Period of Sengoku in Japan (1467-1573)

Historian consider period of Sengoku to have begun as early as 1467, with the beginning of the Onin War.

In 1467, a decade-long conflict broke out. The Onin War breaks out to determine who would succeed the ruling shogun– the military dictator who ruled Japan on behalf of the figurehead Emperor. A rival imperial court was brought back from destruction as lords fought for control of the country. The Akamatsu, Yamana and Hosokawa clans were particularly prominent, but they dragged the rest of the aristocracy into their conflict.

During this time, the Daimyos ruled hundreds of independent states throughout Japan, consisting of other Daimyos, rebellious peasants, and Buddhist warrior monks. Each independent state raised their own armies.

The period from the Onin War to 1568 was the year in which Oda Nobunaga occupied Kyoto and thereby initiated the period of military consolidation.

Beginning in Kyoto, the war brought terrible destruction to Japan’s capital city. Over the course of the war, there was seldom time for the city’s inhabitants to rebuild the charred ruins of homes destroyed in the fighting.

Sengoku period close is generally marked to be the Battle of Sekigahara in which the Western Army of Tokugawa Ieyasu overcame the Toyotomi Loyalists of the Eastern Army.

The period from Nobunaga's death to 1598, during which Hideyoshi completed the unification of the daimyo, is given the name Momoyama, from the location of Hideyoshi's castle built between Osaka and Kyoto.
Period of Sengoku in Japan (1467-1573)

Vintage Japan

Japanese (9th Reg. 4th Div.) ready for battle - awaiting orders 

for the advance - siege of Port Arthur, 1905

  

Peasant praying before long row of images of the God of Light. 

South bank Diya river, Nikko, Japan, ca. 1904

 

Street advertisers, Japan, 1905

 

The Ginza (looking north) the most important 

thoroughfare in Tokyo, Japan, ca. 1904

 

The principal thoroughfare of busy Tokyo, Japan, 1905

 

Watching a free show, on Theatre Street, looking north 

to Asakusa Tower, Tokyo, Japan, 1904

 

Women and children of a Japanese family in Uyeno park, 

during the Cherry-blossom festival, Tokyo, Japan, 1904

No Amelia Earhart was not a prisoner of the Japanese

The Magics
This is one of those moments that makes me, as an amateur historian cry inside, because stories like this grow legs and go racing along the digital byways of the 21st century.  The above photograph is being held up as "potential proof" that Amelia Earhart, rather than dying during her round-the-world flight attempt in July 1937 was instead captured by the Japanese and held prisoner/killed/helped by the U.S. government as part of its secret spying mission masquerading as her flight.  The culprit on this is the History Channel with promotional stories like this one and breathless articles like this one run by People Magazine.

I'll summarize for you the gentle reader - the above photograph was found in the National Archives by a retired federal agent named Les Kinney who found it misfiled.  The image was in the collection of the Office of Naval Intelligence and, you can see from the caption on it, was taken in the Marshall Islands, a Japanese possession at the time and within "oopsie" distance of Earhart's flight path.  Purportedly one of the gentlemen in the shot is her navigator, Fred Noonan, and the individual in the white shirt with the short haircut seated on the dock is Earhart.  In the far right, her plane is being towed by a ship into harbor.

People Magazine helpfully blew up the picture so you could see the magic.  The other chunk of proof is a listing of records from the Office of Naval Intelligence that shows a file of 130 pages about Earhart being a prisoner on the Marshall Islands was in the governments records and was "purged":

Why This Is Stupid
Context mainly, to accept this theory requires a misunderstanding of the 1930s, Earhart's life prior to her flight, Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. military and government resources, and American-Japanese relations in 1937.  Lets dig into things piece by piece:

