Classical Japan

Asuka period
Main article: Asuka period
Mural painting on the wall of the
Takamatsuzuka Tomb, Asuka,
Nara, 8th century
During the Asuka period (538 to
710), the proto-Japanese Yamato
polity gradually became a
clearly centralized state, defining
and applying a code of governing laws, such as the Taika Reforms and Taih Code.[12]
After the latter part of the fourth century, the three kingdoms of Korea refused
cooperation and were often in conflict with one another. During the reign of Emperor
Kotoku, envoys often visited from Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla.
Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 538 by the King Seong of Baekje, to whom Japan
continued to provide military support.[13][14][15] Buddhism was promoted largely by
the ruling class for their own purposes. Accordingly, in the early stages, Buddhism was
not a popular religion with the common people of Japan.[16] The practice of Buddhism,
however, led to the discontinuance of burying the deceased in large kofuns.
Prince Shtoku came to power in Japan as Regent to Empress Suiko in 594. Empress
Suiko had come to the throne as the niece of the previous Emperor, Sujun (588593),
who had been assassinated in 593. Empress Suiko had also been married to a prior
Emperor, Bidatsu (572585), but she was the first female ruler of Japan since the
legendary matriarchal times.[17]
As Regent to Empress Suiko, Prince Shotoku devoted his efforts to the spread of
Buddhism and Chinese culture in Japan.[17] He also brought relative peace to Japan
through the proclamation of the Seventeen-article constitution, a Confucian style
document that focused on the kinds of morals and virtues that were to be expected of
government officials and the emperor's subjects. Buddhism would become a permanent
part of Japanese culture.
A letter brought to the Emperor of China by an emissary from Japan in 607 stated that the
"Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises (Japan) sends a letter to the Emperor of the
land where Sun sets (China)",[18] thereby implying an equal footing with China which
angered the Chinese emperor.[19]

Nara period
Main article: Nara period

The Great Buddha at Nara, 752

AD.
The Nara period of the 8th
century marked the emergence
of a strong Japanese state and is
often portrayed as a golden age.
In 710, the capital city of Japan
was moved from Asuka to Nara.[20] Hall (1966) concludes that "Japan had been
transformed from a loose federation of uji in the fifth century to an empire on the order of
Imperial China in the eighth century. A new theory of state and a new structure of
government supported the Japanese sovereign in the style and with the powers of an
absolute monarch."[21] Traditional, political, and economic practices were now
organized through a rationally structured government apparatus that legally defined
functions and precedents. Lands were surveyed and registered with the state. A powerful
new aristocracy emerged. This aristocracy controlled the state and was supported by taxes
that were efficiently collected. The government built great public works, including
government offices, temples, roads, and irrigation systems. A new system of land tenure
and taxation, which was designed to widely spread land ownership throughout the rural
population, was introduced. Such allotments tended to be about one acre. However, they
could be as small as one-tenth of an acre. However, lots for slaves were about two-thirds
the size of the allotments to free men. Allotments were reviewed every five years when
the census was conducted.[22]
There was a cultural flowering during this period.[20] Soon, dramatic new cultural
manifestations characterized the Nara period, which lasted four centuries.[23]
Following an imperial rescript by Empress Gemmei, the capital was moved to Heij-ky,
present-day Nara, in 710. The city was modeled on Chang'an (now Xi'an), the capital of
the Chinese Tang Dynasty.
During the Nara Period, political development was marked by a struggle between the
imperial family and the Buddhist clergy,[22] as well as between the imperial family and
the regentsthe Fujiwara clan. Japan did enjoy peaceful relations with their traditional
foesthe Balhae peoplewho occupied the south of Manchuria. Japan also established
formal relationships with the Tang dynasty of China.[24]
In 784, the capital was again moved to Nagaoka-ky to escape the Buddhist priests; in
794, it was moved to Heian-ky, present-day Kyto. The capital was to remain in Kyto
until 1868.[25] In the religious town of Kyto, Buddhism and Shint began to form a
syncretic system.[26]
Historical writing in Japan culminated in the early 8th century with the massive
chronicles, the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters, 712) and the Nihon Shoki
(Chronicles of Japan, 720). These chronicles give a legendary account of Japan's

beginnings, today known as the Japanese mythology. According to the myths contained
in these chronicles, Japan was founded in 660 BC by its legendary first Emperor Jimmu,
a direct descendant of the Shint sun goddess, Amaterasu. The myths recorded that
Jimmu started a line of emperors that remains to this day. Historians assume that the
myths partly describe historical facts, but the first emperor who actually existed was
Emperor jin, though the date of his reign is uncertain. Since the Nara period, actual
political power has not been in the hands of the emperor but has, instead, been exercised
at different times by the court nobility, warlords, the military, and, more recently, the
Prime Minister of Japan. The Man'ysh, a collection of 4500 poems, was also compiled
at the end of this period in 759.

