which dates back to the 19th century. One of the most numerous groups is netsuke in the form of creepy demons, ghosts and skeletons. It would seem that there is nothing wrong, because they served as amulets. But some masters managed to give their miniature creations such a sickening degree of verisimilitude that they could scare away not only evil forces. The Japanese generally have a special talent for depicting all sorts of horrors; the modern horror industry is proof of this. And she cherished the little things - netsuke, engravings, lacquer trinkets and collections of scary fairy tales that were in every home. By the way, about scary fairy tales...
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“In genre painting of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for the first time in the history of Japanese art, reality was reflected. Appeal to it was one of the most striking manifestations of the general process of secularization of culture, writes N.S. Nikolaeva, author of the book “The Artistic Culture of Japan in the 16th Century” (Moscow, 1986), materials from which I used when drafting the introductory article “The Renaissance in Japan."
“The main theme of genre painting—city life—was completely new to Japanese art...” The appeal to reality, the secularization of culture are all Renaissance phenomena in the history of Italy during the Renaissance, which in relation to Japan, for some reason, researchers confine within the limits of either the “classical” or the “late” Middle Ages. The inertia of Eurocentrism is taking its toll, and Renaissance phenomena in the history of Eastern countries are not directly perceived as such.
The emergence of genre painting in general with the theme of the city and townspeople and in such a form as in Japan was a completely new phenomenon in world art, incomparable with the first genre paintings in Italy and Spain in the 15th - 16th centuries, with the flourishing of the everyday genre in European countries only in the XVII - XVIII centuries. The question is not about primacy; genres and types of art in different countries develop in their own historical periods, with mutual interactions or not, which does not change the essence of the matter. “The city’s artistic culture received full and diversified development in the second half of the 17th - 18th centuries, when new theatrical forms, famous color engraving, and literary creativity with such representatives as Ihara Saikaku and Chikamatsu Mozaemon reached their peak.
But at an early stage, along with urban stories, its most striking expression was genre painting on screens,” writes the above-mentioned researcher, listing the brightest signs of the Renaissance, known to everyone from the Renaissance in Italy and other countries of Western Europe, respectively, not recognizing a similar situation in history of the origin and development of urban culture in Russia in the 18th - 19th centuries as Renaissance phenomena. The Renaissance culture of Japan remains medieval in the eyes of researchers, while Russia remains entirely borrowed. For Japan, recognition or non-recognition of Renaissance phenomena in its history is not of particular importance, since the cult of beauty in all its manifestations has always played a dominant role in the worldview and in the life-building of the Japanese people.
But for the Russian state, the lack of recognition of Renaissance phenomena in the development of national culture and even its rejection by Slavophiles, as well as Westerners and their modern followers, resulted in its collapse. “The screens “Views of Kyoto and its environs” can be considered as the seed from which all subsequent genre painting grew,” writes N.S. Nikolaeva. — In terms of their significance for their time, the screens “Views of Kyoto and its environs” can be compared with a conceptual monochrome landscape of the 15th century: these are two images of the world, characterizing two different periods in the development of artistic culture...
The main tendency of the culture of the Japanese mature Middle Ages of the 14th - 15th centuries was the striving for the invisible and supersensible, the truth inexpressible in words, the search for the inner meaning of all things... The ideals of the new urban culture were fundamentally different. They were the product of everyday empirical experience associated with practical activities and the values determined by them. The first place in the hierarchy of these values began to be occupied by money, which became the meaning and purpose of all life activity... Not supersensible, irrational ideas, but specific things and events became the main object of human attention.
And in art, the value of the outer shell of the objective world accordingly began to seem higher than the abstract concepts of the supersensible sphere. The eye enjoyed the beauty of the real, the specific properties of things - their color, shape, texture." Here the transition from the medieval worldview to the new is recorded, which is well known to everyone from the Renaissance in Italy, with the overcoming of the aesthetics of icon painting and Gothic, with their aspirations for the supersensible, and what we learn in Russia in the 18th - 19th centuries, only in Italy the influence of religion was still preserved and even to a greater extent than in Japan, and in Russia the secularization of culture represented a generally new stage in the development of human civilization, and this was from the very beginning of the transformations of Tsar Peter, right up to atheism, which is essentially the ultimate expression of Renaissance humanism.
