(7941185) A phase of Japanese history beginning with the establishment of the Imperial capital at Heian (modern Kyoto) in 794. The supremacy established by the Fujiwara nobility during the preceding Nara period continued until 1068, and intermarriage occurred between the Fujiwara and the royal family. The period is notable for architecture, bronze statuary, and literature. Heian remained Japan's capital until 1868.
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Glossary |
The Heian period (平安時代, Heian-jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese influences were at their height. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature.
History
The Heian period was preceded by the Nara period and began in 794 after the movement of the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (平安京, present-day Kyoto) by the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu. The period is also noted for the rise of the samurai class, which would eventually take power and start the feudal period of Japan.
Nominally, sovereignty lay in the emperor but in fact power was wielded by the Fujiwara nobility. The warrior class made steady gains throughout the Heian period. As early as 939, Taira no Masakado threatened the authority of the central government, leading an uprising in the eastern province of Hitachi, and almost simultaneously, Fujiwara no Sumitomo rebelled in the west. At this time Taira no Kiyomori revived the Fujiwara practices by placing his grandson on the throne to rule Japan by regency. The Kamakura period began in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperors and established a bakufu, the Kamakura shogunate, in Kamakura.
Developments in Buddhism
Buddhism (began to spread throughout Japan during the Heian period, primarily through two major esoteric sects, Tendai (天台, Heavenly Terrace) and Shingon. Kukai greatly impressed the emperors who succeeded Emperor Kammu, and also generations of Japanese, not only with his holiness but also with his poetry, calligraphy, painting, and sculpture.
Heian period literature
Although written Chinese (Kanbun) remained the official language of the Heian period imperial court, the introduction and wide use of kana saw a boom in Japanese literature.
The lyrics of the modern Japanese national anthem, "Kimi Ga Yo," were written in the Heian period, as was "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu, one of the first novels in Japanese. The famous Japanese poem known as the iroha (いろは) was also written during the Heian period.
Heian period economics
While on one hand the Heian period was indeed an unusually long period of peace, it can also be argued that the period weakened Japan economically and led to poverty for all but a tiny few of its inhabitants.
The Fujiwara Regency
When Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian-kyō (Kyoto), which remained the imperial capital for the next 1,000 years, he did so not only to strengthen imperial authority but also to improve his seat of government geopolitically. The early Heian period (794-967) continued Nara culture; Despite the decline of the Taika-Taihō reforms, imperial government was vigorous during the early Heian period.
Although Kammu had abandoned universal conscription in 792, he still waged major military offensives to subjugate the Emishi, possible descendants of the displaced Jomon, living in northern and eastern Japan. Stability came to Heian Japan, but, even though succession was ensured for the imperial family through heredity, power again concentrated in the hands of one noble family, the Fujiwara. Through the new Emperor's Private Office, the emperor could issue administrative edicts more directly and with more self-assurance than before.
As the Soga had taken control of the throne in the sixth century, the Fujiwara by the ninth century had intermarried with the imperial family, and one of their members was the first head of the Emperor's Private Office. Another Fujiwara became regent, Sessho for his grandson, then a minor emperor, and yet another was appointed Kanpaku. Toward the end of the ninth century, several emperors tried, but failed, to check the Fujiwara. For a time, however, during the reign of Emperor Daigo (897-930), the Fujiwara regency was suspended as he ruled directly.
Nevertheless, the Fujiwara were not demoted by Daigo but actually became stronger during his reign. Central control of Japan had continued to decline, and the Fujiwara, along with other great families and religious foundations, acquired ever larger shōen and greater wealth during the early tenth century. By the early Heian period, the shōen had obtained legal status, and the large religious establishments sought clear titles in perpetuity, waiver of taxes, and immunity from government inspection of the shōen they held.
Within decades of Daigo's death, the Fujiwara had absolute control over the court. By the year 1000, Fujiwara no Michinaga was able to enthrone and dethrone emperors at will.
