ARBIND KUMAR BLOG

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-37

THE MUROMACHI CULTURE

The MUROMACHI culture flourished despite continuous war during the period . As the economic prosperity coming from the KAMAKURA PERIOD still continued during the MUROMACHI PERIOD . Due to this the JAPANESE population went upto ten millions compared to six millions during the thirteenth century . The trade and commerce especially with CHINA and KOREA flourished considerably . During this period the barter-based economy was replaced by the currency-based economy as the DAIMYOS and other groups in JAPAN , by now , had started minting coins of their own . Some of the most important JAPANESE art forms like INK WASH PAINTING , IKEBANA flower arrangement , the TEA ceremony , BONSAI , JAPANESE GARDENING and NOH THEATER were developed . Though YOSHIMASA , the eighth ASHIKAGA SHOGUN , was a very weak political and military leader , yet he had played a critical role in promoting these cultural development as such . In 1397 AD he built a famous temple in KYOTO known as KINKAKU-JI temple . It is also called the TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN PAVILLION .

THE NANBAN TRADE

THE NANBAN TRADE ( the southern barbarian trade ) was a period in the JAPANESE history from the arrival of EUROPEAN in 1543 AD to the first SAKOKU Seclusion Edicts of Isolationism of 1614 AD . The NANBAN is a JAPANESE word which had been used to designate people from Southern CHINA , RYUKYU Island , INDIAN Ocean , and SOUTHERN ASEA prior to the coming of the first EUROPEANS in JAPAN . According to NIHONGI RYAKU , we have instances that the DAZAIFU ( the administrative center of KYUSHU ) , reported that the NANBAN pirates pillaged a large area of KYUSHU in 997 AD and the DAZAISHU ordered KIKAIJIMA to arrest the NANBAN forthwith .

The NANBAN TRADE as a form of the EUROPEAN contact started with the PORTUGUESE explorers , missionaries , and merchants established long-distance overseas trade routes with JAPAN . In 1543 AD , the three PORTUGUESE traders on board were the first EUROPEANS to set foot at the JAPANESE island of TANEGASHIMA . Due to such contacts , apart from trade and commerce , cultural exchanges started between JAPAN and those EUROPEAN countries . The most important item the EUROPEAN traders in JAPAN introduced was the MUSKET . And by 1556 AD , more than 300,000 MUSKETS were being used by the DAIMYOS in their armies . They also introduced CHRISTIANITY in JAPAN . In 1549 AD , the JESUIT MISSIONARY , FRANCIS XAVIER , disembarked in KYUSHU . As cultural exchange , the first map of JAPAN was made by the PORTUGUESE cartographer , FERNO VAZ DOURADO in 1568 AD . The PORTUGUESE were allowed to trade with JAPAN . They also were allowed to create colonies and convert the believers into CHRISTIANITY . And the civil war status in JAPAN contributed a lot in favour of the PORTUGUESE . OMURA SUMITADA , the DAIMYO of YOKOSEURA adopted CHRISTIANITY in 1562 AD and named as DOM BARTOLOMEU . He was the first Lord to be converted into CHRISTIANITY which instigated a Rebellion in 1564 AD by the BUDDHIST clergy and YOKOSEURA Was destroyed .

OTOMO SORIN AND THE CASTLE OF MOJI

OTOMO SORIN , a JAPANESE feudal lord ( DAIMYO ) of the OTOMO clan , was one of the few to have been converted to the ROMAN CATHOLICISM . He , with the help of PORTUGUESE , attacked the castle of MOJI in 1561 AD . The PORTUGUESE provided him three ships with a crew of about 900 men and more than fifty cannons for this attack . With this attack started the first bombardment with the foreign ships on the land of JAPAN . In a similar way , the first recorded naval battle between the EUROPEANS and the JAPANESE occurred in 1565 AD . The battle of FUKUDA BAY led the PORTUGUESE traders to find the safe harbor for their ships and the naval equipments to NAGASAKI . OMURA SUMITADA ( DOM BARTOLOMEU ) allotted a small piece of land at the small fishing village of NAGASAKI to the JESUITS which they used for receiving the CHRISTIAN exiled from the other territories of JAPAN and for building a chapel and a school in the name of SAO PAULO like one existed in GOA , in INDIA . By 1579 AD , NAGASAKI had more than four hundred houses as such . And in 1580 AD , OMURA SUMITADA decided to ‘ guarantee the city directly to the JESUITS ‘. JOAO RODRIGUES , a well known PORTUGUESE JESUIT , prepared a JAPANESE dictionary , the first in the PORTUGUESE Language , was published in 1603 AD from NAGASAKI which enabled them to convert more and more JAPANESE people to CHRISTIANITY .

ODA NOBUNAGA , a JAPANESE DAIMYO and regarded as the first ‘ Great Unifire ‘of JAPAN , nicknamed as the DEMON KING due to his valour in the war , and the head of the very powerful ODA CLAN , launched a war against other DAIMYOS to unify JAPAN in the 1560s AD . He used EUROPEAN technology and firearms in the war against the DAIMYOS and conquered many of them . However , he was assassinated in 1582 AD by one AKECHI MITSUHIDE . But his successor , TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI unified JAPAN in 1590 AD . He also launched at least two successful invasions of KOREA in 1592 AD and 1597 AD respectively . In 1603 AD , the TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE of EDO enacted a law which pronounced the code of conduct to control all the autonomous DAIMYOS . And in 1639 AD , the isolationist SAKOKU policy that spanned from 1603 AD to 1818 AD , known as the EDO PERIOD in the JAPANESE history , ended the PORTUGUESE influence after hundred years on the JAPANES territory as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ………………