“The first and main feature of the subjects of genre painting is the reality of life. In itself, an appeal to reality was not an unusual phenomenon for Japanese art. Poets and artists have always looked closely at the world around them, mainly at the natural world, conveying through it the movements of the human soul. Observation and the ability to grasp the subtlest shades of feeling were characteristic of Japanese poets throughout the Middle Ages. However, the Buddhist idea of the illusory nature of existence, the transience and ephemerality of human life colored all this with sadness and deprived it of full-bloodedness, since the visible world appeared only as a reflection of the incomprehensibility of the Absolute. The appeal to reality as a value in itself was an innovation that had no precedents in Japanese art. This discovery by genre painting of the aesthetic value of the real world was its most important quality.”
However, our author will not recognize that this is a Renaissance precedent. This is the aesthetics of the Renaissance, which manifested itself in Japan in the 16th - 17th centuries more consistently than in Italy and other countries of Western Europe, in which both painting and life itself continued to develop under the cover of religious consciousness, at best, ancient mythology. This feature of the European Renaissance, with the Reformation and the Inquisition, makes it a more contradictory and inconsistent phenomenon than the same Renaissance phenomena in Japan, not recognized by researchers as such. As is known, the cult of man, the cult of beauty, love of life, freedom and cheerfulness are associated with the European Renaissance, which, however, quickly flashed due to the same feudal-church reaction. If these are the distinctive and most attractive features of the Renaissance, then they manifested themselves more vividly and fully in Japan, covering all spheres of life from top to bottom and all types of art.
“The feeling of the conviviality of life, which appeared at the beginning of the 17th century in the urban environment, was the antithesis of the understanding of the frailty and illusory nature of the world instilled in Buddhist teachings. The term “ukiyo” (painting - ukiyo-e, stories - ukiyo-zoshi), which became widespread at that time, had a much earlier origin and Buddhist roots. Now it has been filled with new meaning, and this metamorphosis is very significant,” writes N.S. Nikolaeva. — The Tale of a Changing World (Ukiyo Monogatari), written by Asai Ryoi in 1661, explains the difference between the old meaning of the word ukiyo and the new one: “In the past, the word ukiyo was used to denote a mortal life in which everything happens contrary to one’s hopes ; now ukiyo has acquired the meaning “changeable” instead of “perishable” and the very concept of ukiyo began to denote the alluring twists of a person’s fate in that happy time when he lives in the moment, merrily swaying on the waves of the unknown, like a pumpkin on the water.”
The city and townspeople in Japan, as in fragmented Italy, found themselves to a certain extent outside the feudal system, and even without rights in it, and created a new culture, different from the medieval one, the culture of the Renaissance. “What great times! Truly great! — writer Miura Joshin spoke about his time. “Even people like me perceive beauty and notice miracles in the beautiful present life. May the kingdom of Buddha come!”
The humanists and artists of Florence exclaimed in the same way, calling their time a golden age, which, alas, did not last long. N.S. Nikolaeva writes, they say, in Japan there was no everyday genre, as in European painting of the 17th century, not realizing that it did not exist in Italy of the 15th - 16th centuries, during the Renaissance, and in Japan it could not have existed in the same form as in Holland, for it was experiencing the Renaissance at the end of the Middle Ages. Genre painting in Japan, in comparison with European painting of the Renaissance and Modern times, was truly revolutionary in both form and content. The main theme of genre painting of the 16th century is the world of “cheerful quarters”. Nothing like this was known in Europe, which considered itself in all respects more advanced than the East. “The world of the “fun quarters” was so important in the life of the entire city that it is no coincidence that most of the literary works of that time were dedicated to it, and the main characters of the stories and novels were courtesans.
