Yamato period
This is summary of two more detailed articles, Kofun period and Asuka period.The is the period of
Japanese history when the Japanese Imperial court ruled from modern-day
Nara Prefecture, then known as
Yamato Province.
While conventionally assigned to the period
250"
710 (Kofun period c 250-
538, Asuka period 538-710), the actual start of Yamato rule is disputed. The Yamato court's supremacy was challenged throughout the Kofun period at least by another polity centred in the later
Bizen and
Bitchū provinces in what is now known as
Okayama prefecture, and it was only into the 6th century that the
Yamato clans could be said to have any major advantage over their neighbouring clans.
This period is further divided, by the introduction of Buddhism, into
Kofun and
Asuka periods, a division that roughly corresponds also with the change of Yamato as one local chiefdom into the most important Japanese polity which directly dominated most Central Japan. the
Chinese writing system and
Buddhism were introduced by
Baekje in exchange for military support.
After the fall of Baekje (
660 CE), the Yamato government sent envoys directly to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure, also already in earlier centuries of the period. In addition to ethics of government, they also adopted the
Chinese calendar and many of its religious practices, including
Confucianism and
Taoism (Japanese:
Onmyo).
Prince Shotoku prescribed a new constitution for Japan based on the Chinese model.
A millennium earlier, the
Japanese Archipelago had been inhabited by the hunter-gatherer
Jomon people mostly or solely consisting of ancestors of
Ainu (presumably Malayo-Polynesian peoples). In centuries prior to the beginning of the Yamato period, elements of
Northeast Asian,
Chinese, and
Korean civilizations had been introduced to the
Japanese Archipelago in waves of migration, them becoming the dominant population and driving the Malayo-Polynesian culture(s) to more remote parts of the archipelago. Rather certainly, they were the main ancestors of Yamato clans and culture. This view was popularized in Japan by
Egami Namio's theory of a powerful horse-riding race from the north who brought about the dramatic change from Jomon to
Yayoi culture (Yayoi period being the era that immediately preceded Kofun period). Archeological evidence indicates contacts between the mainland (China and southern Korea) and Japan from a very early period, and its continuation also at least in the Kofun period.
The rice-growing, politically fragmented Yayoi culture evolved to more centralized, patriarchal, militaristic Kofun period and Yamato society.
The is an era in the history of
Japan from around
250 to
538. The word
kofun is Japanese for the type of
burial mounds dating from this era.
During the Kofun period, elements of
Northeast Asian,
Chinese, and
Korean civilizations continued to influence the culture in the
Japanese archipelago, both through waves of migration and through trade, travel and cultural change. Archeological evidence indicates contacts between the mainland (China and southern Korea) and Japan also during this period. Most scholars believe that there were massive transmissions of technology and culture from Korea to Japan which is evidenced by material artifacts in tombs of both states in the
Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea and
Kofun eras, and the later wave of Baekje immigrants to Yamato.
The archeological record and ancient Chinese and Korean sources indicate that the various tribes and chiefdoms of the Japanese Archipelago did not begin to coalesce into more centralized and hierarchical polities until
300 (well into the Kofun period), when large tombs begin to appear while there were no contacts between the
Wa and
China. Some describe the "mysterious century" as a time of internecine warfare as various local monarchies competed for hegemony on
Kyushu and
Honshu.
Japan of the Kofun age was positive in the introduction of Chinese culture, which mostly took place through Korea. Several kinds of apparates were imported. Books from China were one of the most important trade goods. Chinese philosophy that had been introduced in this era, had a big influence on the history of Japan. Decorated bronze mirrors (
神獣鏡) were imported from China. Japan was importing iron from Korea until the latter half of the 6th century.
Kofun tombs
The Kofun period takes its name (古墳,
kofun: "old tomb") from the culture's rich
funerary rituals and distinctive earthen mounds. The mounds contained large stone burial chambers. Some are surrounded by
moats.
Kofun came in many shapes, with round and square being the simplest. A distinct style is the keyhole kofun (
前方後円墳 zenpō kōen fun), with its square front and round back. Many kofun were natural hills, which might have been sculpted to their final shape. Kofun range in size from several meters to over 400
meters in length.
By the late Kofun period, the distinctive burial chambers, originally used by the ruling elite, also were built for commoners.
The biggest kofun are believed to be the tombs of emperors like
Emperor Ōjin (応神天皇
Ōjin Tennō) and
Emperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇
Nintoku Tennō). Kofun are also classified according to whether the entrance to the stone burial chamber is vertical (縦穴
tate-ana) or horizontal (横穴
yoko-ana).
Immigrants in early Japan
"Japan of the
Kofun Period was very positive towards the introduction of Korean culture."
