Japan lies east of China and Korea and is spread across countless small islands and four large ones. There is a legend that the chain of islands appeared thanks to drops that fell into the ocean from the spear of a god. The first inhabitants of the islands were immigrants from Asia. They were able to survive in adverse conditions due to their ability to raise livestock and grow rice. They had to repel attacks from local tribes, but over time they populated all the large islands in the archipelago. Since ancient times, the Japanese way of life, culture and history have been significantly influenced by China and Korea. Interesting features of medieval Japan will be discussed further.
Historical information
As the history of medieval Japan tells, the very first mentions of the country’s rulers date back to the 7th century BC. e. Although scientists claim that the first state arose here only in the 3rd–4th centuries on the territory of the Yamato tribe. Over the next three centuries, the Yamato leaders were able to conquer the tribes living on the islands of Honshu and Kushu, and their attacks on the lands of Korea are also known.
Local residents are still confident in the divine origin of the imperial dynasty. According to legend, the sun goddess presented signs of power to the first emperor. Although the ruler enjoys boundless respect, he almost never had real power.
As history tells us, medieval Japan was always ruled by representatives of a few of the richest and most respected families, passing power from generation to generation. In 645, supporters of the emperor staged a coup, as a result of which the Soga clan was removed from rule. Such a step should strengthen state power so that all residents obey the same laws, and local authorities unconditionally carry out the orders of the emperor.
Historical framework
The culture of Japan began to emerge in the 8th millennium BC and develops to the present day. If we talk about the Middle Ages, then in the country it begins with the advent of feudal society. Briefly speaking, in Japanese territories this moment came at the turn of the 6th-7th centuries and lasted for quite a long time - almost until half of the 19th century.
Japanese art developed quite smoothly, without sudden leaps in the form of incredible rise and rapid decline. The geographical and political position of the state had a great influence - being in the Far East, on the islands, it was cut off from other countries and pursued a closed policy.
However, the connection with its neighbors in the form of the Chinese and Korean states was strong, and many values and discoveries were borrowed from there, in particular from the Middle Kingdom. So, for example, hieroglyphic writing, artistic, architectural, and sculptural designs came from China to Japan. The last three in the Middle Ages were mostly built in accordance with the canons of Buddhism, which in the 7th century also migrated to Japan and became the main religion there.
However, things borrowed from the Chinese in Japan quickly acquired their own, native Japanese style. That is why she has always managed to maintain originality and uniqueness, manifested in works of art.
We can distinguish several historical stages of the Middle Ages, during which there was a change in trends in the world of art:
- Asuka (late 6th – early 8th century) – cultural borrowings from the Middle Kingdom;
- Nara (8th century) – the appearance of the first literary works, the penetration of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism;
- Heian (IX-XII centuries) – widespread construction of temples, the emergence of the Yamato-e artistic movement;
- Kamakura (late 12th – first half of the 14th century) – emergence of the samurai class;
Japanese samurai costume
- Muromachi (XIV-XVI centuries) – development of theatrical performances, influence of European civilization;
- Edo (XVII - second half of the 19th centuries) - the power of the Tokugawa dynasty, the development of theatrical and visual arts.
Next, we will consider in more detail the development of each cultural direction during these eras.
Country in the Middle Ages
The country has always developed separately, because it was located on the periphery of the rest of the world. Scientists believe that the formation of Japan separately from Chinese civilization began around 100-400, so the culture of medieval Japan can be attributed to the island form of Chinese culture. The Japanese adopted a lot from Chinese civilization - religion, writing, Buddhism, rituals, art, ceremonies. A little later, Japanese civilization began to differ. It was so organically able to combine the traditions of China with its acquisitions that it became a separate, distinctive culture.
Rulers of medieval Japan
In the 8th century, representatives of the Fujiwara clan became the real rulers, who turned the imperial families into hostages in their own palaces. Until the end of the 12th century, the former power of the monarchs began to decline. An alternative samurai government appears - the shogunate in Kamakura. In 1221, the palace aristocracy was completely defeated in the anti-shogun uprising, and the emperor turned exclusively into a master of ceremonies and rituals. To maintain the magnificent royal court, honorary positions are sold to all interested samurai.
After the fall of the shogunate, Emperor Go-Daigo carried out the Kemmu Restoration to return to the 9th century state model, but it caused a socio-political crisis. The imperial house split into two dynasties: Northern and Southern. Only 30 years later, the unity of the house was restored through the efforts of the samurai shogunate of Muromachi, but the monarchs lost power over the country. Tragic events led to the decline of the imperial house. For several centuries, no Imperial Harvest ceremony was held and no heir was appointed - the Great Son of the Emperor. Only with the rise to power of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 18th century were imperial rituals and ceremonies restored.
Sengoku[edit]
Sengoku
, also known as the “era of warring provinces,” began after the shoguns from the Ashikaga clan lost real power over the country at the end of the 15th century. Eventually, the hereditary military governors began wars against their neighbors, and as a result, a war of all against all soon broke out. Even those who did not want to lead it had to arm themselves, and even the smallest rulers of the smallest villages and towns began to assemble armed detachments. This era is the peak of militarization in Japanese history until WWII. The norm was heavily armed detachments of peasants working in the field, merchant caravans resembled armies on the march, the largest monasteries had armies of tens of thousands of monks (even cavalry and armored infantry!). Fishermen, townspeople and peasants from the coastal provinces had previously signed up en masse to become pirates (wokou), but now many daimyo began to cooperate with them and even lead them! Of the 15-18 million Japanese by the end of the 16th century. At least 1 million people served in the samurai, and only 100 years before that, in the “Troubles of the Onin Years,” there were no more than 150 thousand samurai, and the warring armies were massively replenished with armed servants and bands of robbers.
Samurai, or Bushi[edit]
This class included people obliged to perform military service. They differed sharply in their origins - the top came from the younger sons of emperors and the most noble houses of the tribal nobility, and were replenished both by different families of Ainu who went into the service of the Japanese, by peasants who had served in the military service, and by fugitive peasants from bandit gangs (the word “ronin” originally meant exactly these people). Initially, they did not have any civil power and were simply armed units under the command of a government-appointed governor. From about the 12th-13th centuries. the samurai gradually began to take a share of power from the governors, at first making their power purely nominal; then they gradually became hereditary rulers in their provinces and districts, and ordinary fighters filled the niche from simply armed guards to the smallest feudal lords. In Japan, it was customary to divide all samurai not by title, but by assigned content - koku[1].
- Hatamoto
is the very top of the samurai class, after the ruling princes daimyo and smaller semyo. The samurai were the closest to European knighthood in terms of functions and rights. They had the right to their own banner and the right to bear arms in the presence of the daimyo. From them the personal guard of the daimyo and detachments of the most elite cavalry were formed. They often had up to a dozen samurai and hundreds of servants under their command. Before the Sengoku era there were only a few thousand of them, and even by its end there were no more than 10-15 thousand. Usually they were assigned to maintain at least 200 koku of rice, and often also land for grazing horses, but in this case they were supposed to come with their own personal horse. In Japan, a horse was very expensive, and the development of horse breeding was greatly hampered by the small amount of land suitable for grazing it.
