Kokufu culture during the Heian period [Kitayama culture] [Higashiyama culture] during the Muromachi period I often hear that, but my image is that I don't remember much about the culture of the Kamakura period.
Kamakura period Is politics of authority I often hear about the shogunate and the shogunate, but isn't it the current situation that cultures such as buildings and paintings are rarely mentioned? ??
So, this time, I summarized the culture of the Kamakura period.
What is Kamakura culture?
The Japanese culture of the Kamakura period is Kamakura culture, which is the period from the latter half of the 12th century when the Kamakura Shogunate began to the first half of the 14th century until the destruction of the Shogunate.
The Kamakura period was the first samurai government to move, and it was a turning point in Japanese culture.
At the same time as the samurai emerged, the rulers of the past [ aristocrats ] Power will decline. However, some officials and monks came under them to benefit from the samurai who were in control of the government.
If it was a powerful samurai, there were even those who were not at the center of the administration but were attached to the local samurai class.
With the change of government from aristocrats to samurai, Japanese culture will also change.
While inheriting the traditional tradition, we adopted a new culture and understood the sense of the common people and changed to a prosperous one.
Characteristics of Kamakura culture
The characteristic of Kamakura culture is that the samurai played a central role in incorporating a new culture, reflecting the sense of the common people.
Chinese culture was especially actively adopted.
Discrimination between ethnic groups was rampant in mainland China at that time, and many people from the continent went into exile in Japan. From those people, the Japanese were adopting a new culture.
Some of the asylum seekers are monks, and it can be said that it is a major feature that a new Buddhist sect was born in Japan from the 13th century to the 14th century.
Everyone knows [Nichiren sect] [Jodo sect] [Jodo Shin sect] Etc. are denominations that were formed around this time.
Kamakura culture has evolved by incorporating other new things.
Typical examples were architecture, literature and paintings.
Kamakura period buildings
Todaiji Temple is a typical building of the Kamakura period.
Speaking of Todaiji Temple, it was built in the Heian period, but it was burned by Taira no Shigehira and was rebuilt in the Kamakura period.
The reconstruction of Todaiji Temple was carried out by Pope Go-Shirakawa with the support of Minamoto no Yoritomo. It is said that it was a large-scale and big business.
There are two main characteristics of buildings in the Kamakura period.
One is [new style] taken from the outside. [Japanese style] from ancient Japan was.
New style
The new style is a new style that incorporates the style from the outside.
There are two types from this new style, and they are called Daibutsu-sama and Zenshu-sama, and they were used at different times.
Big Buddha
Todaiji Temple is the representative of the construction method that incorporates the Great Buddha.
For the reconstruction of Todaiji Temple, we solicited a wide range of reconstruction funds and adopted a construction method that can be carried out in a short period of time with the cooperation of Chinese workers living in Japan. The building method used at this time is called Daibutsu-sama.
It is said that the greatest characteristics of the Great Buddha are its continental majesty and unbridled power.
However, since the architecture before the Kamakura culture emphasized grace, the novel Daibutsu-sama was not easily accepted, and the number of successors decreased and declined.
Zenshu-sama
Zenshu-sama was introduced around the middle of the Kamakura period.
It can be said that it is a new style that was adopted to replace the declining Daibutsu-sama.
Zen Buddhism became known because it was used in the construction of Zen Buddhist temples.
Zen Buddhism is influenced by the Northern Song of the Chinese dynasty. In the middle of Kamakura culture, it was often used due to the introduction of Chinese temple architecture.
Since there is a method similar to that of the Great Buddha, it is sometimes collectively called the Kamakura New Style.
It can be said that the greatest feature of Zen Buddhism is that the roof has a strong warp.
Today, it is considered to be one of the traditional styles of temple architecture.
Japanese style
The Japanese style is not a new outpatient method introduced in Kamakura culture, but an ancient Japanese style that has been passed down from before that.
One of the Japanese styles, Japanese style, has a strong eaves warp on the roof of Zenshu, while it is characterized by a loose roof and a gentle eaves warp.
Kofukuji Temple in Nara Prefecture is one of the representatives built in Kamakura culture.
Characteristics of Kamakura period literature
During the Kamakura period, when the samurai government began, it had an impact on the world of literature.
Gunki monogatari became popular because the samurai played a central role, but the public houses tended to repel books in which the samurai played an active role, and from that repulsion, excellent wakashu began to appear.
As a famous military kimono [ The Tale of the Heike ], And it is a story with the impermanence of the core doctrine of Buddhism.
Wakashu is not defeated, Emperor Go-Toba Is [ Shin Kokin Wakashū ], And by making literature and art prosperous, we tried to enhance our existence.
In the latter half of Kamakura, these waka poems began to be played among the common people and monks.
A little different from the waka poems that were popular among the public houses, a renga that connects waka poems with several people was born.
In addition, there are Azuma Kagami, which describes the history of the Kamakura Shogunate, and Izayoi Nikki and Higashiseki Noriyuki in the diary and travel literature. Is also famous as a work of the Kamakura period.
Characteristics of paintings from the Kamakura period
Typical paintings from the Kamakura period are picture scrolls that have continued since the Heian period.
Picture scrolls are works that express landscapes and stories by horizontally connecting horizontally long papers. Buddhist narratives and battles were written on the subject, but the greatest feature of the Kamakura period was that portraits of people began to be written.
At that time, the portrait of a person was similar I was calling. Representative works include the following [ Emperor Go-Toba ] And the above eye-catching image seems to be a similar picture of Go-Shirakawa-in.
The famous battle picture scroll is the following [ Mongol invasion pictogram , which is said to have been drawn by Takezaki Suenaga, a samurai of Higo Province, in order to convey his success. 】is.
A new product is born in the craft field! !!
During the Kamakura period, which was also the era of samurai, new products were born in the craft field, and the production of armor became popular. Among them, the armor has a custom of dedicating to the shrine in prayer for victory. As a result, it is said that it is often stored until the present day.
In addition, many swords called famous swords were made in this era, and they are still preserved in this era.
Speaking of famous master craftsmen, Osafune school, Rai school, Aoe school, Fukuoka Ichimonji Is famous for its Osafune school [ Mitsutada ] And Kamakura's [ Masamune / Kagemitsu ] Is well known. Speaking of Osafune's Mitsutada, [ Shokudaikiri Mitsutada ] Is known to have been owned by Date Masamune.
Summary of Kamakura Culture
The culture of the Kamakura period was the national culture of the Heian period. While inheriting the samurai and peasant class values Was a big feature.
Until now, the culture that had been monopolized by public houses and monks around Kyoto was gradually released to samurai and farmers, and became established as a culture of the common people. Local samurai came and went to Kyoto and Kamakura, and the central culture spread to the regions and the culture of the common people grew.
This is the birth of new Buddhism, the fashion of military memoirs that are familiar to people who cannot read letters, and the development of picture scrolls that illustrate stories.
Also, according to the traditions of the past, the public family culture, which said that new things were evil, gradually disappeared, and the brilliant culture of the Heian period was not born. On the other hand, the samurai who came to create a culture rich in practicality brought a powerful and lively culture, and produced strong works such as samurai architecture and the statue of King Nio at Todaiji Temple.