The concept of ukiyo acquired an increasingly erotic meaning (the first ukiyo-e prints were simply pornographic in nature). It is quite understandable why in painting the image of courtesans becomes one of the constant subjects along with theatrical performances. The world of “fun houses” and the world of theater at that time were closely connected with each other, or rather, they were united. The founder of the famous Kabuki theater was Okuni, a priestess of the Shinto shrine in Izumo. Such priestesses were obliged to perform sacred dances, which were considered “purifying”, and also to collect donations for the temple...
In 1603, Okuni appeared in Kyoto and began performing the dance “Prayer to Buddha” (nembutsu-odori). Gradually, other performers joined her and something like a traveling troupe arose, which soon became famous for their dances in unusual costumes, because of which the dance received the name kabuki-odori... Almost all Kabuki plots of the initial period were associated with the life of the “fun quarters”, which was determined and the composition of the audience, entirely represented by townspeople of all levels of income... Just as the ritualism that underlay the Noh theater influenced the style of communication and behavior of the inhabitants of feudal castles, the surroundings of court ceremonies, so many features of the Kabuki theater influenced the world of the townspeople... Theatrical performances immediately had to appear and appeared as the subject of genre painting.” “The influence of early Kabuki on genre painting was not limited to the subject side.
The plasticity of dance poses, increasingly reproduced in painting, begins to influence its own language in the direction of increasing the role of the silhouette, expressive gesture as a means of characterizing the character, and the rendering of costume with the help of a flat color spot becomes the most important component of the rhythmic structure of the work. So, for example, in the screen “Dancing Women” (collection of the city of Kyoto), interest in the dance pose and gesture, as well as in a beautiful costume, completely displaces any descriptiveness and narration.” “The enlargement of figures and the appearance of a neutral or golden background instead of conveying the real environment was the main innovation in genre painting of the second quarter of the 17th century. This can also be seen as the influence of the theater.” We should talk first of all about the impact of life itself.
The characters on the screens and on the stage of the Noh and Kabuki theaters wore not some conventional clothes, but real ones, with all the delights of modern fashion, just like the characters in the paintings of Italian Renaissance masters, even on biblical themes. History and mythology did not cancel the main feeling of the Renaissance artist - the intrinsic value of current life. Thus, Raphael in “The Betrothal of Mary” reproduces a city scene against the backdrop of a temple on high, with images of townspeople in modern clothes.
In Japan, nobles gave famous actors their court costumes, in which they appeared on stage, combining historical or legendary events with the present time, which is one of the most important features of the aesthetics of the Renaissance, regardless of the specifics of countries and eras. “Screens with large figures on a golden background gave rise to a new genre division - bijin-ga (“painting of beauties”). These were a kind of idealized portraits of brothel dwellers, courtesans of the highest rank - melting. Such portraits were commissioned by their patrons, and in part they can be compared with the so-called yujo-hyobanki (“Directories of Courtesans”), which became widespread at the beginning of the 17th century, which contained all kinds of information about the appearance, character, habits of courtesans, real and fictional anecdotes from their lives and so on.
In the “painting of beauties” a stereotype of a graceful, attractive woman in elegant clothes gradually takes shape.” “Over the century that passed from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century, the image of man in genre painting underwent significant changes. From the monumental cosmic nature of the early screens “Views of Kyoto and its environs,” genre painting came to the fundamental intimacy of the Hikone screen, from the concept of the subordination of human life to natural rhythms - to the awareness of the possibility of a person’s own existence...
However, under the conditions of Tokugawa absolutism, with its general conservative focus on preserving feudal institutions and feudal ideology, this tendency, which originated in genre painting, could not be developed.” What is essential here is the unique development of genre painting in Japan in the 16th and early 17th centuries, which can no longer be perceived otherwise than as a striking Renaissance phenomenon. Genres flourish and fade, with the development of new genres or types of art - in the literature and theater of Japan in the 17th - 18th centuries, with new achievements in painting, in color engraving at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries, which represents the crown of the Renaissance in Japan.