- Yamabushi
are the Japanese equivalent of European paladins and spiritual knightly orders. Initially, these are solitary mountain hermits, followers of some Japanese versions of Buddhism. Ordinary samurai often went to yamabushi. But gradually, by XIII-XIV, they began to live in small hermitages, where, in addition to the search for enlightenment, they also practiced the study of martial arts. They were famous as incredibly skillful and capable fighters; in the 14th century they supported the restoration of Emperor Go-Daigo and showed combat training much higher than that of the samurai army. By the Sengoku era, it was considered incredibly prestigious to have the support of a yamabushi. They were usually armed with naginatas, as very complex weapons, but extremely effective and versatile in the hands of a master. Served as military advisers and instructors. The presence of a yamabushi detachment in the army, even of several dozen people, was considered very cool.
- Bushi
are, in fact, the bulk of the samurai. They were divided into those who were given land and those who did not have it - they lived either on rations issued by the overlord, or were de facto his personal courtyard servants and guards. Representatives of this class were obliged to study military affairs from childhood. With the allowance or income they were given, they were required to buy weapons and equipment for themselves. As a rule, they played the role of the most elite and well-trained heavy infantry, longbow shooters, commanders in ashigaru detachments, and were light horsemen - then they received horses from the overlord. Elderly or disabled samurai usually served as advisers, mentors, officials and guarantors. In the Sengoku era, women from this class also had to undergo the necessary minimum military training, since during the period of constant warriors, husbands and brothers were very often either killed or on campaign. Women were also trained in a minimum of literacy (kane - it was believed that the average woman did not have enough intelligence to learn hieroglyphs) and the ability to manage a household. A woman from the service class who does not have the proper training and upbringing could, in the worst case, even be sold into slavery or killed by her own relatives on the orders of the overlord as “a disgrace to the class.”
- Monomi
[2] - scouts. As a rule, there were 100 of them for every 1,000 troops. Every tenth of them was usually on horseback and, in addition to reconnaissance, served as messengers. Often women from the samurai class, the most courageous and dexterous and with the smallest possible build, were taken into monomi - the scouts, for the sake of being able to use them on rough terrain, had undersized horses, and the weight of the rider there meant a lot.
- Ashigaru
. Bushi were expensive and difficult to replace “units”, and in the event of a protracted conflict, their shortage began, therefore, already in the “Troubles of Onin”, many daimyo hired gangs of robbers or even simply forcibly mobilized their own or other people’s peasants, gave them a minimum of military training as spearmen and used them as cannon fodder or even as marauders and punitive squads, so their mortality rate was high. When there was no longer a need for them after the conflict, all or some of them were often simply kicked out. Initially, they were not given any armor, hence the nickname “light-footed”. During the Sengoku era, the most capable and skillful ashigaru filled the lower classes of the samurai class, but towards its end the border between them generally became blurred. It was from them that Oda Nobunaga began to form his army - initially he simply did not have the demographic and economic resources to hire samurai, and strong and well-armed neighbors would not give a chance to a poorly trained army, albeit numerous. As a result, Nobunaga began to arm his ashigaru with the simplest and most technologically advanced weapons - six-meter double-edged yari pikes and naginatas - established the production of simplified armor and personally taught them to fight in formation against cavalry and infantry. After meeting with the Portuguese merchants, they also received muskets along with the tactics for using them. Such actions of his initially caused ridicule from his contemporaries and confirmed his reputation as an eccentric.
In fact, completely independently and in parallel (the Nambokucho and Sengoku eras coincided with the Renaissance), Nobunaga came to the pinnacle of European tactics of that era - the Spanish tertia. Such troops may well be considered one of the most powerful infantry formations of that time, relegating the samurai to the background in terms of combat effectiveness. The bulk of them were “pikemen”, armed yari. The ashigaru especially distinguished themselves in the Battle of Nagashino, where the ashigaru musketeers under the command of Nobunaga buried the elite cavalry of the Takeda house under lead rain[3], and then successfully walked to Korea and China. After Hideyoshi came to power (who was himself a former ashigaru) they were promoted to third-class samurai[4], and under Tokugawa they gradually merged with the samurai, ceasing to actually exist as a branch of the military.
Other[edit]
Armies were not limited to just samurai or even ashigaru.
- Konidatai
are approximate analogues of European convoy teams. The Japanese did not use draft animals like oxen or horses, and wheeled transport was rare (and then banned by Iyaesu Tokugawa), so all cargo - equipment, rice, weapons, tools - were dragged on their own backbone (every samurai was obliged to report to the army with a supply of rice for a month - 12-13 kg). However, a very small part of the most important cargo was transported on horses (for example, the treasury). On-site requisitions were not always possible - often villages looked more like fortresses with peasants armed to the point of gunshots, and in the Sengoku era all normal peasants stored food in carefully hidden caches.[5] During sieges, the konidatai served as sapper teams, and they also set up and fortified camps. Occasionally they could be used as the lightest infantry. There could be up to a third of the army or more.
Prominent personalities[edit]
- Oda Nobunaga
is the hereditary military governor of Owari Province. In fact, it was he who ended the Sengoku period, since the era after his death is usually called Azuchi-Momoyama. A brilliant commander and military reformer, he initiated the transition to an army based on numerous and well-trained ashigaru troops with arquebuses and skirmishers with long yumi bows and covering them with ashigaru troops with long yari pikes. But he also very skillfully used detachments of heavy cavalry and armored infantry. At the beginning of his journey, he united the Owari province, fragmented between different branches of the Oda clan, exterminating most of his clan and killing several of his brothers, and forced representatives of the side branches to either flee the province or leave the Oda clan by adopting a different surname and being registered as simple hatamoto. He managed to seize the lands of central Japan instead of the capital in Kyoto and defend them against a powerful coalition of forces; before his death, he led a campaign to conquer southern Japan. By nature, he was rather an inveterate militarist and a totalitarian peacemaker, who treated the norms established in society with contempt. He was killed as a result of the betrayal of his own general, but the military structure he created allowed his general Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who began his military service as a simple ashigaru, to unify Japan. - Takeda Shingen
had the hereditary position of military governor of the mountainous province of Kai. Considered one of the most outstanding commanders of the Sengoku era. He was one of the main contenders for the role of the unifier of Japan, but his early death prevented this. Unlike the small but extremely densely populated province of Owari, which was inherited by the Oda clan, Kai was sparsely populated, mountainous, poorly suited for growing rice and had no access to the sea. Therefore, Takeda, willy-nilly, had to become a competent manager and rely on qualitative superiority over his enemies. The development of gold mines gave him large incomes, and the mountain valleys allowed him to breed horses in large quantities (for Japan). This income allowed him to create units of extremely powerful and well-trained heavy cavalry, as well as to buy the support and loyalty of the ninja clans from the Iga province, so that he always had the most comprehensive information about the plans and movements of the enemy. Initially, gunpowder was widely used in mining, but Takeda created the first units of sappers and began to use them to undermine the walls of castles; he also showed considerable interest in firearms and was one of the first in Japan to create arquebusier units in his army. Before his death, he partially or completely conquered six provinces, completely defeated the army of the future shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and kept his castle under siege. Many of his military and administrative reforms were adopted and then implemented throughout Japan by Nobunaga and his successors. - Mori Motonari
, unlike the first two, did not come from the Taira or Minamoto clan. By origin he was a small feudal lord from the southern Japanese province of Aki, and by the end of his life he managed to unite almost the entire southwest of Japan. Unlike Nobunaga or Takeda, he was more of a diplomat and manager, did not hesitate to cooperate with either wokou pirates or Christian missionaries, received huge income from maritime trade, and had the strongest fleet in Japan. His successor managed to successfully resist Nobunaga's army under the command of Hideyoshi for two years. After Nobunaga's death, he managed to maintain his position, although he was forced to recognize himself as Hideyoshi's vassal and pay a huge tribute. His descendants managed to maintain the position of major daimyo under the Tokugawa, although they were left with only two of the ten provinces. They played a huge role in the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Revolution. The Mori clan still exists. Has enormous, albeit hidden, political influence in Japan.
