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206-441: Bushidō ( 武士道 , "the way of the warrior") is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. Bushido is also used as an overarching term for all
412-505: A 'samurai'". In modern usage, bushi is often used as a synonym for samurai . The definition of "samurai" varies from period to period. From the Heian period to the Edo period , bushi were people who fought with weapons for a living. In the Heian period, on the other hand, the definition of samurai referred to officials who served the emperor, the imperial family, and the nobles of
618-483: A certain meaning to the fragility of existence, […]. Beliefs in the pure land of Buddha Amida […] allowed some warriors to hope for an Amidist paradise […]. Zen Buddhism with its doctrine of the oneness between life and death was also appreciated by many samurai […]. The world of medieval warriors remained a universe still largely dominated by the supernatural, and the belief in particular, in the tormented souls of warriors fallen in combat (who) returned almost obsessively in
824-481: A creative end in itself, and did not restrict their print media to the woodblock of traditional ukiyo-e. Prints from the late-20th and 21st centuries have evolved from the concerns of earlier movements, especially the sōsaku-hanga movement's emphasis on individual expression. Screen printing , etching , mezzotint , mixed media , and other Western methods have joined traditional woodcutting amongst printmakers' techniques. Early ukiyo-e artists brought with them
1030-458: A dozen separate blocks to handle the different colours and half-tones. His restrained, graceful prints invoked the classicism of waka poetry and Yamato-e painting. The prolific Harunobu was the dominant ukiyo-e artist of his time. The success of Harunobu's colourful nishiki-e from 1765 on led to a steep decline in demand for the limited palettes of benizuri-e and urushi-e , as well as hand-coloured prints. A trend against
1236-572: A family name, and as samuraihon or saburaibon ( 侍品 ) , they acquired a status equivalent to that of a samurai. In other words, a high-ranking person among the bushi was called a samurai. During the Muromachi period , as in the Kamakura period, the definition of samurai referred to high-ranking bushi in the service of the shogun. Bushi serving shugo daimyo ( 守護大名 , feudal lords) were not considered samurai. Those who did not serve
1442-411: A greater level of realism into his prints that emphasized the differences between the actor and the portrayed character. The expressive, contorted faces he depicted contrasted sharply with the serene, mask-like faces more common to artists such as Harunobu or Utamaro. Published by Tsutaya, Sharaku's work found resistance, and in 1795 his output ceased as mysteriously as it had appeared; his real identity
1648-482: A legendary character or renowned hero (tales of daring were popular in the Kamakura period), was a notable idea in the Kamakura period , due to the relative peace of Japan during this time. Pre-bushido honor codes during this time were also contributed to by commoners, who sometimes took on similar roles to samurai and often used their family names as introductions to fighting despite not being noble. However, even during
1854-466: A long depression. These popular colour prints came to be called nishiki-e , or 'brocade pictures', as their brilliant colours seemed to bear resemblance to imported Chinese Shuchiang brocades , known in Japanese as Shokkō nishiki . The first to emerge were expensive calendar prints, printed with multiple blocks on very fine (or finer than standard) paper with heavy, opaque inks. These prints had
2060-631: A long history preceding these late-era masters. The Japanese landscape differed from the Western tradition in that it relied more heavily on imagination, composition, and atmosphere than on strict observance of nature. The self-proclaimed "mad painter" Hokusai (1760–1849) enjoyed a long, varied career. His work is marked by a lack of the sentimentality common to ukiyo-e, and a focus on formalism influenced by Western art. Among his accomplishments are his illustrations of Takizawa Bakin 's novel Crescent Moon [ ja ] , his series of sketchbooks,
2266-489: A man. However, Naoshige also suggests that "everyone should personally know exertion as it is known in the lower classes". By the mid-16th century, several of Japan's most powerful warlords began to vie for supremacy over territories amidst the Kyoto government's waning power. With Kyoto's capture by the warlord Oda Nobunaga in 1573, the Muromachi period concluded. In 1551 CE, one of the first western people to visit Japan
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#17327730505972472-510: A martial arts instruction manual by the samurai class and helped to popularize the term. Samurai Samurai ( 侍 ) or bushi (武士, [bɯ.ɕi]) were members of the warrior class in Japan . They were originally provincial warriors who served the Kuge and imperial court in the late 12th century, and eventually came to play a major political role until their abolition in the late 1870s during
2678-511: A military chronicle recording the exploits of the Takeda clan . The term is a compound of bushi ( 武士 , "warrior", literally 'military + man') , a Chinese-derived word first attested in Japanese in 712 with the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading), and dō ( 道 , 'road, way') . In modern usage, bushi is often used as a synonym for samurai ; however, historical sources make it clear that bushi and samurai were distinct concepts, with
2884-422: A military government. The Kamakura period (1185–1333) saw the rise of the samurai under shogun rule as they were "entrusted with the security of the estates" and were symbols of the ideal warrior and citizen. Originally, the emperor and non-warrior nobility employed these warrior nobles. In time they amassed enough manpower, resources and political backing, in the form of alliances with one another, to establish
3090-422: A modifying influence on the virtues of chivalry, whereas bushido was influenced by Zen Buddhism , Shinto , and Confucianism . Bushido is commonly associated with the moral norms of Nitobe Inazō's Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1900), because his book popularized the term bushido internationally. However, it is a romanticized interpretation of bushido which differs from other historical literature by samurai. Thus,
3296-447: A month and was regarded as the rightful successor of Nobunaga by avenging the treachery of Mitsuhide. These two were able to use Nobunaga's previous achievements on which build a unified Japan and there was a saying: "The reunification is a rice cake; Oda made it. Hashiba shaped it. In the end, only Ieyasu tastes it." (Hashiba is the family name that Toyotomi Hideyoshi used while he was a follower of Nobunaga.) Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e
