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TheYamato period (大和時代,Yamato-jidai) is the period ofJapanese history when the imperial court ruled from modern-dayNara Prefecture, then known asYamato Province.
While conventionally assigned to the period 250–710, including both theKofun period (c. 250–538) and theAsuka period (538–710), the actual start ofYamato rule is disputed. The Yamato court's supremacy was challenged during the Kofun period by other polities centered in various parts of Japan. What is certain is thatYamato clans had major advantages over their neighbouring clans in the 6th century. This period is divided by the relocation of the capital to Asuka, in modern Nara Prefecture. However, the Kofun period is an archaeological period while the Asuka period is a historical period. Therefore, many think of this as an old division and this concept of period division is no longer applicable.
At the era ofPrince Shōtoku in the early 7th century, a new constitution was prescribed for Japan based on the Chinese model. After the fall ofBaekje (660 AD), the Yamato government sent envoys directly to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth ofConfucian philosophical and social structure. In addition to ethics and government, they also adopted theChinese calendar and many of its religious practices, includingConfucianism andTaoism (Japanese:Onmyo).
A millennium earlier, theJapanese archipelago had been inhabited by theJōmon people. In the centuries prior to the beginning of the Yamato period, elements of theNortheast Asian andChinese civilizations had been introduced to the Japanese archipelago in waves of migration. According toKojiki, the oldest record of Japan,Amenohiboko, Korean prince ofSilla, came to Japan to serve theJapanese Emperor[1] and he lived inTajima Province. His descendant is believed to beTajimamori.[clarification needed][2] Archaeological evidence indicates contacts between mainland China, Korea, and Japan since prehistory of theNeolithic period, and its continuation also at least in the Kofun period.
The rice-growing, politically fragmentedYayoi culture either evolved into the new Japanese culture characterized by the more centralized, patriarchal, militaristic Kofun period or came to be dominated and eventually overrun by Yamato society.
By this time,Japonic had also spread to theRyukyu Islands such asOkinawa. TheRyukyuan languages and Japanese most likely diverged during this period.[3]
TheKofun period (古墳時代,Kofun-jidai) is an era in the history ofJapan from around 250 to 538. The wordkofun is Japanese for the type ofburial mounds dating from this era.
During theKofun period, elements ofChinese culture continued to influence culture in theJapanese archipelago, both through waves of migration and through trade, travel, and cultural change. Archaeological evidence indicates contacts between the mainland and Japan also during this period. Most scholars believe that there were massive transmissions of technology and culture from China via Korea peninsula to Japan which is evidenced by material artifacts in tombs of both states in theProto–Three Kingdoms of Korea and Kofun period, as well as the later wave of Baekje refugees to Yamato.
Archaeological records and ancient Chinese sourcesBook of Song indicate that the various tribes and chiefdom of the Japanese Archipelago did not begin to coalesce into more centralized and hierarchical polities until 300 (well into the Kofun period), when large tombs begin to appear while there were no contacts between theWa andChina. Some describe the "mysterious century" as a time of internecine warfare as various local monarchies competed for hegemony onKyūshū andHonshū.
Japan of the Kofun age was positive in the introduction of Chinese culture. Several kinds of goods were imported. Books from China were one of the most important trade goods. Chinese philosophy that had been introduced in this era, had a big influence on the history of Japan. Decorated bronze mirrors (Shinju-kyo) were imported from China. Japan imported iron from Korean peninsula until the latter half of the 6th century.
In this period, Baekje received military support from Japan. According to theSamguk Sagi, KingAsin of Baekje sent his sonJeonji to Japan in 397[4] and KingSilseong of Silla sent his son Misaheun to Japan in 402 in order to solicit military aid.[5]
Kofun (古墳, "old tomb") are burial mounds which were built for the people of the ruling class during the 3rd to 7th centuries. The Kofun period takes its name from these distinctive earthen mounds which are associated with the richfunerary rituals of the time. The mounds contained large stone burial chambers. Some are surrounded bymoats.
Kofun came in many shapes, with round and square being the simplest. A distinct style is the keyhole kofun (前方後円墳zenpō kōen fun), with its square front and round back. Many kofuns were natural hills, which might have been sculpted to their final shape. Kofun range in size from several meters to over 400meters in length.
By the late Kofun period, the distinctive burial chambers, originally used by the ruling elite, were also built for commoners.
The biggest kofun are believed to be the tombs of emperors likeEmperor Ōjin (応神天皇Ōjin Tennō) andEmperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇Nintoku Tennō). Kofun are also classified according to whether the entrance to the stone burial chamber is vertical (縦穴tate-ana) or horizontal (横穴yoko-ana).