Religious preferences
In medieval Japan, there was a mixture of several religious movements. The most pronounced is Shintoism or the “way of the gods.” The majority of the population firmly believed in myths, so they attributed divine origins to everything. The spirits of the sky were considered the ancestors of the monarchs, and the common people were descended from spirits of lower origin. In Shintoism, they worship the spirits of their ancestors, and after death they prepare to turn into spirits themselves. Incorporeal entities are omnipresent, they invisibly change the course of life and are able to influence ongoing events. Thanks to Shintoism, another distinctive feature of the Japanese is manifested - the love of the harmony of nature.
Buddhism came from China to Japan. The court nobility was the first to decide to join this newfangled teaching. Philosophical teaching was supposed to unite the country and support the authority of the central government. Religion in medieval Japan became part of the samurai code of honor: discipline, composure, detachment and self-control. Buddhist monasteries began to appear, training real dispassionate warriors. With Buddhism, the Japanese borrowed hieroglyphic writing, which is needed when copying sacred Buddhist instructions.
Two religions coexisted peacefully in the country, in some cases they intertwined with each other. The population could simultaneously follow the principles of the prescriptions of Shinto and Buddhism, which did not conflict with each other. Buddhism was considered the state religion in medieval Japan, but Shintoism also appeared as a national religion. A separate branch, Confucianism, separated from Buddhism in the 12th century. According to the new ideology, children should not only obey the decisions of their parents, but also love them unconditionally.
State development of Japan in the Middle Ages. Law of medieval Japan
The island state of Japan in the Middle Ages, in short, developed for a long time in isolation from other countries. However, this isolation was not complete - Japan successfully contacted its closest neighbors - China and Korea. Therefore, much in government was borrowed from these countries.
The first state in Japan arose in the 4th – 6th centuries. In the early Middle Ages, the state was headed by a ruler who ruled with the help of the nobility.
The bulk of the population were peasants. They bore the brunt of taxes. The main one was land rent. In addition, people with less than full rights (foreigners) and slaves lived in Japan.
Starting from the 6th century, Japan began to develop rapidly. Such a dynamic pace of development is completely unusual for eastern countries. The fact is that Japan willingly adopted the experience of others and, first of all, neighboring countries.
Japanese rulers tried to borrow only the best. Craftsmen were invited to the country, and young Japanese were sent to China to study. Hieroglyphic writing, Buddhism and Taoism also came from China.
At first, Japan in the Middle Ages was, in short, a classic eastern state. The Japanese Emperor controlled all supreme power, including religion. The aristocracy performed the function of officials. Peasants worked directly for the state. The authorities used the collected taxes at their discretion.
The Japanese political system was characterized by:
1. centralization of power;
2. All land in the country is in the hands of the state;
3. existence of communities.
In the 9th – 11th centuries, a new form of land ownership was finally established - the feudal estate.
In 1192, a very significant event occurs - the emperor loses part of his power, ceding it to the shogun (military ruler). The Shogunate existed for 7 centuries, until the 19th century. Imperial power remained in the country, but it was no longer sole.
In the 16th century, the rulers of Japan decide to isolate it from the rest of the world so that nothing could affect the unique culture of the country. It becomes the most closed civilization. It was forbidden to leave the Japanese islands. Violators of the ban were executed. Foreigners, except the Dutch and Chinese, were also closed to the country. Representatives of the Catholic and Christian religions were expelled from the country.
The medieval period for Japan ended with the accession of the young Emperor Mitsuhito to the throne in 1866.
Criminal law.
In Japanese medieval law there were no clear distinctions between a tort and a crime, norms of criminal and administrative law, etc.
In the traditional understanding, ryo {Chinese.
lin) is a law for which, unlike ritsu, violation of which was not punishable by any of the five serious punishments (from death to caning) that followed obvious misconduct and violations.
During the period of the “rule of law”, Japanese law was based on the requirements of “legality”, which in the understanding of that time included a number of provisions: about strict adherence to the requirements of the law, about punishments for crimes, misdeeds and even mistakes of everyone, from a serf to a Buddhist monk, about impartiality of judges and investigators, about clear record keeping, including judicial work, as well as about careful verification and double-checking (up to the imperial) of the application of punishments, especially the death penalty, about taking into account mitigating and non-accounting aggravating circumstances specified in the laws issued before the start of the investigations on a specific case, etc.
Criminal Code "Taihoritsu"
ryo" consists of 12 sections: the criminal law on punishment, on robbery, on robbery, on injuries in a fight, etc. Not all provisions of the code have reached us; some of them were later restored according to the Chinese code of the Tang dynasty.
The Code begins with a list of punishments and serious crimes. In accordance with Confucian ideas about the most serious violations of morality (li), in Japan there were “8 evils” (in China - “10 evils”), which included, first of all, crimes against the imperial power: “rebellion” (destruction of the sovereign’s homes and tombs etc.), “high treason” (murder of the emperor’s closest relatives, as well as attempted murder, beating, etc.), “brutal murder” (murder of three members of one family, one’s immediate relatives, murder by a wife or concubine of her husband’s relatives, as well as beating them, etc.), “great disrespect” (destruction of temples, sacred ritual objects, etc.), “slander and disrespect” towards the sovereign, simply “disrespect” towards the father or close relatives (initiation of legal cases against them or putting them under a curse, separation from the family while their parents are alive, unauthorized marriage, etc.), “violation of duty” (murder of an owner, boss, mentor, etc.).
The five-member system of punishments included the death penalty by hanging or beheading, exile with or without hard labor, hard labor, caning (from 60 to 100 blows), and flogging (from 10 to 50 blows). The death penalty for commoners was carried out in the city square, women and officials were not publicly executed, and high-ranking officials were given the opportunity to commit suicide.
Depending on the distance to the destination, the link could be short, medium or long. The wives and concubines of the condemned were sent into exile along with them without fail. Hard labor was expressed in forced labor, usually at the place of residence.
