The Japanese achievement

397 Pages·1990·17.853 MB·English

by  Hugh Cortazzi

Other works by Hugh Cortazzi include
Isles of Gold: Antique Maps of Japan (1983)
Dr Willis in Japan 1862-1877: British Medical Pioneer (1985)
Victorians in Japan: In and around the Treaty Ports (1987)
Edited
Mary Crawford Fraser: A Diplomat’s Wife in Japan: Sketches at the Turn of
the Century (1982)
Mitford’s Japan: The Memoirs and Recollections, 1866-1906, of Algernon
Bertram Mitford, the First Lord Redesdale (1985)
With George Webb
Kipling’s Japan: Collected Writings (1988)
Translated
Genji Keita: The Lucky One and Other Humorous Stories (1980)
SIDGWICK&JACKSON GREAT CIVILIZATIONS SERIES
the
JAPANESE
(KtirVUIEHT
HUGH CORTAZZI
SIDGWICK AND JACKSON
LONDON
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS
NEW YORK
Copyright © 1990 by Hugh Cortazzi
First published in Great Britain in 1990
For Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd,
1 Tavistock Chambers, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A2SG
First published in the United States of America in 1990
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be changed, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or any or by any means, electronical,
mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written consent of the
copyright owner.
All USA rights reserved. For information;
Scholarly and Reference Division,
St. Martin’s Press, Inc., 115 Fifth Avenue, New York N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-283-99647-1 (Sidgwick and Jackson)
ISBN 0 312 04237 X (St Martin’s Press)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cortazzi, Hugh.
The Japanese achievement; a short history of Japan and its culture/Hugh
Cortazzi.
P. cm. (Sidgwick & Jackson great civilization series)
Includes Bibliographical references.
1. Japan Civilization. I. Title. II. Series.
952 dc20 89 70071 CIP
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London
for Sidgwick & Jackson Limited
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface xiii
Introduction xv
Note on Orthography and Pronunciation xviii
I Origins 1
II The Beginnings of Japanese Civilization: The Impact of China and 13
Buddhism
III The Establishment of the First Capital City: The Nara Period (710- 29
84)
IV The Civilization of the Court: The Heian Period (784-1185) 40
V Military Rule Established: The Kamakura Period (1185-1333) 71
VI Civil Wars and the Rise of the Warlords: The Muromachi or 96
Ashikaga Period (1333-1573)
VII The Momoyama Period (1573-1616) and First Contacts with the 121
West
VIII Peace and Seclusion: The Edo or Tokugawa Period (1616-1853) 139
IX Japan Reopened: Modernization (1853-94) 175
X Imperialism (1894—1945) 209
XI From Defeat to Riches (1945-89) 250
Postscript 303
Chapter Notes 307
Glossary 318
Suggestions for Further Reading 333
Index 341
v

