Japan in the XII-XVI centuries

Chapters from the book: History of the countries of foreign Asia in the Middle Ages. M., 1970.

Craft and trade.

Tokuseiryo edition.

City Growth

From the 13th century the importance of handicrafts and trade increases, the number of cities that arose as a result of the separation of handicrafts from agriculture increases. Cities are beginning to play an increasingly important role in the economic life of the country.

Although the handicraft continued to be an addition to subsistence farming based on manual labor, in a number of cities (Nara, Kyoto, Kamakura), in large fiefs and under monasteries from the XII-XIII centuries. handicraft workshops appear (“dza” - letters, “place”, “seat”). The very fact of the emergence of associations of artisans testified to the separation of craft from agriculture; peasants who combined craft with agriculture turned into professional artisans.

Corporations of small producers, usually consisting of 10-50 members - masters, apprentices and students of one hereditary profession and high personal art - were under the auspices of the government. They received monopoly the right to produce and sell the goods they made in a certain territory, paying a special tax to the feudal authorities for these privileges.

The development of internal trade contributed to the formation of merchant guilds ("kabu" or "kabunakama"). Unlike craft workshops, they had greater independence. They were also granted privileges: special quarters were allocated to Kamakura merchants, where they could sell food (fish, vegetables, game) and other goods. At the same time, wholesale traders appeared who were engaged in the transportation and sale of rice, the maintenance of warehouses and inns, usurious activities.

Usury caused especially great damage to the samurai, who mortgaged the lands granted to them at a high interest rate to receive cash loans and sold not only rice rations, which they received for service from their patrons, but also titles of nobility. Since this practice destroyed the social support of the feudal regime, the government took emergency measures to prevent the ruin and declassification of the samurai. To this end, it became from the end of the XIII century. issue special "Decrees of merciful [virtuous] government" ("Tokuseiryo"), which canceled all transactions of the samurai for the sale and mortgage of land and their usurious debts. However, moneylenders exposed in this way

expropriation, found various ways to get around this kind of moratorium decrees.

The development of crafts and trade was accompanied by the strengthening of the role of money. From the first quarter of the 15th century. in circulation were mainly Chinese copper coins (“eyrakusen” - literally, “coins of the years of Eiraku”, that is, 1403-1424). Guilds of mutual financial assistance appear.

Cities became the center of commodity-money relations, handicraft production and trade. Their number (in particular, trade ones) is increasing; in the XII-XIV centuries. there were 40 cities, in the XV century - 85, by the end of the XVI century. - 269. Almost 3/4 of the largest cities were located in the northeast of Honshu and on the coast of the Inland Sea of ​​Japan. Cities in Japan, as a rule, were created on a feudal basis at the gates of temples and monasteries, at postal stations, along waterways or in port centers, on the territory of principalities or around medieval castles. Unlike European, including Russian, cities, they were not surrounded by a wall. The largest cities of that time were Hyogo (part of present-day Kobe), Naniwa (now Osaka), Hakata (part of present-day Fukuoka), Tsuruga (a port on the coast of the Inland Sea of ​​Japan) - the center of trade with Korea and China.

Feudal lords made up a considerable part of the urban population, small samurai and runaway peasants who flocked here prevailed in the castle towns; professional artisans also lived in the cities, serving mainly princes and samurai, as well as merchants.

A characteristic feature of the Japanese Middle Ages was a relatively small number of "free cities" that had their own self-government bodies, which were not as powerful as their European brothers. These cities included the largest trading center and the port of Sakai, headed by the city council consisting of 36 rich and influential merchants, Hakata (Chikuzen Province), Matsuyama (Musashi Province), and others. In addition to Sakai, which received the common name "Venice of the East ”, in some self-governing cities, merchants organized the production of weapons and shipbuilding.

In a number of cities from the XV century. began to develop the production of cotton and silk fabrics. Kyoto, Sakai, Hakata, Yamaguchi and other cities have become major centers of the textile industry. The spread of cotton in the 15th century, imported from Korea and used for the manufacture of cotton fabrics, made great changes in the clothing of the Japanese.

There is a specialization of individual regions according to the types of production. In some of them (Sado Island, Bitchu Province on Honshu, Bungo and Satsuma on Kyushu, Besshi on Shikoku), mining has reached significant development, and the extraction of gold, silver, and copper has increased. In many feudal estates, the production of swords, blacksmithing, foundry, the manufacture of lacquerware, porcelain, textiles and paper, and after the advent of Europeans, the production of firearms developed. Borrowed at the same time from China (XV century), ceramic production had a great impact on the manufacture of pottery and porcelain items. The most famous in Japan and abroad is pottery from Prov. Owari, called "seto".

Thanks to the progress of agricultural technology and, consequently, the cultivation of the land, agriculture has also reached significant development.

farming; it became possible to harvest two crops a year. Immediately after the harvest of rice, barley or wheat began to be sown. Bulls and horses were used to a greater extent than before for tilling the land, and water wheels were often used in irrigation.

The development of trade and cities was accompanied by the emergence of both temporary and permanent local markets, which were under the control of the feudal lords, as well as markets exempted from taxes and duties and removed from the jurisdiction of the feudal lord. In the beginning, the markets functioned two or three times, one day each month; in the XIV-XV centuries. the number of market days gradually increased to six.

The development of handicrafts, domestic and foreign trade, usury took place faster in the southwest (Kansai) and to a much lesser extent in the northeast (Kanto) of Japan, although here at the end of the 15th century. there were already over 60 markets.

By the beginning of the 16th century, Japan had broken up into several large feudal principalities, the rulers of which did not want to recognize any authority over themselves. Foreigners called them "kings", as they often had no idea that there was a central authority in Japan. The central government in Kyoto - the shoguns of the Ashikaga house - lost all real influence. Throughout the country there were internecine wars of large feudal lords, as a result of which a hundred-year period - from the 60s of the 15th century. until the 60s of the 16th century - is referred to in Japanese literature as sengoku jidai - "the period of warring states." Peasant uprisings did not stop either. The anti-feudal struggle reached great intensity.

Agricultural relations

The land that nominally belonged to the emperor was in fact seized by several large feudal lords, who were subordinate to small and medium feudal lords, who together constituted the privileged class of samurai warriors. In a number of regions, the middle feudal lords still retained their independence. Huge land holdings were concentrated in the hands of temples and monasteries.

The old form of feudal landed property—small private landownership (the so-called shoen)—gradually lost its preeminence, giving way to large feudal latifundia. The number of shoen dwindled more and more. It became difficult for the owners of shoen - samurai to maintain their economic independence from large and medium feudal lords, and the political situation associated with continuous civil strife also encouraged small feudal lords to become vassals of the more powerful. Large feudal lords were interested in liquidating the shoen located on their territory, since the independence of the latter prevented them from concentrating in their hands all the income received from the exploitation of the peasants of this territory. Of no small importance was the fact that large and medium-sized feudal lords sought to settle all the samurai subject to them in their castles or close to them, in order to always have an army ready to attack neighboring principalities or for defense. Endless internecine wars for a long time deprived the samurai of the opportunity to engage in farming. Gradually, an increasing number of petty feudal lords moved to the position of simple warriors, receiving from their overlords-princes a salary in kind, approximately corresponding to the amount of rice that the petty feudal lord had previously received in his shoen. The castles of large and medium feudal lords, in which a large number of samurai were concentrated, began to turn into military and administrative centers. Around them, artisans and merchants settled in ever-increasing numbers. So many cities arose and began to develop, which were called castle (jokamachi).

