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The Heian Period in Japan
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"The Tale of Genji" is used to describe the basic social features of the Heian period in Japanese history. Discussion of culture, court politics, & the differences between rural & urban settings.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
"The Tale of Genji" is used to describe the basic social features of the Heian period in Japanese history. Discussion of culture, court politics, & the differences between rural & urban settings.
Paper Introduction:
The Heian period in Japanese history covers the end of the eighth century through to the early part of the tenth century. This period is the same as is represented in The Tale of Genji, as Ivan Morris notes. In addition, it was a period of both court aristocracy, as described by Mikiso Hane, and of a culture whose tone was set by women, as emphasized by Morris. The Tale of Genji is described by Morris as the "first psychological novel in the literature of the world" (265); it is also representative of some social changes taking place at that time, with specific reference to spiritual issues.
The establishment of the Heian period dates from the move of the capital to Kyoto, then known as Heiankyo; the era lasted until the establishment of the military government in Kamakura in 1185:
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The culture of the Heian period was the culture of the courtaristocracy, and was seen in the highly refined taste in art andliterature. By that time, there was a decline in the authority ofthe central government. Family was clearlyimportant as a determinant of social status at all levels. Yamato-e is astyle that emerged toward the end of the Heian era and that was initiallyconnected to Buddhist subjects, but began increasingly to depict secularscenes and tales based on the everyday lives of the Japanese. The World of the Shining Prince. More important was thedifferent distinctively Japanese styles of art that emerged. Again, The Tale of Genji is cited: The few provincials who figure in The Tale of Genji are usually pictured as boorish upstarts, hopelessly devoid of good taste and standing in exaggerated awe of their "betters," whose elegance they ape at their peril (Morris, 1964, 81-82). This period is thesame as is represented in The Tale of Genji, as Ivan Morris notes. How one ranked also determined avariety of other factors such as employment, power, and proximity to theemperor. The nature of the soul determines whether that treatmentis considered good or bad. The various rituals of death as indicated in this story serve to showhow the idea of the perfection of the soul is embodied in ideas about life,about the meaning of life, and about the value of a person at death: Quietly, forty-ninth-day services were held for the dead lady in the Lotus Hall on Mount Hiei. Evenpeople who do not know him are drawn to him as if they were old friends. The noble was to seek composure at all times, and anumber of behaviors were considered rude or in poor taste. ReferencesHane, Mikiso. Genji had prepared a draft. The Bureau was theprivate secretariat of the emperor, and the latter was the judicial andpolice agency. . The institutions of society seemed to be distant fromthe lives of the peasants. The Tale of Genji is described by Morris as the "firstpsychological novel in the literature of the world" (265); it is alsorepresentative of some social changes taking place at that time, withspecific reference to spiritual issues. There were somefive million people in Japan during this era, and only about one percentlived in the capital, with less than one-tenth of one percent belonging tothe rank hierarchy. This was caused by its neglect of provincialadministration and its inability to prevent the emergence of tax-freeestates. The Heian period in Japanese history covers the end of the eighthcentury through to the early part of the tenth century. Over time, the personal advisors to the emperor came towield more power than the ministers in the Dajokan, and the authority ofthe Grand Council was weakened. This societywas also status-conscious, and birth was the determinant of everything.Such a highly stratified social structure was seen in the ranks into whichpeople were placed according to birth. Death itself is inevitable, but how the gods react to the dead isnot inevitable. Political offices also fell into the hands of incompetentofficials, and important posts became hereditary affairs for privilegedfamilies. There was abias against anyone, even someone originally from the court, who lived inthe rural or provincial areas. A view of how the individual fits into society is expressed in TheTale of Genji. The Tale of Genji, which represents this eravery well, is set among the aristocracy, the class for which and by whichliterature was produced. Buddhism became an influenceamong the aristocratic class but had little reach to the people at large.Hane concludes that all in all the Heian period was a remarkable age markedby peace, and the various institutions of society shaped a peaceful view oflife. . Clearly, this form of government and this aristocratic culture shapedthe lives of individuals in and out of the aristocracy. San Francisco: Westview Press, 1991.Morris, Ivan. In Christianity, the concern is for the mercyof God and for getting into heaven, while in Eastern religions there may ormay not be such an afterlife. The establishment of the Heian period