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The is the period in Japanese History occurring from AD 538 – 710 . The arrival of Buddhism marked a change in Japanese society and it affected the Yamato government as well. 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. INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM , Asuka Period , 7th Century , Tokyo National Museum .]] was introduced by Korean monks, probably in A.D. 538 , exposing Japan to a new body of religious doctrine. The Soga Clan , a Japanese court family that rose to prominence with the accession of the Emperor Kimmei about A.D. 531 , favored the adoption of Buddhism and of governmental and cultural models based on Chinese Confucianism . But some at the Yamato court—such as the Nakatomi Family , which was responsible for performing Shinto rituals at court, and the Mononobe , a military clan—were set on maintaining their prerogatives and resisted the alien religious influence of Buddhism. The Soga introduced Chinese-modeled fiscal policies, established the first national treasury, and considered the Korean Peninsula a trade route rather than an object of territorial expansion. Acrimony continued between the Soga and the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans for more than a century, during which the Soga temporarily emerged ascendant. Korean missionaries actively developed the Buddhist tradition in Japan for 150 years after its introduction. Baekje monks trained and proseletyized Japanese converts and provided the distinctive Baekje version of the Norther Wei style Buddhist art. Monks from the Three Kingdoms Of Korea were welcome guests in Japan, and some were called to tutor the crown princes of royal families. {Link without Title} . Japanese converts also began to travel to Baekje and China for further Buddhist studies. 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. From 600 to 659 , Japan sent seven emissaries to Tang Dynasty China. But for the next 32 years, Japan sent none, during a time period when Japan was formulating its laws based on Chinese texts. During this time period when Japan cut off diplomatic relations with China, Japan sent eleven emissaries to Silla of Korea. The ruling classes of Yamato and Baekje were on amicable terms, and Yamato deployed its navy to aid Baekje in 660 - 663 , against an invasion by Silla and the Tang Of China . Another example of the close cultural contact between Korea and Japan was the recent discovery of a tomb in Nara Prefecture made from Baekje-style bricks with eartheware dated to the time when Silla united the Korean Peninsula. Kunihiko Kawakami, a professor of archeology at Kobe Yamate University, said, "It’s highly likely the tomb is that of the Baekje king Changseong, who fled to Japan with his father Seongwang in 631 and died in 674 ." Father and son were unable to return because of Baekje's fall in 660." {Link without Title} . EXCHANGE WITH THE ASIAN CONTINENT More exchange occurred between Japan and the continent of Asia late in the Kofun period and the beginning Asuka period. was introduced by Korean monks, probably in A.D. 538, exposing Japan to a new body of religious doctrine. The Soga Clan , a Japanese court family that rose to prominence with the accession of the Emperor Kimmei about A.D. 531, favored the adoption of Buddhism and of governmental and cultural models based on Chinese Confucianism . But some at the Yamato court—such as the Nakatomi Family , which was responsible for performing Shinto rituals at court, and the Mononobe , a military clan—were set on maintaining their prerogatives and resisted the alien religious influence of Buddhism. The Soga introduced Chinese-modeled fiscal policies, established the first national treasury, and considered the Korean Peninsula a trade route rather than an object of territorial expansion. Acrimony continued between the Soga and the Nakatomi and Mononobe clans for more than a century, during which the Soga temporarily emerged ascendant. After the fall of Baekje, the Yamato government sent envoys directly to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure. In addition to ethics of government, they also adopted the ). Prince Shotoku prescribed a new constitution for Japan based on the Chinese model. Japan of the Kofun Period had been very positive towards the introduction of Korean culture and immigration of population. However, the Asuka period shows a marked change in the attitude: Japan started to be a national state with its own population and culture. It focused on melting earlier waves into one people. Ruling class Many important figures in Emperor Ojin 's reign were immigrants from the mainland. These immigrants received noble titles from the rulers of the Yamato, and were valued as experts, especially on iron-working, horseriding and writing. According to the record of ''Shinsen-shōjiroku'' (新撰姓氏録), an aristocratic list of names that Yamato