3502-434: A number of attendants, and do not in the least care to save money. They are, in short, a very warlike people, and engaged in continual wars among themselves; the most powerful in arms bearing the most extensive sway. They have all one sovereign, although for one hundred and fifty years past the princes have ceased to obey him, and this is the cause of their perpetual feuds. The practice of decapitating and collecting enemy heads
3708-589: A painter of the Kanō school, in the 1870s Chikanobu (1838–1912) turned to prints, particularly of the imperial family and scenes of Western influence on Japanese life in the Meiji period. Aside from Dutch traders, who had had trading relations dating to the beginning of the Edo period, Westerners paid little notice to Japanese art before the mid-19th century, and when they did they rarely distinguished it from other art from
3914-567: A particular influence on graphic designers and poster makers. Toulouse-Lautrec 's lithographs displayed his interest not only in ukiyo-e's flat colours and outlined forms, but also in their subject matter: performers and prostitutes. He signed much of this work with his initials in a circle, imitating the seals on Japanese prints. Other artists of the time who drew influence from ukiyo-e include Monet , La Farge , Gauguin , and Les Nabis members such as Bonnard and Vuillard . French composer Claude Debussy drew inspiration for his music from
4120-503: A particular lord, such as the rōnin ( 浪人 ) , who were vagabonds, the nobushi ( 野武士 ) , who were armed peasants, and the ashigaru ( 足軽 ) , who were temporarily hired foot soldiers, were not considered samurai. During the Sengoku period , the traditional master-servant relationship in Japanese society collapsed, and the traditional definition of samurai changed dramatically. Samurai no longer referred to those serving
4326-532: A refined sense to his portraits of graceful, slender courtesans, and left behind a number of noted students. With a fine line, Eishōsai Chōki ( fl. 1786–1808) designed portraits of delicate courtesans. The Utagawa school came to dominate ukiyo-e output in the late Edo period. Edo was the primary centre of ukiyo-e production throughout the Edo period. Another major centre developed in the Kamigata region of areas in and around Kyoto and Osaka . In contrast to
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#17327730505974532-399: A remnant of an obsolescent era. Artists continued to produce occasional notable works, but by the 1890s the tradition was moribund. Synthetic pigments imported from Germany began to replace traditional organic ones in the mid-19th century. Many prints from this era made extensive use of a bright red, and were called aka-e ('red pictures'). Artists such as Yoshitoshi (1839–1892) led
4738-481: A result, yari , yumi (bow), and tanegashima became the primary weapons on the battlefield. The naginata , which was difficult to maneuver in close formation, and the long, heavy tachi fell into disuse and were replaced by the nagamaki , which could be held short, and the short, light katana , which appeared in the Nanboku-cho period and gradually became more common. The tachi
4944-482: A ritual to beautify severed heads of worthy rivals and put on display. The samurai applied various cruel punishments on criminals. The most common capital punishments up until the Meiji Restoration were (in order of severity): decapitation, decapitation with disgraceful exposure of head post-death, crucifixion (for e.g. parricide ), and death by burning with incendiaries. Members of the samurai class had
5150-463: A samurai code or codes was developed and refined centuries before the Edo period in the Kamakura period . Bushido proper developed between the 16th and 20th centuries, but this was debated by pundits who believed they were building on a legacy dating back to the 10th century. The term bushido itself is "rarely attested in pre-modern literature", but a code of honor did exist among the writing elite and historians who were generally disgusted enough at
5356-462: A series of unwritten oral expectations that could be described as different codes, with further variations likely existing in the same warrior noble house, rather than a single code. One of the earliest known usages of bushido is in the extremely influential late 16th century text The Military Mirror of Kai , where it was used to describe unwritten rules in a complex metaphorical way that commoners could purportedly not live up to. Another early use of
5562-477: A series. The Hishikawa school attracted a large number of followers, as well as imitators such as Sugimura Jihei , and signalled the beginning of the popularization of a new artform. Torii Kiyonobu I and Kaigetsudō Ando became prominent emulators of Moronobu's style following the master's death, though neither was a member of the Hishikawa school. Both discarded background detail in favour of focus on
5768-470: A sophisticated knowledge of and training in the composition principles of classical Chinese painting ; gradually these artists shed the overt Chinese influence to develop a native Japanese idiom. The early ukiyo-e artists have been called "Primitives" in the sense that the print medium was a new challenge to which they adapted these centuries-old techniques—their image designs are not considered "primitive". Many ukiyo-e artists received training from teachers of
5974-650: A strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed. Leading up to the second Mongolian invasion, Kublai Khan continued to send emissaries to Japan, with five diplomats sent in September 1275 to Kyūshū. Hōjō Tokimune , the shikken of the Kamakura shogun, responded by having the Mongolian diplomats brought to Kamakura and then beheading them. The graves of
6180-413: A thousand years of training in the law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice ... It was not needed to create or establish them. As a child he had but to be instructed, as indeed he was from his earliest years, in the etiquette of self-immolation . Bushidō ( 武士道 ) is a Japanese word that literally means "warrior way". It is first attested in the 1616 work Kōyō Gunkan ( 甲陽軍鑑 ) ,
6386-521: A trend in the 1860s of gruesome scenes of murders and ghosts, monsters and supernatural beings, and legendary Japanese and Chinese heroes. His One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (1885–1892) depicts a variety of fantastic and mundane themes with a moon motif. Kiyochika (1847–1915) is known for his prints documenting the rapid modernization of Tokyo, such as the introduction of railways, and his depictions of Japan's wars with China and with Russia . Earlier