When the hundredth candle is extinguished
In Japanese there is the concept of “yumemonogatari” or “dream stories”, which combines everything related to the mysterious and mysterious. A special place is occupied by the kaidan subgenre, behind which the most terrible stories and paintings are hidden. The kaidan flourished in the second half of the 17th century, when collections of terrible tales and parables “Tales of the Night Watch” (1660), “Tales of Karma” (1661) and “Talisman Doll” (1666) were created. Later, in the 18th-19th centuries, the masters of ukiyoe engraving played a significant role in the final breakdown of the psyche of the younger generations. The famous bestiaries of yokai (ghosts, monsters and other supernatural creatures) “Hyaku-monogatari”, published by Takehara Shunsen, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and the legendary Hokusai, visually formulated the final form of the tradition of Japanese nightmares. It all started with an old game. At the beginning of the Edo era (17th century), when the long war ended and the nights became dark and quiet, the night guards could afford not to watch too hard and had fun playing “One Hundred Scary Stories.” On moonless August nights, a hundred candles were lit inside a paper lantern and began to be extinguished one after each scary story told. Gradually, the room plunged into darkness, and the players’ minds into utter horror. According to legend, after the hundredth candle is extinguished, something terrible should happen. That is why this strange fun was very popular among samurai, who in such an insidious way tested each other’s courage. They said that one day after the 99th horror story, those gathered saw the shadow of a demonic paw on the ceiling. One of the samurai, in fear, grabbed his sword and slashed at the monster, but when the light came on, only a severed spider’s leg lay on the tatami, which later became the subject of cruel ridicule from his more courageous (or less efficient) comrades. Such fun has not lost its popularity even today. The love for nightmarish stories nurtured by many generations, coupled with classical legends, formed the basis of the excessively horror-rich modern urban folklore.
Japan in the 16th - 17th centuries. History of the early modern state
January 24, 2021, 643
The arrival of Europeans in Japan.
In the 15th century, a period of great geographical discoveries began in Western Europe. In the 16th century, Europeans—traders, missionaries, and soldiers—turned their attention to East Asia. In 1543, representatives of Europe reached the Japanese island of Tanegashima. They gave the Japanese firearms, the production of which was soon established throughout the Japanese archipelago. In 1549, the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in the city of Kagoshima, who was the first to inform the Japanese about Christianity.
Japan in the 16th century
Spanish and Portuguese traders began to visit Japan, acting as resellers in East Asian trade, exchanging goods from Europe and China for Japanese silver. Since the Europeans came from settlements in the south, the Japanese called them "southern barbarians."
The Japanese rulers benefited from trade with foreigners, so they gladly met with merchants and missionaries, sometimes even becoming Christians. For example, Omura Sumitada, the first Christian ruler from the island of Kyushu, gave the Society of Jesus the city of Nagasaki, which later became Japan's “window to Europe.” With the support of regional rulers, Christians built churches in Yamaguchi, Sakai, and Kyoto. In the second half of the 16th century, about 300,000 Christians lived in Japan. The most senior of them first sent a Japanese delegation to the Pope in 1582.
Unification of Japan in the 16th century
At the beginning of the 16th century, civil strife between samurai families continued on the Japanese islands. After the disunity of the state became the socio-political norm, there were people seeking to unite Japan. They were led by Oda Nobunaga, the wealthy ruler of the Owari province. With the help of the shogun, he took Kyoto in 1570 and within three years destroyed the weakened Muromachi shogunate. Due to the support of Christianity and thanks to the use of firearms, Nobunaga was able to capture the most important region of Kinki and the entire center of the Japanese archipelago within a decade. Over time, he carried out the plan for the unification of Japan: he ruthlessly pacified the decentralizing disturbances of the aristocracy and Buddhists, helped revive the authority of the imperial power and restored the economy undermined by civil strife.
In 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated by his general without realizing his plan. However, the policy of Japanese unity was resumed by his gifted subject, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He crushed the opposition of the elders and captured the autonomous tribal states of the regional rulers. In 1590, Hideyoshi completely unified Japan and began to personally lead the state. On his orders, the General Japanese Land Registry was written, which abolished the system of private estates and established the degree of efficiency of land. Land plots were given to peasants, who were obliged to pay a tax to the state in accordance with this degree. In addition, Hideyoshi carried out a social transformation by dividing the inhabitants into military stewards and civilian subjects by confiscating weapons from civilians. At the end of his life, Hideyoshi entered into a military conflict with Korea and persecuted and destroyed Christians, which cost his offspring power.