• Earhart's Flight/Aviation in the 1930s was dangerous - there is a reason Earhart's exploits earned her so much press and also so much fame, they were dangerous and being done by a female aviator.  Flying across the Pacific in the 1930s was a risky activity, the Clippers that did the jaunt regularly and were commercial aircraft carried extensive survival gear in case of crashes - and one of them vanished as well without a trace.  Support systems in the Pacific were minimal and Earhart's flight plan centered on landing on a tiny spot of an island to refuel, when her fuel capacity was extremely low.  It was a high-risk/high-reward strategy to hit a timeline and get press.  Speaking off...
• Earhart was a brand as much as a person and her style was wildly popular - that photo hinges, if you read the articles, on that being Earhart's signature haircut.  She did cut her hair short and maintain it cut short, as part of her image.  An image plastered on magazines, newspapers, and newsreels the world over.  A haircut imitated by a huge number of women in the 1930s.  Have a look at some style guide photos from the period below and remember - we are identifying Earhart based on looking at the back of her hair - any of the styles below potentially look like they might be mistaken for her distinctive look from the back?

• Earhart was a good pilot, not a great pilot - for the conspiracy to work you have to imagine that the United States government wanted to spy on the Japanese fortifications in the Marshall Islands (or other Pacific regions), needed a really good cover story to do so, and settled on convincing one of the most popular celebrity flyers of the 1930s to undertake this mission and keep it a secret.  Earhart was a close personal friend of the Roosevelts but she was also a popular lecturer, writer, and professional celebrity, trusting her with such a mission would be risky on those grounds alone.  But she also wasn't a great pilot - good pilot per those who knew her, solid pilot, but not great.  Also prior to her flight she hadn't spent a great deal of time with her plane and made several errors in flight that damaged it.  
• The United States had other pilots and spy aircraft - spying on Japanese military base construction in the Pacific was actually not that hard for the United States, the U.S. Pacific fleet (which was in the area and took part in the expensive search of Earhart post disappearance) had plenty of aircraft capable of long range flight in the late 1930s that could have taken pictures of those bases.  Aircraft piloted by veteran naval pilots familiar with their craft and, if captured, not a public relations nightmare for the U.S. government.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt was into spy stuff but not crazy spy stuff - FDR was down for unusual plans to mess with Japan and he did enjoy dabbling in spy missions/covert operations, but there is no evidence he went for using civilians as spies in this capacity.  Covert military operations, covert financial aid, absolutely.
• FDR was already hiding secret stuff to support Earhart - that airstrip that Earhart was going to land on at Howland Island, built by the U.S. Navy.  At FDR's request, to support this effort, because he, his wife, and Earhart were good friends.  Built at considerable expense during the Great Depression.  Now imagine going to Congress and saying "Yeah I built that base to support a secret spy mission on Japan.  What?  Use it again, nah, no plans for that."  FDR was popular but not that popular.
• Japan had nothing to really hide in the Marshall Islands - I dug around and it took some work but if you look at a solid online listing here the Marshall Islands did have military fortifications beginning in 1936 on them.  Specifically some minor guns and a few troops.  On islands owned by Japan.  Fortified in violation of their League of Nations mandate but as Japan had resigned the League of Nations in 1936, they kind of didn't care.
• The Office of Naval Intelligence file is not a smoking gun - it is a 130 pages of correspondence on Earhart being a prisoner of the Marshall Islands, as in - people wrote the government letters on the subject.  Funny thing about the government, generally it has to file every letter it receives for its archives.  Every one.  Even crazy ones talking about how Earhart's plane was brought down in the Marshall Islands by magical flying squirrels who taught her their secret nut-based code, which led to her being taken prisoner by the Japanese.  Because the squirrels taught her how to get to Atlantis and the Japanese wanted to know.  Goes in the file.  Eventually the file gets thrown out after enough years.  Could there have been a useful letter in there by someone with information?  Possibly, but there were also probably a LOT of squirrel letters.

But since we are in a special spot historically with this, I'm going to go to the broader point, in 1937 Japan could have really used a good public relations boost with the United States.  The image above is of the sinking U.S. gunship Panay, destroyed in December 1937 by Japanese aircraft.  The ship was stationed in China and the Japanese government apologized and paid an indemnity for the action.  1937 overall was a bad year for Japanese-American public relations, with Japan's invasion of China and smashing of large amounts of territory.  Earhart vanished in July 1937 and the U.S. government spent over $4 million in the largest search and rescue effort in history to that point trying to find her.  

