Asuka period
The is the period in
Japanese history occurring from AD
538"
710. The
arrival of Buddhism marked a change in
Japanese society and it affected the
Yamato government as well.
The Yamato state evolved much during the Asuka period, which is named after the
Asuka region, south of modern
Nara, the site of numerous temporary imperial capitals established during the period. The Asuka period is known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, which had their origins in the late
Kofun period.
Artistically, the term
Tori Style is often used for the Asuka period. This is from the sculptor
Kuratsukuri Tori, grandson of Chinese immigrant Shiba Tatto. Tori Style inherits
Chinese Northern Wei style.
introduction to Japan is attributed to the
Baekje king
Seong in A.D.
538, exposing Japan to a new body of religious doctrine. The
Soga clan, a Japanese court family that rose to prominence with the accession of the
Emperor Kimmei about A.D.
531, favored the adoption of Buddhism and of governmental and cultural models based on
Chinese Confucianism. But some at the Yamato court"such as the
Nakatomi family, which was responsible for performing
Shinto rituals at court, and the
Mononobe, a military clan"were set on maintaining their prerogatives and resisted the alien religious influence of Buddhism. The Soga introduced Chinese-modeled fiscal policies, established the first national treasury, and considered the
Korean Peninsula a trade route rather than an object of territorial expansion. Acrimony continued between the Soga and the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans for more than a century, during which the Soga temporarily emerged ascendant.
Korean missionaries, such as Hyeja, Hyegwan, Hyech'ong, and Kwaulluk, actively developed the Buddhist tradition in Japan for 150 years after its introduction. [
1]. [
2]. Baekje monks trained and proseletyized Japanese converts and provided the distinctive Baekje version of the Norther Wei style Buddhist art. Monks from the
Three Kingdoms of Korea were welcome guests in Japan, and some were called to tutor the crown princes of royal families.
Japanese converts also began to travel to Baekje and China for further Buddhist studies.
With the dawn of the Asuka period the use of elaborate
kofun tombs by the
imperial family and other elite fell out of use because of prevailing new Buddhist beliefs, which put greater emphasis on the transience of human life. Commoners and the elite in outlying regions, however, continued to use kofun until the late seventh century, and simpler but distinctive tombs continued in use throughout the following period.
In
Taika Reform, Funeral Simplification Edict was proclaimed, and building of large kofun was banned. The edict also regulated size and shape of kofun by classes. Instead of size restriction, kofun of later age is illustrated by paintings such as fresco. Paintings and decorations of those kofuns indicates that Taoism and Buddhism were widely believed.
Takamatsuzuka Kofun and
Kitora Kofun are the most famous for its wall painting.
From
600 to
659, Japan sent seven emissaries to
Tang Dynasty China. But for the next 32 years, Japan sent none, during a time period when Japan was formulating its laws based on Chinese texts. During this time period when Japan cut off diplomatic relations with China, Japan sent 11 emissaries to
Silla of Korea, while Silla's embassies visiting Japan are also recorded 17 times in Nihonshoki during era of Emperors
Temmu and
Jitō. The ruling classes of Yamato and Baekje were on amicable terms, and Yamato deployed its navy to aid Baekje in
660-
663, against an invasion by
Silla and the
Tang of China.
Another example of the close cultural contact between Korea and Japan was the recent discovery of a tomb in Nara Prefecture made from Baekje-style bricks with earthenware dated to the time when Silla united the Korean Peninsula. Kunihiko Kawakami, a professor of archeology at Kobe Yamate University, said, "It's highly likely the tomb is that of the Baekje king Changseong, who fled to Japan with his father Seongwang in
631 and died in
674." Father and son were unable to return because of Baekje's fall in 660."
There is also the The
Takamatsuzuka Tomb in
Asuka,
Nara Prefecture which depicts courtiers in Korean-style garb.