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-36

MUROMACHI PERIOD OF JAPAN

ARBIND KUMAR BLOG

MUROMACHI PERIOD OF JAPAN , despite continuous war in the country , reflected a period of economic prosperity , or shall I say , the continuation of economic prosperity of the KAMAKURA PERIOD . It started in 1333 AD and continued upto 1568 AD . As we know that the feudalism now had percolated deep into the JAPANESE political and economic system , and the KENMU RESTORATION , a three years period of the JAPANESE Imperial history between 1333 AD to 1336 AD , or shall we say , between the KAMAKURA PERIOD and MUROMACHI PERIOD , had been a period in which an effort was made by the Emperor GO-DAIGO to overthrown the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE and to restore the lost power of the Imperial Court/Imperial House of JAPAN . The KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE , due to various internal reasons , had decided to put on throne alternatively two contending Imperial lines : 1. THE NORTHERN COURT OR THE SENIOR LINE ; and 2. THE SOUTHERN COURT OR JUNIOR LINE . And this policy continued for several years until a member of the SOUTHERN COURT ascended to the throne as Emperor GO-DAIGO who in the GENKO WAR was defeated in 1331 AD and was exiled to the OKI island . But in the second uprising in 1333 AD , GO-DAIGO defeated the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE at the seige of KAMAKURA with the help of General ASHIKAGA TAKAUJI . And in this way GO-DAIGO power was restored but his policies didn’t satisfied to his SAMURAI supporters in particular and the JAPANESE people in general . It resulted in what is called KENMU RESTORATION in the JAPANESE history in which TAKAUJI became the SHOGUN who founded the ASHIKAGA SHOGUNATE in 1336 AD . In this way began the NORTHERN and SOUTHERN COURTS and the MUROMACHI PERIOD OF the JAPANESE history .

TAKAUJI set up his SHOGUNATE at MUROMACHI district of KYOTO . However , the challenges before TAKAUJI were numerous . He had to face the challenge put by the SOUTHERN COURT whose Emperor GO-DAIGO had fled to the southern city of YOSHINO where he had set up a rival government on the one hand , and on the other hand he had to maintain his authority over his own subordinate governors of the provinces as such . Following the line of the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE , the MUROMACHI SHOGUNATE had also started appointing its allies to rule over the provinces of JAPAN . But this experiment of the MUROMACHI SHOGUNATE resulted in the establishment of the feudal lords called DAIMYOS who gradually became so powerful that they started disobeying the SHOGUN . However , TAKAUJI’S grandson ASHIKAGA YOSHIMISTU who came to power in 1368 AD , consolidated the power of the SHOGUNATE , brought the entire country together and brokered a deal between the NORTHERN COURT and the SOUTHERN COURT , thus brought them together and in this way ended the Civil War in JAPAN . He remained in power till 1408 AD and expanded the power of the SHOGUNATE . Henceforth , the power of the Imperial Court was kept under tight control by the SHOGUNATE as such which brought about a sort of peace and stability in the JAPANESE society .

Another violent civil war , known as ONIN war, broke out in 1467 AD for who would control the ruling SHOGUM . The DAIMYOS took sides to establish the candidate of their choice on the post of SHOGUN . But by the time the issue of succession was settled in 1477 , the SHOGUN had lost all its power to the DAIMYO who now started ruling hundreds of independent states throughout JAPAN . However , this Civil War didn’t stop as the DAIMYOS started fighting among themselves for the control of JAPAN . To name a few , UESUGI KENSHIN and TAKEDA SHINGEN were the most powerful DAIMYOS of the period . To control the warring parties , the skilled spies and assassins called NINJA ( COVERT AGENT ) , were hired by the DAIMYOS . The legendary secretive lifestyle of NINJA spies had remained the talk of JAPAN for many years . Moreover , the rebellious peasants and warring monks affiliated with the JAPANESE BUDDHIST temples also started raising their own armies . So , such was the political situation during the MUROMACHI PERIOD OF JAPAN as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ……………….

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-35

KAMAKURA PERIOD OF JAPAN

THE KAMAKURA PERIOD OF JAPAN started in 1185 AD and ended in 1333 AD . Concert with the Imperial Court of JAPAN , MINAMOTO NO YORITOMO , a feudal lord , ruled over JAPAN . Now the age of feudalism started in JAPAN . In 1192 AD , the Imperial Court declared YORITOMO as SEII TAI-SHOGUN ( THE EASTERN BARBARIAN SUBDUING GREAT GENERAL ) . In short , he was called as SHOGUN as such . And his government was called as the BAKUFU meaning by a tent government as his soldiers used to live in the tent . In this way , the sad thing with the JAPANESE society was that it remained largely under the military rule until 1868 AD as SHOGUN or SHOGUNATE was the de facto Ruler of JAPAN . So , under this new system of the governance , the Imperial Court maintained the bureaucratic and the religious functions and the SHOGUNATE maintained the members of the aristocratic class as such . However , after the death of YORITOMO in 1199 AD , the office of the SHOGUN weakened considerably but his wife HOJO became powerful in 1203 AD , and her father HOJO TOKIMASA was appointed as Regent to the then SHOGUN , MINAMOTO NO SANETOMO , who was the son of YORITOMO . Now he became virtually a puppet in the hand of HOJO TOKIMARA and the actual power remained with HOJO .

The JAPANESE society , now , had a decentralized feudalistic structure as such , as the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE allowed his Vassals to maintain their own armies . They were also allowed to maintain law and order in their respective provinces as per their wishes . And it went on without interference of the Imperial Court for long as it had become weak to a considerable extent . In an effort to get out of this situation , in 1221 AD the retired Emperor , GO-TOBA , instigated a Rebellion against the SHOGUNATE which is known as the JOKYU WAR in the JAPANESE history . But the Rebellion became failed and the Emperor GO-TOBA along with two other Emperors had to be exiled to the OKI island and other places as such . Thus , the SHOGUNATE now again consolidated its political power compare to the KYOTO aristocracy .