Had the Japanese government found her, why in that climate would they have locked her up?  Lets look at the options:

• She is a U.S. spy on a clandestine mission - Japan returns her without saying anything, FDR owes them a favor/is at risk of exposure.  Japan exposes her, FDR looses position in the U.S. and faces some nasty questions from Congress.  
• She saw some Japanese military building while crashing - the U.S. learns about Japanese base building, which isn't actually a secret, and Japan gets credit for finding and saving the most popular female aviator in the world.  Bonus points if done after the U.S. government spent $4 million and failed in its efforts.  Japan is a hero for finding and saving her.
• She didn't see squat and Japan found her - Japan gets hero points and makes a wonderful public relations success with the U.S. public

Had the Japanese government found her in July 1937 alive post crash I can only imagine them announcing it to the world with glee.  Probably offering to help fund repairs to her plane and an offer that she work with them in he next attempt to use Japanese facilities to support her flight in a "hands across the Pacific" PR coup.

Earhart was a brave woman, a brave aviator, and she and her navigator died attempting a dangerous Pacific crossing.  Mistakes were made, it was an ill-fated attempt, but give her credit for flying and dying pursuing it.  Don't turn Earhart's story 80 years after her death into a weird conspiracy mess.

Sources:  Wikipedia on Japanese history in the Marshall Islands, USS Panay incident, and Amelia Earhart; North American Forts listing of Pacific island fortifications, Timelines of History on 1937 events

Vintage Japan

Japanese music - mendicant friars play, 1935

  

The most distinguished family in the fishing village

 

Theatre Street, Yokohama

 

Two women on a bridge in a garden - 

Geishas in the garden of a tea house

 

Young woman (possibly a geisha)

 

Source: National Museum of Denmark

Vintage Japan

Geisha girls out for an airing in rickshaws - 

along the Old Avenue, Nara, Japan, ca. 1906

  

Japanese mothers and children on a fishing trip, 1919

 

Passing away a dull hour - Geisha girls dancing, Japan, 1906

 

Peasant women heading rice with steel combs
in the fields on Suruga Bay, Japan, 1906

 

The little daughter of a Japanese gentleman 

playing the koto, Tokyo, Japan, 1906

 

Source: Library of Congress Stereograph Collection

Japan

These are from the Library of Congress Stereograph Collection.

Geisha girls out for an airing in rickshaws - 

along the Old Avenue, Nara, Japan, ca. 1906

 

Japanese mothers and children on a fishing trip, 1919

 

Passing away a dull hour - Geisha girls dancing, Japan, 1906

 

Peasant women heading rice with steel combs 

in the fields on Suruga Bay, Japan, 1906

 

The little daughter of a Japanese gentleman 

playing the koto, Tokyo, Japan, 1906

Last Japanese Soldier to Surrender in World War II

One of my favorite stories from history is that of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese intelligence officer in World War II who was stationed in the Philippines. In 1945, he did not believe the leaflets he saw that Japan had surrendered and continued hiding in the hills, using guerrilla tactics until 1974 - almost 30 years after the war was over!! I thought his story would be great for the classroom to bring history alive and make the end of the war more personal for my students.

I created this worksheet that tells his story for my students. The downloadble & printable worksheet includes his full story in one page and is written in an engaging style that will be easy for your students to comprehend and enjoy. The included comprehension questions test your students' reading ability and knowledge of World War II history.

 It does an excellent job of reinforcing to students how the Japanese felt about surrender and would work well after a lesson on the choice to use an atomic bomb or invade Japan. My students always enjoy this reading and feel a mix of humor and respect for such a dedicated soldier.

This is definitely a great read for World of US History students! You can download the worksheet here and an answer key is included for your reference.