“TaihoYororyo” also provides for such punishments as confiscation of property, fines, etc. It is noteworthy that the confiscated property of the criminal was divided equally between the treasury and his immediate relatives, if they were not accomplices in the crime. It was possible to buy off punishment, even the death penalty (as a tribute to an ancient custom), but the possibility of buying off depended on the discretion of the authorities (the ransom from 10 blows with a stick was equal to 1 kin of copper (600 grams), from 1 year of hard labor - 20 kin, from the death penalty - 200 kinam). This right, of course, was used by the emperor’s relatives, the largest nobles from the “6 categories of worthy ones.”
Special punishments for military and civilian officials differed from general punishments. When listing special punishments, TaihoYororyo focuses on the loss of special official rights to officials. An official who committed a crime or misdemeanor, regardless of whether he was sentenced to death, received forgiveness from the emperor or the right to pay off punishment, was subject to deprivation of his official rights to one degree or another: demotion in position or rank, demotion or dismissal from one or all positions, etc. If simple dismissal was considered a grave punishment, it could not be bought off, then dismissal with exclusion from the bureaucratic lists was considered a particularly grave punishment, which meant the impossibility of returning to service in the future.
Along with the collective responsibility of the immediate relatives of a criminal convicted of a number of serious crimes, as well as local authorities (for example, for harboring unregistered monks, etc.), Japanese law also provided for the possibility of mitigating punishment for family members of officials who, as in China, could take advantage of the patronage of the “shadow” of their noble relatives.
A specific feature of Japanese criminal law was the extension of its norms to representatives of the Buddhist church (The special position of the Japanese emperor as the high priest of the Shinto religion gave him the right to directly decide all matters related to this religion and manage Shinto institutions, prayer houses, etc. with the help of his own decrees); recognition by the code, along with secular punishments, of religious punishments (penances), which could be applied, replacing secular ones, to monks and nuns, depending on the nature of the crimes and offenses they committed; the application of ordinary criminal penalties for a number of religious offenses of the clergy, for example, for public and false announcement of bad omens, possession and reading of prohibited books, illegal transfer of a patent for ordination to another person or for unauthorized taking of rank, for attempting self-immolation or inciting another person to commit it.
Representatives of the Buddhist clergy, sentenced to heavy punishment for murder, violence, theft, etc., were previously defrocked. Some mitigation of punishment was also envisaged for them. Exile, for example, was replaced by four years of hard labor; when punished with sticks, every ten sticks were replaced by ten days of penance (Penance - “doing deeds pleasing to the Buddha”: copying sutras, cleaning temples, etc.).
Japanese criminal law did not know clearly formulated general principles and norms about the forms of guilt (intention and negligence), attempt, complicity in various forms, etc., which, however, appeared when considering specific crimes.
“Attempt” and “design” in the case of “brutal murder” were punished, for example, as completed murder. In a number of cases, such forms of complicity as incitement, etc., were punished more severely.
Mitigating circumstances included: voluntary compensation for damage caused, elimination of harm caused, surrender, active assistance in solving the crime. The punishment was also mitigated in the case of a crime committed under threat or coercion, due to financial or official dependence, or theft from relatives, but it was aggravated if the theft was committed in his home by a younger family member. Aggravating circumstances included recidivism (third theft) and state of intoxication.
In addition to the “8 evils,” the code included simple murder, grievous bodily harm, slander, which is included in the category of “indirect” crimes, along with involvement in the commission of crimes and unjustified prosecution. Among the crimes against property were theft, robbery, robbery and theft during a fire, equated to robbery, as well as extortion of property through written threats, etc.
Invading someone else's house at night gave the owner the right to kill the “uninvited guest,” which was thus equated with the right of necessary defense. Criminal law did not know the concept of insanity, but the punishment was softened, the right to buy out was granted in the event of a crime committed by a minor, the elderly, the mentally ill, or a freak.
Almost all “legal” boundaries of the application of punishment were blurred after the establishment of the shogunate, when forms of extra-legal reprisal or “bad customs” spread unchecked. A samurai, for example, could kill a commoner with impunity for insulting him. The law also did not know the requirement of mandatory punishment for murder. For example, the murder of an unfaithful wife and her lover by a husband was not punished; it was allowed to kill the murderer of his parents at the scene of the crime or in revenge. The practice of unpunished infanticide was widespread, especially in peasant families (to get rid of the “extra mouth”).
In addition, punishments were increasingly toughened, often acquiring purely savage forms. Japanese sources report, for example, such a widespread punishment. A living criminal was buried up to his neck on a roadway; a wooden saw was placed nearby, which anyone passing could use to separate his head from his body.
In the 100 Article Code, theft of the insignificant amount of 10 yen was punishable by corporal punishment and branding. Theft for a large sum - execution by beheading with mandatory disfigurement of the corpse and public display of the head of the executed person. Execution was also prescribed for petty theft in case of relapse.
Regulation of property relations. From the 7th century For centuries in Japan there have been three forms of land ownership: state, public and large family.
The state fund of allotment lands was divided into plots that were received not only by free people, but also by serfs, slaves (1/3 of the free plot), as well as state households and state slaves, who, unlike all other allottees, did not pay taxes to the state treasury.
The land that was at the disposal of a separate yard (a personal plot or garden plot, plowed or irrigated virgin soil) passed into the possession of three generations of the family. Household plots or garden plots were equal in size for both “mean” and “good” families and did not depend on their numbers.
Family property was fully protected by the state. Unreasonable division of the yard, unauthorized separation from the family, etc. were prohibited. Anyone who wanted to stand out had to receive a guarantee from the five-yards that he was not “a runaway or a deceiver.” Forests, mountains, wastelands, and pastures were publicly owned and could be used by everyone.
State-owned lands, in addition to lands assigned to individual institutions, were intended for the distribution of allotments, among which the official and rank allotments of officials stood out for their size. There was a special reserve fund of state lands, from which “reward” plots were issued for services to the state. For this purpose, special decrees of the emperor were issued. For “great merits” the land plot was transferred into ownership with the right of unlimited inheritance, for other merits - into ownership with the right of inheritance for one or two generations.
Among the state lands, “palace” fields also stood out, which were cultivated as part of labor duties. Only private land could be sold, but leasing of both state land (from the reserve fund) and official land was practiced. Peasant plots could be rented out only in exceptional cases with the permission of the authorities. A garden plot could be leased for any period, and an arable plot could be leased for one year. It was strictly forbidden to donate or sell not only fields, but also garden plots to Buddhist temples. It was impossible to even exchange lands with them. The subsoil and its wealth did not differ in status from state-owned lands. With the knowledge of the authorities, they were given over to private mining for the extraction of copper and iron on the condition of performing duties in kind.
In Japanese early medieval law, a clear division of things into movable and immovable was not formed, but a special status was provided for the found thing, which 30 days after the announcement of the find became the property of the finder. Ownership of the treasure was recognized in equal shares by the finder and the owner of the land.
Along with the elimination of the allotment system and the development of vassal-fief relations, such forms of feudal land ownership as hereditary feud and samurai warrior benefits, which were later replaced by the payment of “rice rations,” began to become increasingly widespread.
The weak development of commodity-money relations led to the fact that in the medieval law of Japan there was no clear idea of obligation in the legal sense of the word. The European term "obligation" in Japanese corresponded to the word "gimu", meaning what each person must do or what he is prohibited from doing based on his status. All obligations were initially recognized within strictly permissible limits.