Despite their usurpation of imperial authority, the Fujiwara presided over a period of cultural and artistic flowering at the imperial court and among the aristocracy. Vividly colored yamato-e Japanese style paintings of court life and stories about temples and shrines became common in the mid- and late Heian periods, setting patterns for Japanese art to this day. Whereas the first phase of shōen development in the early Heian period had seen the opening of new lands and the granting of the use of lands to aristocrats and religious institutions, the second phase saw the growth of patrimonial "house governments," as in the old clan system. As the most powerful family, the Fujiwara governed Japan and determined the general affairs of state, such as succession to the throne. Land management became the primary occupation of the aristocracy, not so much because direct control by the imperial family or central government had declined but more from strong family solidarity and a lack of a sense of Japan as a single nation.
The Rise of the military class
Under the early courts, when military conscription had been centrally controlled, military affairs had been taken out of the hands of the provincial aristocracy.
Bushi interests were diverse, cutting across old power structures to form new associations in the tenth century. The Fujiwara family, Taira clan, and Minamoto clan were among the most prominent families supported by the new military class.
Decline in food production, growth of the population, and competition for resources among the great families all led to the gradual decline of Fujiwara power and gave rise to military disturbances in the mid-tenth and eleventh centuries. Members of the Fujiwara, Taira, and Minamoto families--all of whom had descended from the imperial family--attacked one another, claimed control over vast tracts of conquered land, set up rival regimes, and generally broke the peace of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Fujiwara controlled the throne until the reign of Emperor Go-Sanjō (1068-73), the first emperor not born of a Fujiwara mother since the ninth century. Go-Sanjo also established the Incho, or Office of the Cloistered Emperor, which was held by a succession of emperors who abdicated to devote themselves to behind-the-scenes governance, or insei.
The Incho filled the void left by the decline of Fujiwara power. While the Fujiwara fell into disputes among themselves and formed northern and southern factions, the insei system allowed the paternal line of the imperial family to gain influence over the throne. The period from 1086 to 1156 was the age of supremacy of the Incho and of the rise of the military class throughout the country.
A struggle for succession in the mid-twelfth century gave the Fujiwara an opportunity to regain their former power. Fujiwara no Yorinaga sided with the retired emperor in a violent battle in 1156 against the heir apparent, who was supported by the Taira and Minamoto (Hogen Rebellion). In the end, the Fujiwara were destroyed, the old system of government supplanted, and the insei system left powerless as bushi took control of court affairs, marking a turning point in Japanese history. In 1159, the Taira and Minamoto clashed (Heiji Rebellion), and a twenty-year period of Taira ascendancy began. Finally, Minamoto no Yoritomo rose from his headquarters in the Kantō region to defeat the Taira, and with them the child emperor, Emperor Antoku they controlled, in the Genpei War.
Events
794: Emperor Kammu moves the capital to Heian-kyo (Kyoto) 804: the Buddhist monk Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) introduces the Tendai school 806: the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi) introduces the Shingon (Tantric) school 819: Kukai founds the monastery of Mount Koya, near Kyoto 858: Emperor Seiwa begins the rule of the Fujiwara clan 1050: rise of the military class (samurai) 1053: the Byodo-in temple (near Kyoto) is inaugurated by emperor Fujiwara Yorimichi 1068: Emperor Go-Sanjo overthrows the Fujiwara clan 1087: Emperor Shirakawa abdicates and becomes a Buddhist monk, the first of the "cloistered emperors" (insei) 1156: Taira Kiyomori defeats the Minamoto clan and seizes power, thereby ending the "insei" era 1185: Taira is defeated (Gempei War) and Minamoto Yoritomo of the Hōjō clan seizes power, becoming the first shogun of Japan, while the emperor (or "mikado") becomes a figurehead 1191: Rinzai Zen Buddhism is introduced in Japan by the monk Eisai of Kamakura and becomes popular among the samurai, the leading class in Japanese society< Nara period | Kamakura period >
en:ยุคเฮอัน
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