A moment in the JAPANESE history came when the entire SAMURAI armies of the whole nation were mobilized in the years 1274 AD and 1284 AD respectively to fight against the MONGOL Emperor KUBLAI KHAN who invaded JAPAN during both the occasions . Though the MONGOL army was equipped with the superior weaponry and a huge arm forces , yet due to the DIVINE WIND called KAMIKAZE ( A TYPE OF TYPHOON ) , the MONGOL fleet was destroyed in the sea and almost at both the occasions the JAPANESE SAMURAI armies got victory . But the heavy expenditure caused due to this war created a short of rift between the SAMURAI armies and the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE as the latter was unable to pay compensation to its Vassals in lieu of their role in the victory in the war as such . And this rift and discontent continued among the SAMURAI classes for long resulting , at last , in the end of KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE in 1333 AD . However , the JAPANESE society had started achieving prosperity and population growth since 1250 AD as the greater uses of iron tools and fertilizer, improved irrigation techniques and double cropping systems increased fastly in the rural areas , and fewer famines and epidemics allowed the urban population to grow economically . As such stability provided ample scope to increase trade and commerce in all over JAPAN . The BUDDHISM was the religion of the elite class of the society but it was popularized among the masses by a prominent JAPANESE Monk known as HONEN whose period was from 1133 AD to 1212 AD . It was he who established the PURE LAND BUDDHISM in JAPAN . Similarly , NICHIREN ( 1222 AD TO 1282 AD ) founded and propagated NICHIREN BUDDHISM in the JAPANESE society . And I have mentioned in my earlier blog how ZEN BUDDHISM spread among the SAMURAI CLASSES of JAPAN during this period as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED …………………….

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-34

GLIMPSE OF INDO-JAPANESE CULTURAL UNITY

The JAPANESE HOKEQUE or JAPANESE LOTUS SUTRA , as I have discussed in my earlier blog, has been the guiding force for the JAPANESE society as a whole for long . The SUTRA says that whenever the society declines socially , politically and morally , the incarnation of LORD BUDDHA takes place as MATRAYE and an Era of welfare and the qwell-being of the society are started . As per the JAPANESE MAHAYANA philosophy, the God resides everywhere in the world . Similarly , the Indian Philosophy , baring a few , believes in the omnipresence of the Almighty God . The GITA ( A BOOK OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY ) clearly states that whenever decline of DHARMA ( VIRTUES ) in the society starts , the incarnation of the God on the Earth takes place to uphold the DHARMA . The JAPANESE people generally believe that the world is good , the man is one of the forms of the God and the life is meant for joy . A plain and simple way of human existence , thy name is both the JAPANESE and the INDIAN society as such . Moreover , the JAPANESE society , like that of the INDIAN society , believes that the food is meant for establishing relationships with the environment as such . We in INDIA believes that the Goddess ANNPURNA keeps the country full of grains as the Goddess of grains , food and wealth . Similarly , the JAPANESE Goddess of grains and food called UKE-MOCHI-NO-KAMI , as the JAPANESE believes that she keeps the country full of grains and food for the people . On the first day of the SPRING season in JAPAN is organized a festival called SETSU-VAN BHOJ to eradicate poverty and hunger ( ONI ) . And during this occasion every member of the family has to eat food one spoon more than his age . On this occasion , fry beans are sprinkled inside and outside of the every house . Similarly , in INDIA , rice grains are sprinkled during the marriage ceremony over the bride and bride groom and even in the house as such . These cultural similarities between the two countries i.e INDIA and JAPAN keep them closer to each others .

The JAPANESE name of the Goddess SARASWATI is BENJAITEN . She is the compassionate Goddess of the people of the entire world as the JAPANESE society has faith and belief . In INDIA She is considered as the Goddess of knowledge . As per the JAPANESE belief system there are at least three thousands Goddess in the untire universe . Among all of them the Goddess SARASWATI is virtuous and provider of wealth , longevity and happiness . The Goddess is the powerhouse of the knowledge , melody , music and eloquence . She is the creator of the pleasant chords of music . Similarly , the JAPANESE society believes that SARASWATI is the Goddess of virtues , benefits/profits and knowledge . That’s why She is called in JAPAN as GUN-DEVI ( THE GODDESS OF VIRTUES ) . As She provides boon of wealth , eloquence , dexterity in music and knowledge to those seeking them all . Similarly , as per the Indologist like DR. RAGHUVIR the worship of the LORD GANESHA started in JAPAN in 806 AD with the return of KOBO DAISHI in JAPAN from CHINA . He is known as VINAYAK ( AS IN INDIA ) , SHODEN and KANGI-TEN in JAPAN who is considered as the provider of fortune . The LORD GANESHA in INDIA is also considered as the LORD of fate and fortune . LORD GANESHA in JAPAN has , at least , five different forms . Or shall I say that as per the VAJRADHATU MANDAL of JAPAN, the LORD GANESHA is known for five virtuous forms as such which are as follows : 1. CHHATRA VINAYAK ; 2. MALYA VINAYAK ; 3. DHANU VINAYAK ; 4. KHADAG VINAYAK ; 5. VINAYAK-TEN . All these forms of the LORD GANESHA was that of the twelve century AD . In the TOJI MONASTERY , we can find picture of the couple LORD GANESHA in which one head of the LORD is that of an elephant and other head is that of a hog/pig . We can also find LORD GANESHA in hexagonal form . Similarly , like in INDIA , we can find CHATURBHUJ ( WITH FOUR HANDS ) GANESHA in JAPAN in which the LORD’S two hands are folded , in the one hand we can find radish and in the other hand LADDOO ( AN INDIAN SWEETS ) .