In TaihoYororyo, only ten articles are devoted to contracts: purchase and sale, rental, loan, mortgage, which were strictly regulated by the state and the violation of which, as a rule, entailed criminal punishment.
Private trade was considered unprestigious in Japan, even for a peasant. It was prohibited for officials starting from the fifth rank, samurai and Buddhist monks. A wide range of prohibitive measures shrouded domestic and especially foreign trade, which was considered the destiny of the state itself. It was almost eliminated during the period of the third shogunate, when an active policy of self-isolation of the country was pursued. Trade in certain types of goods, such as weapons, was prohibited. Trade in the markets was subject to strict state control. This control was carried out by specially created “market offices”, which included checking the correctness of weights and measures, documents during the slave trade, the quality of goods and their branding in case of unfitness, collection of trade duties, etc. Market prices were also subject to state regulation - by establishing so-called government prices, the initial data for which was the price of “government rice”. Speculative use of price differences, especially by officials, was strictly punished. These restrictions, however, did not apply to government transactions with private individuals.
Japanese law was familiar with private and government loan agreements for grain and money, including interest-bearing loans. Usury was prohibited only to the Buddhist clergy. The loan was secured by collateral and surety.
As in India and other eastern countries, the creditor could not charge interest in excess of the amount owed. It was impossible to unconditionally collect the debt from the guarantor or arbitrarily dispose of the collateral. The debtor could work off the debt, but debt slavery was strictly prohibited. Unauthorized transactions were not allowed, including loan agreements for ordinary members of the court, since only the head of the family had the right to dispose of family property.
The contract for hiring labor was not widespread either, since there was labor conscription and a wide network of various jobs. In TaihoYororyo, the employment contract is mentioned in relation to the hiring of craftsmen, builders, roofers, ceramists, etc. for overtime work, as well as government shepherds and “tax bearers”, who were hired by the state permanently or temporarily. It is interesting that this agreement was accompanied by a number of guarantees against the employer’s abuse of the employee, for example, the period of employment could not exceed 50 days without the employee’s consent, etc. (Law VIII, Art. 22).
Marriage and family law. Japanese marriage and family law, as the most traditional, associated with religion, did not undergo any noticeable changes at all stages of the country's medieval history.
Marriages were concluded by families; the consent of parents and immediate relatives was a prerequisite for the validity of the marriage. The equal class status of the bride and groom and the “purity” of their premarital relations were also required. The law determined the age of marriage for a man at 15 years, for a woman at 13 years.
The marriage was preceded by an agreement between the parents and an engagement, the unjustified termination of which was punishable. It was dissolved if the groom did not appear within one month or if the marriage was not consummated within three months of the engagement. This entailed the termination of the engagement and the commission of a crime by the bride or groom.
Marriages were prohibited not only between freemen and slaves, “good” and “vile,” but also between certain categories of “vile.” A kind of caste principle was at work here. The obligatory family endogamy observed in China has not taken root in Japan, just like levirate.
The orders of the patriarchal family were reflected in the law of Japan, but they were less manifested than in China, and the position of women in the family was not so powerless.
The marriage was, in principle, monogamous; concubines were not taken into account. As in China, a woman was under the guardianship of a man: father, husband, son; but this guardianship was easier and regulated by law. The husband could not equate his wife with a concubine, nor could he force a divorce on his wife because of the concubine. Unreasonable divorce entailed the prohibition of a new marriage.
Divorce, as in China, was not only allowed, but also directly prescribed under certain circumstances against the will of the spouses, for example, in the case of attempted murder, beating of parents and other close relatives of the husband or wife. Marriage, like divorce, was a matter not only of the spouses, but also of their families. When divorcing on the initiative of a husband or wife, the consent of the parents of both was required. Parents had to sign a “divorce paper.” The list of circumstances that gave the husband legal grounds for divorce was much broader than that of the wife. She had the right to divorce only in the event of a long, five-year absence of her husband or a grave insult by him to her parents.
The husband's legal grounds for divorce were the same as in China, but not all of them entailed the expulsion of the divorced wife from the home. With the exception of “debauchery”, “disobedience to father-in-law or mother-in-law”, “bad illness”, a wife could, even after a divorce (associated with her talkativeness, lack of male offspring, jealousy, theft) remain in her husband’s house if she supported him during the period of marriage. mourning for her parents, was more noble than her husband and thereby increased his social status, if she did not have a parental family. A husband could be denied a divorce if he became rich thanks to his wife's dowry.
Japanese law showed relative tolerance for illegitimate children and children whose parents were unequal in social status. As a rule, there was a fiction that the parents did not know about the real “mean” status of their partner, then the child became a romin. Illegitimate children were handed over to be raised in the family of one of the parents, occupying a higher social status, but the mother and father of such a child were separated. A child born as a result of an owner’s violence against a slave also received the status of remin.
For the purpose of procreation, childless families were given the right to adopt a child from among close relatives, who acquired all the rights of a legitimate child.
In Japanese codes, the institution of legal inheritance was developed in relatively detail. The hereditary mass included serfs (i.e., dependent people, but not included in the category of clan “mean people”), fields, buildings, and other property. It also included the dowry of the wife of the deceased head of the family.
If we were talking about fields and property granted for merit, the inheritance shares of sons and daughters were equal. In other cases, the share of the first wife, as well as the eldest son, was twice as large as that of other sons (both from the wife and from the concubine), while daughters had the right to a quarter of the eldest son’s share.
The issue of wills in Japanese law has not received sufficient development, since large family property prevailed. Under a will, only personally acquired or personally inherited property could be transferred.
Trial. According to Law XXIX “On Prisons” “TaihoYororyo”, the process was of a mixed accusatory-inquisitorial nature. The court case began with both a statement from a government agency and an individual. “Public” and “secret” denunciations were widely practiced, that is, those that were not announced publicly and the investigation of which was private.
Denunciation was mandatory for close relatives of the victim. If they did not report the murder within 36 days, they were punished as accomplices. If it was a question of rebellion, “lese majeste,” then the informer was directly brought to the emperor. But it was impossible to inform on the criminal to his close relatives and servants.
The investigation was carried out by specially appointed investigators. It is noteworthy that they could be replaced due to kinship with the criminal or a special relationship with him. Investigators were prohibited from speaking out about the guilt or innocence of those under investigation. In the case of serious crimes, preliminary detention of both the informer and the suspect was practiced. The official leading the investigation had to make sure that the evidence was complete. In case of serious crimes, unclear evidence, or denial of the defendant, the use of torture was permitted, but no more than three times and at intervals of 20 days. A particularly thorough (“triple”) investigation was carried out if it was a question of rebellion.
The court was not separated from the administration. The legal case was supposed to be initiated at the place of registration of the plaintiff, for example, in the district administration or, if it was impossible to get to it, in the nearest government institution.
The jurisdiction of the case was determined both by the place where the crime was committed and by the degree of its importance and the severity of the possible punishment. Cases of hard labor and forced exile were decided by provincial departments, and those for which a more severe punishment was expected were transferred for consideration to the Ministry of Justice.