Influence of Taoism
Taoism was also introduced during Asuka period. In mid 7th century,
Empress Saimei built a Taoism temple in Mount Tō No Mine. Stone carved turtle(亀石), the animal which symbolizing Taoism belief is also discovered in Asuka and assumed to be placed at Saimei's era. Octagonal shape of monarchs' tombs of this age and celestial map drawn in Kitora and Takamatsuzuka also reflects the Taoism cosmology. Tenno, the new title of Japanese monarch is derived from supreme God of Taoism,
Tenko-Taitei(天皇大帝), the God of
Polaris.
Taoism belief was eventually amalgamated with Shinto and Buddhism to establish new styles of rituals in later age.
Onmyōdō is one of the fruits of those religious mixtures. While Asuka period started with conflict of religious belief between clans, in later this period, imported religions and indigenous religion tend to cohabit and mixed up.
Since 7th century, the Yamato government sent envoys directly to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure. In addition to ethics of government, they also adopted the
Chinese calendar and many of its religious practices, including
Confucianism and
Taoism.
Prince Shotoku prescribed a new constitution for Japan based on the Chinese model.
Japan of the
Kofun Period had been very positive towards the introduction of Korean culture and immigration of population. However, the Asuka period shows a marked change in the attitude: Japan started to be a national state with its own population and culture. It focused on melting earlier waves into one people.
Immigrant clans
Many important figures in the Yamato court were immigrants from the mainland. These immigrants received noble titles from the rulers of the Yamato, and were valued as experts, especially on iron-working, horseriding and writing.
According to the record of
Shinsen-shōjiroku (新'"氏録), an aristocratic list of names that Yamato Imperial Court officially compiled in
815, one-third of the noble families on the list had their origins in China or Korea: 163 of the 1182 listed were from China, more than 240 from different parts of Korea (104 form Baekje, 41 from Goguryeo, 9 from Silla).
An example of a typical descendant clan is the Yamatonoaya clan (東漢氏), which is descended from
Emperor Ling of Han. This clan's leader was Achi-no-Omi (阿智使主). He introduced Chinese culture to Japan. According to the
Nihongi, during Emperor Kimmei's reign the Hata clan (秦氏), descendants of
Qin Shi Huang, introduced sericulture. The Kawachino-Fumi clan (西文氏), descendants of
Gaozu of Han, introduced Chinese writing to the Yamato court. (Source By
Shinsen-shōjiroku) .
In
Emperor Kimmei's reign, according to the Nihongi, a Korean was in charge of taxes levied on shipments. The introduction of Chinese writing to Yamato was one of Baekje's most important gifts to the court.
Korean influence on Japanese laws is also attributed to the fact that Korean immigrants were on committees that drew up law codes. There were Chinese immigrants who were also an integral part in crafting Japan's first laws. Eight of the 19 members of the committee drafting the Taiho Code were from Korean immigrant families while none were from China proper. Furthermore, idea of local administrative districts and the tribute tax are based on Korean models.
However, these immigrants are generally treated as lower class in
Kabane systems which classifies the various clan members of the court. They are generally ranked in "Atai", "Miyatsuko", or "Fubito", while members of ruling clans such as Soga, Mononobe, and Nakatomi are ranked in "Omi" or "Muraji".
Torai-Jin (渡来人)
Chinese immigrants who became naturalized in ancient Japan were called "
Torai-Jin (
:ja:渡来人)." They introduced many aspects of Chinese culture and traditions to their adoptive country.
Japan gave preferential treatment to Torai-Jin because the Yamato Court valued Chinese knowledge and culture.
Many important figures were also immigrants from China. Chinese immigrants also had considerable influence ording to the "Shinsen-Joujouroku (新'"氏録)",
which was used as a directory of aristocrats. Yamato Imperial Court had officially edited the directory in 815, and 163 Chinese clans were registered.
In
660, Baekje fell. Subsequently, a large number of refugees from Baekje migrated to Japan. Yamato Imperial Court accepted the royal family and the refugees of Baekje. The royal family of Baekje received the name (Kudara-no-Konishiki (百済王) from the emperor. The clan of Kudara-no-Konishiki was naturalized in Japan, and also commanded the Baekje refugee. Their clan's women Takano no Niigasa became the second wife of Emperor Konin and gave birth to Emperor Kammu in
737.