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6592-453: A warrior class seeking more general application of martial principles and experience in peacetime, as well as reflection on the land's long history of war. The literature of this time includes: The first mention of the term bushido is in the scriptures Koyo Gunkan (甲陽軍鑑) from Takeda-ryū (martial arts school), written around 1616 by samurai Kōsaka Masanobu (1527–1578). It consists of 20 scrolls that mention bushido over 30 times. It contains
6798-590: A well-known figure who rose from a peasant background to become a samurai, sengoku daimyo , and kampaku (Imperial Regent). From this time on, infantrymen called ashigaru , who were mobilized from the peasantry, were mobilized in even greater numbers than before, and the importance of the infantry, which had begun in the Nanboku-chō period, increased even more. When matchlocks were introduced from Portugal in 1543, Japanese swordsmiths immediately began to improve and mass-produce them. The Japanese matchlock
7004-410: Is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna ; and erotica . The term ukiyo-e ( 浮世絵 ) translates as 'picture[s] of the floating world'. In 1603,
7210-461: Is an example of honor in samurai culture. The severed heads were shown to a general as evidence that they killed wanted opponents and to collect rewards. More heads meant higher prestige, honor and rewards. A beautification ritual of the severed heads called Ohaguro was performed. Prestigious heads were arranged on a table and presented in front of the warriors. All heads were identified and marked to prevent mistakes. The guards were left and right of
7416-520: Is nothing of which they are so proud as of weapons adorned with gold and silver. They always wear swords and daggers both in and out of the house, and when they go to sleep they hang them at the bed's head. In short, they value arms more than any people I have ever seen. They are excellent archers, and usually fight on foot, though there is no lack of horses in the country. They are very polite to each other, but not to foreigners, whom they utterly despise. They spend their means on arms, bodily adornment, and on
7622-489: Is often described as a specific moral code that all members of the samurai class were obligated to follow. However, historically, the samurai adhered to multiple warrior codes and the interpretations varied per samurai clan, individuals and eras. These codes and philosophies changed dramatically during the different eras. The earliest proto-bushido type existed since the Kamakura period (1185). The degrees of devotion and interpretations varied between individuals. Since at least
7828-500: Is still unknown. Utagawa Toyokuni (1769–1825) produced kabuki portraits in a style Edo townsfolk found more accessible, emphasizing dramatic postures and avoiding Sharaku's realism. A consistent high level of quality marks ukiyo-e of the late 18th-century, but the works of Utamaro and Sharaku often overshadow those other masters of the era. One of Kiyonaga's followers, Eishi (1756–1829), abandoned his position as painter for shōgun Tokugawa Ieharu to take up ukiyo-e design. He brought
8034-427: Is ukiyo-e; assertions that he was the genre's founder are especially common amongst Japanese researchers. At times Matabei has been credited as the artist of the unsigned Hikone screen , a byōbu folding screen that may be one of the earliest surviving ukiyo-e works. The screen is in a refined Kanō style and depicts contemporary life, rather than the prescribed subjects of the painterly schools. In response to
8240-561: The kanazōshi genre of tales of hedonistic urban life in the new capital. The rebuilding of Edo following the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 occasioned a modernization of the city, and the publication of illustrated printed books flourished in the rapidly urbanizing environment. The term ukiyo ( 浮世 ) , which can be translated as 'floating world', was homophonous with the ancient Buddhist term ukiyo ( 憂き世 ) , meaning 'this world of sorrow and grief'. The newer term at times
8446-430: The chōnin class, who had become wealthy enough to afford to decorate their homes with them. The earliest ukiyo-e works emerged in the 1670s, with Hishikawa Moronobu 's paintings and monochromatic prints of beautiful women. Colour prints were introduced gradually, and at first were only used for special commissions. By the 1740s, artists such as Okumura Masanobu used multiple woodblocks to print areas of colour. In
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8652-550: The machishū and divided the population into four social classes , with the ruling samurai class at the top and the merchant class at the bottom. While deprived of their political influence, those of the merchant class most benefited from the rapidly expanding economy of the Edo period, and their improved lot allowed for leisure that many sought in the pleasure districts—in particular Yoshiwara in Edo —and collecting artworks to decorate their homes, which in earlier times had been well beyond their financial means. The experience of
8858-464: The Hokusai Manga , and his popularization of the landscape genre with Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji , which includes his best-known print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa , one of the most famous works of Japanese art. In contrast to the work of the older masters, Hokusai's colours were bold, flat, and abstract, and his subject was not the pleasure districts but the lives and environment of
9064-709: The Akita ranga painters of the 1770s—as were Chinese methods to create a sense of depth using a homogeny of parallel lines. The techniques sometimes appeared together in ukiyo-e works, geometrical perspective providing an illusion of depth in the background and the more expressive Chinese perspective in the fore. The techniques were most likely learned at first through Chinese Western-style paintings rather than directly from Western works. Long after becoming familiar with these techniques, artists continued to harmonize them with traditional methods according to their compositional and expressive needs. Other ways of indicating depth included
9270-624: The Ashikaga Shogunate with Emperor Kōgon . As a result, the southern court, descended from Emperor Godaigo, and the northern court, descended from Emperor Kogon, were established side by side. This period of coexistence of the two dynasties is called the Nanboku-chō period , which corresponds to the beginning of the Muromachi period . The Northern Court, supported by the Ashikaga Shogunate, had six emperors, and in 1392