With the advent of MANTRAYAN BUDDHISM in JAPAN , the JAPANESE people started worshiping the HINDU DIVINITY like TRIDEV , PANCHDEV , LORD GANESHA , GODDESS SARASWATI and different HINDU SEERS and SAGES . Seers like VASISTA in JAPAN was known as BASUSEN . Seers like ANGIRA and ATRI with their spouses were worshiped by the followers of MANTRAYAN BUDDHISM in JAPAN . All the mysterious practices of this cult were being expressed in the different art forms and even in the different JAPANESE musical forms . It could now be seen in the JAPANESE society in large numbers . Similarly , the LORD SHIVA and the Goddess PARVATI were called in JAPAN as DAIJICHAHE-TEN and UMAHI . But the art expression of these Gods and Goddess were purely in the JAPANESE forms as hair Knot of the Goddess PARVATI appeared altogether as that of a JAPANESE girl as such . The HINDU God , the LORD VISHNU , who was called NARAYAN-DEV in JAPAN, was expressed as if He was almost JAPANESE in His look . Thus , the cultural unity of both the countries i.e INDIA and JAPAN could very much be ascertained from the above mentioned facts as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ………………..

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-33

LOTUS SUTRA AND JAPAN

The most important BUDDHIST literature that got importance in JAPAN was LOTUS SUTRA . Actually it is a CHINESE translation of the Sanskrit book called SADDAHM-PUNDRIC- SUTRA . It was translated by the great Indian BUDDHIST Philosopher KUMARJIVI and in the JAPANESE language he is called KUMARAJU . He was the master of the CHINESE LANGUAGE whose style of writing in the CHINESE language was much appreciated in the past and followed even today by the CHINESE writers . An interesting thing about KUMARJIVI was that in view his intelligence , honesty , scholarship and loyalty to the then CHINESE EMPEROR YAOHITSUNG , the CHINESE Emperor thought that why not all these virtues of KUMARJIVI be used for the improvement of the CHINESE race genetically . So , he sent ten extremely beautiful CHINESE girls in the services of KUMARJIVI . And as a hardy man he started molding his life as per the wishes of the Emperor . Now he propagated among the CHINESE people this message that since the Lotus was grown in the mud , so people should take only Lotus leaving the mud . But sad thing about him was that all of his sons and grandsons from those ten CHINESE girls did not proved to be worthy as per the aspirations and wishes of the Emperor . However , his LOTUS SUTRA had a sizable impact on the minds of the JAPANESE people as such . And the thought propounded in the LOTUS SUTRA had guided JAPANESE people since thirteenth century onwards as they believed that all the transcendental pleasures could be attained by following the sermons given in the LOTUS SUTRA and assured by it . LOTUS SUTRA written in the JAPANESE HIEROGLYPHS ‘ KANJI ‘ is the best example of the the emotional bindings of the two countries like INDIA and JAPAN .

COTTON SEEDS AND THE INDIAN YOUTH

The incident is that of 799 AD . A youth of 20 years of age while flowing in the sea reached MICAVA beach of JAPAN because his ship had broken in the sea near JAPAN . He had no cloth over his body except a coat and underpants made up of the MUNJ grass . When landed on the beach of MICAVA nobody understood his language . After some years when he learnt the JAPANESE language , he told the people of JAPAN that he was an INDIAN and then he was given shelter at the KOBADERA BUDDHIST MONASTERY of JAPAN . Two JAPANESE writers : NIHAN-KOKO and RUIJU KOKUSHI had written that the INDIAN youth had brought seeds of cotton from INDIA with himself and cotton cultivation in JAPAN started with that and later JAPAN became one of the cotton growing countries of the world .

RICE AS STAPLE FOOD OF JAPAN

Rice is the staple food of the people of JAPAN . The rice in the JAPANESE language is called URUCHI . As per the JAPANESE scholars the rice came in JAPAN from INDIA . And as per the JAPANESE tradition if you are eating rice with other things , you are not supposed to leave a single rice grain in your eating plate as rice is cultivated by putting much labor in it . And it is considered as a moral crime as such if you are leaving a single grain of rice in your eating plate . This tradition is similar to what we have in INDIA and this percolated deep in the minds of the JAPANESE people especially since HEIAN PERIOD since JAPANESE PEOPLE started coming in touch with the INDIAN BUDDHIST MONKS and scholars . In early period of the spread of BUDDHISM in JAPAN the BUDDHIST MONKS were pure vegetarians . Even common people also liked vegetarian foods except fish . But beef eating was started later on by the first AMERICAN representative in JAPAN known as TOWNSAND HARRIS . He used to live on the IJU island of JAPAN . One day he expressed his wish that he wanted to eat beef . By that time JAPANESE were not having beef at all . So , it was very difficult for them to fulfill the wishes of that AMERICAN representative in JAPAN . But it is said that a very kind JAPANESE farmer gave him a cow . The cow was tied in a lemon tree and was butchered for that AMERICAN representative in JAPAN . But for many years he had to hid himself in a temple fearing threat of his life by some cow devotees which might cause rift in relation between the two countries i.e AMERICA and JAPAN . And in this way beef eating was started in JAPAN by an AMERICAN as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ………………

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-32

HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN CONTINUED…..

HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN was known for stability of the JAPANESE population and thus the JAPANESE society after a long period , and the Imperial Court consolidated its control over the EMISHI tribe of the northern HONSU . The title of SEII TAI-SHOGUN ( THE GREAT BARBARIAN SUBDUING GENERAL ) was conferred on OTOMO NO OTOMARO for the first time by the Imperial Court . And SUKANOUE NO TAMURAMARO , the then SEII TAI-SHOGUN in 802 AD subjugated the EMISHI tribe who were led by the tribal leader like ATERUI . ABE CLAN , who occupied crucial positions in the regional government during the period , came into conflict with the central government in 1051 AD . ABE CLAN was one of the oldest JAPANESE CLANS and was one of the original CLANS of the YAMATO CLAN as such and got much more prominence during the HEIAN PERIOD . This conflict with the central Imperial Court led to the ZENKUNEN WAR or known in the English language as the FORMER NINE YEARS’ WAR or sometimes also called as EARLY NINE YEARS’ WAR which went on from 1051 AD to 1063 AD and in which the Imperial Court got victory and the leader of the ABE CLAN , ABE NO SADATO was surrendered . Like other major conflicts during the HEIAN PERIOD such as the GOSANNEN WAR and the GENPEL WAR , the ZENKUNEN WAR was the best example of the power struggles within the different SAMURAI CLANS as such . Similarly , in the year 1156 , rivalry for usurping the throne betbeen EMPEROR GO-SHIRAKAWA and the EMPEROR SUTOKU took place and both of them hired TAIRA and MINAMOTO CLANS respectively for taking over the throne by force in which the former CLAN got victory and the grandson of TAIRA NO KIYOMORI , ANTOKU was declared as the Emperor of KYOTO . As a result the rivalry between these two CLANS grew and resulted in what is called the HEJI REBELLION of 1160 AD . Again in the year 1180 AD , war between two CLANS started but the decisive war fought between the two CLANS erupted in 1181 AD after the death of TAIRA NO KIYOMORI and continued for more than four years and ended in 1185 AD . In the naval battle of DAN-NO-URA ultimately MINAMOTO NO YOSHITSUNE took over as the de facto Ruler of JAPAN . So , despite generally stability among the JAPANESE people and the JAPANESE society , war between different SAMURAI went on during HEIAN PERIOD as such .