Ganjin - Buddhist Monk

Ganjin traveled to Japan to spread the Buddhist faith. He was born in the Chinese county of Jiangyin in Guangling (Yangzhou, Jiangsu). His name in Chinese is Jianzhenis (Chien-chen); Ganjin is the Japanese version.

He entered the Buddhist temple of Daming at the age of 14. He studied at Chang’an (Ch’ang-an) for six years, starting at the age of 20. He then returned to the Daming Temple where he eventually became the abbot of the temple.

He also trained in medicine and opened a hospital, the Beitian Court, at the Daming Temple. In 732 c.e. the Japanese government sent an emissary to China, including two priests searching for a precept transmitter to come to Japan.

In 742 they met with Ganjin and his followers. none of Ganjin’s followers was willing to go, so he decided to go himself. The crossing from China to Japan across the East China Sea was dangerous, and it took six tries before Ganjin reached Japan in 753. During the fifth attempt, he lost his eyesight.


Ganjin was welcomed at the Japanese capital in 754. That summer, in front of the Great Buddha Hall at Todai-ji, a ceremony was held in which the retired emperor Shomu, the empress dowager Komyo, the reigning empress Koken, and 440 clergy received the precepts.

An order was issued to build a precept hall and living quarters for Ganjin. Ganjin’s arrival in Japan brought the transmission of the precept, in Japan, back toward a more orthodox way of doing it.

In 756 Ganjin was appointed to the bureau of clergy, which controlled the issuing of certificates for ordination. The Japanese viewed protecting the nation as part of the clergy’s mission. The Japanese government expected the priests to work in support of the nation’s prosperity.

The fact that Ganjin, who was Chinese, was appointed to the bureau speaks volumes about his skill and the level of his understanding of the Buddhist religion. Ganjin resigned from the bureau in 758 and returned to training priests. Ganjin continued to teach up until his death on June 22, 763. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Sino-Japanese medicine.

Shintoism

Shintoism

Believed to be an indigenous religion of Japan, Shintoism (or Shinto) involved the worshipping of kami and prescribed shrine rituals as a way of showing respect and devotion. The term was not in use until the 19th century.

Shinto is the religious structure that provides definition and a framework in which the practitioner can navigate the worship of specific kami. Shintoism is also believed to encompass the indigenous animistic beliefs of the Japanese and was an attempt to formalize different types of beliefs into a cohesive structure.

The word kami is the collective term used to describe the representation of what can be referred to as beings (or deities) found within such things as mountains and rivers. Deceased persons are sometimes able to become kami; however, this is a rare occurrence.


The written characters that make the word Shinto consist of two kanji, the first being shin (meaning "god" but also translated as "kami") and the second being tao (meaning "path"). The literal translation means "way of the gods". It is believed that the Yamato imperial court systematically deployed kami worship as a religious system during the third century c.e.

Shinto is widely recognized as an essentially Japanese religious system, having come into existence during the animistic Jomon Period (12,000 to 400 b.c.e.) and practiced by rural rice-cultivating peoples from the Yayoi Period (400 b.c.e. to 300 c.e.).

Before the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which saw Shinto becoming the sanctioned religion, there were three distinct forms of Shinto, or more appropriately, kami worship: These were Rural, Shrine, and Imperial Shinto. Before the intervention of the imperial state kami worship was, at best, disorganized and highly individualistic. From the fifth century c.e. Shinto practices amalgamated with Mahayana Buddhist and Confucian theology.

Shinto’s amalgamation with Buddhism and the ritualistic nature of Buddhist practices contributed to its remarkable integration into all levels of society, from the imperial family to the rural population. It is believed that the naming of the religion occurred as a way of distinguishing it from Buddhism and Confucianism.

Rural kami worship was often referred to as folk Shinto. In order to ensure prosperous crops and a harmonious village life kami would be worshipped through rituals designed to appeal to or appease the deities.

Each region in Japan was thought to have different rituals concerning the kami in their area, and each ritual was defined by the type of kami worshipped (such as rice cultivation and fish farming), hence different regions in Japan would have had entirely different and diverse systems of worship.