Momoyama culture 16th - 17th century
The culture of Japan of the late 16th and early 17th centuries is called the Momoyama culture, after the name of the residence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This culture was based on the principles of wealth, majesty and power. The most original examples of their implementation were Japanese castles with monumental towers in Osaka, Azuchi, Himeji, Momoyama. The outside of these buildings were decorated with gilding, and the inside was decorated with paintings by the best artists of that time, Kano Sanraku, Kano Eitoku, and Hasegawa Tohaku.
Castles were transformed into theatrical venues for Noh theater productions, featuring famous actors from the Kanze and Komparu troupes, and tea ceremony sites presided over by masters such as Sen no Rikyu.
In the society of common people, particularly in big cities, hedonistic teachings (pleasure is the goal of life) and a passion for everything bright and unusual have gained popularity. It was in folk society that the “eccentric” Kabuki dance was invented, which later became an independent type of theatrical creativity. At the same time, a new style of rhymed prose, joruri, was founded, which was read to the sound of the shamisen musical instrument brought from Kyushu.
The main feature of Momoyama culture was its openness to European influence. The Jesuits brought new knowledge to the Japanese islands in the fields of medicine, astronomy, printing, maritime navigation and fine arts. The Japanese were very interested in foreign things, and even some began to wear European clothes and make “southern barbarians” the heroes of their paintings and stories. In addition, a number of Spanish and Portuguese words entered the Japanese language.
https://jamato.ru/istoriya-yaponii
The grace of fish carcass
In the Japanese mind, art does not necessarily have to be something sublime or requiring great skill. It turns out that to become an artist, it is enough to smear a fish (squid, octopus or some other flat-bodied sea reptile) with paint and make its imprint on paper. This ancient technique is called "gyotaku", "fish print". In fact, everything is not so simple, although this does not change the essence of the matter. A similar fingerprint technology was widely used to copy documents in China at the beginning of the 7th century, from where it subsequently penetrated to Japan, where strict recording of caught fish by size and species composition was introduced. And only later, in the middle of the 19th century, Japanese fishermen began to use it to capture rare specimens as a keepsake. Cameras back then were more exotic than the rarest fish. A simple practice, isn't it? It’s hard to even call this art. But this impression lasts exactly until the moment when you personally try to smear the crucian carp with paint and slap it on the paper. The result of such creativity is a smeared blot in the shape of a fish. Reaching the level of detail at which a print can be called gyotaku is a very labor-intensive process. First, the trophy is washed, then cleaned of mucus with a salt mixture, covered with ink based on soot and animal glue, and applied to rice paper. Afterwards, you can add bright colors to the monochrome print, add eyes and other details. True gyotaku is a ritual. You must catch the fish yourself, take a print and then eat it. Recognized masters believe that only in this case can the tradition of the practice be fully respected, otherwise “all the value and meaning behind gyotaka are thrown aside.” Aerobatics: do all this with a still living fish in the most harmless way possible for it and release the unfortunate creature into the wild. Nowadays, the Japanese themselves consider this art old-fashioned, but foreigners, who have learned about it relatively recently, are happy to join the ancient tradition. What is one man's trash is another man's treasure. By the way, about trash!
Anime Mystique
Japan in the 18th century was a federation. The management center, which was located in Edo, managed all internal processes in the country. On the outskirts, local power rested on the shoulders of daimyos - heads of provinces. In total there were about 300 daimyo. Local managers could pursue independent policies, however, they did not have their own army and treasury.
EARLY 18TH CENTURY
Historians draw the first data about the history of Japan of this period from the records of sailors and traders. The notes of J. Hardy, an English merchant and writer, are considered the most valuable for historical science. He wrote: “We saw a country of extraordinary beauty with a highly developed culture. It had a strong army and a national idea, however, the first problems had already begun to be seen in the economic sphere: the people were poor, the ruling elite was swimming in gold. Japan in the 18th century."