[Keiji Imamura, Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia, University of Hawaii Press, 1996. ISBN 0824818520. [1]. ]For example, Yamato links to the mainland and the Liu Sung Dynasty in
425 and
478 were facilitated by the maritime knowledge and diplomatic connections of
Baekje.
[W.G. Beasley, The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan, University of California Press, 2000. [2]]Iron working technology was introduced into Japan from Korea around 300.
Korean influence on Japanese laws is also attributed to the fact that Korean immigrants were on committees that drew up law codes. Eight of the 19 members of the committee drafting the Taiho Code were from Korean immigrant families while none were from China proper. Further, the system of local administrative districts and the tribute tax were both based on Korean models.
[William Wayne Farris, Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues on the Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan, University of Hawaii Press, 1998. [3]. ]Many important figures were immigrants from China and Korea. The "Shinsen-Joujouroku" (新'"氏録), which was used as a directory of aristocrats, lists a number of clans from the
Han China, Silla, Baekche, and Goguryeo.
[『新'"氏録』氏族一覧, transcribed by Kazuhide Kitagawa. http://homepage1.nifty.com/k-kitagawa/data/shoji.html] Yamato Imperial Court had officially edited the directory in 815, and 163 Chinese clans were registered.
Kofun society
The Kofun period was a critical stage in Japan's evolution toward a more cohesive and recognized state. This society was most developed in the Kinai Region and the easternmost part of the
Inland Sea. Japan's rulers of the time even petitioned the Chinese court for confirmation of royal titles.
 |
Haniwa horse statuette, complete with saddle and stirrups, 6th century. |
The Yamato
polity, which emerged by the late 5th century, was distinguished by powerful great clans or extended families, including their dependants. Each clan was headed by a
patriarch who performed sacred rites to the clan's
kami to ensure the long-term welfare of the clan. Clan members were the aristocracy, and the kingly line that controlled the Yamato court was at its pinnacle. The Kofun period of Japanese culture is also sometimes called the Yamato period by some Western scholars, since this local chieftainship arose to become the Imperial dynasty at the end of the Kofun period.
The is generally defined as from
538"
710. The arrival of
Buddhism from
Silla marked a change in Japanese society and affected the
Yamato government.
The Yamato state evolved much during the Asuka period, which is named after the
Asuka region, south of modern
Nara, the site of numerous temporary imperial capitals established during the period. The Asuka period is known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, which had their origins in the late
Kofun period.
Artistically, the term
Tori Style is often used for the Asuka period. This is from the sculptor
Kuratsukuri Tori, grandson of Chinese immigrant Shiba Tatto. Tori Style inherits
Chinese Northern Wei style.
The arts during the
Asuka and
Nara periods are similar to contemperaneous art in China and Korea. One example of this is
Tori Busshi's
Shaka triad which reflects the style of early to mid-sixth century Chinese style.
Introduction of Buddhism
was introduced by
Korean monks, probably in A.D. 538, exposing Japan to a new body of religious doctrine.
With the dawn of the Asuka period the use of elaborate
kofun tombs by the
imperial family and other elite fell out of use because of prevailing new Buddhist beliefs, which put greater emphasis on the transience of human life. Commoners and the elite in outlying regions, however, continued to use kofun until the late seventh century, and simpler but distinctive tombs continued in use throughout the following period.
The evolved still further during the Asuka period, which is named after the
Asuka region, south of modern
Nara, the site of numerous temporary imperial capitals established during the period. The Asuka period is known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, which had their origins in the late Kofun period.
The
Yamato court, concentrated in the Asuka region, exercised power over clans in
Kyushu and
Honshu, bestowing titles, some hereditary, on clan chieftains. The Yamato name became synonymous with all of Japan as the Yamato rulers suppressed the clans and acquired agricultural lands. Based on
Chinese models (including the adoption of the
Chinese written language), they developed a central administration and an imperial court attended by subordinate clan chieftains but with no permanent capital. By the mid-seventh century, the agricultural lands had grown to a substantial public domain, subject to central policy. The basic administrative unit of the
Gokishichido system was the county, and society was organized into occupation groups. Most people were farmers; other were fishers, weavers, potters, artisans, armorers, and ritual specialists.
*538: the Korean kingdom of Paekche dispatches a delegation to introduce Buddhism to the Japanese emperor
*593:
Prince Shotoku of the Soga clan rules Japan and promotes Buddhism
*600:
Prince Shotoku sends the first official Japanese mission to China
*604:
Prince Shotoku issues a Chinese-style constitution (Kenpo Jushichijo), based on Confucian principles, which de facto inaugurates the Japanese empire
*605:
Prince Shotoku declares Buddhism and Confucianism the state religions of Japan
*607:
Prince Shotoku builds the Buddhist temple Horyuji in the Asuka valley
*645:
Prince Shotoku is succeeded by Kotoku Tenno, who strengthens imperial power over aristocratic clans (
Taika Reform), turning their states into provinces
