Japanese+History

=**Japanese History with Kanjicho as a Selection Aid- By Mandi Montgomery**=

During the year of 1467, Japan entered a civil war which ended its Feudalist regime. From 1467 to 1568, Japanese ruler and countryman fought for control over the land. This time period was called the Sengoku or “Warring States” period. The Samurai took over the estates of the old rulers, set up a government, and offered people in lower economic classes protection from other hostile warlords. These communities are known as daimyo. There were three powerful daimyo chieftain communities which ultimately unified the warring states of Japan. The first was Oda Nobunaga, whose motto was “Rule the empire by force” in which he conquered Kyoto in 1568 and eliminated the rest of his enemies.

However, he could not solely succeed in unifying Japan due to one of his general’s turning on him, and overcome by shame committed the Japanese Samurai tradition of seppuku, otherwise known as the ritual suicide of the samurai.

His successor was his best general Toyotomi Hideyoshi who continued Nobunaga’s ruling methods. He combined Nobunaga’s forceful nature along with shrewd political alliance and eventually by 1592 invaded Korea in order to eventually conquer China. This started years of war until his death in 1598 where his troops withdrew from Korea. Hideyoshi also had a strong alli name Tokugawa Ieyasu who completed the unification of Japan. In 1600, Ieyasu defeated his rivals at the Battle of Sekigahara. His victory earned him loyalty of the daimyo throughout Japan and was thus installed as ruler of Japan. The diamyo only governed the country on a local level, so Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa Shogunate which held power over Japan until 1867.

This society held for nearly two centuries in which structure was highly looked upon. The emperor had the top rank but was just a figurehead. Then was the shogun, or real ruler, who was the supreme military commander. Below him were the daimyo, the powerful landholding samurai. Then the Samurai warriors came next followed by the peasants and artisans. Although Japanese society began to become more of an urban than rural society, the cultural aspect of Japan was still intact. One notorious type of Japanese culture that is still recognized today was the Samurai’s noh dramas which were based on tragic dramas.

The actors portrayed ancient warriors and their courage in battles. Another type of cultural aspect the Japanese society has contributed to the world today are haikus. The poetry presents images rather than ideas and usually consists of 5-7-5-syllable, 3-line verse poetry.

Another type of drama that was portrayed was kabuki theater.

Actors dressed in elaborate costumes, using music, dance, and mime, performed skits about modern life. Although kabuki was created by a woman, all roles, both male and female, are performed by men. Kabuki plays usually portray grand historical events or everyday life of people in Tokugawa Japan. A famous play is The Zen Substitute or Kanjincho. The play describes a nobleman charged with guarding a gate that is to prevent the passage of the great warrior, Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune and his ward Benkei fools the guards by pretending to be a priest collecting money. He reads from a false subscription list, the Kanjincho, to fool the guards into allowing their passage.

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