Buddhism and the Confucianism had a huge influence on Japanese philosophy. Many technologies of the Chinese character, construction, and steel manufacture, etc. were introduced to Japan.
Chinese influence on Japanese laws is also attributed to the fact that Chinese scholars (続守言 ＆ 薩弘恪) were also on committees that drew up legal codes.
A pottery style called
Sueki (
:ja:須恵器) was taught from the Torai-jin. This pottery was used until the Heian era.
The Yamato
polity, which had emerged by the late 5th century, was distinguished by powerful great clans or extended families, including their dependants. Each clan was headed by a
patriarch who performed sacred rites to the clan's
kami to ensure the long-term welfare of the clan. Clan members were the aristocracy, and the kingly line that controlled the Yamato court was at its pinnacle. The local chieftainship of Yamato arose to become the Imperial dynasty from the beginnings of Asuka period, at latest.
The actual start of Yamato rule is disputed. Its paramountcy in Japan presumably starts only in the end of
Kofun period or with the advent of Asuka period.
The Asuka period of the is the first period of
Japanese history when the Japanese imperial court ruled relatively uncontested from modern-day
Nara Prefecture, then known as
Yamato Province.
The evolved still further during the Asuka period, which is named after the
Asuka region, south of modern
Nara, the site of numerous temporary imperial capitals established during the period. The Asuka period is known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, which had their origins in the late Kofun period.
The
Yamato court, concentrated in the Asuka region, exercised power over clans in
Kyushu and
Honshu, bestowing titles, some hereditary, on clan chieftains. The Yamato name became synonymous with all of Japan as the Yamato rulers suppressed the clans and acquired agricultural lands. Based on
Chinese models (including the adoption of the
Chinese written language), they developed a central administration and an imperial court attended by subordinate clan chieftains but with no permanent capital. By the mid-seventh century, the agricultural lands had grown to a substantial public domain, subject to central policy. The basic administrative unit of the
Gokishichido system was the county, and society was organized into occupation groups. Most people were farmers; other were fishers, weavers, potters, artisans, armorers, and ritual specialists.
The Yamato court had ties to the
Korean Gaya confederacy, called Mimana in Japanese. There is archaeological evidence from the Kofun tombs, which show similarities in form, art, and clothing of the depicted nobles. A second source is the
Nihonshoki. Japanese
kokugaku historians claimed Gaya to be a colony of the Yamato state, a theory that is now widely rejected. More likely all these states were tributaries to the
Chinese Sui and
Tang dynasties to some extent.
The had intermarried with the
imperial family, and by A.D.
587 Soga no Umako, the Soga chieftain, was powerful enough to install his nephew as
emperor and later to assassinate him and replace him with the
Empress Suiko (r. A.D.
593-
628). Suiko, the first of eight sovereign empresses, was merely a figurehead for Umako and Prince Regent (A.D.
574-
622). Shotoku, recognized as a great intellectual of this period of reform, was a devout
Buddhist, well read in
Chinese literature. He was influenced by Confucian principles, including the
Mandate of Heaven, which suggested that the sovereign ruled at the will of a supreme force. Under Shotoku's direction, Confucian models of rank and etiquette were adopted, and his prescribed ways to bring
harmony to a society chaotic in Confucian terms. In addition, Shotoku adopted the
Chinese calendar, developed a system of trade roads (the aforementioned
Gokishichido), built numerous
Buddhist temples, had court chronicles compiled, sent students to
China to study Buddhism and Confucianism, and established formal diplomatic (read: tribute) relations with China. (
Imperial embassies to China)
Numerous official missions of envoys, priests, and students were sent to China in the seventh century. Some remained twenty years or more; many of those who returned became prominent reformers. Sending such scholars for learning Chinese political systems was a significal differences with envoys in Kofun period (
Five kings of Wa), which kings sent envoys for titles approving their domains.Another difference with Five kings of 5th century was the title Yamato state of Asuka period claimed to China. In a move greatly resented by the Chinese, Shotoku sought equality with the Chinese emperor by sending official correspondence addressed "From the Son of Heaven in the Land of the Rising Sun to the Son of Heaven of the Land of the Setting Sun." Some would argue that Shotoku's bold step set a precedent: Japan never again accepted a subordinate status in its relations with China. However, the historical record contains other relevant facts which dispute the claim (see
Sinocentrism). As a result, Japan at this period was a state which received no title from Chinese dynasties while they did send tributes (有貢無封). It means from Chinese point of view that the class of Japan was demoted from previous centuries in which the kings received titles. On the other hand, Japan loosened political relationships with China and consequently established extraordinary relationships similar to teacher-to-pupil.[
3]
About twenty years after the deaths of Shotoku Taishi (in A.D. 622), Soga no Umako (in A.D.