THE JAPANESE CULTURE DURING HEIAN The Imperial Court became now the vibrant centre of arts and cultures . KOKINSHU and the TOSA DIARY were two classical poetry collections of the period written by the great JAPANESE poet like KI NO TSURAYUKI . The development of KARA written syllabaries denoted declining of the CHINESE influences over JAPAN during the HEIAN PERIOD . The official missions to CHINA started during the TANG DYNASTY of CHINA ended in the nineth century AD during the HEIAN PERIOD . However , informal missions of monks and scholars to CHINA continued . But all these development resulted into the rise of native form of Arts and Literatures in JAPAN . And the JAPANESE architectural excellence like HEIAN KYO and the temple of BYODO-IN were built in UJI in 1043 AD . KOBO DAISHI , a JAPANESE BUDDHIST traveler , learnt MANTRATAN ( TANTRIC ) system of BUDDHISM from the CHINESE scholar like HUE-KUO ( 746 AD TO 805 AD ) . HUE-KUO was the desciple of an INDIAN BUDDHIST scholar AMOGH VAJRA (705 AD- 774 AD ) . When KOBO DAISHI returned to JAPAN from CHINA in 805 AD , he brought with him paintings of NAHAKARUN GARVMANDAL and VAJRADHATU MANDAL made by the CHINESE painter LEE-CHEN . These paintings brought by KOBO DAISHI became the sources of spread of MANTRAYAN CULT of BUDDHISM in JAPAN . These two Mandals were included with full of BUDDHA and BHOUDHISHTVA , and Replica of almost all INDIAN deities like the LORD GANESHA , LORD SHIVA , LORD VISHNU , BRAHMA including the Replica of almost all GRAH and NAKSHATRA , RASHIS and RISHI . But in all these replicas one can see the reflections of all the indigenous people and culture as such . The JAPANESE also considered LORD GANESHA as the God of RIDDHI & SUDDHI ( FORTUNE ) whose JAPANESE name was SHODEV or KANGOTEN . And the oldest picture of LORD GANESHA in JAPAN was that of 821 AD in the DAIGOJI MONESTRY of the city of KYOTO .

KOBO DAISHI , BUDDHISM AND COMMONIZATION OF EDUCATION

KOBO DAISHI came in touch with the great INDIAN BUDDHIST Philosopher PRAGYA TARA during his sojourn in CHINA . PRAGYA TARA was a KASHMIRI BUDDHIST under whose influences KOBO DAISHI tried to bring about cultural revivalism in JAPAN. As a result , commonization of education among the people of JAPAN started . Previously the education of Academy were restricted only to the elite class people of the JAPANESE society . Now Education became accessible for the common men as such . On the basis of Sanskrit Alphabets , he prepared unique JAPANESE Alphabets comprised of fifty letters and wrote a poetry in which no letter was used twice . This poetry was known as EROH and considered as one of the best poetries of the JAPANESE language . He got inspiration to write this poetry from the great BUDDHIST book PARINIRVAN SHUTRA . In this way the JAPANESE Cultural and Linguistic dependence on CHINA were minimized to a considerable extent during this period .

In 816 AD , KOBO DAISHI under the order of the Imperial Court established a BUDDHIST MONASTERY in the lush green valley of KOYASAN known as OKINO-IN where he was engraved after his death and later it became the place of pilgrim for the masses . This MANTRAYAN MONASTERY was completed in 823 AD in about seven years . After the construction of the KOYASAN MONASTERY , he was assigned the duty of protection of lands and properties of the BUDDHIST temple of KYO-O-GOKUKU-JI . It was also called TOJI temple where twenty one statues of INDRA , BRAHMA , SKAND , KARTIKA , SARSWATI ( ALL INDIAN GOD AND GODESS ) were established . In this way BUDDHISM of MANTRAYAN SECT spread among the JAPANESE people as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED …………………….