As agricultural developments increased and society underwent social and political change, ritual was increasingly employed to ensure a balance between the deities (kami) and the people. As society modernized so did the need for a codified structure of religion and religious practices.

Shrine Shinto and imperial Shinto are similar in that they were dependent upon kami worship as ritual. During the beginnings of the imperial state an official network of shrines was established, and through imperial decrees and ritualized (and state-controlled) prayers (norito) the kami system was formalized.

Chinese influences and concepts of deities during the Yamato court, such as ama-tsu-kami (heavenly deities), also contributed to the continual construction of Shintoism. The majority of information obtained from primary sources concerning Shinto comes from those written during the Yamato court era.

The construction of ritsuryo law (Japanese imperial law) focused particularly on shrine rituals that meant that many indigenous rituals or practices had not been written down. Imperial Shinto practices are more likely to have survived in historical record, as imperial households commissioned such records.

One such practice is the continual use of clerical titles denoting Shinto priests and practitioners in relation to their duties at various shrines. The highest-ranking priest or priestess in Japan is referred to as Saishu and is affiliated with the Grand Shrine of Ise.

A member of the imperial family most often holds this position. The lowest-ranking Shinto priest is the Toya, a part-time layperson chosen from village members to enter the shine for a specific amount of time.

Women were originally allowed to hold ceremonial positions within Shinto; however, as the religion underwent a metamorphosis from a rural-based practice to an imperial one they were increasingly relegated to positions that entailed less power, as assistants to the male members of the priesthood.

The oldest known texts in which Shinto practices appear is the 712 c.e. Kojiki (Record of ancient matters) and the 720 c.e. Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan). Both texts make mention of the belief that two kami (Izanami and Izanagi) created Japan.

Izanami gives birth to a kami of fire but dies in the process and resides in a place called Yomi no Kuni (Land of Darkness). Izanagi is shocked to witness Izanami in such a place and returns to the living, stopping on the way to wash himself of his visit to Yomi no Kuni.

The stories indicate an early belief in death as a pollution of the living and are thought to have guided the creation and formulation of other Shinto practices. The chronicles also legitimized the rule of Emperor Mimakiiri-hiko by ascribing him the name hatsu-kuni-shirasu sumera-mikoto (First Emperor to Rule the Realm).

The emperor initiated a state-sponsored adoption of kami worship that included all members of the royal family and the elite ruling members of society. Before this, kami worship lay in the hands of the local rulers and was based more upon shamanistic principles then ritualized worship.

Kami were, and still are, found in prominent and often strategic locations throughout Japan. The original underlying foundation of Shinto is the worship of kami to ensure prosperity, health, and an abundance of food and supplies.

The Yamato court focused on the Mount Miwa kami called Omononushi, which appeared in the form of a snake and was the subject of agricultural ritual. The area was fertile and consistently provided sustenance for the population, thus the kami was considered powerful.

Strategic sites such as the opening of a sea route also had important kami associated with them, such as Sumiyoshi, the kami of Naniwazu (Osaka). However, while kami tied to the environment were viewed as important, the Yamato court also worshipped kami spirits found in ritual objects and objects such as ceremonial weapons.

This type of worship became centralized in court life as it pointed toward the power of the court and enabled the transference of power through an object (for example, kami spirits embodied within a ceremonial sword) that was readily visible.

Shinto became a structured religious system by the systematic integration of kami worship into early imperial Japanese law and society. It is an indigenous religion that has also absorbed Buddhist and some Confucian rituals and philosophies.

Shintoism is notoriously difficult to define, especially in light of the fact that the rituals associated with the religion were often fluid in their approach and highly interchangeable depending on the circumstances of offering.

Soga Clan

The Soga became the most powerful ruling clan in the early Japanese Yamato state between the seventh and eighth centuries c.e. The origins of the Soga clan are unclear, but they claimed to be descended from the Katsuragi clan leader who survived the purge of emperor Yûryaku in the fifth century c.e.

