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history
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The Buddhist temple Horyuji is established in the Asuka region. This monastic compound is Japan’s earliest extant Buddhist temple and contains the world’s oldest surviving wooden structure. Housed in the temple are bronze statues of Buddhist deities attributed to the preeminent sculptor Tori Busshi, the first artist known in Japan by name.
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The Taika Reform is issued by Emperor Kotoku (r. 645–54) to strengthen imperial political and economic authority while weakening the position of aristocratic families. Based on the Chinese system, all agricultural land becomes the property of the emperor and all inhabitants his subjects. A merit-based bureaucracy is established, and expanded in 701 by the Taiho Code, to govern the imperial domain.
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The imperial headquarters are moved from Asuka to Nara, which becomes the country’s first permanent capital. Built according to a grid pattern, Nara is modeled on the Tang Chinese capital Chang’an (present-day Xi’an), but without city walls and gates. Efforts to establish Buddhism as the official state religion inspires the construction of many Buddhist temples within city limits.
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It started in northern Kyushu, a certain sign of its foreign origin, but by 737 the virus had spread up the Inland Sea and on to eastern Honshu, aided, ironically enough, by the improved network of roads linking the capital and provinces.
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The capital moved to Heian-kyo (present-day Kyoto), “Capital of Peace and Tranquility,” beginning the Heian period. Kyoto remains the imperial seat until 1868. Initially, fearing a revival of the political meddling by the Buddhist clergy that plagued the Nara court, the government allows only two Buddhist temples to be built within the city confines.
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The Buddhist monk Saicho is sent to China on an official mission. Upon his return, Saicho introduces the Tendai school, which is centered around the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Esoteric Buddhism emphasizes the use of elaborate rituals, appeals for help to a large pantheon of deities, and practices secret incantations to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime. It is especially appealing to the Japanese aristocracy and profoundly affects the life and arts of the Early Heian period.
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According to legend, Emperor Saga is the first Japanese sovereign to drink tea, imported from China by monks. The upper classes adopt this beverage for medicinal uses until the twelfth century, when it becomes associated with Zen Buddhist practice.
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The imperial court discontinues official missions to China, beginning a period in which native artistic traditions develop and flourish.
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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.
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The Mongol Invasions of Japan devastated Japanese resources and power in the region, nearly destroying the samurai culture and Empire of Japan entirely before a typhoon miraculously spared their last stronghold. The storm that saved them was the Kamikaze winds.
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The era when members of the Ashikaga family occupied the position of shogun is known as the Muromachi period, named after the district in Kyoto where their headquarters was located. Despite the social and political upheaval, the Muromachi period was economically and artistically innovative.
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The Golden Pavilion is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408.