The feudal lords cruelly exploited the peasants who were attached to the land. The peasants paid the feudal lord mainly rent in products. Corvee gradually lost its importance, continuing to be used in the construction of roads and irrigation facilities, at the court of the feudal lord, etc. The size of the rent increased markedly: by the beginning of the 16th century. it accounted for much more than half of the gross income of the peasant economy.

In the second half of the 15th and in the 16th centuries, despite the fact that as a result of expanding economic ties with China and the countries of Southeast Asia, new agricultural crops (cotton, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, etc.) penetrated into Japan, agriculture after the previous relative rise experienced a decline. This was caused mainly by the internecine wars of the feudal lords, during which the peasant fields were trampled down, and the peasants were distracted from peaceful labor for a long time. Yields have declined, and the total harvest of rice has fallen. According to Japanese historians, during the Sengoku Jidai period, the cultivated area decreased by more than 50 thousand hectares (over 5% of the total area). Peasants went to the cities in search of work.

Development of cities, crafts, trade

The end of the 15th and 16th centuries is characterized in Japan by the growth of cities, crafts and trade, despite the decline of the country's agriculture.

Significantly grew during this period, the old cities - such as Sakai on the island of Honshu. New cities also appeared - Hirado and Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu. The city of Sakai (near Osaka) in its internal structure closely approached the medieval European city republics; European missionaries called it the "Venice of Japan". Sakai was governed by a council of 36 members, who were elected from among the richest merchants - residents of the city. Sakai had his mercenary army of ronin (declassed samurai) to guard against attacks by feudal lords; its suburbs were protected by moats. All this, to a certain extent, ensured the safety of the city. Already in the XV century. Sakai became the center of trade with China and the Ryukyu Islands. The cities of Hirano in the province of Setsu and Kuwana in the province of Ise also enjoyed some independence from the feudal lords. However, the majority of Japanese yurods, in particular those around the castle, failed to achieve not only independence, but even limited forms of self-government.

The princes, striving for the maximum increase in income and mercilessly exploiting their peasants, at the same time imposed heavy taxes on the workshops and guilds. Secular feudal lords, as well as monasteries and temples, often themselves acted as organizers and owners of industrial enterprises, especially mining ones, built ships, and conducted extensive foreign trade.

Japanese merchants greatly expanded the scope of their operations. In addition to the central part of China, with which there was a lively trade throughout the 15th century, they traveled with their goods to Taiwan, the Philippines and the Indochinese coast. Permanent Japanese trading posts with a population of several thousand people were created there. Geographical knowledge of the Japanese expanded, shipbuilding art, navigation business developed.

Overseas trade brought huge profits. Gradually, large trading firms began to emerge; some of them had their own industrial enterprises. For example, the merchant Kamigaya Sojin, who led in the second half of the 16th century. trade with Korea, China, Siam and Luzon (Philippines), organized in his homeland (Kyushu) the extraction of dyes, increased the production of the famous fabrics of the city of Hakata (on the island of Kyushu), began the development of silver mines in the south of Honshu. He was also engaged in construction work: he built a castle for a large feudal lord, built the camp of the dictator of that time, Hideyoshi, in Nagoya. As the de facto banker of Hideyoshi, he also took part in the political life of the country.

Another of Japan's richest merchants, Simai Sositsu, had his trade agencies in Korea, China, Luzon, and Siam. He took part in the preparation of Hideyoshi's campaign against Korea and China.

Industrial production was concentrated in that period mainly in the workshops of artisans, the so-called dza. The organization of workshops had many features in common with the guild organizations common in the Middle Ages. Japanese workshops were built, as in European countries, on the basis of a monopoly of production, heredity in crafts, etc. The princes granted privileges to the workshops and, protecting their monopoly, at the same time used them as a source of income. Despite feudal regulation and other restrictions, over time, the initial forms of capitalist industry began to emerge in Japan in the form of domestic peasant production, subordinated to a greater or lesser extent to a large merchant, who took upon himself the supply of raw materials to producers and the sale of their finished products. Such businesses were called toyakogyo (wholesaler's industry). The large industrial enterprises that arose at that time were mostly owned by feudal lords; peasants worked for them, partly in the order of labor service, but there were also hired workers from fugitive peasants. The main stimulus for the development of industrial production was foreign trade and the military needs of the feudal lords. In the city of Sakai, as well as in a number of other cities, the production of weapons (swords, halberds), which was partially exported to other countries, was concentrated. Thus, the export of swords to China in 1483 reached a significant figure - 37 thousand pieces, in 1539 this figure dropped to 24,862. Artistic crafts were also exported - lacquerware, fans, porcelain products, etc. For the needs of domestic market, in addition to weapons, fabrics, vodka (sake), primitive agricultural implements, etc. were produced.

The greatest development in the XV-XVI centuries. received mining. Numerous mines that arose in many areas, from Sado Island in the north to Kyushu Island in the south, produced gold, silver, copper, iron ore, and sulfur in significant quantities for that time. During this period, the vast majority of the mining enterprises of modern Japan were founded. The princes considered mining one of the most important sources of income and kept these enterprises in their hands. Worked in the mines, especially in the sparsely populated northern regions, dependent peasants, as well as peasants who fled from areas devastated by the war.

Copper and pyrites were exported in significant quantities to China: in 1539, for example, 179 tons of copper were exported. Trade with China was conducted through official embassies sent by the shogunate, southern princes (Ouchi, Hosokawa) and monasteries; merchants from the city of Sakai and other cities also took an increasingly active part in these embassies. A copper coin was brought from China to Japan, which had not yet been minted there, Chinese raw silk, the quality of which was much higher than Japanese, silk fabrics and other goods. Not satisfied with these peaceful forms of trade relations, the Japanese princes and big merchants organized pirate raids on China and Korea. The ships of Japanese pirates plundered the coastal cities of these countries, selling Japanese goods at the same time.

The raids of Japanese pirates (wako) took on a particularly wide scale in the 15th-16th centuries. and were one of the serious reasons why China was forced to stop official trade with Japan in the middle of the 16th century. Piracy began to decrease only by the 70s of the 16th century. mainly due to the strengthening of the defense of the coasts of China and Korea.