Some scholars believe that the Soga were an immigrant family from the Korean peninsula. They moved to the Soga region of the Yamato state in central Japan and formed alliances with immigrants from the Korean kingdoms, providing scribal and managerial technical skills.

The Soga clan’s rise to power began with Soga no Iname, the head of the clan and the first Soga to hold the position of grand minister. He was victorious in the policy debates of 540 c.e. and married two of his daughters to Emperor Kimmei. However, neither of Iname’s grandsons became heir to the throne.

The next Soga clan head, Soga no Umako, also grand minister, succeeded in marrying one of his daughters to Kimmei’s son, King Bidatsu, and the couple produced a son who was one of three candidates for the throne.


The Soga candidate was eventually enthroned as emperor Yômei after fierce military battles between the Soga clan and their rivals, the Mononobe, who also supplied a male heir to the throne through a Mononobe woman. Yômei took another daughter of Soga no Iname to be his queen, and the two produced the famous prince Shôtoku Taishi.

The victory was short lived however when Yômei fell ill, and fighting between the Soga and Mononobe resurfaced. Again the Soga were victorious, and another male offspring of a Soga woman became the sovereign King Sushun. Once the main line of the Mononobe was massacred in 587 the Soga dominated court affairs.

Despite Sushun’s connection to the Soga, rumors spread that Sushun would betray his uncle Umako, so Umako had him assassinated and Sushun’s consort, Suiko, became empress. Suiko ruled alongside her son and regent, Shôtoku, during a time when the Soga clan heads Emishi and his son Iruka attempted to assert Soga dominance by levying taxes and trying to expand their lands.

Suiko, despite being a part of the Soga, refused requests to expand Soga lands. Iruka even killed Prince Shôtoku’s son. Histories of the time criticize the Soga for trying to become monarchs. The most tyrannical of the Soga patriarchs, Iruka, was assassinated in 645 in a palace coup that effectively ended the Soga rule.

The significance of the Soga dynasty was their importation of culture, government, and religion from China and Korea and their influence in domestic politics through marriage arrangements and intrafamilial assassination.

The Soga supported Buddhism over other forms of court-related native religions, creating several large Buddhist temples, statues, and bells that attested to their power in the physical and spiritual realms. This support for Buddhism further antagonized other clans, who often held key religious-political positions.

Suiko

Suiko ruled Japan from 592 to 628 c.e. alongside her regent, the crown prince Shotoku Taishi. She was the daughter of Emperor Kimmei and his consort, a woman from the powerful Soga clan. After Kimmei’s death his son Bidatsu took the throne, and Suiko, his half sister, became his wife.

Bidatsu soon died, and another of Suiko’s brothers, Yomei, became sovereign until his death two years later. A subsequent power struggle over the throne ended in victory for the Soga as Sushun, one of Suiko’s half brothers, took the throne.

However, the head of the Soga clan, Umako, did not trust Sushun’s growing resentment toward the Soga, and Umako had him assassinated in 592 c.e. After his murder Umako asked her to accept the throne, which she conceded. Shôtoku became her regent and coruler.

Scholars used to emphasize Shôtoku’s role over Suiko’s in the governing of Japan, stating that Suiko merely served as the head priestess of the court kami worship. This is due in part to Chinese texts that focused more on Shôtoku’s activity. In Confucianism males rule over women, and thus the Japanese court may have used Shôtoku as the proper male representative in its relations with China.


It is also possible that Confucian scholars chose to write more about their interactions with the Yamato state through Shôtoku rather than Suiko. Some scholars note, however, that Suiko was active in sending the Yamato state’s first embassy to China in 600 and established relations with the Korean kingdom Silla in 621. Both Japanese and Korean sources demonstrate that Suiko was just as active as Shôtoku in her administrative rule over the Yamato state.

Suiko even asserted her rule against attempts by her uncle Soga no Umako to expand the Soga clan’s power. She rejected Umako’s request for more land, claiming that future scholars would castigate her for being a foolish woman if she allowed the Soga clan to obtain more power.