626), and Empress Suiko (in A.D. 628), court intrigues over succession and the threat of a Chinese invasion led to a palace coup against the
Soga oppression in A.D.
645. The revolt was led by and (Fujiwara no Kamatari), who seized control of the court from the Soga family and introduced the .
Although it did not constitute a legal code, the Taika Reform (Taika means great change) mandated a series of reforms that established the system of social, fiscal, and administrative mechanisms of the seventh to tenth centuries. Ritsu (律) was a code of penal laws, while ryō (令) was an administrative code. Combined, the two terms came to describe a system of patrimonial rule based on an elaborate legal code that emerged from the Taika Reform.
The Taika Reform, influenced by
Chinese practices, started with land redistribution, aimed at ending the existing landholding system of the great clans and their control over domains and occupational groups. What were once called "private lands and private people" became , as the court now sought to assert its control over all of Japan and to make the people direct subjects of the throne. Land was no longer hereditary but reverted to the state at the death of the owner. Taxes were levied on harvests and on silk, cotton, cloth, thread, and other products. A corvée (labor) tax was established for military conscription and building public works. The hereditary titles of clan chieftains were abolished, and three ministries were established to advise the throne:
* the
* the
* the The country was divided into provinces headed by governors appointed by the court, and the provinces were further divided into districts and villages.
Naka no Ooe assumed the
Crown Prince, and Kamatari was granted a new family name""in recognition of his great service to the imperial family. became the first in a long line of court aristocrats. Another, long- lasting change was the use of the name , or sometimes Dai Nippon (Great Japan) in diplomatic documents and chronicles. Following the reigns of Naka no Ooe's uncle and mother, Naka no Ooe assumed the throne as in
662, taking the additional title (heavenly sovereign). This new title was intended to improve the Yamato clan's image and to emphasize the divine origins of the imperial family in the hope of keeping it above political frays, such as those precipitated by the Soga clan. Within the imperial family, however, power struggles continued as the emperor's brother and son vied for the throne. The brother, who later reigned as
Emperor Temmu, consolidated Tenji's reforms and state power in the imperial court.
The
ritsuryo system was codified in several stages. The
Ōmi Code, named after the provincial site of Emperor Tenji's court, was completed in about A.D.
668. Further codification took place with the promulgation by
Empress Jito in
689 of the
Asuka Kiyomihara Code, named for the location of the late Emperor Temmu's court. The ritsuryo system was further consolidated and codified in
701 under the (Great Treasure Code or Taiho Code), which, except for a few modifications and being relegated to primarily ceremonial functions, remained in force until
1868. The Taiho Code provided for Confucian-model penal provisions (light rather than harsh punishments) and
Chinese-style central administration through the (Department of Rites), which was devoted to
Shinto and court rituals, and the (
Department of State), with its eight ministries (for central administration, ceremonies, civil affairs, the imperial household, justice, military affairs, people's affairs, and the treasury). Although the
Chinese-style civil service examination system was not adopted,
Daigaku-ryō(大学寮: the college) was found for training future bureaucrats based on the Confucian classics. Tradition circumvented the system, however, as aristocratic birth continued to be the main qualification for higher position, and titles were hereditary again soon later. The Taiho Code did not address the selection of the sovereign. Several empresses reigned from the fifth to the eighth centuries, but after
770 succession was restricted to males, usually from father to son, although sometimes from ruler to brother or uncle.
Japan followed Chinese and Korean prototypes very closely in Buddhist arts during this period of time.