The arrival of Europeans in Japan

The Europeans, who appeared on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the 16th century, arrived in 1542 on the shores of Japan. The first European to land in Japan (on the island of Tanegashima, south of Kyushu) was the Portuguese Mendets Pinto, and in 1580 the Spaniards also arrived there. The Portuguese and Spaniards brought to Japan from Europe firearms, ammunition, as well as products from India and Southeast Asia; the Portuguese also began to conduct intermediary trade between China and Japan, since direct trade relations between these two countries were actually interrupted due to Japanese pirate raids. Buying Chinese raw silk, silk fabrics and other goods in Indo-China, the Philippines and Macau, the Portuguese sold them in Japan in exchange for gold, silver and copper; they exported swords and various Japanese art products from Japan. In the 16th and early 17th centuries Japan was one of the major exporters of gold and silver to Europe. Trade with the Portuguese contributed to the development of a number of coastal cities and the enrichment of the Japanese merchants. Cities such as Hirado, Nagasaki, Hakata, Sakai and Osaka have grown especially.

Japanese feudal lords also sold slaves to Europeans, mainly from among people captured in pirate raids or in internecine wars.

The main subject of import to Japan was firearms - arquebuses and muskets, which received the name tanegashima, after the island on which the Europeans first landed. The princes sought to acquire as many of these weapons as possible, hoping in this way to increase the chances of defeating their rivals. Despite the fact that a lot of firearms were imported, they were not enough. The princes, merchants of the city of Sakai and even some monasteries set about organizing their own production of firearms.

Contact with European civilization brought major changes to military affairs in Japan. If earlier, when the army was armed only with swords and spears, it consisted mainly of samurai cavalry, accustomed mainly to hand-to-hand combat, then after the advent of firearms, infantrymen, the so-called ashigaru - "light on the leg" received the main importance. Infantrymen, who were usually forcibly recruited from peasants, existed before, but their role was then reduced to serving the samurai. Now, in the new conditions, the infantry has become the main force that decides the outcome of the battle.

The introduction of firearms led to a significant increase in the number of troops of each major feudal lord, more peasants began to be recruited into the troops. There were professional soldiers from the peasants who had a good command of weapons. Samurai was largely replenished with these people from the peasant environment. Some of the professional soldiers, formerly peasants, turned into samurai during the internecine wars, and then became large landowners. Such were, for example, the famous Hideyoshi and some of his generals. Members of the old feudal houses, which had been descended from ancient times, were mostly killed as a result of internecine wars. In their place was a new, less well-born privileged class from among the vassals of the former samurai. Such a shift in the ruling class received a figurative name: “lower classes defeat the upper classes” (gekokujo).

Simultaneously with European merchants, Portuguese, Spanish and other missionaries appeared in Japan - the Jesuits and Franciscans, who began to conduct Christian propaganda, first on the island of Kyushu, and then in other parts of Japan. Expecting with the help of missionaries to expand foreign trade and get more weapons from Europe, the princes provided patronage to the missionaries. The latter began to open churches, schools and hospitals. Some princes on the island of Kyushu even converted to Christianity themselves and encouraged their samurai to do so. These princes hoped in this way to receive assistance from the Europeans in their struggle with other feudal lords.

Class struggle. Prerequisites for the unification of the state

One of the immediate results of the appearance of Europeans in Japan was the further growth of separatist tendencies, especially in the south of the country, and some economic strengthening of local merchant capital.

There was a danger of subjugation of feudal Japan to stronger European countries. From the middle of the 16th century, the Spaniards and Portuguese, having created a support for themselves in the person of the southern Christian princes, took a certain part in internecine wars, increasingly strengthening their own positions in the country.

However, the Japanese feudal lords saw the greatest danger in the fact that the feudal order was shaken and that peasant uprisings did not stop. Constant wars between feudal lords, as well as the introduction of new weapons, required more and more funds. At the same time, these wars had a heavy impact on agriculture. The attempts of the feudal lords to increase the amount of rent collected from the peasants led to the flight of the peasants from the land and the rise of the peasant movement. This was also facilitated by the penetration into the Japanese countryside of commodity-money relations, usury; peasants were often unable to redeem land and other property mortgaged to usurers.

In the XVI century. Peasant and urban anti-feudal uprisings continued in a continuous series. According to the scarce information available, there were 29 major uprisings in 75 years (1500-1575). The peasants, who opposed usurers and feudal lords, demanded the destruction of debt obligations, the reduction of exorbitant fees, etc. Some of the popular uprisings took place under the slogans and leadership of Buddhist sects that arose as early as the 12th-13th centuries.

The rebellious peasants often came into contact with the general population of the cities (artisans, small merchants). The lower classes of the urban population, as well as ordinary samurai, often fell into the same dependence on usurers as the peasants; artisans suffered heavily from constant feudal extortions. One of the uprisings of the townspeople in Kyoto in 1532 was led by the ronin, but the main participants in the uprisings in Kyoto and other cities were the urban poor. It happened that the peasants of suburban areas, armed with firearms, joined the rebels.

In this situation, among certain groups of Japanese feudal lords and those circles of merchants who were not directly connected with the service of the ruling feudal lords and therefore were interested in the development of trade throughout the country, the tendency to unite the state intensified. The most far-sighted representatives of the ruling class sought to create a strong central government that would be able to strengthen the shaken foundations of the feudal system.

The initiators of this association were the feudal landowners of the middle class, who sought to prevent the further strengthening of large feudal lords, to stop the internecine struggle between them and thereby save their possessions.

Oda Nobunaga

In 1568-1582. one of the middle feudal lords, whose lands were located in the central part of the island of Honshu, Oda Nobunaga achieved significant success in the fight against his feudal opponents. Using a more perfect organization of his troops, he achieved in a short time a significant increase in his possessions in areas close to Kyoto, including the capital of the state itself. Part of the new possessions Nobunaga transferred to his commanders Hideyoshi and Tokugawa. With the help of the latter, he forced other feudal lords of the central part of the island of Honshu to recognize his authority. Nobunaga in 1573 overthrew the last shogun from the Ashikaga house and defeated several Buddhist monasteries near Kyoto, which took an active part in the internecine war. By the end of his reign, Oda Nobunaga had achieved the subjugation of more than half of the territory of Japan (the northern and central part of the island of Honshu). In his possessions, Nobunaga destroyed the outposts and abolished the fees levied on goods coming from other possessions; he paved roads, introduced the strictest punishments for robbery. At the same time, he brutally suppressed peasant uprisings and smashed the Buddhist sects that led them. Nobunaga continued on a larger scale the implementation of those measures against the peasants, which before him were carried out by individual princes in their possessions and which, after the death of Nobunaga, were completed by his successor Hideyoshi, extending them to the entire territory of Japan. In an effort to deprive the peasants of any opportunity to organize uprisings, Nobunaga set about seizing their weapons. In order to prevent the concealment of rice by the peasants and the evasion of feudal duties, Nobunaga began to conduct a land census with the attachment of each peasant to a certain land plot in the possessions of the feudal lords.

Nobunaga's policy was aimed at strengthening the central government, ending civil strife and expanding trade. However, Oda Nobunaga sought to subjugate not only the feudal lords, but also large merchants to the central government. He fought against the monopoly associations of the merchants and put an end to the independence of the city of Sakai. The Japanese feudal lords feared the economic power of the merchants and their growing ties with the Europeans.