An overly powerful Soga clan encroaching on the power of the sovereign was said to be analogous to two kings in one kingdom, which was like having two Suns in the sky. Suiko’s death in 628 created a power vacuum that led to yet another showdown between the Soga and their rivals.

Crown Prince Shôtoku had died before Suiko, and Suiko died before declaring an heir. The Soga forged documents that stated Suiko preferred the Soga-backed candidate of her two remaining sons.

The forgery and authoritarian rule by the Soga, especially that of Iruka who used the military to eliminate his critics, pushed opponents to join forces in a coup. Iruka was assassinated in 645, bringing an end to Soga power.

Yamato Clan and State

Map of Yamato state

The Yamato court is known as the birthplace of the Japanese political state. It is a term applied to the political system of the Kofun period but also its development and refinement in the late fifth to seventh centuries c.e. The Yamato state unified north Kyushu, Shikoku, and southern Honshu.

The people were a clan-, or kinship- (uji), based society, where religion played an important part in controlling their lives, but during the Kofun period (the name given to the large key-shaped burial mounds of the time) powerful clan leaders and their families started to emerge as the stratifi cation of communities evolved within the late Yayoi culture. Small kingdoms were established, each ruled by a different clan.

The rulers at this time were mainly religious figureheads using the people’s faith to govern them. One of the most powerful was the Yamato clan, and after continual warfare among the different kingdoms a union of states developed—the Yamato state, under the rule of the Yamato clan.


In the fourth century c.e. the Yamato were situated in the rich agricultural region around the modern city of Kyoto. In the fifth century, when the Yamato court reached its peak, there was a shift in the power base to the provinces of Kawachi and Izumi (modern Osaka).

The emergence of such powerful clans is evidenced by the increased elaboration of their burial mounds in comparison with the Yayoi period. Burial sites in the Kofun period illustrated a segregating of the workers and elite of the community.

The burial mounds took on a new shape, a "keyhole" design, were larger in size, and were surrounded by moats. By the fifth century it was evident that the power of the Yamato clan had increased. These huge tombs represented the power of the Yamato aristocracy, holding swords, arrowheads, tools, armor, and all the signs of military might.

The burial mounds took on a new shape, a "keyhole" design

Only religious and ceremonial items had been placed in earlier burial mounds. As Yamato had increased the contact with mainland Asia, the items in the burial tombs reflected their power and influence. Besides the military items, there were such things as gilt bronze shoes and gold and silver ornaments.

The Yamato clan and its strongest allies formed the aristocracy of the Yamato state, occupying the most important positions in the court. A hereditary ruler headed the Yamato court, and because intermarriage within clans produced a large family network, there were constant struggles for power.

Believing that they were descendants of the sun goddess, the Yamato clan developed the notion of kingship and thus began the imperial dynasty. An emperor, based on the Chinese system, represented it. The first legendary emperor of Japan was Jimmu. The emperor, the supreme religious symbol of the state, had no real political power. The power base lay with the clan leaders, headed by a prime ministerstyle official.

These officials had very close ties with the ruler, showing the importance that was placed on the harmony between religion and the governing of the people. There was also economic and military support from the occupational groups within the court known as be.

Heavy military of Yamato clans

These groups consisted of rice farmers, weavers, potters, artisans, military armorers, and specialists in religious ceremonies. They were subordinate to the ruling families. One group of be were especially important to the ruling family as they consisted of highly skilled immigrants from mainland Asia, who specialized in iron working and raising horses.

The Yamato court became the unifying force in Japan. They began to limit the power of the lesser clan leaders and started to acquire agricultural lands to be controlled by a central body.

A bureaucratic ranking system was developed when the separate kingdoms were incorporated into the Yamato court, and the stronger clan leaders were given titles to reflect their status as regional chiefs. The two titles bestowed on the chiefs were muraji and omi.