Early Buddhist architecture in Japan was so similar to temples on the mainland that because of the lag of development from the mainland to the archipelago, surviving buildings provide scholars with examples of how Chinese and Korean architecture of the same era looked.
Korean architecture of the time was a stylistic link between classical Chinese architecture and later Japanese buildings. The construction of the original and reconstructed Horyu-ji Temple was also strongly influenced by Korea's
Baekje architecture.
Also, Hoko-ji (Asuka-dera) Temple closely resembles a temple excavated in northern Korea in the area of the ancient Goguryeo kingdom while Shitennoji and Yamadadera Temples follow Baekje influence. The unusal lateral orientation of the main hall and
pagoda of the Horyu-ji Temple is not found in sites in China or Korea.
There are also foundations uncovered in the ancient capital of Baekje, Puyo, that exactly match the early Buddhist temples in Japan because Baekje architects helped build those temples in Japan.
Korean paintings in
Goguryeo tombs had important influences in Japan.
Decorated tombs and painted tumuli which date from the fifth century and later found in Japan are generally accepted as Korean exports to Japan. The Takamatsuzuka tomb even has paintings of woman dressed in distinctive Korean pleated skirts.
Tori Style
The First stage of Buddhist art is known as Tori Style.Japanese arts such as buildings, pictures, sculptures, industrial arts and wall paintings were influenced by Buddism. Tori Style is often used for the Asuka period. This is from the sculptor
Kuratsukuri Tori, grandson of Chinese immigrant
Shiba Tatto. Tori Style inherits
Chinese Northern Wei style.
Their characteristics include marked, almond-shaped eyes, and symmetrically arranged folds in the clothing. The maximum feature of these sculptures is an expression of the smile that is called
Archaic smile or
Baekje smile.
Asuka Daibutu, the Shaka triad produced by
Kuratsukuri Tori, is one of the best Buddha arts at that time. Horyuji example has survived and can be visited today.
Hakuho culture
The second stage of Buddhist art is known as
Hakuhō culture(
白鳳文化) and is generally known from
Taika reform until moving to Nara capital. During the latter half of the 8th century, a large number of songs and poems were sung by various ranked people from warriors to the Emperor. The earliest collection of these poems is known as
Manyoshu. It includes several remarkable poets such as
Nukatano Okimi (
額"王) and
Kakinomoto Hitomaro (
柿本人麻呂).
Waka, which literally means Japanese song is well known as a Japanese anthology, one of various styles of reading Waka known as
Tanka. It consists of a total of 31 words with 5 lines and each line has a limited number of words, from beginning to end, 5.7.5.7.7. These words must fit to each line. This restriction helps express beautiful tunes and distinctive taste of word choice done by each singer. Because of the limited word use, it is said to be almost impossible to translate Tanka or
Haiku (5.7.5.) into foreign languages even though they can be explained with longer sentences.
*538: The Korean kingdom of Baekche dispatches a delegation to introduce Buddhism to the Japanese emperor.
*593:
Prince Shotoku is assigned as regent of
Empress Suiko and promotes Buddhism with Soga clan.
*600: Yamato state sends the first official Japanese mission to China since 478.
*604: Prince Shotoku issues a Chinese-style constitution (
Seventeen-article constitution), based on Confucian principles, which de facto inaugurated the Japanese Empire.
*607:
Prince Shotoku builds the Buddhist temple Hōryūji in Ikaruga.
*645: Soga no Iruka and his father Emishi are killed in the
coup of Itsushi.
Emperor Kotoku ascends to the throne and strengthens imperial power over aristocratic clans (see
Taika Reform), turning their states into provinces.
*663: Japanese navy was defated to Silla-Tang allies in
Hakusukinoe, failing to restore Baekje.
*670: First
Family registry (Kōgo-Nenjaku) was compiled.
*672: Prince Ōama, later
Emperor Temmu usurped the throne by winning the civil war (
Jinshin incident) against
Emperor Kobun.
*689:
Asuka Kiyomihara Code was proclaimed.
*701:
Taihō code was proclaimed.
* -
Japan