Imperial Court officially compiled in 815 , one-third of the noble families on the list had their origins in China or Korea: 163 of the 1182 listed were from China, 154 from different parts of Korea (104 form Baekje, 41 from Goguryeo, 9 from Silla). {Link without Title} . An example of a typical descendant clan is the Yamatonoaya clan (東漢氏), which is descended from Emperor Ling Of Han . This clan's leader was Achi-no-Omi (阿智使主). He introduced Chinese culture to Japan. According to the Nihongi , during Emperor Kimmei's reign the Hata clan (秦氏), descendants of Qin Shi Huang , introduced sericulture. The Kawachino-Fumi clan (西文氏), descendants of Gaozu Of Han , introduced Chinese writing to the Yamato court. (Source By ''Shinsen-shōjiroku'') . In Emperor Kimmei 's reign, according to the Nihongi, a Korean was in charge of taxes levied on shipments. The introduction of Chinese writing to Yamato was one Baekje's most important gifts to the court. {Link without Title} Korean influence on Japanese laws is also attributed to the fact that Korean immigrants were on committees that drew up law codes. There were Chinese immigrants who were also in integral part in crafting Japan's first laws. Eight of the 19 members of the committee drafting the Taiho Code were from Korean immigrant families while none were from China proper. Furthermore, idea of local administrative districts and the tribute tax are based on Korean models. {Link without Title} . Torai-Jin(渡来人) Foreigners who naturalized in ancient Japan was called "Torai-Jin(渡来人)". They introduced a lot of Chinese cultures to Japan. {Link without Title} Japan gave preferential treatment to Torai-Jin because the Yamato Court valued Chinese knowledge and culture. Many important figures were also immigrants from China. Chinese immigrants also had considerable influence ording to the "Shinsen-Joujouroku (新撰姓氏録) {Link without Title} ", which was used as a directory of aristocrats. Yamato Imperial Court had officially edited the directory in 815, and 163 Chinese clans were registered. In 660 , Baekje fell. Subsequently, a large number of refugees from Baekje migrated to Japan. Yamato Imperial Court accepted the royal family and the refugees of Baekje. The royal family of Baekje received the name (Kudara-no-Konishiki (百済王) from the emperor. The clan of Kudara-no-Konishiki was naturalized in Japan, and also commanded the Baekje refugee. Their clan's women Takano no Niigasa became the second wife of Emperor Konin and gave birth to Emperor Kammu in 737 . A lot of Chinese cultures were imported during this era. Buddhism and the Confucianism had a huge influence on Japanese philosophy. A lot of technologies of the Chinese character, construction, and steel manufacture, etc. were introduced to Japan. Chinese influence on Japanese laws is also attributed to the fact that Chinese scholars (続守言 ＆ 薩弘恪) were also on committees that drew up legal codes. A pottery style called Sueki (須恵器) {Link without Title} was taught from the Torai-jin. This pottery was used until the Heian era. THE YAMATO STATE The Yamato Polity , which had 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 local chieftainship of Yamato arose to become the Imperial dynasty from the beginnings of Asuka period, at latest. The actual start of Yamato rule is disputed. Its paramountcy in Japan presumably starts only in the end of Kofun Period or with the advent of Asuka period. The Asuka period of the is the first period of Japanese History when the Japanese imperial court ruled relatively uncontestedly from modern-day Nara Prefecture , then known as Yamato Province . 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. The Yamato court had ties to the Korean Gaya Confederacy , called Mimana in Japanese. There is archaeological evidence from the Kofun tombs, which show similarities in form, art, and clothing of the depicted nobles. A second source is the Nihonshoki . Japanese Kokugaku historians claimed Gaya to be a colony of the Yamato state, a theory that is now widely rejected. More likely all these states were tributaries to the Chinese Sui and Tang dynasties to some extent. THE SOGA CLAN AND SHOTOKU TAISHI The had intermarried with the ) Numerous official missions of envoys, priests, and students were sent to China in the seventh century. Some remained twenty years or more; many of those who returned became prominent reformers. In a move greatly resented by the Chinese, Shotoku sought equality with the Chinese emperor by sending official correspondence addressed "From the Son of Heaven in the Land of the Rising Sun to the Son of Heaven of the Land of the Setting Sun." Some would argue that Shotoku's bold step set a precedent: Japan never again accepted a subordinate status in its relations with China. However, the historical record contains other relevant facts which dispute the claim. There are records of members of the Ashikaga Shogunate and Japanese rulers during the Ming