9476-654: The Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, which opened Japan to the outside world after over two centuries of seclusion . Ukiyo-e prints were amongst the items he brought back to the United States. Such prints had appeared in Paris from at least the 1830s, and by the 1850s were numerous; reception was mixed, and even when praised ukiyo-e was generally thought inferior to Western works which emphasized mastery of naturalistic perspective and anatomy. Japanese art drew notice at
9682-533: The Edo period (1600 to the mid-19th century). Japan didn't have domestic or international conflict. These peaceful times in Tokugawa society enabled bushido to be refined from a focus on valor in battle to more moral integrity . The Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) codified aspects of the Samurai warrior values and formalized them into parts of the Japanese feudal law. In addition to the "house codes" issued in
9888-441: The Edo period 's chōnin , allied themselves with the court and had power over local communities; their patronage of the arts encouraged a revival in the classical arts in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In the early 17th century, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) unified the country and was appointed shōgun with supreme power over Japan. He consolidated his government in the village of Edo (modern Tokyo), and required
10094-467: The Ejima-Ikushima scandal of 1714. Kyoto native Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671–1750) painted technically refined pictures of courtesans. Considered a master of erotic portraits, he was the subject of a government ban in 1722, though it is believed he continued to create works that circulated under different names. Sukenobu spent most of his career in Edo, and his influence was considerable in both
10300-483: The Heian period (794–1185) had followed two principal paths: the nativist Yamato-e tradition, focusing on Japanese themes, best known by the works of the Tosa school ; and Chinese-inspired kara-e in a variety of styles, such as the monochromatic ink wash paintings of Sesshū Tōyō and his disciples. The Kanō school of painting incorporated features of both. Since antiquity, Japanese art had found patrons in
10506-598: The Heiji rebellion and became the first samurai-born aristocratic class, eventually becoming Daijō-daijin , the highest position of the aristocratic class, and the Taira clan monopolized important positions at the Imperial Court and wielded power. The victor, Taira no Kiyomori, became an imperial advisor and was the first warrior to attain such a position. He eventually seized control of the central government, establishing
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#173277305059710712-478: The Hitachi province , fled to Masakado. He was wanted for tyranny by Fujiwara no Korechika , an Kokushi ( 国司 , imperial court official) who oversaw the province of Hitachi, and Fujiwara no Korechika demanded that Masakado hand over Fujiwara no Haruaki. Masakado refused, and war broke out between Masakado and Fujiwara no Korechika, with Masakado becoming an enemy of the imperial court. Masakado proclaimed that
10918-776: The International Exhibition of 1867 in Paris , and became fashionable in France and England in the 1870s and 1880s. The prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige played a prominent role in shaping Western perceptions of Japanese art. At the time of their introduction to the West, woodblock printing was the most common mass medium in Japan, and the Japanese considered it of little lasting value. Early Europeans promoters and scholars of ukiyo-e and Japanese art included writer Edmond de Goncourt and art critic Philippe Burty , who coined
11124-725: The Kansei era (1789–1791). The ukiyo-e of the period of the Kansei Reforms brought about a focus on beauty and harmony that collapsed into decadence and disharmony in the next century as the reforms broke down and tensions rose, culminating in the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Especially in the 1780s, Torii Kiyonaga (1752–1815) of the Torii school depicted traditional ukiyo-e subjects like beauties and urban scenes, which he printed on large sheets of paper, often as multiprint horizontal diptychs or triptychs . His works dispensed with
11330-544: The Kantō and Kansai regions . The paintings of Miyagawa Chōshun (1683–1752) portrayed early 18th-century life in delicate colours. Chōshun made no prints. The Miyagawa school he founded in the early-18th century specialized in romantic paintings in a style more refined in line and colour than the Kaigetsudō school. Chōshun allowed greater expressive freedom in his adherents, a group that later included Hokusai . Even in
11536-458: The Koyo Gunkan of roughly circa 1616, an account of the military exploits of the Takeda clan . Bushido evolved from being totally devoted to valor in battle into refined types that were more related to moral integrity. The samurai had different types of bushido in each era in history , reflecting changing requirements on the battlefield and in society. The era name should be used to describe
11742-776: The Meiji era . In the Heian period , powerful regional clans were relied on to put down rebellions. After power struggles, the Taira clan defeated the Minamoto clan in 1160 . After the Minamoto defeated the Taira in 1185 , Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate , a parallel government that did not surplant the imperial court. The warriors who served the Shogunate were called gokenin, landholding warriors whose retainers were called samurai. Gokenin were regulated by
11948-450: The Minamoto and Taira . Taira no Masakado , who rose to prominence in the early 10th century, was the first of the local warrior class to revolt against the imperial court. He had served Fujiwara no Tadahira as a young man, but eventually won a power struggle within the Taira clan and became a powerful figure in the Kanto region . In 939, Fujiwara no Haruaki , a powerful figure in
12154-461: The Sengoku period , samurai didn't have compunction to use certain weapons. Retreating from battles did occur if it was unwinnable while others chose to fight till the end. Samurai did not actively seek an honorable death. However, it was honorable to die in the service of a daimyo only while furthering the daimyo's cause. Samurai had dark customs, the most notable: Kiri-sute gomen was the right to strike lower class who dishonored them. Seppuku
12360-596: The Taihō Code of 702, and the later Yōrō Code , the population was required to report regularly for the census, a precursor for national conscription. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Monmu introduced a law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the state military. These soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in return were exempted from duties and taxes. The Taihō Code classified most Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks, each divided into two sub-ranks, 1st rank being