The first attempt to cope with the unstable socio-economic situation of the country belongs to shogun Yoshimune (1716-1745). He went down in history as the author of the Kokhb reforms:
Administrative reform. The shogun decided to leave the administration unchanged. The Supreme Overlord ordered the replacement of about 80% of the administration, making it more civilian (he fired the samurai and daimyo).
Financial reform. The position of Minister of Finance appeared. The person in charge controlled the financial activities of the city magistrates and bakufu. The Minister of Finance was also responsible for finding schemes to improve the governance structure.
Fight against excesses. The shogun ordered luxury, rich food, lazy samurai, gambling to be removed from the palace and banned lavish celebrations.
Fight against corruption. The death penalty was imposed for the bribe. In addition, all relatives were charged a huge fine for not teaching their neighbor morality and honesty.
Policy of saving public funds. Yoshimune reduced the number of gokenin and hatamoto (local managers who were supported by the state).
He ordered an increase in the area under rice cultivation. Yoshimune also established a system of awards for the best rice fields. This policy made it possible to get rid of food problems forever and laid the foundation for the opening of Japan.
DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE AND SCIENCE
Shogun Yoshimune did not ignore science. He contributed in every possible way to its development. For example, in 1742, he allowed European books on natural and applied sciences to be imported into Japan. The shogun invited Europeans (mostly Dutch) who were interested in the culture and history of Japan to the capital, the city of Edo. In addition, at the court he organized centers for cultural exchanges between Japanese and foreigners. Japanese scientists quickly mastered the English language and began to improve domestic knowledge in mathematics, astronomy and medicine. It is worth noting that in other areas, Japanese culture remained conservative.
Thus, the cultural history of Japan in the 18th century remained at the same level as in the 17th century - the national idea continued to improve, Buddhism and Shintoism strengthened. Foreign culture and customs were perceived by ordinary Japanese as alien and strange. Japanese culture during this period remained deeply conservative in theater, music, painting and philosophy. The culture continued to use old motifs, styles and patterns.
JAPAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY
During this period, in the Land of the Rising Sun, the contradictions in society that had been growing for several centuries began to be clearly visible. The penetration of European books into Japan contributed to the development of population mobility and structural changes in the city.
The second half of the 18th century was remembered by the Japanese for natural disasters: earthquakes, hurricanes and two droughts in 1770 and 1771. A famine began in the country, from which several hundred thousand Japanese died. In 1772, a large fire was added to the list of disasters, and in 1773 a typhus epidemic began, which claimed 140 thousand lives.
Natural disasters have had a negative impact on treasury revenues. The government tried to plug the holes by increasing taxes. Tanuma Okitsugu, who introduced the policy of mercantilism, achieved noticeable success in this matter. He introduced strict controls over the flow of government money into and out of it. The shogun understood that another important source of replenishment of the treasury was trade, so he gave the green light to the creation of trade associations, which quickly began to transform into monopolies.
Japan at the end of the 18th century almost completely lost its monarchical system. The power of the ruler became nominal. Domestic political power was concentrated in the hands of bureaucrats. All affairs in the state began to be managed by state advisers - rbdzyu.
RESULTS
At the beginning of the 18th century in Japan, Shogun Yoshimune began to carry out successful reforms in the fields of culture, economics and administration. However, after his death, the bureaucracy strengthened through trade and gradually occupied all the main levers of government. In the second half of the 18th century, the power of the shogun was formal.