Hideyoshi

Nobunaga was killed in 1582 by one of his close associates and did not have time to complete the unification of the country. The implementation of this task was completed by his associate Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-1598). In the first years of his reign, Hideyoshi, relying on part of the feudal lords, continued the struggle for the subjugation of the feudal lords of Southwestern Japan; he did not deprive a prince who was defeated in a war or who expressed humility, but significantly reduced their size and thereby weakened and neutralized large feudal lords. Hideyoshi distributed the seized lands to his commanders, thus planting new feudal lords who carried out his will. Hideyoshi paid the main attention to the struggle against the peasantry, suppressing any manifestation of peasant discontent. He took drastic measures to seize weapons from peasants throughout the country. In 1588, Hideyoshi issued a decree that marked the beginning of the so-called sword hunt. One of the points of this decree read: “The swords named above, short swords, do not need to be destroyed. They should be used for bolts and rivets in the construction of the great statue of Buddha, so that if not in this, then in the next world it will benefit the peasants.

At the same time, Hideyoshi checked all peasant land plots and introduced a new land cadastre (1589-1595), reducing the unit of land area (from 1.2 ha to 1.01 ha), but retaining the old name (chō). When calculating the yield from this reduced area, the old norm was maintained; thus food rent increased. The peasant was attached to his land allotment and deprived of the right to leave it. These measures of Hideyoshi, which strengthened the enslavement of the peasantry, caused a number of new uprisings of the peasants.

Hideyoshi's foreign policy was aggressive. Having achieved a certain unification of the country, Hideyoshi sought to give vent to the warlike aspirations of the samurai, which no longer found application within the country. Hideyoshi also counted on conquest wars to strengthen his power over the southern feudal lords, with the forces and means of which the war was to be waged. At the same time, this aggressive policy was supported by those trading houses of Japan that were interested in overseas trade or were the organizers of pirate raids on Korea, China and other countries of the Pacific Ocean.

Hideyoshi in 1592 undertook a grand campaign of conquest for that time. His plans of conquest extended not only to Korea, but also to China, Taiwan and the Philippines. The huge army sent to Korea (about 300-350 thousand), as well as the large fleet equipped with it, initially ensured the success of the Japanese troops. The Japanese conquerors passed through Korea with fire and sword, occupying almost the entire country. However, the people's war that broke out in Korea and China's assistance to Korea predetermined the defeat of the conquerors. Hideyoshi's campaign 1592-1593 ended in failure. Equally unsuccessful was the one undertaken by him in 1597-1598. second trip. These campaigns exhausted Japan and further weakened the southwestern feudal lords. Trade relations with China ceased.

At the end of the 16th century, during the period of the struggle for the unification of the country and the wars of conquest, the Dutch and the British began to visit Japan. A sharp rivalry began between the newly arrived Europeans, on the one hand, and the Portuguese and Spaniards, on the other.

Establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate

After the death of Hideyoshi (1598), one of the commanders who served Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, acted as his successor. He ran into the resistance of a significant part of the feudal lords, who did not want to submit to his authority and united under the slogan of protecting the "legal rights" of Hijoshi's young son, Hideyori. In the bloody battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa defeated his rivals, and in 1603 he took the title of shogun. Having achieved victory, he began to deprive the feudal lords who belonged to the camp of opponents of their possessions or send them to other, more remote areas, putting his proteges in their place. Hideyori's supporters, however, did not lay down their arms. Only in 1614-1615. after a long siege of the city of Osaka, which became the center of their resistance, the latter was broken. Thousands of Hideyori's supporters were massacred. After the cessation of internecine wars, conditions were created for a certain rise in agriculture. Already at the end of the XVI century. cultivated area began to increase. At the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. about 1.5 million hectares were already under cultivation, that is, approximately 30% more than in the 15th-16th centuries. The new cultures that the Japanese learned about as a result of expanding their ties with the countries of the Pacific Ocean and Europe became widespread. In addition to cotton, sweet potatoes, and sugarcane, tobacco cultivation expanded, and the area occupied by mulberries, lacquers, tea bushes, and other commercial crops expanded significantly.

The Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan for two and a half centuries - until the bourgeois revolution of 1867-1868.

The first shoguns from the Tokugawa dynasty continued the policy of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, aimed at strengthening the central government and strengthening the feudal system. They established strict regulation of social relations, precise regulation of the rights and obligations of each class, etc.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa secured the main land fund of the country for large and medium-sized feudal lords (daimyo). The revenues of each fief were accurately accounted for. Since they were expressed mainly in rice products, all financial calculations in the country were transferred to rice, and the main unit of measure of rice - koku (1.8 hectoliters) became the main measure of values. The income of land holdings was calculated in koku rice, and the administrative and economic unit (clan, or in Japanese khan) was considered a property that brought at least 10 thousand koku of income. There were more than 200 such holdings throughout Japan. The sizes of these holdings were different. He owned the largest estates in the 17th century. Tokugawa house (about 4 million koku). Some daimyo had several hundred thousand koku, but most of them had relatively small fiefs, from 10 to 50 thousand koku. The vast majority of samurai (80-90%) were deprived of their estates; they now began to receive salaries in kind everywhere. Such a system turned out to be beneficial for the rulers of Japan - the shoguns from the Tokugawa house. By forbidding the samurai to engage in any craft other than military, they sought to turn the samurai into a military nobility, isolated from all other social groups. Only a small part of the samurai were left on their estates.

The prince retained the right of court and administrative power within the limits of his possession over all his subjects. He ruled over the samurai, whom he paid in kind in the form of a rice ration, as well as the peasants who cultivated the land in its confluences and paid him rent in kind. The central government, however, had the right to control the princes, it could intervene in their actions, take away part or even all of their possessions. The first Tokugawa shoguns very often resorted to this measure, cracking down on those feudal lords who belonged to a group hostile to them. However, later such confiscations were rarely carried out. In fact, the daimyōs were almost independent within their clans, the central government's control of them being primarily aimed at preventing possible attempts to challenge the dominance of the Tokugawa house. In this direction, a whole system of measures was developed that, to a certain extent, hampered the independence of the daimyo. But the very fact of the division of the country into more than 200 feudal clans, headed by hereditary and almost independent rulers, testified that the complete unification of the country had not been achieved, but only a certain step had been taken in this direction. The incompleteness of the unification process was due primarily to the fact that the feudal lords themselves, interested in preserving their estates and privileges, remained the leading force in the movement for unification.