The greatest of the chiefs lived at the court and as a collective ruled over the productive lands and hence the farming communities. This also gave them access to large resources of manpower to be used in such activities as burial mound building and also as conscripted troops for the military forays into the Korean Peninsula.

By the fourth century the Yamato court was developed enough to send envoys to mainland Asia, sometimes military, but mostly to gain knowledge of the political and cultural aspects of the far more advanced Chinese and Korean civilizations. They also procured supplies of iron resources said to be plentiful in the south of Korea.

By the end of the fourth and in the beginning of the fifth centuries the military were involved in the expansion of Yamato power throughout the Korean peninsula. At the same time Korea was going through cultural and political changes, with warring between the three kingdoms, Koguryo (north), Paekche (east), and Silla (west).

Alliances were made with the Paekche, against the Silla, with Yamato gaining some power in the region. However, in the sixth century Silla became more powerful militarily, causing Yamato to face power reversals in the region and forcing them to withdraw from the peninsula.

Paekche began to exchange knowledge and resources with the Yamato; scribes, sword smiths, horsemen, and horses were introduced to the court. The Yamato court had a large number of mainland scholars brought over for their advanced knowledge and skills.

The Paekche court also sent a Confucian scholar, a Buddhist scholar, Buddhist scriptures, and an image of the Buddha. These scholars dramatically altered the fast-developing Japanese culture.

Scholars were sent to China to learn about their political and cultural ideals, and in the sixth or seventh century they were brought back to the Yamato court to establish a written system based on Chinese characters and the grounding for the establishment of a parliamentary system. Based on Chinese models of government, the Yamato court developed a central administrative and imperial court.

The sixth century saw the Soga clan’s rise to power. The Soga clan, which did not claim to be descended from the gods, had entrenched themselves in the Yamato court by establishing marital connections with the imperial family. As well as having administrative and fiscal skills, this allowed them considerable influence within the court structure.

They introduced fiscal policies based on Chinese systems and established the first treasury. They collected, stored, and paid for goods produced by employees. The Soga introduced to the court the idea that the Korean peninsula could be used as a trade route rather than for military conquest.

The powerful Soga clan was in favor of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, but in the beginning the Soga found opposition from other clans, such as the Nakatomi, who performed the Shinto rituals at the court, and the Mononabe, who wanted the military aspect of the court to be maintained and elevated in importance.

Conflicts arose between the clans, with Soga vowing to build a temple and encourage the spread of Buddhism as the main instrument of worship if successful in battle. They were successful, and there were several Buddhist temples built, and Buddhism became a strong religion in Japan. The Soga believed that the teachings of Buddhism would lead to a more peaceful and safe society.

The intermarriage of the Soga with the imperial family paved the way for Soga Umako (Soga Chieftain) to install his nephew as emperor, later assassinate him, and replace him with Empress Suiko. Unfortunately, Empress Suiko, was a puppet for Soga Umako and Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi. A system of 12 ranks was established, making it possible to elevate the status of officials based on merit rather than birth right.

Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi

Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi was a devout Buddhist and a scholar of Confucian principles. Under his instigation Confucian models of rank and etiquette were introduced, and he introduced the Chinese calendar. He built numerous Buddhist temples, had court chronicles written, and established diplomatic links with China.

However, with the deaths of Prince Regent Shotoku Taishi, Soga Umako, and Empress Suiko, there was a coup to gain succession to the imperial throne. The coup was led by Prince Naka and Nakatomi Kamatari, who introduced the Taika (Great Change) Reforms, which established the system of social, fiscal, and administrative codes based on the ritsuryo system of China.

The reforms were aimed at strengthening the emperor’s power over his subjects and not leaving the fi nal decisions to his cabinet. These reforms ushered in the decline of the Yamato court by lessening the control of the court clans over the agricultural lands and the occupational groups.

The reforms abolished the hereditary titles for the clan leaders and instead of them advising the emperor there would be ministries. The new order wanted to have control over all of Japan and make the people subjects of the throne. There were taxes placed on the harvests, and the country was divided into provinces headed by court-appointed governors.