Gold patch
Keeping broken dishes in the house is a bad omen. But not for the Japanese, they are generally strange people. On the contrary: the ability to appreciate old things (for which wear and tear is not a disadvantage, but an exquisite advantage) and contempt for factory stamping resulted in the invention of a special form of art - kintsugi or the “golden seam” technique. The tradition of kintsugi is believed to date back to the 15th century, when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent his favorite porcelain cup to Chinese craftsmen for restoration. After some time, she returned to the ruler, disfigured by inappropriate iron staples, after which Ashikaga ordered local potters to find a more aesthetic solution. They took as a basis the art of painting with gold on makie varnish and, rethinking it, invented the “golden seam” - a thick glue made from a mixture of lacquer tree sap and precious metal powder. Unlike modern superglues, which promise an imperceptible seam, kintsugi exposes all flaws, spreading into the cracks like a thick sparkling web. Even the absence of one of the fragments is not an obstacle to such restoration - the missing pieces can easily be replaced with ornamental stones or beautiful shards of other ceramics. This is the case when scars really decorate. Kintsugi is the embodiment of the principle of wabi-sabi. Such restoration of a broken object is not just a utilitarian act that allows it to continue to be used, but an indicative cultural phenomenon that demonstrates the philosophy of the worldview. A thing not only takes on a new life, but in imperfection its beauty becomes unique. This is the philosophy of broken dishes. One old cracked cup can teach an important lesson: don’t be ashamed of your shortcomings and failures - you can’t escape them anyway. Even if life is far from ideal, this does not mean that it cannot be lived with dignity.
Magazine: Forbidden History No. 2(95), January 2021 Category: History of Japan Author: Aglaya Sobakina
Tags: art, tradition, Japan, harmony, culture, philosophy, Zen, Forbidden history
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Japan in the 17th and 18th centuries
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Japan entered the stage of late feudalism. During the unification of the country, the freedom of free cities was eliminated, a system of classes was established - samurai, peasants, artisans and traders with strict class regulation; the peasants were tied to the land and disarmed. The unification was relative; more than 200 principalities continued to exist. At the same time, the cessation of internecine wars and the provision of land to peasants contributed to the development of productive forces. In the 17th century, the area of cultivated land almost doubled; until the beginning of the 18th century, feudalism in Japan did not exhaust the possibilities of its development.
From the beginning of the 17th century, feudal rulers introduced a ban on almost all contacts with foreigners, fearing the consequences of their expansion and the spread of Christianity, which became the ideology of popular movements. The “closure” of Japan contributed to the conservation of the feudal system and led to a lag in the development of science and technology. At the same time, it prevented the colonization of the country and ensured a peaceful life for 250 years. The peak of the country's feudal development was at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, when the expansion of commodity-money relations was accompanied by the flourishing of urban culture and art.
The second half of the 18th century was marked by the growing decomposition of the feudal system, the destruction of large princely landownership, the impoverishment of the bulk of the samurai, and the crisis of the financial system of the central government and principalities. The forced “discovery” of Japan by the Americans in 1854 contributed to the aggravation of the internal political crisis. Unequal treaties with the United States and European powers led to restrictions on Japan's sovereignty, while at the same time promoting the development of its trade and economic ties and familiarity with the latest achievements of foreign science and technology.
According to the first Russian-Japanese treaty of 1855, 18 of the 22 Kuril Islands went to Russia, and Sakhalin Island remained undivided. Subsequently, Russia gained jurisdiction over the island of Sakhalin, but transferred the Kuril Islands to Japan.
The economic crisis and the aggravation of socio-economic contradictions led to the emergence of a revolutionary situation in the country. However, the revolution of 1867-1868, which cleared the way for the capitalist development of Japan, was incomplete. The bourgeoisie during this period had not yet matured as a revolutionary force; the overthrow of feudal power took place under the leadership of the advanced part of the nobility and under the slogan of the restoration of imperial power. A significant part of the reforms was carried out in the form of a compromise with the feudal class. Some of its most active figures took leading positions in the state apparatus and the army.
At the same time, radical social and economic transformations were carried out: a centralized state was created, freedom of occupation and movement was proclaimed, feudal estates were abolished, and land reform was carried out, which approved the landowner system. Many dissatisfied with the reforms took part in samurai riots in the 70s of the 19th century. The government, aiming to overcome economic and military backwardness, pursued a protectionist policy, helped form a layer of privileged bourgeoisie, and created an army to seize external sources of raw materials and markets, since the domestic market remained narrow.