Trade and crafts in 17 large cities were removed from the jurisdiction of local feudal lords and subordinated to the central government. In the first place among them were: Osaka, Kyoto - a city of old culture, developed trade and crafts, as well as Edo (now Tokyo) - a new growing city built by Ieyasu, which became the capital of the country since 1600. However, the rest of the cities - the main cities of the clans, etc. - were subordinate to the daimyo. The structure of craft workshops and merchant guilds (za, nakama, dogyokumiai) remained virtually the same. In large cities that were under the authority of the shogunate, there were over 100 workshops of various specialties. Control and regulation of workshops were strengthened; the guilds, which often gave loans to the shogun, were subject to less scrutiny. During this period, industrial production developed significantly. Ieyasu paid great attention to shipbuilding, instructing the Englishman Adams, who arrived in Japan in 1600, to teach the Japanese the art of shipbuilding. Ieyasu attached great importance to the mining business, which he removed from the jurisdiction of the daimyo and subordinated to the shogunate. Porcelain and faience production also received significant development; during the war, skilled Korean artisans were taken out of Korea, who were forced to establish this production in the clans. Dispersed manufactory expanded considerably. However, the dominant position in production continued to be occupied by artisan workshops and state-owned manufactory with a predominance of forced labor, which was in the hands of the shogunate or daimyo.

estate device

The population in the Tokugawa state was divided into four classes: samurai, peasants, artisans and merchants. The rights and obligations of each estate were regulated.

The duties of the peasantry, which did not receive any rights, were especially strictly regulated. Ieyasu Tokugawa is credited with the words: "A peasant is like a sesame seed, the more you press, the more you squeeze." One of his closest associates said: "The best way to manage the peasants is to leave them only food for a year, and take the rest as a tax."

The villages were divided into five yards. At the head of every five households was a wealthy peasant, whose duties included police supervision of compliance with government regulations. The peasants were attached to the land, in the event of the flight of the peasant, the rest of the inhabitants of the five-dvorka paid all taxes and dues for him; peasants were severely punished for escaping.

Literally all aspects of a peasant's life were regulated. Peasants were forbidden to eat rice, wear clothes made of silk fabric, build comfortable and spacious rooms and decorate their homes with something, arrange any entertainment, theatrical performances, etc.

The living conditions of merchants and artisans were also regulated, but with much less strictness than the life of peasants, and in practice this regulation was almost not observed, especially with regard to merchants. At the same time, the separation of merchants and artisans into separate classes was a step forward in comparison with their previous disenfranchised position: in the XIII-XIV centuries. there were only "warriors" (samurai) and "people".

The internal structure of the nobility also changed somewhat. At the head of the privileged class of samurai was the supreme overlord, who bore the former title of shogun. One step below were his direct vassals, former associates of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The possessions of these vassals were greatly expanded. Then came the "foreign princes", that is, other large feudal lords who in the past were not connected with the Tokugawa house by direct vassalage and whom Tokugawa subjugated by force of arms. The rest of the samurai mass was subordinate to the shogun and local princes.

There was also a special layer of samurai, the so-called hatamoto-samurai, who were directly subordinate to the government of the shogun. There were 5 thousand of them. Part of the hatamoto had their own land holdings, quite significant in size, but smaller than those of the daimyo (less than 10 thousand koku). Hatamoto constituted a layer of feudal bureaucracy. The rest of the samurai was the army of the shogun and individual daimyo. Of the 350-400 thousand samurai throughout the country, there were about 80 thousand samurai directly subordinate to the shogunate or its vassals - hatamoto.

A special oversight was established over the entire administrative apparatus in the person of the officials of the shogun, who watched over all classes.

country isolation. Popular anti-feudal movements

In the XVI century. lively relations were conducted with European countries, Siam, the Philippines. The policy of restricting the activities of foreigners was started by Hideyoshi, twice, in 1587 and 1597, who issued decrees against missionary propaganda in Japan. However, Hideyoshi, at the same time, contributed to the expansion of trade and diplomatic relations with the Europeans, hoping to obtain ships and weapons from them and thereby ensure the success of his Korean campaign. Tokugawa Ieyasu further restricted the activities of foreign missionaries in Japan. At the same time, he patronized the British and the Dutch, wanting to use them to weaken the influence of the Spaniards and the Portuguese, who had created a support for themselves among the princes on the island of Kyushu. Special precautionary measures were taken against the Spaniards. Along with this, Ieyasu restored relations interrupted during the Japanese-Korean war with Korea and China. An agreement was concluded with Korea in 1609, according to which the Japanese were allowed into one Korean port - Pusan. The duration of the stay of the Japanese on Korean territory and the number of ships that Japan could send to Korea were also limited.

The most resolute policy directed against Europeans was led by the third shogun from the Tokugawa house, Iemitsu (1623-1651), who published in the 30s of the 17th century. a series of decrees according to which the Japanese were forbidden to leave their country under the threat of death and build large ships suitable for long-distance voyages. At the same time, foreigners were forbidden under the threat of the same punishment to visit Japan. Only Dutch and Chinese merchant ships were allowed to enter Nagasaki, where trade took place on the island of Deshima.

The expulsion of the Spaniards and the Portuguese was to a certain extent dictated by the danger of an armed invasion by the Europeans, especially because of their support for the southwestern princes. Almost all the southwestern princes were at the time of the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) in the hostile Tokugawa coalition. Among them were those who converted to Christianity and were very closely associated with the Spaniards and the Portuguese. The British themselves stopped trading with Japan a little earlier (1623) due to intense competition from the Dutch.

Among the reasons that led to the isolation of the country, a well-known role was played by the fact that the anti-feudal movement of the peasants often took on the religious shell of Christianity. The feudal opposition, which opposed the Tokugawa dynasty, also used the Christian religion for their own purposes. So, for example, tens of thousands of ronin gathered in Osaka under the banner of Hideyori were almost all Christians, closely associated with the Portuguese and Spanish missionaries. Back in the 20s of the 17th century, when the shoguns were not going to completely stop trade relations with foreigners, the Spaniards were forbidden to trade and come to Japan. The same reason explained the strict ban in 1630 on the import of European literature, because there could be a mention of Christianity in it; all such books were to be burned. Even the import of Chinese books that mentioned anything about the West was banned.

The most powerful anti-feudal uprising under Christian slogans took place in 1637-1638. in the Shimabara and Amakusa region of Kyushu. More than 30 thousand people took part in it. The peasants were headed by ronin, former vassals of one of the associates of Hideyoshi-Konishi Yukinaga, a participant in the Korean campaign. A characteristic feature of the uprising, which distinguished it from the whole mass of revolutionary peasant uprisings in medieval Japan, was a higher level of organization and skillful use of firearms.

The rebels fortified themselves in a dilapidated castle. The siege of the castle lasted about three months. The besieged heroically fought against the combined forces of the Tokugawa vassals and the Dutch who helped them. Dutch ships bombarded the besieged from the sea, which largely sealed their defeat. The castle was taken by storm, and almost all of its defenders were killed.

After the suppression of this uprising, all Japanese Christians began to be subjected to severe persecution. The Buddhist clergy were enlisted to help the state bodies, who were entrusted with the supervision of the religious beliefs of the population, especially the peasantry. Each inhabitant had to become a parishioner of a certain temple; temples kept register books, which entered detailed data about each parishioner, in particular about his religious beliefs. This control supplemented the system of five-doors and government regulations.

The Dutch, who provided significant assistance in suppressing the uprising, received from the shogun a limited right to trade with Japan.