dates from the move of thecapital to Kyoto, then known as Heiankyo; the era lasted until theestablishment of the military government in Kamakura in 1185: Several significant developments took place during this period, among them the deterioration of the institutions and practices established by the Taika Reforms, the decline of imperial authority, the ascendancy of the Fujiwara family, the rise of the court aristocracy and its culture, and, toward the end of the period, the emergence of tax-free manors and military supremacy in the provincial regions (Hane, 1991, 44).The Taika Reforms brought into being a new administrative system, and bythe early ninth century they were marked by two new governmental organs,the Bureau of Achivists and the police commissioners. Genji summoned a doctor of letters with whom he was friendly and who was his tutor in Chinese poetry and asked him to prepare a final version of the memorial petition. The courtly manners of the aristocracy were directed toward art andwriting rather than violence such as had been the primary pursuit ofearlier generations: Force and violence seemed to have counted for little among them. During the Heian period, foes were sent into exile, not executed. Hane also points out how a Japanese style of architecture developed inthis era. . The main character lives as a commoner though he has royalblood. Morris (1964) finds that the one good element for thepeasantry was the fact that there was no war to destroy their crops andbring about other deprivations, though in later centuries there would be(84). In moving language he committed the one he had loved and lost. Symbolic of this was the abolition, at the beginning of the ninth century, of capital punishment for government officials. . Common people, on the other hand, were seen as subhuman creaturesthat were more like animals than people, and anyone of the lower level washeld in contempt. The art of calligraphy flourished. In the novel, Lady Murasaki showsconsiderable knowledge of Chinese literature. New York: Kodansha, 1964. By the end of the ninth century power was concentratedin the hands of the Fujiwara, who would dominate the government until theeleventh century. The family onewas born into determined much about what sort of life one would lead orcould lead, there being little or no shift in social status. Thus he can combine in one person the upper and lower strata ofsociety in a way that illuminates characteristics of both. . Some remained in provincial regions wherethey could have more power and accumulate more wealth than would bepossible if they returned to court. This life was punctuatedonly by religious festivals and other celebrations of births, marriages,and deaths. A man was admired for his literary and artistic talents, not for his military exploits (Hane, 1991, 54).The era thus had much to recommend it as a model for later generations, andthe essence of the time was embodied in The Tale of Genji for lategenerations to read and understand. For that matter, the afterlife may meananother cycle of birth, life, and death, with the nature of that lifedetermined by the condition of the soul from the previous life. At the bottom end of the social scale were the workers and peasants,and while they were the majority if the population and the onlyeconomically productive class in the country. Morris notes that understanding the aristocracy alsomeans understanding how other classes viewed them. It was also marked by strong codes of behavior, and muchemphasis was placed on form, appearance, and decorum, with rules for allaspects of life. Regents to the emperor emerged as powerfulpolitical figures. This stylefound literary expression in the horizontal narrative-picture scrollscalled e-makimono, the most famous of which is The Tale of Genji. Genji'sgoodness of soul is apparent in the way he draws people to him. The picture that emergesof their lives is such that the institutions of society which shaped thelives of the aristocracy and which shaped the broad direction of thecountry did little for the workers but keep them bound to the land andliving lives of unremitting work and drudgery. The literature of the era seldom mentions bloodshed and violence. Much less is known abouttheir lives because they did not produce written materials and were notconsidered important enough to be written about. Hane (1991) writes about many of the developments of this era that hadan influence on the lives of the aristocracy again and less on the workersand the peasants. to the mercy of Amitabha (The Tale of Genji, 732).Concern over the state of the soul is again related to what happens atdeath. Inaddition, it was a period of both court aristocracy, as described by MikisoHane, and of a culture whose tone was set by women, as emphasized byMorris. . The language of Japan is marked by many different levelsof politeness that can be expressed by the proper use of polite andhonorific terms, and this is true to this day: "By the Heian period thispractice too had become firmly established (Hane, 1991, 47). This is brought out in The Tale of Genji as: Prince Genji's son is given a court rank at the age of twelve but his father decides that he must be given a "good, solid fund of knowledge," unlike sons of other members of the aristocracy (Hane, 1991, 46). Premodern Japan. The different styles of art prevalent in the eraconstitute an institution that had a considerable influence on the lives ofthe aristocrats who consumed it.
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