Dynasty accepting Chinese "vassalage", a symbolic regonition of China as the Middle Kingdom, in exchange for trade and transfer of technology {Link without Title} . For instance, during the Japanese invasion of Korea Although the missions continued the transformation of Japan through Chinese influences, the Korean influence on Japan declined despite the close connections that had existed during the early Kofun period. TAIKA REFORM AND RITSURYO SYSTEM About twenty years after the deaths of Shotoku Taishi (in A.D. 622), Soga no Umako (in A.D. 626 ), and Empress Suiko (in A.D. 628), court intrigues over succession and the threat of a Chinese invasion led to a palace coup against the Soga oppression in A.D. 645 . The revolt was led by and (Fujiwara no Kamatari), who seized control of the court from the Soga family and introduced the . Although it did not constitute a legal code, the Taika Reform (Taika means great change) mandated a series of reforms that established the system of social, fiscal, and administrative mechanisms of the seventh to tenth centuries. Ritsu (律) was a code of penal laws, while ryō (令) was an administrative code. Combined, the two terms came to describe a system of patrimonial rule based on an elaborate legal code that emerged from the Taika Reform. The Taika Reform, influenced by Chinese practices, started with land redistribution, aimed at ending the existing landholding system of the great clans and their control over domains and occupational groups. What were once called "private lands and private people" became , as the court now sought to assert its control over all of Japan and to make the people direct subjects of the throne. Land was no longer hereditary but reverted to the state at the death of the owner. Taxes were levied on harvests and on silk, cotton, cloth, thread, and other products. A corvée (labor) tax was established for military conscription and building public works. The hereditary titles of clan chieftains were abolished, and three ministries were established to advise the throne:
The country was divided into provinces headed by governors appointed by the court, and the provinces were further divided into districts and villages. Naka no Ooe assumed the Crown Prince , and Kamatari was granted a new family name——in recognition of his great service to the imperial family. became the first in a long line of court aristocrats. Another, long- lasting change was the use of the name , or sometimes Dai Nippon (Great Japan) in diplomatic documents and chronicles. Following the reigns of Naka no Ooe's uncle and mother, Naka no Ooe assumed the throne as in 662 , taking the additional title (heavenly sovereign). This new title was intended to improve the Yamato clan's image and to emphasize the divine origins of the imperial family in the hope of keeping it above political frays, such as those precipitated by the Soga clan. Within the imperial family, however, power struggles continued as the emperor's brother and son vied for the throne. The brother, who later reigned as Emperor Temmu , consolidated Tenji's reforms and state power in the imperial court. The Ritsuryo system was codified in several stages. The Ōmi Code, named after the provincial site of Emperor Tenji's court, was completed in about A.D. 668 . Further codification took place with the promulgation by Empress Jito in 689 of the Asuka-Kiyomihara Code , named for the location of the late Emperor Temmu's court. The ritsuryo system was further consolidated and codified in 701 under the (Great Treasure Code or Taiho Code), which, except for a few modifications and being relegated to primarily ceremonial functions, remained in force until 1868 . The Taiho Code provided for Confucian-model penal provisions (light rather than harsh punishments) and Chinese -style central administration through the (Department of Rites), which was devoted to Shinto and court rituals, and the ( Department Of State ), with its eight ministries (for central administration, ceremonies, civil affairs, the imperial household, justice, military affairs, people's affairs, and the treasury). A Chinese-style Civil Service Examination System based on the Confucian classics was also adopted. Tradition circumvented the system, however, as aristocratic birth continued to be the main qualification for higher position, and titles were hereditary again soon later. The Taiho Code did not address the selection of the sovereign. Several empresses reigned from the fifth to the eighth centuries, but after 770 succession was restricted to males, usually from father to son, although sometimes from ruler to brother or uncle. ART AND ARCHITECTURE Japan followed Chinese and Korean prototypes very closely in Buddhist arts during this period of time. {Link without Title} . Early Buddhist architecture in Japan was so similar to temples on the mainland that because of the lag of development from the mainland to the archipelago, surviving buildings provide scholars with examples of how Chinese and Korean architecture of the same era looked. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0534636403&id=_FBdt_0TS3YC&vq=korea&dq=kofun+tumuli+korea&lpg=PA476&pg=PA475&sig=XKvhnvoBdYB_O78i7JHCMQqB7ZA]. Korean architecture of the time was a stylistic link between classical Chinese architecture and later Japanese buildings. The construction of the original and reconstructed Horyu-ji Temple was also strongly influenced by Korea's of the Horyu-ji Temple is not found in sites in China or Korea. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0750622679&id=Gt1jTpXAThwC&pg=PA731&lpg=PA731&dq=history+of+japan+and+korea&vq=horyuji&sig=Se-8aUtgnkPUuhEru_R7HxYp4qE]. There are also foundations uncovered in the ancient capital of Baekje, Puyo, that exactly match the early Buddhist temples in Japan because Baekje architects helped build those temples in Japan. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0521407834&id=sANORB_MSRUC&vq=paekche&dq=korea+horse+japan&lpg=PA237&pg=PA236&sig=pa8p429rTZXoAHhzOFzrw6kOKhY]. Korean paintings in Goguryeo tombs had important influences in Japan. [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1091]. Decorated tombs and painted tumuli which date from the fifth century and later found in Japan are generally accepted as Korean exports to Japan. The Takamatsuzuka tomb even has paintings of woman dressed in distinctive Korean pleated skirts. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0824820304&id=dCNioYQ1HfsC&dq=kofun+tumuli+korea&lpg=PA95&pg=PA95&sig=pklpAbfrrspwFUtncGBqMy1dks0]. WRITTEN SOURCES Kojiki and Nihongi , Japanese history chronicles, state that the Yamato kingdom had always influenced events in Korea by sending in troops, sometimes as many as 100,000, and maintained an Outpost in Korea. They also state that the Kammu's mother's clan was given the status of a retainer under the emperor after the Baekje kingdom fell. These claims are viewed by many different scholars as unsupported Propaganda . Many Koreans, Westeners and some Japanese raise questions about the completeness, objectivity, and reliability of the surviving version of these Japanese sources. They argue early parts of Kojiki and Nihongi were fabricated or exaggerated by the Yamato court to legitimize its rule. Some Japanese historians and most Korean scholars agree that the Kojiki and Nihongi cannot be read as complete historical truth. Tsuda Sokichi, a Japanese scholar, concluded that the earlier sections of these histories were made up to justify imperial rule. Thus, a myth that Jingu conquered parts of Korea in the Kojiki is rejected as fairy tale inserted by Yamato scholars because of later tense relations between Silla and Yamato . Most scholars agree that the founding date of Japan as 660 B.C.E. and the first thirteen emperors of Japan are mythical and not based on historical fact. Additionally, the Nihongi attributes dates two sexagenary cycles or 120 years of history before they actually happened to make the relatively young Yamato state as respectable as contemporaneous Korean and Chinese states which shows another evidence of bias of the writers. (A sexagenary cycle of sixty years was used to keep a measure of time on a calendar.) Although the Nihongi and Kojiki state that Korean Kingdoms paid tribute to Yamato, it is not believed by most historians. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0774803797&id=7jDuhnI6r9UC&vq=paekche+nihon&dq=paekche+nihon+shoki&lpg=PA62&pg=PA64&sig=NHWp0GJ3PlWYjI_zSE3ZDUPmS3I . [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0521223520&id=sbXep6IoKxsC&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=korea+yamato&sig=SBYpMCxx4rnordXN9qJxRb-ZCp4]. The Nihongi is partly based on Korean history books which have now been lost. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0521223520&id=x5mwgfPXK1kC&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=paekche+nihon+shoki&sig=4ELqFjEjdGoi8XkYV1lvXsbv92M . Korean sources used in the Nihongi are the Baekje-gi (Record of Baekje), Baekje Sinch'an (New Record of Baekje), and Baekje Pon'gi (Original Record of Baekje). Records written in Baekje may have been the basis for the quotes in the Nihongi but textual criticism shows that scholars fleeing the destruction of the Baekje Kingdom to Yamato wrote these histories and the authors of the Nihongi heavily relied upon those sources. [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0774803797&id=7jDuhnI6r9UC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=paekche+nihon+shoki&vq=paekche+nihon&sig=xBY33KY86TN2LOHQVltH4RJLI6Y]. The use of Korean place names in Nihongi is another piece of evidence that the history used Korean sources. Many of the myths of these two histories also have many similarities with traditions in China, Manchuria, and Korea. {Link without Title} . |
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