Japan's isolation from the outside world continued for more than two centuries. The Tokugawa policy to a certain extent hindered the development of commodity-money relations, but could not have a decisive influence on this process. Quite considerable capital accumulated by Japanese merchants, not finding sufficient use in foreign trade, rushed to the domestic market and, above all, to the countryside. Merchants began to buy land. The prohibition of its sale by the shogunate led to the use of hidden forms of buying land (mortgage, etc.). The peasantry in the first place, and then the samurai and even individual princes fell into debt dependence on commercial and usurious capital. Gradually, the subordination of domestic peasant industry to the merchant, who became a buyer, increased, and manufactory grew, albeit slowly.

The policy of "closing" Japan from the outside world had a contradictory effect on the development of Japanese society. On the one hand, it contributed to the establishment of a lasting peace in the country, which led to some development of the productive forces. However, on the other hand, Japan's self-isolation contributed to the preservation of the most stagnant forms of feudal relations in the country and led to a sharp gap between Japan and those countries from which it sought to isolate itself.

culture

The development of culture in the XVI-XVII centuries. took place in an extremely difficult environment. The incessant internecine wars had a sharply negative impact on her. By the end of the XVI century. education has fallen to the lowest level. Hideyoshi, himself a poorly educated person, could hardly find people who would negotiate with the Chinese and Koreans on the eve and during his campaign in Korea. Along with this, the establishment of trade relations with China, Southeast Asia and Europe undoubtedly contributed to the expansion of horizons and the development of culture in Japan.

Under the influence of these mutually colliding, contradictory factors, the features of the culture of Japan in the 16th-17th centuries took shape. Architecture of the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. represented by numerous palaces, temples, castles, distinguished by great luxury and good proportions. Artists simultaneously become decorators and masters of applied arts, produce lacquerware, moldings, using the achievements of the old Japanese art and bringing their skills to virtuosity.

The features of this construction find their fullest expression in the colossal ensemble of dozens of temples erected in honor of Poyasu, Iemitsu and subsequent shoguns in the city of Nikko. Many daimyos contributed to the construction of this grandiose mausoleum, supplying materials and labor to Nikko; from all over the country, the best master artists were gathered here: sculptors of Buddhist statues from Nara, metalworkers from Kyoto, etc. The painting of the interior was carried out by one of the prominent representatives of the art school - Kano. This school of painting, which arose as early as the 15th century, along with the former Tosa school, did not neglect the religious and historical subjects characteristic of Japanese painting, but began to pay great attention to the landscape, depicting animals and plants. Painting in black on white began to develop along with the former multi-color painting.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. European influence was reflected in the technical methods of construction and architectural design. Hideyoshi Castle in Osaka was built according to the plans of Portuguese engineers.

Along with palace and temple construction, literary works that glorified the exploits of princes and shoguns, a specific culture developed that reflected the mood of the townspeople. To her, in particular, was born in the XIV-XV centuries. comedy-satirical genre in the form of realistic one-act comedies, the so-called kyogens, in which the highest samurai and monasticism were portrayed in a sharply negative light, with their inherent features of ignorance, greed, cowardice, etc. Along with this, the “but” theater continues to exist and develop with scenes from the life of the nobility. By the beginning of the 17th century, Japanese drama was born, leading its origin from a folk tale. One of the tales, "The Song of Joruri", gained great popularity; by the name of its heroine - Jyoruri received the name of the whole genre as a whole. From the beginning of the 17th century these folk tales began to be performed in the puppet theater; This genre received the greatest development, however, in the second half of the 17th century.

Realistic small plastic art is born - miniature figurines (netsuke). Sculptors show interest in urban life, depict artisans playing children, wandering artists, etc. Significantly develops from the middle of the 16th century. typography, which pioneered the use of movable type.

Characteristic of the development of urban culture in the XVI century. is the spread of the so-called tea ceremonies (chanoyu), which gathered a certain, small circle of people and where, in a free atmosphere, issues of interest to them, culture, politics, etc. were discussed. Although tea ceremonies were known in Japan much earlier, they were previously limited to only the walls of Buddhist monasteries, and then the palaces of the shoguns and daimyos, and did not play any role in the public life of the country. In the XVI century. they became widespread among the townspeople and the most cultured samurai, and they are sometimes compared in public importance to the political salons and clubs in eighteenth-century Europe. Sen-no Rikyu (1520-1591), the son of a prominent merchant from the city of Sakai, is considered the founder of this kind of tea ceremonies: he studied the art of tea ceremonies for a long time in the old Japanese cultural centers of Kyoto and Nara and then began to promote the same meetings on a different basis, with retaining, however, traditional ceremonies in Sakai. However, these tea ceremonies soon lost their political significance. When Nobunaga and Hideyoshi limited the independence of cities, primarily Sakai, they introduced tea ceremonies of an already official court character at their courts, gathering mainly artists and writers; Hideyoshi posed as a patron of the arts. In connection with the spread of tea ceremonies, the garden culture, one of the national features of Japan, characteristic of the culture of the home, is further developed. Special tea pavilions are built in the gardens; the best example of this kind of art for the end of the 16th century. considered a garden in the imperial pleasure castle Katsura near Kyoto, in the center of which is a tea pavilion.

Japan is located east of China and Korea, it is located on countless small and four large islands. There is a legend that the chain of islands appeared thanks to the drops that fell into the ocean from the spear of the god. The first inhabitants of the islands were immigrants from Asia. They were able to survive in adverse conditions due to their ability to raise cattle and grow rice. They had to repel the attacks of local tribes, but over time they settled all the large islands in the archipelago. From ancient times, China and Korea have had a significant influence on the way of life of the Japanese, culture and history. Interesting features of medieval Japan will be discussed further.

Historical information

As the history of medieval Japan tells, the very first mention of the rulers of the country dates back to the 7th century BC. e. Although scientists claim that the first state arose here only in the III-IV century on the territory of the Yamato tribe. The leaders of the Yamato over the next three centuries were able to conquer the tribes living on the islands of Honshu and Kushu, their attacks on the lands of Korea are also known.

Local residents are still confident in the divine origin of the imperial dynasty. According to legend, the goddess of the sun presented the signs of power to the first emperor. Although the ruler enjoys unlimited respect, he almost never had real power.

As history tells, medieval Japan has always been ruled by representatives of several of the richest and most respected families, passing power from generation to generation. Since 645, the supporters of the emperor staged a coup, as a result of which the Soga clan was removed from the government. Such a step should be to strengthen state power so that all residents obey the same laws, and local authorities unconditionally carry out the orders of the emperor.

Country in the Middle Ages

The country has always developed in isolation, because it was located on the periphery of the rest of the world. Scientists believe that the formation of Japan separately from the Chinese civilization began around 100-400 years, so the culture of medieval Japan can be attributed to the island form of China's culture. The Japanese adopted a lot from Chinese civilization - religion, writing, Buddhism, rituals, art, ceremonies. A little later, Japanese civilization began to differ. She was so organically able to combine the traditions of China with her acquisitions that she becomes a separate original culture.