Special judges and investigators of this ministry (in Japan there was no Supreme Court, as in China) not only investigated important cases, but also checked and revised the sentences passed by lower authorities, and decided on the collection of debts.
The Ministry of Justice had two departments under its jurisdiction: the collections department, which confiscated property and collected fines in favor of the treasury, and the prison department, which supervised those under investigation, the forced labor of prisoners, and the execution of sentences.
Cases involving the death penalty, permanent exile, or dismissal of officials with their exclusion from the lists were mandatory transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Some cases were sent for consideration to the State Council, which could conduct additional investigations with the help of special investigative lawyers and terminate them. The State Council also verified the correctness of local court decisions with the help of its own special inspectors. Cases involving the death penalty, indefinite exile, and exclusion of officials from the lists were reported to the emperor, who acted as the highest court of appeal.
Law concept
The very first constitution of Shotoku-taishi, dating back to the early Taika era in 604, is known. The concept of law at that time was poorly defined, one can only say about the norms of punishment, designated by the concepts of punishment or God's wrath. It was necessary to follow certain standards of behavior called giri. There were several giris in the country: father and son, older and younger brothers, husband and wife. Also highlighted were weights that were not related to family relationships, that is, between traders and buyers, master and subordinate, and the like. They were followed as unwritten laws, taking into account condemnation in case of bad or incorrect attitude towards loved ones or subordinates.
Own customary law (buke-ho) was designated in the military caste (buke or samurai). Within the military community there was a code of rules based on the exclusive loyalty of the subordinate to his overlord. If the latter showed excessive cruelty, then the vassal had no rights to protection and was entirely dependent on the will of his master. A little later, against the arbitrariness of the overlords, a special Collection of customs of the military caste was compiled, which indicated the norms of criminal law and the code of honor for the military.
In medieval Japan, law prescribed only one thing - the subordination of the lower strata of the population to the masters higher in the hierarchy. In the state, each social group had clearly defined functions; the clarification of responsibilities was described in collections of ritsu-ryo. The term “ritsu” indicated repressive norms, and the term “ryo” indicated administrative norms.
Economy
In the 17th century, the military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu managed to form a shogun dynasty. Although the emperor was considered the head of the country, the shogun dynasty controlled all aspects of Japan. The need arose to create our own currency. The economy of medieval Japan depended only on rice. The standard unit of measurement was the amount of rice that a person needed to eat for one year. Taxes were also paid in rice. From the mid-16th century, the Portuguese often began to come to the country, preferring to pay in gold coins instead of rice. Local feudal lords also felt the benefits of precious metals. Tokugawa continued the work of his predecessor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who took over most of the country's gold and silver. This is how the oban gold coin appeared, but it was not used to pay for transactions, but was given or awarded.
The Japanese nobility sought to tie the peasants to the land allotment. Large landowners tried to solve the problem of how to pacify the peasant uprising or bring back subordinates who had escaped. Special detachments of trained warriors appear, who over time formed their own closed community of samurai. A code of honor for warriors, or bushido, began to be observed, which was based on the idea of \u200b\u200bloyalty to the master. The warrior was obliged to defend his master at the cost of his life, and in case of dishonor to commit ritual suicide, or hara-kiri.
Brief description of Japanese culture
The culture and worldview of the Japanese population were greatly influenced by the location of the country, climatic features and relief features, and in addition constant natural disasters (earthquakes and tsunamis), which was reflected in the special veneration of the Japanese for the surrounding nature as a living being. The ability to admire the momentary charm of nature is a characteristic feature of the Eastern mentality, and is reflected in Japanese creativity.
Japanese language and writing.
The Japanese language has always been an important part of Japanese culture. It is an agglutinative language and is characterized by a difficult concept of writing, which is formed from three different types of characters - Chinese kanji characters, katakana and hiragana syllables.
Kanji
Literature of Japan in brief
For a long time, Japanese literature was influenced by the Chinese Empire, and works of literature were also written in Chinese.
The first examples of Japanese literature are the collection of Japanese tales and myths "Kojiki" ("Writings about the deeds of antiquity") and the historical records "Nihon shoki" ("Brush-written Annals of Japan" or "Nihongi" - "Annals of Japan"), which were created in Nara era (7th - 8th centuries). At the same time, the poetic anthologies "Man'yoshu" ("Collection of Myriad Leaves", 759) and "Kaifuso" were written.
The types of poetic styles haiku, waka and tanka are also popular outside Japan.
Haiku by the famous Japanese poet Basho:
The flowers have faded.
The seeds are scattering and falling,
It's like tears...
Cinema
At first, in the land of the rising sun, cinema was considered an unworthy art, and there was a disdainful attitude towards the people who made films. Cinema became popular only in the late 30s of the 20th century.
In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, Japanese cinema began to actively develop. This period is called the "golden age" of Japanese cinema. In 1950, 215 films were produced, and in 1960, their number reached 547. At the same time, the genres of political, historical cinema, science fiction and action films spread, and Japanese cinema became famous throughout the world. Famous directors of that time were Akira Kurosawa, Shohei Imamura, Kenji Mizoguchi. Actor Toshiro Mifune, who played in almost all of Kurosawa's films, is gaining great popularity outside the archipelago.
In the 90s of the last century, director and actor Takeshi Kitano became known throughout the world.
"Seven Samurai" by Akiro Kurosawa, which in 2010 took first place in Empire magazine's list of "100 best films of world cinema"
Anime and manga
Anime (Japanese animation) is widely known throughout the world. Anime differs from other animated genres in its greater focus on adult viewers. Anime has an auxiliary division into genres for a specific target audience. The measure for separation is the age, gender or psychological profile of the movie viewer. Anime is often a film adaptation of Japanese manga comics, which have also gained great popularity.
The main part of the manga is intended for an adult audience. As of 2002, approximately 40% of the total book market in Japan is occupied by manga comics.
Anime "Princess Mononoke", 1997
Cloth
In Japan, there are two types of clothing - national - wafuku, and ordinary European, which is worn in everyday life. Kimono (translated as “clothing, outfit”) is the general name for any clothing in the broad sense, and in the narrow sense it is a form of wafuku.
Yukata - light robe;
hakama—pants;
geta, waraji - sandals;
obi - belt.
Geisha kimono
Traditions, customs, etiquette
The society of this island state is characterized by a clearly expressed sense of belonging to a specific social class (family, work group, student group), which is also manifested in the peculiar connections within the community.
Of particular importance are the concepts of “duty” and “obligation,” called giri. Despite the fact that kettlebells are a universal social norm for Japanese behavior, in some situations, particularly among young people, kettlebells are not taken so seriously.
In Japan, there are certain norms of gestures, and the more reserved a person is, the more respectful he is treated, so a friendly tap on the shoulder and tugging on the hand will not be welcomed in the land of the rising sun.
Theater and dance
The very first type of theater was the Noh theater, which was formed in the 14th-15th centuries; when playing in it, the actors put on masks and dressed in luxurious attire. In the 17th century, one of the most famous types of national theater in Japan, kabuki, was created; complex makeup was applied to the actors’ faces. The skill of onnagata, the actors who play the role of a woman, is especially appreciated. In 1629, the Tokugawa shogunate banned women from playing kabuki, after World War II women began to appear on stage again, and even the first all-female troupe was created.