12566-538: The shogun (将軍) as the overlord until the mid 19th century. The shogun was originally the Emperor's military deputy. After the Genpei War (1180–1185), Minamoto no Yoritomo usurped power from the civil aristocracy by establishing a military government called the bakufu situated in Kamakura since 1192. The Emperor and his court became figureheads . The appearance of bushido is linked to that of feudal Japan and
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#173277305059712772-411: The tea ceremony , poetry such as the death poem (written by samurai before suicidal missions or battles) and literature . Carl Steenstrup noted that 13th- and 14th-century writings ( gunki monogatari ) "portrayed the bushi in their natural element, war, eulogizing such virtues as reckless bravery, fierce family pride, and selfless, at times senseless devotion of master and man". Every farmer
12978-416: The tea ceremony . Such as the medieval Japanese proverb Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi ( Japanese : 花は桜木人は武士 , literally "the [best] blossom is the cherry blossom; the [best] man is the warrior"). In 1843 Nakamura said: Our nation is a nation of arms. The land to the west [China] is a nation of letters. Nations of letters value the pen. Nations of arms value the sword. That's the way it has been from
13184-408: The territorial lords to assemble there in alternate years with their entourages. The demands of the growing capital drew many male labourers from the country, so that males came to make up nearly seventy percent of the population. The village grew during the Edo period (1603–1867) from a population of 1800 to over a million in the 19th century. The centralized shogunate put an end to the power of
13390-562: The 14th century. Invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common to avoid infighting, and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates. The outbreak of the Onin War , which began in 1467 and lasted about 10 years, devastated Kyoto and brought down the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate. This plunged the country into the warring states period , in which daimyo (feudal lords) from different regions fought each other. This period corresponds to
13596-399: The 1760s, the success of Suzuki Harunobu 's "brocade prints" led to full-colour production becoming standard, with ten or more blocks used to create each print. Some ukiyo-e artists specialized in making paintings, but most works were prints. Artists rarely carved their own woodblocks for printing; rather, production was divided between the artist, who designed the prints; the carver, who cut
13802-432: The 1770s, Utagawa Toyoharu produced a number of uki-e perspective prints that demonstrated a mastery of Western perspective techniques that had eluded his predecessors in the genre. Toyoharu's works helped pioneer the landscape as an ukiyo-e subject, rather than merely a background for human figures. In the 19th century, Western-style perspective techniques were absorbed into Japanese artistic culture, and deployed in
14008-431: The 20th century there was a revival in Japanese printmaking: the shin-hanga ('new prints') genre capitalized on Western interest in prints of traditional Japanese scenes, and the sōsaku-hanga ('creative prints') movement promoted individualist works designed, carved, and printed by a single artist. Prints since the late 20th century have continued in an individualist vein, often made with techniques imported from
14214-557: The East. Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg spent a year in the Dutch trading settlement Dejima , near Nagasaki, and was one of the earliest Westerners to collect Japanese prints. The export of ukiyo-e thereafter slowly grew, and at the beginning of the 19th century Dutch merchant-trader Isaac Titsingh 's collection drew the attention of connoisseurs of art in Paris. The arrival in Edo of American Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 led to
14420-506: The Edo period, the shogun. A vassal or samurai could expect monetary benefits, including land or money, from lords in exchange for their military services. The Azuchi-Momoyama period refers to the period when Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were in power. The name "Azuchi-Momoyama" comes from the fact that Nobunaga's castle, Azuchi Castle , was located in Azuchi, Shiga , and Fushimi Castle , where Hideyoshi lived after his retirement,
14626-589: The Imperial Court was reunited by absorbing the Southern Court, although the modern Imperial Household Agency considers the Southern Court to be the legitimate emperor. The de facto rule of Japan by the Ashikaga Shogunate lasted until the Onin War , which broke out in 1467. From 1346 to 1358 during the Nanboku-cho period, the Ashikaga shogunate gradually expanded the authority of the Shugo ( 守護 ) ,
14832-597: The Imperial family, the Kuge and Temples and Shrines received grants of tax-free land. In the 9th Century, the farmers began to give their land over to the nobility in order to avoid taxes. They would then administer and work the land for a payment of rice. This also reduced the wealth of the Emperor, as he had no private land and was dependent on tax income. Many of the farmers armed themselves and formed warrior groups called rōdō. These warriors then followed powerful families like
15038-408: The Japanese, expecting the invading Mongols to be laid-back with their combat, humiliatingly sent an envoy that fired a noisemaker arrow to officially commence the start of what the Japanese assumed would be a series of small duels and skirmishes. Additionally, Mongols usually cut swathes through soldiers that attempted to announce their lineages before facing them. Despite ultimately winning against
15244-560: The Kanto region under his rule was independent of the Imperial Court and called himself the Shinnō ( 新皇 , New Emperor) . In response, the imperial court sent a large army led by Taira no Sadamori to kill Masakado. As a result, Masakado was killed in battle in February 940. He is still revered as one of the three great onryō ( 怨霊 , vengeful spirits) of Japan. The Heian period saw
15450-405: The Kanō and other painterly schools. A defining feature of most ukiyo-e prints is a well-defined, bold, flat line. The earliest prints were monochromatic, and these lines were the only printed element; even with the advent of colour this characteristic line continued to dominate. In ukiyo-e composition forms are arranged in flat spaces with figures typically in a single plane of depth. Attention