Rulers of medieval Japan

In the 8th century, representatives of the Fujiwara clan became real rulers, who turned the imperial families into hostages in their own palaces. Until the end of the 12th century, the former power of the monarchs is on the wane. An alternative samurai government appears - the shogunate in Kamakura. In 1221, the palace aristocracy was completely defeated in the anti-Shogun uprising, and the emperor turned exclusively into the manager of ceremonies and rituals. In order to maintain a magnificent royal court, honorary positions are being sold to all samurai who wish.

After the fall of the shogunate, Emperor Go-Daigo carried out the restoration of Kenmu in order to return the state model of the 9th century, but it caused a socio-political crisis. The imperial house broke up into two dynasties: Northern and Southern. Only 30 years later the unity of the house was restored through the efforts of the samurai shogunate Muromachi, but the monarchs lost power over the country. Tragic events led to the decline of the imperial house. For several centuries, the ceremony of the Imperial harvest was not held and no heir was appointed - the Great Son of the Emperor. It was not until the Tokugawa shogunate came to power in the 18th century that imperial rituals and ceremonies were restored.

Religious preferences

In medieval Japan, there is a mixture of several religious movements. Shintoism or "the way of the gods" is most pronounced. The majority of the population sacredly believed in myths, therefore, divine origins were attributed to everything. The spirits of the sky were considered the ancestors of the monarchs, and the common people were descended from spirits of a lower origin. In Shinto, they worship the spirits of their ancestors, and after death they prepare to turn into spirits themselves. Incorporeal entities are omnipresent, they invisibly change the course of life, are able to influence ongoing events. Thanks to Shintoism, another distinctive feature of the Japanese is manifested - love for the harmony of nature.

Buddhism came from China to Japan. The court nobility was the first to decide to join this newfangled doctrine. Philosophical teaching was supposed to unite the country and support the authority of the central government. Religion in medieval Japan was included in the code of honor of the samurai: discipline, composure, detachment and self-control. Buddhist monasteries began to appear, preparing real impassive warriors. With Buddhism, the Japanese borrowed hieroglyphic writing, which is needed when rewriting sacred Buddhist instructions.

Two religions coexisted peacefully in the country, in some cases they were intertwined. The population could simultaneously follow the principles of the prescriptions of Shintoism and Buddhism, which did not go into dissonance with each other. Buddhism is considered the state religion in medieval Japan, but Shintoism is also manifested as a national religion. A separate branch, Confucianism, separated from Buddhism in the 12th century. According to the new ideology, children should not only obey the decision of their parents, but also unconditionally love them.

Law concept

The very first constitution of Shotoku-taishi is known, dating back to the early Taika era of 604. The concept of law at that time was poorly outlined; one can only say about the norms of punishment, indicated by the concepts of punishment or God's wrath. It was necessary to follow certain norms of behavior, called weights. There were several giri in the country: father and son, older and younger brothers, husband and wife. Weights that were not associated with family relations were also distinguished, that is, between merchants and buyers, master and subordinate, and the like. They were followed as unwritten laws, taking into account condemnation in case of a bad or incorrect attitude towards close people or subordinates.

Own customary law (buke-ho) was designated in the military caste (buke or samurai). Within the military community, there was a code of rules based on the exclusive loyalty of a subordinate to his overlord. If the latter showed excessive cruelty, then the vassal had no rights to protection, he was entirely dependent on the will of his master. A little later, against the arbitrariness of the overlords, they compiled a special Collection of customs of the military caste, which indicated the norms of criminal law and the code of honor for the military.

In medieval Japan, the law prescribed only one thing - the subordination of the lower strata of the population to the masters higher in the hierarchy. In the state, there were clearly defined functions for each social group, the clarification of duties was described in ritsu-ryo collections. The term "ritsu" indicated repressive norms, and the term "ryo" indicated administrative-applicable ones.

Economy

In the 17th century, the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu managed to form a dynasty of shoguns. Although the emperor was considered the head of the country, the shogun dynasty controlled all areas of Japan's activities. There was a need to create their own monetary unit. The economy of medieval Japan depended only on rice. The standard unit of measurement was the amount of rice that a person needs to eat for one year. Taxes were also paid in rice. From the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese often began to come to the country, preferring to pay with gold coins instead of rice. Local feudal lords also felt the benefits of precious metals. Tokugawa continued the work of his predecessor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who took over most of the country's gold and silver. This is how the oban gold coin appeared, but it was not used to pay for transactions, but was given or rewarded.

The Japanese nobility sought to tie the peasants to the land allotment. Large landowners tried to solve the problem of how to pacify the uprising of the peasants or return the runaway subordinates back. Special detachments of trained warriors appear, which over time formed their own closed community of samurai. The code of honor of warriors, or bushido, which was based on the idea of ​​loyalty to the master, began to be observed. The warrior was obliged to protect his master at the cost of his life, and in case of dishonor to commit ritual suicide, or hara-kiri.

Political structure

From the 12th century, the feudal hierarchy was strengthened. Due to feudal fragmentation, the country is in a state of constant internecine strife. Even after the establishment of the supreme power of the shoguns, skirmishes between petty feudal lords do not stop. Among such conditions, the worldview of a samurai is created, ready to sacrifice himself to his overlord. Samurai becomes an example of courage, honor and loyalty.

After the appearance of large feudal farms, the formation and growth of cities began. Near the castle of the ruler, a city began to be built, where the commercial and artisan population predominated. Private landholdings are being replaced by large latifundia.

Culture of Medieval Japan

In the mature Middle Ages, new cities begin to be built, ties with China are strengthened, crafts develop and trade expands. Completely different aesthetic preferences appear, based on folk motifs. Japan is gradually acquiring original features, moving to a different level of development. In the artistic culture of medieval Japan, the emphasis is on the human perception of the world, the dramatic background of the actions performed. Drama works began to appear for productions in the theater. In painting and sculpture landscape and portrait stand out as an independent genre. The fine arts of medieval Japan are influenced by the harsh everyday life of an era filled with conflicts. Art is permeated with a touch of Buddhism, the Zen sect flourishes especially. Previously it was necessary to carry out incomprehensible complex religious rites, but the Zen sect translated service into a simpler and more understandable form. Any Buddhist literature and multiple rites are denied, in the place of which comes only the desire to know one's spiritual essence. Everyone could take the path of truth through contemplation and deepening into oneself.

Chanting of the Samurai

At that time, the samurai were not yet striving for the luxury and effeminacy of palaces. They often had to fight in civil strife, repulse the attacks of foreign tribes, so the main thing for them was military prowess, courage and honor. The warrior class liked the concepts of Zen Buddhism, because paradise can be achieved with discipline and one simple prayer. Gunk tales are written about warriors, conveying a sense of anxiety, but devoid of the splendor of interiors and pomposity. The exploits of the samurai are described in scrolls, the cult of the sword and armor appears, Buddha statues are erected, executed with all severity. They wrote poems about how samurai go hunting, shoot and practice horseback riding. In particular honor is the Nar art, expressed in the construction of the Kamakura Buddha statue. In medieval Japan, Nar temples destroyed during the war or those that are in a dilapidated state are being restored.

architectural preferences

What is special about the architecture of medieval Japan? In the 12th century, Buddhist temples began to be erected in the midst of picturesque nature. Nature was considered a deity, so architectural structures had to harmoniously fit into the surrounding landscape. Estates and palaces were built in the form of a rectangle, facing the south side of the square, framed on both sides by galleries with outbuildings. From the southern part of the building, they always tried to equip a landscape garden, consisting of lakes, rocks, bridges and islands. Gardens should evoke thoughts of solitude, tune in to silence and a calm mood. Instead of a turbulent flow of a waterfall, they preferred to build ponds with stagnant water, and delicate lotus flowers should sway on the surface. The charm of a secluded garden was created in Heian parks, when a change of scenery awaited at each turn of the path. Instead of air bridges, smooth stones appeared that created mosaic pictures. Gardens, decorative all four seasons, are popular with the nobility.