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-31

ASUKA PERIOD OF JAPAN

The ASUKA PERIOD of JAPAN ranging from 538 AD to 710 AD was a period of the introduction of the BUDDHIST religion in the JAPANESE society from the KOREAN Kingdom of BAEKJE . The name ASUKA was drawn from the de facto Imperial Capital , ASUKA , located in the KENAI region of JAPAN . The SOGA clan of JAPAN , who were BUDDHIST , took over the charges of the government in 580 AD and started controlling the affairs of the people of JAPAN for more than sixty long years from behind the curtain by co-existing with the native JAPANESE religion SHINTO . PRINCE SHOTOKU who was partially a SOGA decent and a staunch BUDDHIST served as a Regent and the de facto Ruler of JAPAN from 594 AD to 622 AD, did two important things for JAPAN : 1. AUTHORED THE SEVENTEEN ARTICLE CONSTITUTION ; and 2. THE CAP AND RANK SYSTEM . The first was the CONFUCIAN- INSPIRED CODE OF CONDUCT for the officials and the citizens . And the second was meant for introduction of a merit based civil services in the government of JAPAN . In 607 AD he undermined the CHINESE government by addressing the CHINESE EMPEROR as ‘The ruler of the land of rising sun addresses the ruler of the setting sun .’ Such was the strength and power of JAPAN during SHOTOKU PERIOD . However , in 645 PRINCE NAKA NO OE and FUJIWARA NO KAMATARI , the founder of the FUJIWARA CLAN , overthrew the SOGA CLAN in a Coup d’etre , thus , the rule of FUJIWARA CLAN now started ruling in JAPAN . The new regime introduced the TAIKA land reforms on the basis of the CONFUCIAN philosophies from CHINA . The aim in this reform was to nationalize all lands of JAPAN to be distributed equally among the JAPANESE cultivators . Secondly , it also expanded the taxation base of the government . And thirdly , it assured the greater centralization of power of the Imperial Court of JAPAN as such . This government was more inclined towards CHINA . That’s why the JAPANESE government started sending JAPANESE students and envoys to CHINA to learn about CHINESE writings , politics , arts an religion . But again in 672 the JINSHIN war between PRINCE OAMA and his nephew PRINCE OTOMO further compelled the JAPANESE government to bring about the administrative reforms and as a result the TAIHO CODE came into existence which brought about changes in the structure of the central government and the central statues and as a result a CHINESE type of centralized government , called RITSURYO State , came into existence which remained in JAPAN for more than half a millennium as such .

NARA PERIOD OF JAPAN

The NARA PERIOD OF JAPAN started in 710 AD and lasted up till 794 AD . It founded its new capital at HEIJO–KYO ( MODERN NARA ) on the model of the CHINESE capital CHANGAN during the TANG DYNASTY of CHINA . The main contribution of this period was production of two important books on the ancient history of the people and culture of JAPAN . They were KOJIKI and NIHON SHOKI . MANYOSHU , one of the finest collection of the JAPANESE poetry, came into existence during this period . But this period of history of the people of JAPAN appeared to be quite painful as JAPAN suffered from a series of natural disaster . As smallpox epidemic between 735-37 AD killed more than a quarter of the population . Similarly , wildfires , droughts , famines and outbreaks of diseases during this period created hardship for the people of JAPAN . EMPEROR SHOMU ( 724 AD to 749 AD ) fearing his lack of piousness in the state functioning as major cause of such calamity , promoted BUDDHISM and built up a temple at NARA known as TODAI-JI temple and established there a statue of LORD BUDDHA made up of copper of about 550 tons . He with his courtiers standing before the TODAI-JI temple announced that , ‘ I am the servant of all the three : the first is LORD BUDDHA , the second is the BOUDH religion , the third is BOUDH SANGHA .’And the daughter of EMPEROR SHOMU , whose name was OKEN , was a staunch BUDDHIST who became BUDDHIST nun in 752 AD . The MONK DOKYO tried to establish his own rule over JAPAN with the help of EMPRESS SHOTOKU during 760 AD . But after the death of the EMPRESS SHOTOKU in 770 AD he was dethroned and again the FUJIWARA CLAN consolidated its power over JAPAN as such . However during this period many cultural development took place . In 727 AD a very nice replica of the Godess MAHALAKSHMI in the form of HANJAN was established in YOKUSHIJI . EMPRESS SHOYI constructed 48 feet high statue of LORD BUDDHA in the DAIBUTSU-DEN Monestry . It took twelve years . And the famous INDIAN BUDDHIST MONK BODHISEN was called to JAPAN for consecration ( PRAN PRATISHTHA ) of this statue of LORD BUDDHA . He was the the first INDIAN BUDDHIST MONK who went to JAPAN from CHINA on the invitation of the JAPANESE EMPEROR in 736 AD and he remained there up till his death on February 25th , 760 AD propagating BUDDHISM in all over JAPAN .

HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN

The HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN started from 794 AD and lasted in 1185 AD . In 794 AD the capital of JAPAN was moved from NAGAOKA- KYO to HEIAN-KYO ( MODERN KYOTO ) , that’s why this period of JAPANESE history is called HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN . The political powers remained with the FUJIWARA CLAN as they welded power in the Imperial Court due to the intermarriage with the Imperial family . In 858 AD FUJIWARA NO YOSHIFUSA declared himself as the Regent ( SESSHO ) to the underage Emperor . His son FUJIWARA NO MOTOTSUNE who created the office of KAMPAKU which could rule in place of an adult reigning Emperor . And an exceptional statesman like FUJIWARA NO MICHINAGA became KAMPAKU in 796 AD and married his four daughters with Emperors current and future . The FUJIWARA CLAN held power up till 1086 AD when EMPEROR SHIRAKAWA transferred the power to his son EMPEROR HORIKAWA but continued to exercise political powers by establishing CLOISTERED RULE . However , during the entire HEIAN PERIOD the power of the Imperial Court declined considerably and the powers of the nobles increased . These nobles and various religious orders , undermining the policy of RITSURYO State taken as a part of the nationalization of lands in JAPAN , succeeded in securing tax-free status of their private SHOEN manors . And by the end of eleventh century, JAPAN was controlled by these SHOEN owners and thus the revenue of the state declined considerably . Impact of this was that the state was unable to pay for its national army . As a result , the owners of these SHOEN started setting up their own armies of SAMURAI warriors . Two powerful nobles clans—the TAIRA and MINAMOTO depending from the JAPANESE Imperial family , acquired large armies and many SHOEN outside the capital and the central government used to take services of the armies of these two noble clans to supress Rebellions and Piracy as such ……..

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

HEIAN PERIOD OF JAPAN WILL CONTINUED ……………..

