Japan is made up of a group of islands located off the coast of Korea, in the North Pacific Ocean . Its written history is not very old, since the first thing that is recorded is the so-called Kojiki, or "Record of ancient matters" , which was written in the year 712 AD
The Kojiki
The Kojiki is a compilation of myths and legends transmitted by the followers of the ancient Japanese religion of Shinto .
Legends trace the origin of the Japanese islands to divine beings, especially the sun goddess Amaterasu. According to the Kojiki, a descendant of Amaterasu named Jimmu founded the Japanese Empire in 660 BC. The Japanese believed that Jimmu and all the emperors who came after him were divine beings. In later centuries, when an emperor appeared outside the palace walls, people bowed and did not dare look at his face. If the divine emperor passed by on the street, people closed their doors and windows.
The first Japanese lived by hunting and fishing. In the year 200 B.C. many had become farmers, living in villages and growing rice and other plants . In later years taxes were paid in rice, measured in koku (the amount of rice consumed per adult per year).
The different regions were controlled by clans that constantly warred with each other. One of the most important was the Yamato clan, made up of descendants of Emperor Jimmu. They lived in an area close to present-day Nara. The Yamato family became so powerful that they took over the other regions of the country and from the year 400 AD. Japanese emperors ruled from the Nara area. Around this time, the Japanese began to build burial mounds to cover the graves and in modern times more than 10,000 have been found. The slopes of the burial mounds were covered with rows of models of warriors, priests, dancers, houses and other objects, all made of clay. The figurines acted as guardians and servants of the dead.
The Chinese influence
In the year 57 AD. Japanese messengers traveled to China, and over the next few centuries, Japan adopted many ideas from the mighty Chinese Empire . The Japanese took the Chinese writing system, which uses symbols, and adopted it into their own language. They also learned many Chinese arts and crafts, such as bronze casting, making fine china, and silk weaving. In the year 552 Buddhism came to Japan from China and Korea. Because Buddhists believe in the obligation of kindness to all living things, they were able to coexist with followers of ancient Shinto beliefs and also showed great respect for nature.
In the year 593, the first Japanese empress, Suiko, gave power to her nephew, Prince Shotoku, who further promoted the spread of Chinese ideas . Buddhists began to decorate their temples with flowers, and these simple and beautiful decorations gave rise to a uniquely Japanese art form. The art of flower arranging, called ikebana (living flowers), is still a part of Japanese life today. The Chinese also introduced paper to Japan, and the Japanese developed systems to fold it artistically and in the shape of objects and animals . They called this art origami, which means “paper folding” . At the important Shinto shrine in Ise, the gods are represented by figures made from a special type of paper.
The capitals of ancient Japan
Heijo
Heijo (present-day Nara) was made the capital of Japan in 710 and the city thus became the center of government. It was also the center of Japanese Buddhism and the Horyuji temple had been built there a century earlier. . This famous temple is possibly the oldest wooden structure in the world still in use. Another important Buddhist temple was dedicated there in 752, the current Todai-ji temple. , which contains a 16-meter-high bronze statue of the Great Buddha.
Heian
In 794, many members of the imperial court thought that Buddhist monks had too much influence in state affairs, so the emperor moved the capital 40 kilometers north to Heian (modern Kyoto) .
Like Heijo before it, the city of Heian was arranged orthogonally, as both cities were modeled after the then capital of China, Changan. The city of Heian soon grew to a population of 100,000 people, of which about 10,000 were aristocrats or officials.
The courtiers who surrounded the emperor became known as the "dwellers in the clouds" . They lived surrounded by luxury, occupying their days with
strolling through beautifully landscaped gardens, writing letters and poems, and attending court ceremonies. In them the nobles wore a toga over wide pants, with a trailing piece of cloth, and a hat. Heian court ladies wore a silk kimono, with 12 layers of different colored fabric trailing. A formal dance, called bugaku, took place at court. , for the emperor and his courtiers. All the dancers were men. They wore ceremonial costumes and often masks. They danced to a special music called gagaku , which was played with flutes, oboes, zithers, drums and gongs. Those who spent their entire lives at the Heian court regarded other people as barbarians.
During this period, the emperors gave a lot of land to the noble families, so some of the clans became very powerful . The Fujiwara clan took effective control of the country, although they continued to respect the importance of the divine emperor. Emperors married daughters of the Fujiwara family, giving the Fujiwara family even more influence.
New Japanese traditions
Around this time, contacts with China were interrupted and Japanese traditions flourished. New artistic forms appeared:the nobles invented a beautiful form of writing, called calligraphy, using brushes and ink on delicate paper . The Japanese also contributed to the history of literature. Around the year 1000 AD, a court lady named Shikibu wrote a long story called The Tale of Genji, considered by many scholars to be the world's first novel. The protagonist of the story, Genji (the Shining Prince), is a handsome nobleman whose adventures at court are narrated.
The Age of the Samurai
The Fujiwara and other great families created huge private estates. The lords who controlled the states were called daimyo; many of them were rich and powerful enough to support and pay for their own armies. They hired warriors to protect their land and the peasants who farmed it for them. The warriors were known as samurais ("those who serve") and followed a strict code of honor called bushido .
In the mid-12th century, two of Japan's most powerful families, the Taira and the Minamoto, began fighting for control of the Fujiwara imperial court in Heian. The Taira clan came to power in 1160, but their supremacy lasted only 25 years. After which they were defeated in a naval battle by the Minamoto clan, which became the most powerful family in Japan. Yoritomo, the head of the Minamoto, proclaimed himself protector of the emperor and ruled in his name. In 1192, the emperor gave Yoritomo the title of shugun, or "great general" . Yorimoto created a form of military government that would rule in the name of the emperor for the next 700 years.
The Samurai
The warrior class of samurai lived by a strict code of honor known as bushido, or "way of the warrior" , and showed unquestionable loyalty and obedience to their lord. The samurai valued honor more than health, happiness and even life itself .
At the start of a battle, samurai proudly shouted their names and those of their ancestors, daring their opponents to come and fight with them. Being defeated in battle was considered the greatest dishonor and, rather than suffer such a disgrace, a samurai sometimes preferred to commit suicide following a ritual called seppuku . The method of dying was harakiri , or “belly cut” :the warrior would open his abdomen with a knife and then another warrior could cut off his head to alleviate his suffering.
The bow and arrows were the main weapon of the first samurai, who generally fought on horseback . Later they would carry two large, curved swords. They wore armor made up of heavy strips of leather and metal plates held together by silken threads.
The samurai received rigorous military training and their methods of combat were passed down from generation to generation . Martial arts like kendo started out as samurai fighting techniques. In kendo, fighters score points by saying and hitting a specific area of their opponent with a bamboo sword held in both hands. Rules and special clothing prevent injuries and all defensive actions are carried out in a formal and traditional way.