Heian and Kamakura history: putting stories in context
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Heian period (794-1185 CE)
There are two bookends, if you will, to the Heian period, the last division of classical Japanese history: the establishment of a new capital in Heian-kyo, now Kyoto, in 794, and the takeover by a military government in 1185. There was a very influential family at the time, the Fujiwaras, who will be showing up in some of our stories. They weren’t royalty themselves, but they dominated the royal family by marrying their daughters to emperors and then ruling on behalf of the children. They ran not only the politics but the culture; they had refined sensibilities and sophisticated taste, and they were involved in visual arts and literature. You may have heard of the famous book The Tale of Genji—it was written by a Fujiwara. Japan had been heavily influenced by China up to this time; everything from the way cities were laid out to the system of writing came from China. However, in the Heian the Japanese started to gain confidence in their own heritage and culture and cut official ties with China. There was still trade, and Buddhist pilgrims still traveled between Japan and China, but now the Japanese developed their own writing system and their own styles of poetry, stories and painting. At the end of the Heian, the Fujiwaras were getting weaker and power was shifting from the Kyoto court to the military landowners in the provinces. In 1185, one of two powerful warrior clans, the Genji, defeated their chief rivals, the Heike, and succeeding in establishing in Kamakura a government controlled for the first time in history by military generals, or shoguns. At the same time, interesting things were happening in Buddhism. Buddhism had arrived in Japan from Korea in the mid-6th century. It came in with a diplomatic mission carrying Buddhist images and scriptures, marking the official introduction to the Japanese court, though gradual influence had already been present. This introduction sparked political friction between pro-Buddhist and anti-Buddhist groups, but Buddhism eventually gained imperial support, bringing new art, technology, and governance, and becoming intertwined with Shinto beliefs. By the beginning of the Heian, Buddhist institutions became more and more powerful and wealthy, and Emperor Kammu (r. 781-806) issued many edicts aimed at controlling them, setting up some tensions between the clergy and the government. Buddhism is a syncretic religion. a mixture of a lot of different practices. When it left India, it traveled along the Silk Road in Central Asia and picked up elements of Zoroastrianism, Hellenism and more. When it got to China , it took on Confucianism and Daoism, as well as folk religion; when it arrived in Japan, it added Shintoism and Japanese folk religion. The local kami, or spirits, became bodhisattvas in the Buddhist pantheon. A lot of lines got blurred. As if that wasn’t enough, there were Six Official Schools of Buddhism in Japan in the Heian. There were Pure Land folks, Amidists, Nichiren, Shingon, Kegon and Zen. While the clergy might make some distinction about what school or sect they were from, the common people didn’t care. They did whatever they thought would result in salvation. In the beginning of the Heian, Buddhism was strongly patronized by the government and the aristocracy. It was more about supporting political structure than about salvation of ordinary people. Toward the end of the Heian, all hell was breaking loose. Remember that the Fujiwaras were losing power and the military government was taking over. There were natural disasters and social breakdowns. In 1027 a huge fire in the capital destroyed a large part of the city. The imperial palace caught fire at least 10 times between 960 and 1058. There were frequent epidemics, and there were bandits on land and pirates at sea because of the continuing social and economic upheaval. Against that background, people were aware of the Three Stages of Dharma and believed they were in the Age of Mappo, the Decline of the Law. They felt helpless and started thinking about why they were suffering like this. They decided that their present suffering was caused by past sins. Now we see a shift from jiriki (self-power) to tariki (other-power), specifically Amida Buddha, and Buddhism becomes more popular in nature. The focus was on individual salvation and faith in Amida and the Western Paradise as an alternative to a miserable existence in the present life. In order to understand how the practice spread, we need to know about:
Let’s start by considering temple economics. Large temples were often supported by income from agricultural manors, which were granted to them by the government. Manors were in short supply, so smaller temples often missed out. Income was relatively fixed, so rebuilding from a fire or other special circumstance was a problem. When manors were remote and beyond complete control, payments might not come in. Thus kanjin was needed to support temple projects such as copying sutras or expanding buildings, but importantly, these fundraising efforts also helped to spread the teachings. Shodo had a big impact on oral literature of medieval Japan, one of the biggest reasons being that it propagated the Lotus Sutra. Belief in and veneration of the sutra were widespread. Sekkyōshi taught that one could be delivered to the Pure Land by the merit of the Lotus Sutra as well as by reciting the name of Amida—a fusion of beliefs and practices. The sutra itself says that it will be especially valuable in the age of mappō, which the people thought was upon them. Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, was also an important part of Buddhist culture. Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra is all about how Kannon will come to save believers, and the sutra was being advocated everywhere. Kannon could appear in this life and grant mundane wishes as well as delivering people to the Pure Land in the next. The influence of Kannon, Amida and Lotus were all mixed together. Also still in the mix was magic and folk religion. The ability to perform miracles was to some extent a measure of a priest’s holiness. This was, after all, an age when magic and superstition were an accepted part of life, when exorcism was a normal treatment for illness. |
Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE)
put in own words The Kamakura period was marked by a gradual shift in power from the nobility to landowning military men in the provinces. This era was a time of dramatic transformation in the politics, society, and culture of Japan. The bakufu, or government by warrior chieftains (shogun) or their regents, controlled the country from their base in Kamakura, near modern Tokyo. Because the emperor remained the titular head of state in his capital in Kyoto, a binary system of government, whereby emperors reigned but shoguns ruled, was established and endured for the next seven centuries. In 1333, a coalition of supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo (1288–1339), who sought to restore political power to the throne, toppled the Kamakura regime. Unable to rule effectively, this new royal government was short-lived. In 1336, a member of a branch family of the Minamoto clan, Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), usurped control and drove Go-Daigo from Kyoto. Takauji then set a rival on the throne and established a new military government in Kyoto. Meanwhile, Go-Daigo traveled south and took refuge in Yoshino. There he established the Southern Court, in contrast to the rival Northern Court supported by Takauji. This time of constant strife that lasted from 1336 to 1392 is known as the Nanbokucho period (Period of Southern and Northern Courts). The Kamakura and Nanbokucho eras were remarkable for the shift that occurred in the Japanese aesthetic. The highly refined sensibilities of the superceded aristocracy didn't interest the new patrons. Instead, the warrior class favored artists who treated their subjects with a direct honesty and virile energy that matched their own. What followed, then, was an age of realism unparalleled before the late eighteenth century. This renascence was not limited to art. Religious movements experienced a similar resurgence, and reform and counter-reform currents animated and transmuted Kamakura Buddhism. While the courtly and warrior elites perpetuated the Heian traditions of Amida worship and Esoteric Buddhism, for the first time in its history Buddhism was also actively proselytized among the Japanese masses. Rise of warriors was the only fundamental change in the entire history of Japanese society Buddhism: sociopolical power shifted from aristocracy to warriors Peasant classes were more easily able to adapt to changing economic and political conditions; could turn to new Buddhist schools that were emerging Clergy focused on salvation in the age of mappo, when people couldn’t save themselves by the old ways, when only the Buddhas could save people of simple and absolute faith: Pure Land and Nichiren most prominent In popular practice, sectarian boundaries were blurred, old as well as new practices adopted Contrast: Nobles were trapped trying to maintain their position rather than being free to be more flexible Buddhism became more open for Pure Land, Nichiren and Zen - material and spiritual benefits for the individual rather than maintaining political status quo Fewer solemn ceremonies and profound lectures and more simple sermons for the masses outside court and training temples The peak in the production of tale collections occurred during the late Heian and the Kamakura periods (around 1050 to 1333). This was also the period when Buddhism spread throughout Japanese society, carried by a new class of nonmonastic priests, of whom Nichiren was one. When Buddhism was first introduced to Japan, there was little sectarian consciousness, but by the Kamakura period, the situation was very different. Many priests, called hijiri, sekkyiisha, or shiidiishi, among other names, had moved their now simplified teachings out of the great temples and carried them directly to the people. Commoners, peasants, fishermen, and warriors, excluded in the early aristocratic days of Japanese Buddhism, now became coveted audiences as new and competing sects sought followers. Wandering priests of these new sects preached to the illiterate and poor as well as to the rich and educated, in temples, when they were invited, or in homes and on the streets. Sermons became less structured ; they were now individual efforts to persuade the hearers to faith and to teach elementary points of do~trine.~ Even services and ceremonies at the temples acquired a new character. The atmosphere at such services was "that of a carnival, with all manner of means employed to appeal to and sway the minds of the congregation" (Mills 1970, p. 35). Plays, music, and vaudeville-like programs-festivities that evolved into the No drama-enlivened the proceedings. An essential part of such entertainments was story-telling, and secular tales as well as religious had their place. Variations on two types of sermons were used by these priests. One was the parable-centered lecture, the other the lyrical, emotional description of personal religious experience (Kikuchi 1968, p. 57). These two types of preaching correspond to the two main types of setsuwa collections that appeared during the thirteenth century, a century during which at least fifteen new collections were compiled. It seems probable that a good proportion of the outpouring of collections was assembled for the practical use of preachers seeking new materials and more varied anecdotes to capture the attention of different audiences. |