The national bunraku puppet theater is also famous. Certain playwrights, such as Chikamatsu Monzaemon, created plays for bunraku, which were later performed in the “big theater” - kabuki.
Kabuki theater
Women's Kabuki Troupe
Bunraku doll
Political structure
From the 12th century the feudal hierarchy became stronger. Due to feudal fragmentation, the country is in a state of constant internecine strife. Even after the establishment of the supreme power of the shoguns, clashes between small feudal lords did not stop. Among such conditions, the worldview of a samurai is created, ready to sacrifice himself to his overlord. The samurai becomes a model of courage, honor and loyalty.
After the appearance of large feudal farms, the formation and growth of cities began. A city began to be built near the ruler's castle, where the trade and craft population predominated. Large latifundia are replacing private landholdings.
Culture of medieval Japan
In the mature Middle Ages, new cities began to be built, ties with China strengthened, crafts developed and trade expanded. Completely different aesthetic preferences appear, based on folk motifs. Japan is gradually acquiring distinctive features and moving to another level of development. In the artistic culture of medieval Japan, the emphasis is on the human perception of the world, the dramatic background of the actions performed. Dramatic works began to appear for theater productions. In painting and sculpture, landscape and portrait stand out as independent genres. The fine art of medieval Japan is influenced by the harsh everyday life of an era filled with conflicts. Art is permeated with a touch of Buddhism, the Zen sect is especially thriving. Previously, it was necessary to carry out incomprehensible, complex religious rituals, but the Zen sect translated the service into a simpler and more understandable form. Any Buddhist literature and multiple rituals are rejected, replaced only by the desire to understand one’s spiritual essence. Everyone could take the path of truth through contemplation and deepening into themselves.
War of Extermination, or Japanese Family Feuds
Since the 8th century. the emperors lost real power. Regents from the Fujiwara family ruled. And while the Fujiwaras in Kyoto were playing emperors like puppets, locally individual military clans were gaining strength: not only Taira and Minamoto, but also others, less powerful (Saeki, Okura, Ono, etc.). Of course, not everything was smooth between them. Different branches of the Fujiwara clan and emperors fought with each other, attracting either Taira or Minamoto to their side, so that they were slowly pitted against each other. As a result, they began to quarrel so much that the Montagues and Capulets could pass for friends. This was the case in the 1150s, when two unrest occurred that seemed to dot the hieroglyphs: in 1159, the Minamoto clan was defeated.
The emblems are Minamoto leaves and Taira butterfly. (nihonsi-jiten.com)
The threads of control of the new emperor were in the hands of a strong politician - Taira Kiyomori. In 1160, the Minamoto rebelled, which Kiyomori brutally suppressed. The head of the Minamoto clan, Yoshitomo, was brutally killed. After this, the Taira established their dictatorship and executed almost all of the Minamoto. In the clan wars of medieval Japan, they fought for destruction, the victors exterminated the families of their enemies to the last man in order to avoid revenge. But this time, two of Yoshitomo’s children and several relatives survived.
Kiyomori spared them, and this became his main mistake. All thanks to the widow Minamoto Yoshitomo, Tokiwa had extraordinary beauty. When she was caught, she agreed to become Kiyomori's concubine in exchange for her sons' lives. Taira did not kill them, but sent them to different parts of his domain for education. Yoshitsune was sent to a monastery, and Yoritomo went to the Izu Peninsula. There he lived for twenty years under the supervision of the Taira people and from some point began to cherish plans for revenge for his father, mother and the whole family. All this time, Japan was ruled by Kiyomori. He appointed his relatives to important positions, married his daughter to the emperor and made many enemies.
Tokiwa's escape. (liveinternet.ru)
In 1180, Kiyomori decided to make his three-year-old grandson Antoku emperor. This did not please Prince Motihito, who was not chosen as heir to the throne for the second time. Taira's enemies at court pushed Motihito to revolt, and he decided to do so. While Kiyomori and Antoku were on pilgrimage, the prince sent a call to all Minamoto supporters to revolt - to punish the "Taira robbers."
Chanting the Samurai
At that time, samurai did not yet strive for the luxury and delicacy of palaces. They often had to engage in civil strife battles, repel attacks of foreign tribes, so the main thing for them was military valor, courage and honor. The warrior class liked the concepts of Zen Buddhism, because heaven can be achieved through discipline and one simple prayer. Gunka stories are written about warriors, conveying a feeling of anxiety, but devoid of the pomp of interiors and pomposity. The exploits of the samurai are described in scrolls, the cult of sword and armor appears, and Buddha statues are erected, executed with all severity. They wrote poems about how samurai go hunting, shoot and practice horseback riding. Nara art, expressed in the construction of the Kamakura Buddha statue, is especially held in high esteem. In medieval Japan, they are beginning to restore Nara temples that were destroyed during the war or those that are in dilapidated condition.
Battle of Fujigawa: without a single blow of the sword
Minamoto Yoritomo and his brothers escaped from exile and reached the lands of their family in the northeast. In the village of Kamakura, allies and surviving distant relatives came to Yoritomo with warriors. Soon he gathered an army of 20 thousand people. The Taira sent only 15 thousand against them. These soldiers felt insecure in foreign provinces, and they were commanded by an inept commander - Kiyomori's grandson named Koremori.
The main battles of the war. (nihongo-barnaul.ru)
On the evening of November 9, the armies faced each other at the Fujigawa River. The battle never happened, although the events of that night were remembered in history as a “battle.” According to one version, Minamoto troops launched an attack on the Taira flank, their entire camp rose, and a panicked retreat of this unreliable army began. According to another, for some reason the birds in the neighboring swamp became alarmed, began to make noise and fly, and Taira decided that they were surrounded. One way or another, they abandoned everything and hurried to the capital, where they returned 12 days after the shameful flight. This is how, without bloodshed, they defeated the Minamoto in the first major battle of the war.
In the spring of 1181, Taira Kiyomori died. Before his death, he wanted only one thing - for Yoritomo's head to be placed at his grave. But Kiyomori’s heirs were far inferior to him in their abilities and could not reach Minamoto. The east of the country is practically out of control.
Warrior of the Minamoto clan. (Wikimedia Commons)
Architectural preferences
What is special about the architecture of medieval Japan? In the 12th century, Buddhist temples began to be built among picturesque nature. Nature was considered a deity, so architectural structures had to fit harmoniously into the surrounding landscape. Estates and palaces were built in the form of a rectangle, with its southern side facing the square, framed on both sides by galleries with outbuildings. On the southern part of the building they always tried to arrange a landscape garden consisting of lakes, rocks, bridges and islands. Gardens should evoke thoughts of solitude, set the mood for silence and a calm mood. Instead of the rapid flow of a waterfall, they preferred to build ponds with stagnant water, and delicate lotus flowers should sway on the surface. The charm of a secluded garden was created in Heian parks, when at every turn of the path a change in the landscape awaited. Instead of air bridges, smooth stones appeared that created mosaic paintings. Gardens that decorate all four seasons are popular with the nobility.
