Japan

Arielle Zaytsev
Thomas Doyle
Country and Indigenous Population
● Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan and Eastern Russia
○ Inhabited Hokkaido and North-Eastern Honshu (Japan), and Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and
the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia)
● Modern Japanese lineage is thought to have descended from the Jomon People (East Asia) and
the Yayoi People (Korean Peninsula)
○ Jomon migration in 14000 BCE
○ Yayoi migration around 300 BCE
Ethnic Heritage

● Japanese is the overwhelming majority at 98.4%

● Due to assimilation, current Ainu population is
estimated at ~25,000 (compared to Japan’s total
population of 126,476,461
○ Many people do not know of there Ainu
heritage, so actual population could be
much higher
● Small populations of Chinese and Korean descent
Language
● Indigenous Ainu language is nearly extinct, as Japanese become more widely spoken by Ainu
people during the Meiji Period
● Japanese is the official language of Japan
○ Had no written system until introduction of Chinese Language and Literature (4th Century)
○ Kanji—system of Chinese characters that acted as rudiments of written Japanese
○ Kana—system of uniquely Japanese characters. Broken into two syllabaries:
■ Hirigana and Katakana. Introduced by the 9th Century
○ After World War II, the Kanji system was reduced to 2,000 characters, keeping basic
vocabulary.
● Standard Japanese (Tokyo) was developed in the 19th century to establish consistency is
educational system. Most widely understood.
● Two Main Dialects
○ Hondo
○ Nanto
Religion
● 79.2% Shinto
○ Indigenous religion of Japan
● 66.8% Buddhism
○ Brought by Koreans in 6th
Century CE
● 1.5% Christianity
○ Brought by Franciscan
missionaries in 16th Century
○ Russian Orthodox, Roman
Many practice both Shinto in addition to a
Catholic, Protestantism
sect of Buddhism, so there is not necessarily
● 7.1% Other Affiliations a clear “majority” in religious practices.
○ Roots in Shinto, shamanism,
Neo-Confucianism, Christianity,
and sects of Buddhism
Early Periods
● Yayoi Period (300BC- 250CE)
● Kofun Period (250-538)
○ Shift in political power: Emperor became head of state and performed Shinto rituals
● Asuka Period (538-710)
○ Buddhism was introduced by Korea and promoted by ruling class
○ Introduced to Chinese Taoism and Confucianism
○ Kanji writing system from China
● Nara and Heian Periods (710-1185)
● Kamakura Period (1185-1333)
● Muromachi Period (1333-1573)
○ Portuguese traders and Jesuits brought firearms and Christianity
○ Christianity welcomed by warlords—wanted to open trading connections with other countries for
military purposes.
Early Periods, continued

● Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603)

○ 1597—Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi established order to persecute Christian and banned any future
conversions
● Edo Period (1603-1868)
○ Established trade relations with United States and the Netherlands
○ Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu enforced suppression and persecution of Christianity from 1604 on
○ Strict 5-class social hierarchy put into place
■ Emperor→Shogun→Warrior Class (Samurai)→Peasants, Merchants, Artisans→Outcasts
Meiji Period (1868-1912)

● Following the fall of the Tokugawa government, Emperor Meiji reestablished imperial power in Japan
○ Oligarchy headed by small group of noblemen and former Samurai
○ Shinto was restructured as a “state-reported” religion
● Democratic state that aimed to abolish social hierarchy from former periods
● Government wanted to gain independence and international respect
○ Loosened economic and military ties with Europe and the United States
● The Diet (Parliament) was established
○ Emperor was held as head of army, navy, and legislative and executive power
○ Diet held majority of political power and influence
● 1873 Act to grant Religious Freedom—end of Christian persecution
● Compulsory education system modeled after the French and Germans was put into place
● New army was modeled after Prussians; New navy was modeled after Great Britain
● Annexed Korean peninsula in 1910
Ainu People and the Meiji Period

● 1899: Japanese government passed act that labeled Ainu as “former

aborigines,” with the idea they would assimilate
○ Automatically granted Japanese citizenship
■ Denied them “indigenous” status
○ Land seized and put under the control of Japanese government
■ Take advantage of natural resources
■ Be able to model Western industrial agriculture
○ Forced to adopt Japanese names and learn Japanese language and abandon religious
practices
Taisho and Early Showa Period (1912-1945)
● Political power shifted from the oligarchy to the Diet and Democratic parties
● World War I (1914—1918)
○ Took advantage of Germany’s preoccupation with European war and made efforts to seize their Pacific and
East Asia territories.
● World War II (1941—1945)
○ Attacked Allied Powers at Pearl Harbor; December 1941
■ Allowed them take large territory in Pacific, including: Guam, Kiribati, Singapore, Burma, Dutch East
Indies, New Guinea
○ July 27, 1945: Japan refused to surrender under Potsdam Declaration
○ August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945: Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
○ August 14, 1945: Emperor Showa surrenders unconditionally
● Japan loses most of their imperial territory, including: Korean Peninsula, Kuril Islands, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South
Sakhalin, and those listed above
Post-War Japan
● New constitution in 1947
○ Emperor lost all political power
○ Three Branch System: Executive, Legislative, Judicial
○ Universal suffrage and human rights
○ Japan was forbidden to lead a war or maintain an army
○ Separation of Shinto and state
● Ainu officially recognized as an indigenous people with a distinct language, culture, and religion
○ Urged the end of discrimination
● Current Prime Minister (since 2012) is Shinzo Abe
Science Industry/Agriculture