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART -30

THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN

There is an old saying ,’no source no history’. But the people of JAPAN have history despite many odds . As the JAPANESE soil is acidic and not friendly for the process of fossilization , yet discovery of unique edge-ground exes in JAPAN dated back to about 30,000 years ago could be considered as the evidence of the first HOMO SAPIENS in JAPAN . Archeological sources states that the people arrived on the land of JAPAN by sea and started human inhabitation dated back to about 32,000 years ago in OKINAWA’S YAMASHITA CAVE . And on ISHIGAKI ISLAND’S SHIRAHO SAONETABARU CAVE in and around 20,000 years ago . Hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic people of JAPAN entered into JOMON period of prehistoric JAPAN ranging from about 13,000 BC to about 1000 BC . The name JOMON was first used by an AMERICAN scholar called EDWARD S. MORSE who discovered SHARDS OF POTTERY in 1877 and it was named after its ‘ cord-marked pottery ‘. JOMON pottery is considered as one of the oldest pottery in the EAST ASIA as such .

YAYOI PERIOD OF JAPAN

Radio carbon evidences show that the YAYOI PERIOD started between 1000 BC to 800 BC from northern KYUSHU . The YAYOI people were endowed with bronze and iron weapons and tools and it appeared that they were initially imported from CHINA and KOREAN Peninsula . With this , rice cultivation started in the JAPANESE Peninsula . They gradually supplanted the JOMON . Now weaving , wood works , silk production and glass making technology statred in the ancient JAPANES society . With this expansion of YAYOI people and their fusion with the native JOMON resulted into a small admixture of people genetically. Now the population of JAPAN started increasing rapidly . We must know that a few skeleton remains of the late JOMON PERIOD clearly show that how due to poor health and nutrition , the health of the people of that period started deteriorating , while the Archeological excavations of the sites of YAYOI inhabitation shows large structures of grain storehouses which denotes a clear sign of affluency started prevailing in the ancient JAPANESE society and thus rise of the population of the people during that period . Historian like HANIHARA KUZURO , on the issue of the origin of the YAYOI technology , was of the opinion , that the annual immigrant influx from the ASEAN continent ranged from 350 to 3000 during that period . Genetic and Linguistic studies also supported this migration theory as such . This change from the JOMON society to YAYOI society brought about two fold developments in the ancient JAPANESE society : 1. THE STRATIFICATION OF THE SOCIETY ; and 2. THE TRIBAL WARFARE . This facts could be ascertained by the segregated gravesites and military fortification . Now the YAYOI tribes started coalesced into numerous Kingdoms numbering hundreds as estimated by the BOOK OF HAN in and around 82 AD . The other CHINESE source , the WEI ZHI , states that around 240 AD a powerful Kingdom called YAMATAI ruled by a woman queen HIMIKO came into existence in JAPAN giving estability to the JAPANESE society .

KOFUN PERIOD OF JAPAN

The KOFUN PERIOD of JAPAN ranged from 250 AD to 538 AD . The special feature of this period was that JAPAN was gradually unified under a single Kingdom . The center of the unified state was YAMATO in the KINAI region of JAPAN . We get much information about this period from KOFUN burial mounds constructed from around 250 AD onwards . The Rulers of the YAMATO were hereditary who still reigns as the longest Dynasty of the world . They extended their rule throughout JAPAN by military conquest but they preferred such expansion of their rule by convincing local leaders to accept their authority in exchange of positions of influence in the government as such . And these local clans who joined the government of YAMATO were known as UJI . The prehistoric ( before written history of JAPAN ) war between the YAMATO FEDERATION and IZUMO FEDERATION had been an area of interest for historians for long . However , much information regarding the KOFUN PERIOD of the JAPANESE civilization could be ascertained from a 486 meter-long keyhole-shaped burial mound of the DAISENRYO KOFUN which supposedly took more than fifteen years to complete with huge team of labors . It is also said that the said Tomb was built for the EMPEROR NINTOKU . Apart from that , the KOFUN mounds were surrounded by numerous HANIWA clay sculptures mostly in the shape of warriors and horses as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED …………………

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-29

ZEN AND JAPAN

It would be amazing to learn that ZEN was developed as a creed of military class in JAPAN . It also gave emphasis on BUSHIDO (THE CODE OF HONOUR AND MORALS DEVELOPED BY THE JAPANESE SAMURAI) and the code of chivalry . The suppression of self interest was the teachings of ZEN and that was recommended for SAMURAI (THE KNIGHTS) . ARCHERY and JU-JUTSU (THE WRESTLING SPORT) were developed as a part of the technique of self-defense . And it is said that in the JAPANESE society warriors used to hide small BUDDHIST images in their hair . Similarly , they used to hide a prayer leaflet underneath their armour . However , ZEN tried to humanize war but its Knightly followers totally abandoned the peaceful foundation of BUDDHISM as such .

John Blofeld in his book The Jewl in the Lotus , originally published in 1948 , while giving a complete picture of the practices and rituals of BUDDHISM , has written about ZEN MEDITATION which appears to be similar to the INDIAN PRACTICES OF YOGA . To him ,’ The devotee takes up his position with his legs crossed and the sole of his feet uppermost ( the lotus posture ) . His back is held straight , but not rigidly , the palm of his right hand facing upwards and its back contained in the palm of the left hand which rests , knuckles downwards , on his lap . His eyes are kept half-closed , his mouth is slightly open and the tip of his tongue rests lightly at the base of his upper teeth . This position can be maintained for hours by those who have had sufficient experience , and there are even some who can maintain it for days . After taking up this posture the seeker after Enlightenment allows a few moments for his thoughts to become calm , and then strives to put his mind into a condition to receive the intuitive knowledge which , it is believed , enters only when the mind is perfectly still and devoid of thoughts…..’* The BUDDHIST MONKS are duty bond to repeat the threefold refuse daily : 1. FULL FAITH IN BUDDHA ; 2. LAW AND ORDER ; and 3. ADORATION TO AMIDA( AMITABHA ) BUDDHA .