The most popular places at that time were palaces, castles and houses for tea ceremonies. There is a tendency towards simple architectural lines. Wooden structures were not always covered with paint. Knots on the surface of the wood were used as decorative elements. The buildings were erected in the form of a rectangular pavilion surrounded by a gallery, and the roof should have a curved shape. Multi-tiered pagodas are being built, although they are small in size. If the building is painted, do not use more than one or two colors. In Japan, the very first sacred temples were considered to be storerooms where rice supplies were stored. The pantries were raised on high pillars to prevent moisture from spoiling the rice. The first temples were built like grain storehouses. The climate in Japan is quite humid, but wooden temples have survived to this day. They owe this longevity to the Japanese custom of dismantling sacred temples every 20 years and building new ones in that place from a different material.
Secular construction
Since the 16th century, feudal castles were built, capable of holding back the attacks of enemy armies behind their reliable walls. These multi-tiered structures were erected from wood, and stone foundations were laid at the base. Additionally, bastions and low walls were built around, and moats surrounded the perimeter of the castle. The most impressive castle of the time is Himeji Castle near Kobe, consisting of 80 different types of buildings.
The Edo era brought a calm after the destructive internecine wars. Instead of castles, the construction of palaces is taking place. They are one-story buildings, although the very first ones still have a fortification system, but later they are built like a garden and park ensemble. Traditionally, palace walls do not have structural functions, so they are replaced by openings or removable partitions. The builders tried to achieve maximum naturalness and unity with nature.
Sculpture
The sculptural direction is also largely connected with Buddhism - most of the statues depicted various Buddhas, deities, and bodhisattvas. During the Asuka period, their number was already quite impressive.
For example, a very famous work of that time, created by the master Atanaguchi, called “A Thousand Buddhas”. It is curious that gradually the appearance of the deities changed, for example, creatures with a thousand arms and heads appeared.
Sanjusangendo Temple in Kyoto
During the time of Nara, local sculptors improved their art even more - the proportions became more correct and the lines smoother. Moreover, all the images were very canonical, the sculptures were made from a variety of materials: wood, stone, clay, varnish, metal.
If by the beginning of the Heian period works were created from a single piece of wood, then later the kiyose technique appeared, in which individual blocks were made, which were then carefully attached to each other.
With the advent of the Kamakura era, such a colossal number of temple statues were no longer required, so sculpture went “into the light”: portrait sculptures depicting secular people began to be made. Amazing craftsmen worked in the famous Zethe workshop. These include Unkei with his father Kokei and student Kaikei.
Gradually the sculpture began to take on an even more secular character. During Muromachi, they began to make sculptural images of animals, nature, and theatrical masks.
An outstanding figure in Edo is the sculptor Enku. He adhered to the Zen philosophy, but at the same time breathed new life into the sculpture: the deities no longer looked strictly canonical, and his wooden figurines were dynamic and simple.
Sculpture of Enku (1632 - 1695) Buddha. Tokyo
Painting
Since the 7th century, the painting of medieval Japan has remained very simple. The level of craftsmanship can be judged by the paintings decorating the Tamamushi Ark from Horyuji Temple. The author painted the ark with yellow, red and green paint on a black base. As Buddhism spread, more and more places of worship appeared, so there was a demand for highly skilled artists. Now the masters collectively worked on one drawing according to their specialization. One artist just sketched, the second did the coloring, and the third traced the outline of the finished painting. On emakimono panels in the 8th century, the designs are symbolic in nature; there is no dynamics here. Landscape and genre painting begins to develop. A striking example is the painted screen “Woman with Bird Feathers”, where the lines become smoother and lighter, creating an expressive image. Since the 9th century, Buddhist painting has been developing, which is characterized by depicting a mandala. To draw a mandala, more expensive materials were used, such as silver and gold.
At the end of the 16th century, a number of painting schools appeared: Tosa, Soga, Kano, Kaiho, Unkoku. During this period, many unique paintings were created, belonging not only to famous masters, but also to unknown artists.
History of architecture
Chapter "The Art of Japan". General history of art. Volume II. Art of the Middle Ages. Book II. Asia, Africa, America, Oceania. Author: V.E. Brodsky; under the general editorship of B.V. Weimarn and Yu.D. Kolpinsky (Moscow, State Publishing House "Art", 1961)
Medieval art in Japan developed over more than a thousand years, starting in the 6th century. There is still no consensus among historians about whether the peoples of Japan have passed the slave-owning stage of social development. However, no matter how this important question of history is resolved, it remains undoubted that in the pre-feudal period Japan did not possess such highly developed architecture and art as were created during the slave era, for example in China. Like many other peoples who came to feudalism, bypassing or almost bypassing the slaveholding stage of development, the Japanese in the initial period of the Middle Ages did not have art that had developed professional skills, and in their artistic creativity they relied mainly on traditions of a folklore nature that had developed in the conditions of their birth. tribal organization of society.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the early feudal Japanese state, when constructing the first large religious and secular buildings, had to turn to the experience of neighboring countries - China and Korea, with which Japan during this period was brought together not only by the unity of the accepted in the 6th century. a new religion - Buddhism, but also a community of emerging forms of feudalism. As in China, due to the peculiarities of the correlation of productive forces and production relations, land in Japan during the period of early feudalism was declared the property of the state, and only several centuries later another form of land ownership was established - the property of individual feudal lords.
The world's oldest monuments of wooden architecture from the 7th and 8th centuries, preserved in Japan, were created with the direct participation of foreign craftsmen. At the same time, they completely organically entered the history of Japanese national art, becoming an important link that firmly connected the folk art of the pre-feudal era with the further flowering of architecture and art during the period of developed feudalism. Elements of Chinese culture, falling onto Japanese soil, were invariably included in the internal process of development of the country's cultural life, accelerated and complicated it, merged with it, transformed and became a national phenomenon.
Already in the 9th-12th centuries. In all areas of artistic creativity, a high-level, original style of Japanese medieval art developed. The architecture, painting, sculpture and applied arts of this and subsequent periods are the uniquely original, valuable contribution of the Japanese people to the treasury of world art.
Of no small importance in the history of medieval Japan was the geographical isolation of the country, located on the islands. It did not interfere with Japan's constant and very effective economic and cultural ties with other countries and especially with China and Korea, but it helped Japan protect itself from military invasions. Even the warlike Mongols failed, despite attempting to invade the Japanese archipelago twice.
The intensive development of Japanese medieval culture in the 17th century led to the emergence of new, humanistic trends in art associated with the increased social activity of the urban population.
True, the peculiarities of Japanese absolutism - in particular, the policy of isolating Japan and “stabilizing” social relations, carried out by the Tokugawa government in the 17th - first half of the 19th century - delayed the decomposition of feudalism and its replacement by a new formation. But the culture and art of Japan during this period of its history began to decisively go beyond the framework of the medieval artistic system. This especially affected the development of Japanese engraving and applied arts. New qualities of Japanese art of the 17th - early 19th centuries. oblige us to consider this period in the next volume, outside the boundaries of medieval art itself.