Japan of the Kofun period was very receptive to influence from China.[6] Chinese and Korean immigrants played an important role in introducing elements ofChinese culture to early Japan.[7]
Yamato links to the mainland and theLiu Song dynasty in 425 and 478 were facilitated by the maritime knowledge and diplomatic connections ofChina and the Three Kingdoms of theKorean peninsula, especiallyBaekje.[8]
Many important figures were immigrants fromEast Asia. Yamato Imperial Court officially edited theShinsen Shōjiroku in 815 as a directory of aristocrats which lists 1182 names of clans which were inKinai area, it lists a number of clans from Mainland Asia.[9] According to the directory, 120 clans have roots inBaekje, 48 clans inGoguryeo, 17 clans inSilla, 9 clans inGaya and the other 174 clans "Kan (漢)" (now obsolete general term for ancient Koreans)[10] of theKorean peninsula.
TheAzumi people were a warrior tribe from northernKyushu.[11] They were extremely skilled seafarers.[12] The Azumi gained early contact with the Yamato Court and provided maritime trade links and influenced the Yamato Court's military and diplomatic approach in the seas.[12] Thus the Japanese imperial government employed them as their naval force from the 3rd to 5th centuries.[13][14] Certain experts regard the Azumi as "the oldest known maritime force of [Japan's] emerging imperial state."[12] Some Japanese historians think they were ofAustronesian origin and related to theHayato people who lived in southern Kyushu.[15][12]
The Kofun period was a critical stage in Japan's evolution toward a more cohesive and recognized state. This society was most developed in theKansai Region and the easternmost part of theInland Sea. Japan's rulers of the time even petitioned the Chinese court for confirmation of royal titles.The Yamatopolity, which emerged by the late 5th century, was distinguished by powerful great clans or extended families, including their dependants. Each clan was headed by apatriarch who performed sacred rites to the clan'skami 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 Kofun period of Japanese culture is also sometimes called the Yamato period by some Western scholars since this local chieftainship arose to become the Imperial dynasty at the end of the Kofun period.
TheAsuka period (飛鳥時代,Asuka-jidai) is generally defined as from 538 to 710. The arrival ofBuddhism marked a change in Japanese society and affected the Yamato government.
TheYamato state evolved much during the Asuka period, which is named after theAsuka region, south of modernNara, 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 lateKofun period.
Artistically, the termTori Style is often used for the Asuka period. This is from the sculptorKuratsukuri Tori, grandson of Chinese immigrant Shiba Tatto. Tori Style inheritsChineseNorthern Wei style.
The arts during theAsuka andNara periods are similar to contemporaneous art in China and Korea. One example of this isTori Busshi's Shaka Triad which reflects the style of early to mid-sixth-century Chinese style.
According toNihon Shoki,MahāyānaBuddhism (大乗仏教,Daijō Bukkyō) was officially introduced to the Yamato court throughBaekje in 552, while it is widely recognized Buddhism was introduced in 538 based on the biography ofPrince Shōtoku (Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu) and the record ofGangō-ji (Gangōji Garan Engi).
Initial uptake of Buddhism was slow.Nihon Shoki records that whenEmperor Kinmei discussed about the acceptance of this new foreign religion,Soga no Iname expressed his support whileMononobe no Okoshi andNakatomi no Kamako (later theFujiwara clan) opposed not on religious grounds, but more so as the results of feelings of nationalism and a degree ofxenophobia.
With the dawn of the Asuka period, the use of elaboratekofun tombs by theimperial 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.
Buddhism only started to spread afterMononobe no Moriya lost in theBattle of Shigisan in 587 where theMononobe clan was defeated and crushed, andEmpress Suiko openly encouraged the acceptance of Buddhism among all Japanese people. In 607, in order to obtain copies ofSutras, animperial embassy was dispatched toSui dynastyChina.
TheYamato Imperial Court (大和朝廷,Yamato-Chōtei) was named because there were many palace capitals in the southern part of the Yamato Plain in Nara during the Kofun period and the Asuka period. The Asuka period is known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, which had their origins in the late Kofun period.
The second half of the Kofun period, exercised power over clans inKyushu andHonshu, 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 onChinese models (including the adoption of theChinese written language), they developed a central administration and an imperial court attended by subordinate clan chieftains but with no permanent capital. Asuka period mid-seventh century, the agricultural lands had grown to a substantial public domain, subject to the central policy. The basic administrative unit of theGokishichido system was the county, and society was organized into occupation groups. Most people were farmers; others were fishers, weavers, potters, artisans, armorers, and ritual specialists.
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under Public domain (license statement/permission). Text taken fromJapan: a country study, Dolan, Ronald E. and Worden, Robert L., Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.Authority control databases: National |
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