List of Illustrations
Between pages 78 and 79
1. Dotaku (bell-shaped bronze) - Middle Yayoi period.
2. Haniwa terracotta figurine of a man - Kofun period (6th-7th century).
3. Haniwa terracotta figurine of a woman - Kofun period.
4. Haniwa terracotta house - Kofun period.
5. Haniwa terracotta hawk - Kofun period.
6. Wall painting from Takamatsuzuka tomb, south of Nara - Kofun period.
7. Bronze statue of Buddha (Shaka Nyorai) - Asuka period (AD 552-645).
8. Wood statue of Miroku Bosatsu - Asuka period.
9. Wood statue (probably originally gilden and now looking like black lacquer) of
Nyoirin Kannon (7th century).
10. Clay statue of Bazara (head only) (mid-8th century).
11. Wood statue of Jikokuten - one of the four guardian kings (8th century).
12. Hollow dry lacquer statue of Ashura (8th century).
13. Five-storey pagoda - originally constructed in AD 607.
14. Octagonal pavilion, the Yumedono (7th century).
15. The H6-odo (Phoenix Hall) of the Byodoin temple at Uji between Kyoto and Nara.
Between pages 142 and 143
16. Wood statue of Amida Buddha byJocho (AD 1053).
17. Wood statue of a Bodhissattva by Jocho.
17a. Gold lacquer over wood statue of Amida Buddha looking over the left shoulder
(Mikaeri-bosatsu).
18. Amida Hall ofjoruriji temple, southern part of Kyoto prefecture (12th century).
19. Nine statues of Amida Buddha (gold lacquer over wood) in the Joruriji temple.
20. Kondo (main hall) of Daigoji temple - Kamakura period (probably 13th century).
21. Amida Hall of Hokaiji temple, southern Kyoto (11th century).
22. Wood statue of priest Kuya, the 10th-century founder of Rokuharamitsuji temple,
Kyoto - Kamakura period (13th century).
23. Wood statue of the sculptor Unkei (13th century).
24. Wood statue of Basu Sennin - one of the twenty-eight Buddhist spirits (13th century).
25 Wood statue of Raijin - the thunder god (13th century).
.
26 Buddhist sutra with illustrations depicting the life of the Buddha (8th century).
.
27. Detail of the Tale of Genji scroll (12th century).
28 Detail of the Chojugiga scroll (13th century).
.
29. Landscape painting by Sesson (16th century).
30. Garden of the Sanzenin temple, northern Kyoto. Dates from the Heian period (9th-
12th century).
31. Stone garden of the Zen temple of Ryoanji, Kyoto. Constructed about AD 1500.
32. Tea house and garden in the grounds of Ryoanji temple, Kyoto.
33. Chbzubachi (water basin) at Ryoanji temple, Kyoto.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Between pages 206 and 207
34. Gomado (main hall) of the Sanboin, Daigoji temple, southern Kyoto. Momoyama
period (late 16th century).
35-36. Garden of the Sanboin, Daigoji temple, southern Kyoto (late 16th century).
37. Karamon (Chinese-style gate) which was the Chokushimon (imperial gateway) to the
Sanboin, Kyoto (late 16th century).
38. Engraving of Himeji castle, built in the late 16th century.
39. Painted screen of ladies taking the air. Entitled the ‘Hikone screen’ (17th century).
40. Painting of bird and bamboo by Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828).
41. Painting of cranes over a poem by Tawaraya Sotatsu (17th century).
42. Painting of ducks (part of a sliding screen) by Matsumura Keibun (1779-1843).
43. Portrait or copy of a portrait of St Francis Xavier (late 16th century).
44. Detail of a Nanban (Southern Barbarian) screen. Probably by Kano Naizen (late 16th
or early 17th century).
45. Lacquer saddle with designs of foreigners (late 16th or early 17th century).
46. No mask (painted wood) - Muromachi period (14th-16th century).
47. No costume - Edo period (17th—19th century).
48. Lacquer tea jar by Nonomura Ninsei (17th century).
49. Lacquer box with wheel design - Heian period (probably 12th century).
50. Lacquer writing box (suzuribako) attributed to Hon’ami Koetsu (1588-1637).
51. Lacquer writing box with a design based on the Tale of Genji - Edo period (17th-
19th century).
Between pages 270 and 271
52. Wood block print of girls walking by the shore by Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770).
53. Wood block print of two actors as samurai by Toshusai Sharaku (late 18th century).
54. Wood block print of the actor Sawamura Gennosuke II at Yayoinosuke by Shunshi
(circa 1828).
55. Wood block print of the actor Sawamura Kunitarb as the geisha Kikuno byJukodo
Toshikuni (mid-19th century).
56. Photograph of a kabuki performance. Onnagata dancing.
57. Photograph of a gagaku dance at the Itsukushima shrine (Miyajima).
58. Photograph of a Bunraku performance.
59. Photograph of a No performance.
60. Photograph of courtiers playing a game of kemari (court football).
61-62. Woodblock print of Mount Fuji (one of thirty-six views) by Katsushika Hokusai
(1760-1849).
63. Woodblock print of Hara in the series fifty-three views of the Tokaido (Tokaido
gojusan tsugi).
64. Woodblock print of Inagawa bridge, Nojiri on the Kisokaido (Nakasendo) by^isen
(about 1836).
65. Painting of a crow on a winter tree by Hishida Shunso (1874-1911).
66. Painting of mountains and mist by Higashlyama Kaii.
67. Pottery jar fired at Mashiko in Ibaragi prefecture in 1945 by Hamada Shoji (1894-
1979).
68. Woodblock print of one of the sixteen disciples of the Buddha by Munakata Shiko
(1903-1975).
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