15656-720: The Man-At-Arms (Tsuwamon no michi), and the Way of the Bow and Arrows (Kyûsen / kyûya no Michi). At the time of the Genpei War (1180–1185) , it was called "Way of the Bow and the Horse" (弓馬の道, kyūba no michi) because of the major importance of this style of combat for the warriors of the time, and because it was considered a traditional method, that of the oldest samurai heroes, such as Prince Shōtoku , Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Minamoto no Yoshiie (Hachimantarō). According to Louis Frédéric ,
15862-474: The Meiji era. Following the deaths of Hokusai and Hiroshige and the Meiji Restoration of 1868, ukiyo-e suffered a sharp decline in quantity and quality. The rapid Westernization of the Meiji period that followed saw woodblock printing turn its services to journalism, and face competition from photography. Practitioners of pure ukiyo-e became more rare, and tastes turned away from a genre seen as
16068-476: The Meiji period, bushido absorbed European ideals and formed the foundation of Japan's political ethics. Chinese writer Zhou Zuoren supported the historical legitimacy, although it was thought to be altered and corrupted in the modern period. The values that became bushido evolved significantly over the centuries to the present. These first appeared as unwritten customs in the 12th century with shogun Minamoto Yoritomo . The written term bushido first appears in
16274-465: The Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as kami-no-Kaze , which literally translates as "wind of the gods". This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind". The kami-no-Kaze lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection. In 1336, Ashikaga Takauji , who opposed Emperor Godaigo , established
16480-442: The Mongols, these honor norms, along with the shogunate , were weakened enough to cause endemic division that led to the end of the Kamakura period and the court wars of the Nanboku-chō period . Born from Neo-Confucianism during times of peace in the Edo period and following Confucian texts, while also being influenced by Shinto and Zen Buddhism , it balanced violence with the therapeutic ideals of wisdom and peace accepted at
16686-520: The Muromachi period and a rank below kachi ( 徒士 ) and above ashigaru in the Edo period. In the early Edo period , even some daimyō ( 大名 , feudal lords) with territories of 10,000 koku or more called themselves samurai. At the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate , there was no clear distinction between hatamoto ( 旗本 ) and gokenin , which referred to direct vassals of
16892-436: The Nanboku-chō period to the Muromachi period, large groups of infantrymen became more active in battle, close combat became more important, and the naginata and tachi , which had been used since the Heian period, were used more. The yari (spear) was not yet a major weapon in this period. During the Nanboku-chō period, many lower-class foot soldiers called ashigaru began to participate in battles, and
17098-572: The Onin War; in other words, it marked the end of the Muromachi period. Oda Nobunaga was the well-known lord of the Nagoya area (once called Owari Province ) and an exceptional example of a samurai of the Sengoku period. He came within a few years of, and laid down the path for his successors to follow, the reunification of Japan under a new bakufu (shogunate). Oda Nobunaga made innovations in
17304-507: The Samurai dokoro. During the Sengoku Period , the term was vague and some samurai owned land, others were retainers or mercenaries. Many served as retainers to lords (including daimyo ). There was a great increase in the number of men who styled themselves samurai by virtue of bearing arms. During the Edo period , 1603 to 1868, they were mainly the stewards and chamberlains of the daimyo estates, roles they had also filled in
17510-399: The Shogunate. The capital punishments were beheading, crucifixion, death by burning and Ana-tsurushi ( 穴吊るし , lit. "hole hanging") . Bushido has been described as Japanese chivalry , and samurai in general have been described as being like Western knights . There are notable similarities and differences depending on which bushido type is compared with chivalry. Christianity had
17716-554: The Tōkaidō and The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō , the latter a cooperative effort with Eisen. His work was more realistic, subtly coloured, and atmospheric than Hokusai's; nature and the seasons were key elements: mist, rain, snow, and moonlight were prominent parts of his compositions. Hiroshige's followers, including adopted son Hiroshige II and son-in-law Hiroshige III , carried on their master's style of landscapes into
17922-502: The West. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century, particularly the landscapes of Hokusai and Hiroshige. From the 1870s onward, Japonisme became a prominent trend and had a strong influence on the early French Impressionists such as Edgar Degas , Édouard Manet and Claude Monet , as well as influencing Post-Impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh , and Art Nouveau artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec . Japanese art since
18128-403: The abdomen. In the late Kamakura period, a new type of armor called haramaki appeared, in which the two ends of the haraate were extended to the back to provide greater protection. Various samurai clans struggled for power during the Kamakura shogunate . Zen Buddhism spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped shape their standards of conduct, particularly in overcoming
18334-422: The appearance of distinctive Japanese armor and weapons. Typical examples are the tachi (long sword) and naginata (halberd) used in close combat, and the ō-yoroi and dō-maru styles of armor. High-ranking samurai equipped with yumi (bows) who fought on horseback wore ō-yoroi , while lower-ranking samurai equipped with naginata who fought on foot wore dō-maru . During
18540-406: The aristocracy, military governments, and religious authorities. Until the 16th century, the lives of the common people had not been a main subject of painting, and even when they were included, the works were luxury items made for the ruling samurai and rich merchant classes. Later works appeared by and for townspeople, including inexpensive monochromatic paintings of female beauties and scenes of
18746-418: The battlefield as any other warriors. These concepts, codes and ideals were ingrained in the samurai since they rose to power in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). At certain eras, there were prevalent rules and unwritten customs such as the "Way of the Bow and the Horse" (弓馬の道, kyūba no michi) since the 12th century and, in the Edo period , the code of the samurai was formalized with specific virtues and laws by