The JAPANESE BOUDH religion is called MAHAYANA BUDDHISM . CHARLES ELIOT in his book JAPANESE BUDDHISM has written that the JAPANESE BOUDH religion had been following the principles of MAHAYANA BUDDHISM for past thousand of years but it had a considerable impact of the JAPANESE culture and society on its practices as such . However , the NICHIREN sect of BUDDHISM had a sizable impact on the JAPANESE society for past eight hundred years . NICHIREN was its propounder of this sect who called BUDDHISM as the national religion of JAPAN . He emphasized on worship of LORD BUDDHA rather than AMITABHA . He considered LOTUS SUTRA as the basic essence of the BUDDHISM and SAKYAMUNI . SOKA GAKAI ,the founder of MAKI-GUCHI-SUNE-SABURO , also instructed his disciples to follow the basic essence of the NICHIREN BUDDHISM . The MAKI-GUCHI discarded war and preached the importance of non-violence in the life of JAPANESE people . Due to such propagation by MAKI-GUCHI , he was arrested and sent to the jail . Similarly , his successor TODAJOSEI was also arrested during the second World War due to the similar causes and he remained in the jail for years . But when he was released he preached among the people about non-violence to bring about peace and affluency in the JAPANESE society . And his famous disciple DAISAKU EKEDA when took over the charges of NICHIREN BUDDHIST sect, JAPAN had more than crores of followers of this sects . When SOKAGKAI INTERNATIONAL was founded in 1975 , DAISAKU EKEDA propagated the principles of love , non-violence and unity of human beings all over the world and his followers were more than millions the world over .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

JOHN BLOFELD , ‘ THE JEWEL IN THE LOTUS ‘ P. 136

TO BE CONTINUED ……………………..

THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-28

BUDDHISM AND THE JAPANESE SOCIETY

There were at least twelve sects of BUDDHISM prevailing in the ancient JAPANESE society . They were as follows : 1. HOSSO ; 2. KEGAN ; 3. TENDAI ; 4. SHINGON ; 5. MUJUNEMBUTSU ; 6. JODO ; 7. RIMJAI ; 8. SADO ; 9. UVAKU ; 10. SHIN 11. NICHIREN ; and 12. ZEN . Out of these twelve sects of BUDDHISM, the first eight had come from CHINA and the rest of the four were aboriginal and had come into existence in JAPAN in the twelfth century itself . As I have mentioned in my earlier blogs that in strengthening BUDDHISM in JAPAN , the contribution of Regent Prince SOTOKU TAISHI ( 517-631 AD ) was unparallel . He was a great scholar , a great warrior and a great politician . Effect of that was that the BUDDHISM flourished in the JAPANESE society with having amicable relationships with SHINTO religion as the BUDDHISM accepted almost all deities of the SHINTO as BODHISATTVAS . Almost all temples of the SHINTO religion thus came under the protection of the BUDDHIST MONKS . And in this way the BUDDHISM was established as one of the important religion of JAPAN .

The TENDAI sect of BUDDHISM came from CHINA during NARA period . Due to its all embracing character it helped in the unification of the JAPANESE empire as it emphasized on ‘the unity of everything in BUDDHA’S love’. Similarly , the SHINGON sect of BUDDHISM entered into JAPAN from CHINA was also an all comprehensive religion however giving emphasis on mystical rituals and incantation as it prevailed during the period in INDIA . The JODO sect of BUDDHISM is simply the JAPANESE name of the ‘ PURE LAND ‘ sect of CHINA and like LUTHERANISM it revolted against formalism and dogma prevailing in the JAPANESE society and emphasized on ‘ salvation by faith alone ‘ . The followers of this sect believed in AMITABHA , the BUDDHA of infinite light and the lord of the Western Paradise . As per the JAPANESE faith and belief that by reciting the name of AMITABHA one can be salvated and saved even in hour of death . The JODO-SHIN sect of BUDDHISM altogether rejected the concept of celibacy and monasticism and allowed priests to marry and eat even meat which made the JAPANESE society informal and liberal as such .

When the root of JODO-SHIN sect of BUDDHISM started deepening in the JAPANESE society , against it arose the NICHIREN sect of the BUDDHISM in JAPAN in the thirteenth century AD . It denounced JODO-SHIN as deceit and blasphemy . It also denounced the worship of AMITABHA , VAIROCANA and the BODHISATTVAS and called the people of JAPAN to be back to the one eternal BUDDHA i.e SAKYAMUNI of the Lotus Scripture . According to SIR CHARLES ELIOT , ‘ In NICHIREN’S bosom , in his body of the flesh, is secretly enshrined the great mystery which the LORD SAKYAMUNI transmitted to me on the Vulture Peak . Therefore , it is that in my breast all BUDDHAS are immersed in contemplation, on my tongue they turn the wheel of Law , in my throat they are born , and in my mouth they attain enlightenment .’*

But the most interesting BUDDHIST sect of JAPAN was ZEN . The name ZEN was derived from the CHINESE CHAN and the PALI DHYANA ( A TECHNIQUE OF MEDITATION ) . However , it flourished in JAPAN more than the Western Land from where it came to JAPAN . ZEN preached that the knowledge came by a sudden enlightenment and no intellectual or philosophical solution existed which could solved the problem of life of a man as such . It was through the intuition the man could reach BUDDHA . The realization of spiritual reality all around , the man could get enlightenment and thus it was jusy like the ‘vision of TAO‘ of the CHINESE concept of TAOISM . An historian on the subject had written that ‘it is an illumination which comes ‘ like the bottom of a tub falling out’. Thus , despite the fact that ZEN believed in the sudden enlightenment , yet the ZEN MONKS went to the rigorous training of meditation called ZA-ZEN . Moreover that as per the traditional BUDDHISM the followers of this sect continued daily begging-round as such as the basic tenet of the ZEN faction of BUDDHISM .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

* SIR CHARLES ELIOT , ‘ JAPANESE BUDDHISM ‘ P. 430

TO BE CONTINUED ………………….