● Rice is the country’s principal crop

● Other important products: wheat, barley, potatoes, and tea
● Abundant Minerals: coal, iron, zinc, lead, copper, gold, and silver
● Manufacturing and Industry
○ Motor vehicles, precision equipment (cameras), computers, microelectronics
○ Hydroelectrics
○ Aquaculture
■ Shellfish and seaweed
■ Local fisheries depleted due to pollution and overfishing
Noh Theater
● Kan’ami Kiyotsugu and Zeami
○ 14th century, Upper class patronage through 19th century
● Classical
○ Inspired by Chinese performance art in the 8th century, resembled circus
● Geki Noh (dramatic noh)
○ Plot and the narration
● Furyu Noh (elegant noh)
○ Dance
● Key Elements
○ Masks, Costumes, Music, Dance, Archetypes
● Five Key Themes
○ God plays, warrior plays, women/wig plays, miscellaneous (madness to contemporary), and
demon plays
Kabuki
● “The art of song and dance”
● Jidaimono (early historical and legendary stories),
sewamono (post-1600) and shosagoto (dance dramas)
● Spectacle
○ Lighting, props, costumes, make up
● Created by Izumo no Okuni
○ Shinto priestess who created an all female troupe of prostitutes and
misfits to parody life in a funny and suggestive way.
● Associated w the Red Light district
○ Prohibition of women performing in 1629, Grown men took over
○ Accepted, ban relaxed in 1888 but still all men
○ Avant garde and often tragic
 Hikinuki: a
specialized
technique that
involves changing
one’s costume
onstage, often
perfectly timed
with music.
Bunraku
● Japanese puppet theater est. in 1684
○ Takemoto Gidayu and Chikamatsu Monzaemon,
revived in 1805 by Uemura Bunrakuken
● Three performers
○ Ningyotsukai (puppeteers), tayu (chanter), and the
shamisen player
● Puppets
○ 1 to 4 feet tall, made of wood and string
Influential Culture Staples
● Chikamatsu Monzaemon
○ Influential for Bunraku and Kabuki, compared to Shakespeare
● Haiku
○ Rooted in nature, one of the oldest written forms, Basho (1644-1694),
world wide influence
● Tea Ceremony
○ Chinese influence, aestheticism and warrior class, choreographed
symbol of spiritual/ material
● Martial Arts
○ Sumo - Shinto roots
○ Judo - 1882, best of all styles
○ Karate - influenced by Chinese Kung Fu (moves) and Southeast Asian
and indigenous Okinawan (weapons)
Music
● Shōmyō - Buddhist chanting
● Gagaku - Theatrical court music
○ Kigaku (instrumental) and seigaku (vocal)
● Koto
○ Invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, adapted in Japan
● Shamisen
○ Similar to a guitar, three strings and a square body, usually kabuki and bunraku music, roots
in the Red Light district
● Taiko
○ Large drums, often played at festivals and ceremonies
● Shakuhachi
○ Most popular of the flutes, imported from China for gagaku, Noh
Dance
● Two Traditional Styles
○ Mai - Restrained ceremonial movements, roots in Shinto and associated with the Imperial
Court, adapted into Noh fan dance,
○ Odori - High energy, extroverted movements, Buddhist roots, usually accompanied by
Buddhist chanting, traces still seen in folk dancing
○ Both integrated in Kabuki, Odori more heavily
● Folk Dances
○ Usually performed at festivals to ward off evil spirits (Furya), help with agriculture (Dengaku),
or to celebrate (many others)
● Kagura
○ Oldest known dance in Japan
○ Religious, Animism, Shamanism, supposedly first performed by the Shinto goddess
Ame-no-Uzume, performed to invoke and entertain the gods
Traditional Visual Arts
● Woodblock print (1615-1868)
○ Washi paper, urban Edo life
● Ceramics
○ Post 1592 invasion, Korean potters
● Nihonga (1900s Japanese Paintings)
○ Meji painters, Western influences
● Ink painting
○ Simplicity and empty space, religion
● Wabi-sabi aesthetic
○ Philosophy of imperfection and impermanence, influenced
textile, metalware, woodwork and ceramic industries; tea
ceremony
Gutai
● Post War artist collective
○ Founded by Yoshihara Jirō in 1954
● Avant garde mixture of painting and
performance
○ Gutai Card Box - 1962
○ Electric Dress - 1956
● “Do what no one has done before!”
○ Expansive use of materials and techniques
○ Shigara foot paintings
 Cinema
● Fundamental part of Japanese art (1897)
● Pre WWII
○ Benshi (silent films), samurai cinema, bunka eiga
(nazi propaganda)
● Post WWII
○ “Atom bomb Allegory”, Akira Kurosawa, Yakuza,
Surrealism, J-Horror, Pink Cinema
● Animation
○ (1917) Seitaro Kitayama, (1963) Astro Boy, (1980s)
Studio Ghibli, (1990s) Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z,
(2000s) Spirited Away
Yukio Mishima
● Born January 14, 1925 in Tokyo
○ Did not qualify physically to fight in WWII, Factory Worker
○ Published Kamen no kokuhaku (1949; Confessions of a Mask)
● Literary Success
○ 34 novels, 50 plays, 25 books of short stories, 35 books of essays, one
libretto, and one film.
○ Best known for Kinjiki (1954; Forbidden Colours), “Yukoku” (“Patriotism”),
and Hōjō no umi (1965–70; The Sea of Fertility)
○ Considered for Nobel Prize three times
● Political Leanings - Code of the Samurai
○ Created the TatenoKai (Shield Society), seized control of the
commanding general’s office at a military headquarters, preached
against the post WWII anti war constitution
○ Commits Seppuku and is decapitated by a follower, November 25, 1970