18952-404: The beginning of this approach as a movement. The movement favoured individuality in its artists, and as such has no dominant themes or styles. Works ranged from the entirely abstract ones of Kōshirō Onchi (1891–1955) to the traditional figurative depictions of Japanese scenes of Un'ichi Hiratsuka (1895–1997). These artists produced prints not because they hoped to reach a mass audience, but as
19158-536: The beginning... Our country and theirs are separated from one another by hundreds of miles, our customs are completely different, the temperaments of our people are dissimilar – so how could we possibly share the same Way? (Nakamura 1843 cited in Watanabe 2012: 285). During the Muromachi period (1336–1573) the way of the warrior began to refine by inserting in their daily activities, alongside martial training, Zen meditation, painting (monochrome style), ikebana ,
19364-430: The birth of the Edo period, Samurai codes of conduct continued to extend beyond the realms of warfare. Forms of bushido-related Zen Buddhism and Confucianism also emerged during this period. A Samurai adhering to bushido-like codes was expected to live a just and ethical social life; honoring the practices of the gentry in the absence of military campaigns. Japan enjoyed two and a half centuries of relative peace during
19570-411: The bravery of their armies. These changes in the aspect of the battlefield during the Sengoku period led to the emergence of the tosei-gusoku style of armor, which improved the productivity and durability of armor. In the history of Japanese armor, this was the most significant change since the introduction of the ō-yoroi and dō-mal in the Heian period. In this style, the number of parts
19776-413: The category of buke hōkōnin ( 武家奉公人 , servants of the buke ) . In times of war, samurai ( wakatō ) and ashigaru were fighters, while the rest were porters. Generally, samurai ( wakatō ) could take family names, while some ashigaru could, and only samurai ( wakatō ) were considered samurai class. Wakatō , like samurai, had different definitions in different periods, meaning a young bushi in
19982-399: The character 侍 was originally a verb meaning 'to wait upon', 'accompany persons' in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau . In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean 'those who serve in close attendance to the nobility', the Japanese term saburai being the nominal form of the verb." According to Wilson, an early reference to
20188-513: The city of Edo ( Tokyo ) became the seat of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate . The chōnin class (merchants, craftsmen and workers), positioned at the bottom of the social order , benefited the most from the city's rapid economic growth. They began to indulge in and patronize the entertainment of kabuki theatre, geisha , and courtesans of the pleasure districts . The term ukiyo ('floating world') came to describe this hedonistic lifestyle. Printed or painted ukiyo-e works were popular with
20394-470: The codes, practices, philosophies and principles of samurai culture. It is loosely analogous to the European concept of chivalry , but with some major differences. Ideas of the samurai code formalized earlier moral values and ethics, most commonly stressing a combination of sincerity, frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, honour until death, "bravery", and "loyalty to the samurai's lord." The idea of
20600-460: The common people at work. Established masters Eisen , Kuniyoshi , and Kunisada also followed Hokusai's steps into landscape prints in the 1830s, producing prints with bold compositions and striking effects. Though not often given the attention of their better-known forebears, the Utagawa school produced a few masters in this declining period. The prolific Kunisada (1786–1865) had few rivals in
20806-615: The context of the fiefdoms (han) and texts that described the right behavior of a warrior (such as the Hagakure), the first Buke shohatto (Laws for the Military Houses, 武家諸法度) was issued by the government in 1615, which prescribed to the lords of the fiefdoms ( daimyo ) and the samurai warrior aristocracy responsibilities and activities, the rules of conduct, simple and decent clothing, the correct supply in case of official visits, etc. The edicts were reissued in 1629, and in 1635, by
21012-462: The days of the Kamakura shogunate , the "way of the warrior" has been an integral part of Japanese culture. Scholars generally regard pre-modern Japan as a "warrior nation" since the medieval period. The samurai were role models for society since medieval times. In accordance with Confucianism , one of their duties was to serve as a role model for society. They balanced their martial arts skills with peaceful accomplishments such as literature, poetry and
21218-402: The definition of samurai became synonymous with gokenin ( 御家人 ) , which refers to bushi who owned territory and served the shogun . However, some samurai of exceptional status, hi-gokenin ( 非御家人 ) , did not serve the shogun. Subordinate bushi in the service of the samurai were called rōtō, rōdō ( 郎党 ) or rōjū ( 郎従 ) . Some of the rōtō were given a territory and
21424-519: The depiction of courtesans and actors. As a result, many ukiyo-e artists designed travel scenes and pictures of nature, especially birds and flowers. Landscapes had been given limited attention since Moronobu, and they formed an important element in the works of Kiyonaga and Shunchō . It was not until late in the Edo period that landscape came into its own as a genre, especially via the works of Hokusai and Hiroshige The landscape genre has come to dominate Western perceptions of ukiyo-e, though ukiyo-e had
21630-530: The dishonorable activity of some fighters such as shinobi as to rarely mention them. Ideas of honor that led to bushido developed in reaction to the dishonorable behavior of samurai that had always existed, newer stealth and espionage techniques, and Zen Buddhist soldier tenets. Honor in battle, as expressed through announcing one's family name and/or lineages before fighting, attempting to limit fights among warrior nobles to horseback archery or sword duels with no subterfuge or trickery, and conducting oneself like
21836-412: The dominance of Harunobu's idealism by focusing on contemporary urban fashions and celebrated real-world courtesans and geisha . Koryūsai was perhaps the most prolific ukiyo-e artist of the 18th century, and produced a larger number of paintings and print series than any predecessor. The Kitao school that Shigemasa founded was one of the dominant schools of the closing decades of the 18th century. In
