Japan

=__Sinification:__=

Chinese influence reached its zenith in the 7th and 8th centuries. During this time, Japan tried to mimic Chinese culture and organization.

In 646 C.E. The Taika reforms in Japan tried to change imperial administration to go along line and to create a professional bureaucracy and a peasant conscript army. This caused diffusion of the Chinese writing system into Japan since the Taika reforms were all an act to mimic China (part of __sinification)__. Sinification was the diffusion of Chinese culture into other empires at this time.

In comparison to other countries influenced be China, Japan was more selective of which new ideas they adopted, which is why Japan remained independent from China. The Chinese writing system was introduced into Japan in the 4th century A.D. The introduction of the Chinese writing system made it possible for Japan create a bureaucracy and for Japanese scholars to gain knowledge of all subjects from Chinese texts.

Japanese rulers tried to imitate China’s legal codes, land holding system and peasant conscript armies. Trade with China and Korea increased the wealth of Japan’s merchant class. Before China’s patriarchal view affected Japanese women enjoyed a strong position in society, at the time Japan had a matriarchal society (dominated by child bearing women). Japanese women where Shamans, which were a central part of Japanese religious ceremonies and venerations, but could also be found as clan leaders and later empresses.

In the end Japan's attempt at imitating the Chinese bureaucracy ended in a bloated replica, which became a growing burden for the peasant class that supported it. The warrior elite class, regional lords and there retainers opposed many of Japan's reformations such as the creation of a peasant of a peasant army and the reorganization of landholding to establish local control along Chinese lines. Also impressive capital cities built by rulers remained unfinished and uninhabited. This was all caused by the fact that Japan had many cultural differences with China and they didn't alter all policies they borrowed from China to fit their own culture and system of government.

More diffusion that did occur included Buddhist beliefs and art forms that were introduced into Japan through trade and immigration from mainland. The introduction of new beliefs affected Japan’s culture but didn't change it completely. New beliefs where mixed with indigenous traditions of Shinto (worship of nature). Japanese artists adopted China’s style of abstract landscape painting. Buddhism was eventually adopted as an official religion during the Yamamoto rule. Rulers began to spread Buddhism to all peoples; many converted but didn’t completely give up Shinto.

The adoption of Buddhism did cause problems though. The aristocracy was unhappy with Buddhism gaining popularity and argued to go back to older Japanese ways. This refusal led to the loss of power from the emperor and later gave power to the local lords of the provinces. This happened around 760 C.E. when Buddhist monks threatened to take over the throne. They were thwarted by a political technique that said women could never rule so no Buddhist near Empress Wu would ever come into power. As they realized the Buddhists were very powerful, the emperor fled to Heian (now Kyoto).

=__Social Life:__=

Japan at this time adopted many of their social attributes from China along with their attempts to adopt their legal policies. They were what is known as ultra-civilized. This means that they were extremely strict and focused on politeness in their social life. Rich people during this time were literate and lived in rich complex buildings including gardens and unpainted wood. One of the most famous writings of this time was 'The Tale of Genji.'

=__The Provincial Elite:__=

By the middle of the 9th century, the Fujiwara family began to gain power in Japan by marrying into important families. Other important families rose out of land ownership which all had bushi, or warrior elite. They easily gained power by japan's failure to build a conscript army which resulted in an increase of crime. A warrior code arose out of the fighters in these times, known as the samurais. This code was completely based on honor and not retreat or defeat. The code is known as seppuku. The rise of samurais in this time led to peasants being reduced to serfs which put them very low in the social hierarchy.

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=__Civil wars in 12th-15th century:__=

Powerful families often depended on alliances with local lords in order to maintain power. At the beginning of the 12th century, powerful families, Taira and Minamoto, begun to feud, leading to civil wars. This resulted in the Gempei Wars. This war lasted five years and hurt the peasantry tremendously. At the end of the war, Taira was destroyed and the Minamoto established the bakufu, or military government. They set their capital at Kamakura and feudalism began occurring soon after. In the early 14th century, the Ashikaga Takuaji overthrew the Kamakura regime and established the Ashikaga Shogunate. This greatly reduced the emperor's power and drove him to the mountains from fleeing. Japan was separated into 300 smaller kingdoms because of this and ruined pretty much all centralization that was left at the time.

Works cited:

Andrews, Karen. "12th Century Japanese Buddhism." // Main Page // . 27 Dec. 2006. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. .

Gascoigne, Bamber. “History of Japan” HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing. 

Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc J. Gilbert. "The Spread of Chinese Civilization: Japan, Korea and Vietnam." // World Civilizations the Global Experience // . New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. 290-301.

"The Samurai." //The Samurai //. History Channel. H, 2003. Television.

//The Tale of Genji //. Digital image. //Tuttle Publishing //. Tuttle Publishing. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <https://peripluspublishinggroup.com/tuttle/shopping/product_details.php?id=9780804838238>.