Palaces, castles and houses for tea ceremonies become the most favorite at that time. There is a desire for simple architectural lines. Wooden structures were not always covered with paint. Knots on the surface of the wood were played up as decorative elements. The buildings were erected in the form of a rectangular pavilion surrounded by a gallery, and the roof should have a curved shape. Many-tiered pagodas are being built, although small in size. If the building is painted, then no more than one or two colors are used. In Japan, the very first sacred temples were considered pantries where stocks of rice were stored. The pantries were raised on high pillars so that moisture would not spoil the rice. The first temples were built like pantries for grain. The climate in Japan is quite humid, but wooden temples have survived to this day. They owe this longevity to the custom of the Japanese every 20 years to dismantle the sacred temples, and in that place to build new ones from a different material.

Secular building

From the 16th century, feudal castles were built, capable of holding back the attacks of enemy armies behind their reliable walls. These multi-tiered structures were built of wood, and stone foundations were laid at the base. Bastions and low walls were additionally built around, and moats surrounded the castle around the perimeter. The most impressive castle of that time is Himeji near Kobe, consisting of 80 different types of buildings.

The Edo period brought a lull after the devastating internecine wars. Instead of castles, the construction of palaces is unfolding. They are one-story buildings, although the very first ones still have a system of fortifications, but then they are already building like a garden and park ensemble. By tradition, the palace walls do not have constructive functions, therefore they are replaced by openings or removable partitions. The builders tried to achieve maximum naturalness and unity with nature.

Painting

Since the 7th century, the painting of medieval Japan has remained very simple. The level of craftsmanship can be judged from the mural decorating the Tamamushi Ark from Horyuji Temple. The author painted the ark with yellow, red and green paint on a black base. As Buddhism spread, more places of worship appeared, so there was a demand for highly qualified artists. Now the masters collectively worked on one drawing according to their specialization. One artist only made a sketch, the second was engaged in coloring, and the third traced the outline of the finished picture. On emakimono panels in the 8th century, the drawings are symbolic, there is no dynamics here. Begins to develop landscape and genre painting. A vivid example is the painted screen “Woman with Bird Feathers”, where the lines are already becoming smoother and lighter, an expressive image is created. Since the 9th century, Buddhist painting has been developing, which is characterized by depicting a mandala. To draw a mandala, more expensive materials were used, such as silver and gold.

At the end of the 16th century, a number of painting schools appeared: Tosa, Soga, Kano, Kaiho, Unkoku. During this period, many unique paintings were created, belonging not only to famous masters, but also to unknown artists.

Introduction

The development of medieval Japan was determined by the influence of China, its geographical position and natural conditions on its economic life and culture. It is rather difficult to briefly describe what Japan was like in the Middle Ages, since the culture and history of this country is unique and many-sided.

Japan is thousands of islands and islets, only a third of the territory was suitable for human habitation, the rest of the territory was forests and mountains. Where it was possible to engage in agriculture, they grew rice and vegetables, soybeans and very little wheat. The Japanese are very hardworking and patient people, without these qualities there is nothing to think about the cultivation of rice. And steadfastness and restraint have been hardened in them by numerous volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis.

On the land owned by the emperor, small allotments were allocated to the peasants, taxes had to be paid for them, and they were inherited. Towns with markets formed around the castles. The state took care of the construction of roads, and irrigation systems were also in its charge.

Medieval Japan - briefly about the estates

Just as in Western Europe, in Japan during the Middle Ages, the central government was weak. Local leaders were constantly in conflict with the border peoples - the barbarians. The emperor, deified by the inhabitants of Japan, had formal power, it was limited to the performance of religious and ceremonial functions.

Just below the emperor stood the clan nobility ( kuge), this class did not have its own lands and was maintained by the shogun - the real ruler of the country.

Shogun- This is the highest rank of the samurai class, the owner of a large number of public lands. Behind the kuge in the class hierarchy were buke- samurai. De facto, they were the upper class of medieval Japan.

Another privileged class in feudal Japan was the temple attendants. Their social position was significantly higher than that of other segments of the population, although they did not constitute a separate class. What were the main occupations of the inhabitants of medieval Japan?

Occupation was distributed approximately as follows:

1. 1. Peasants united in communities.
2. 2. Craftsmen on the social ladder were lower than the peasants, lived in cities and united in workshops.
3. 3. Merchants (oddly enough) had a lower social status than peasants and artisans. Their associations were called guilds.

The main occupations of the inhabitants of medieval Japan, belonging to the lower strata of the population
Merchants end the class ladder of feudal Japan. All other strata and classes belonged to the lower strata of the population.

What was outcast (untouchable) Japan in the Middle Ages, briefly looks like this:

1. 1. Ronin- a samurai who had no master. Samurai became ronin if they lost it, for example, during a battle. Some of them tried to become peasants or artisans, but, as a rule, they could not get used to the new way of life and nailed to the bandits and pirates, joined the ranks of the ninja.
2. 2. Ninja translates as scout. What was considered shameful for the samurai was performed by the ninja: they spied, penetrated behind enemy lines, and committed contract killings. They mastered the martial arts to perfection, just like the samurai. The ninja from the modern action movie has nothing to do with who they really were.
3. 3. Yamabushi- vagabonds and hermits, many of them could heal people and practice magic. In some sources, yamabushi is mentioned as the spiritual mentors of the ninja.
4. 4. Geisha. In our country, the word geisha is associated with a woman of easy virtue, a courtesan, but this is not at all the case. In Japan, geisha are a class of women who professionally practiced (and still do) singing, dancing, and have various artistic abilities. The geisha was invited to the meetings of men, where she entertained them with light conversation, dancing, recitation and singing.
5. 5. actors, playing in the national theater of Japan kabuki, enjoyed incredible popularity among the common people, but were socially limited, as they belonged to one of the lowest classes.

So, the main occupations of the inhabitants of medieval Japan were very diverse, just like the very structure of the medieval society of this country. And despite the fact that there was no clear boundary between different segments of the population, the rights of each layer were strictly regulated.

Video: Geishas in Japan

Read also

16 Apr 2014

The culture of medieval Japan is closely connected with Chinese and Korean, because it is Chinese and...

21 Apr 2014

We all know Japan as a country that produces high-quality cars and equipment, but recently ...