Heian period
Main article: Heian period
Miniature model of Heian-ky
The Heian period, lasting from
794 to 1185, is the final period
of classical Japanese history. It is
considered the peak of the
Japanese imperial court and
noted for its art, especially its
poetry and literature. In the early 11th century, Lady Shikibu Murasaki wrote what is
called Japan's (and sometimes the world's) oldest surviving novel, The Tale of Genji.[27]
Kokin Wakash,[28] one of the oldest existing collections of Japanese poetry, was
compiled during this period.
Strong differences from mainland Asian cultures emerged (such as an indigenous writing
system, the kana). Due to the decline of the Tang Dynasty,[29] Chinese influence in Japan
(at the time) had reached its peak, and then effectively ended, with the last imperially
sanctioned mission to Tang China in 838, although trade expeditions and Buddhist
pilgrimages to China continued.[30]
A handscroll painting dated circa
1130, illustrating a scene from
the "Bamboo River" chapter of
the Tale of Genji
Political power in the imperial
court was in the hands of
powerful aristocratic families
(kuge), especially the Fujiwara clan, who ruled under the titles Sessh and Kampaku
(imperial regents). The Fujiwara clan obtained almost complete control over the imperial
family. However, the Fujiwara Regents who advised the Imperial Court were content to

derive their authority from imperial line. This meant that the Fujiwara authority could
always be challenged by a vigorous emperor. Fujiwara domination of the Court during
the time from 858 until about 1160 led to this period being called "the Fujiwara
Period."[31] The Fujiwara clan gained this ascendancy because of their matrimonial links
with the imperial family.[32] Indeed, because of the number of emperors that were born
to Fujiwara mothers, the Fujiwara Regents became so closely identified with the imperial
family, that people saw no difference between the "direct rule" by the imperial family and
the rule of the Fujiwara Regents.[33] Accordingly, when dissatisfaction with the
government arose resulting in the Hgen Rebellion (11561158), the Heiji Rebellion
(1160) and the Gempei War (11801185), the target of the dissatisfaction was the
Fujiwara Regents, as well as the Imperial family. The Gempei War ended in 1185 with the
naval battle of Dan-no-ura in which the Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan. In 1192,
the Court appointed Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan to a number of high positions in
government. These positions were consolidated and Yoritomo became the first person to
be designated the Seii-tai-shgun or "Shgun."[34] Yoritomo then defeated the Fujiwara
clan in a military campaign in the north of Japan. This spelled the end of the Fujiwara
Period and the end of Fujiwara influence over the government.
Byd-in (1053) is a temple of
Pure Land Buddhism. It was
registered to the UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
The end of the period saw the
rise of various military clans.
The four most powerful clans
were the Minamoto clan, the Taira clan, the Fujiwara clan, and the Tachibana clan.
Towards the end of the 12th century, conflicts between these clans turned into civil war,
such as the Hgen (11561158). The Hgen Rebellion was of cardinal importance to
Japan, since it was the turning point that led to the first stages of the development of
feudalism in Japan.[35] The Heiji Rebellion of 1160 also occurred during this period[36]
and the uprising was followed by the Genpei War, from which emerged a society led by
samurai clans under the political rule of the shgunthe beginnings of feudalism in
Japan.
Buddhism began to spread during the Heian Period. However, Buddhism was split
between two sectsthe Tendai sect which had been brought to Japan from China by
Saich (767822) and the Shingon sect which had been introduced from China by Kkai
(774835). Whereas the Tendai sect tended to be a monastic form of Buddhism which
established isolated monasteries or temples on the tops of mountains,[37] the Shingon
variation of Buddhism was a less philosophical and more practical and more popular
version of the religion.[38] Pure Land Buddhism (Jdo-sh, Jdo Shinsh) was a form of
Buddhism which was much simpler than either the Tendai or Shingon versions of
Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism became very popular in Japan during a time of
degeneration and trouble in the latter half of the 11th century.[39]