22042-554: The dreams of the living. This idea also ensured the success of the Noh theater. The Tale of the Heike depicts an idealized story of the Genpei War (1180–1185) with a struggle between two powerful samurai clans, the Minamoto and the Taira . Clearly depicted throughout the epic is the ideal of the cultivated warrior. During the early modern era, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of warrior society and recommended as
22248-400: The earliest beni pink and vegetable green. A great self-promoter, Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764) played a major role during the period of rapid technical development in printing from the late 17th to mid-18th centuries. He established a shop in 1707 and combined elements of the leading contemporary schools in a wide array of genres, though Masanobu himself belonged to no school. Amongst
22454-479: The earliest monochromatic prints and books, colour was added by hand for special commissions. Demand for colour in the early-18th century was met with tan-e prints hand-tinted with orange and sometimes green or yellow. These were followed in the 1720s with a vogue for pink-tinted beni-e and later the lacquer-like ink of the urushi-e . In 1744, the benizuri-e were the first successes in colour printing, using multiple woodblocks—one for each colour,
22660-503: The emperor's entourage, and became the first of the Minamoto clan to assume the office of Sei-i Taishōgun (shogun) . In response, Minamoto no Yoritomo sent Minamoto no Noriyori and Minamoto no Yoshitsune to defeat Yoshinaka, who was killed within a year of becoming shogun. In 1185, the Taira clan was finally defeated in the Battle of Dan-no-ura , and the Minamoto clan came to power. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo established
22866-416: The emperor, who tried to control their actions. He died in 1582 when one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide , turned upon him with his army. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu , who founded the Tokugawa shogunate, were loyal followers of Nobunaga. Hideyoshi began as a peasant and became one of Nobunaga's top generals, and Ieyasu had shared his childhood with Nobunaga. Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide within
23072-569: The fear of death and killing. Among the general populace Pure Land Buddhism was favored however. In 1274, the Mongol-founded Yuan dynasty in China sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern Kyūshū . Japan mustered a mere 10,000 samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army
23278-546: The fields of organization and war tactics, made heavy use of arquebuses, developed commerce and industry, and treasured innovation. Consecutive victories enabled him to end the Ashikaga Bakufu and disarm of the military powers of the Buddhist monks, which had inflamed futile struggles among the populace for centuries. Attacking from the "sanctuary" of Buddhist temples, they were constant headaches to any warlord and even
23484-410: The first shogun at the time of Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) in the 12th century. The own moral dimension bushido gradually appears in the warrior culture and landmark in stories and military treaties only from the 14th and 15th century. Thus is noted a permanence of the modern representation of its antiquity in Japanese culture and its diffusion. In the 10th and 11th century there was the Way of
23690-401: The first samurai-dominated government and relegating the emperor to figurehead status. The clan had its women marry emperors and exercise control through the emperor. However, when Taira no Kiyomori used his power to have the child of his daughter Taira no Tokuko and Emperor Takakura installed as Emperor Antoku , there was widespread opposition. Prince Mochihito , no longer able to assume
23896-482: The first samurai-dominated government. As the power of these regional clans grew, their chief was typically a distant relative of the emperor and a lesser member of either the Fujiwara , Minamoto , or Taira clan. From the Kamakura period onwards, emphasis was put on training samurai from childhood in using "the bow and sword". In the late Kamakura period, even the most senior samurai began to wear dō-maru , as
24102-483: The five executed Mongol emissaries exist to this day in Kamakura at Tatsunokuchi. On 29 July 1279, five more emissaries were sent by the Mongol empire, and again beheaded, this time in Hakata . This continued defiance of the Mongol emperor set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history. In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 5,000 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū
24308-499: The following decades, and violators could receive harsh punishments. From 1799 even preliminary drafts required approval. A group of Utagawa-school offenders including Toyokuni had their works repressed in 1801, and Utamaro was imprisoned in 1804 for making prints of 16th-century political and military leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi . Utamaro ( c. 1753 –1806) made his name in the 1790s with his bijin ōkubi-e ('large-headed pictures of beautiful women') portraits, focusing on
24514-453: The former referring to soldiers or warriors and the latter referring instead to a kind of hereditary nobility . In the early 17th century, the term bushidō ( 武士道 ) with its on'yomi reading was used alongside the synonymous alternative form ( 武士の道 ) , read using native Japanese vocabulary ( kun'yomi ) as mono no fu no michi . Another important term is bushi katagi ( 武士気質 , literally 'warrior temperament') . For centuries
24720-409: The general and cited spells to transfix demonic spirits of the enemy. Then a samurai said his own name, lifted a box to show and describe the severed head. The general inspected the trophy heads while holding a fan so that the dead could not recognize his face. If the claimed head was correct then the samurai received a payment otherwise he was dismissed. Despite the war-torn culmination of this era and
24926-399: The head and upper torso, a style others had previously employed in portraits of kabuki actors. Utamaro experimented with line, colour, and printing techniques to bring out subtle differences in the features, expressions, and backdrops of subjects from a wide variety of class and background. Utamaro's individuated beauties were in sharp contrast to the stereotyped, idealized images that had been
25132-399: The heavy and elegant ō-yoroi were no longer respected. Until then, the body was the only part of the dō-maru that was protected, but for higher-ranking samurai, the dō-maru also came with a kabuto (helmet) and shoulder guards. For lower-ranked samurai, the haraate was introduced, the simplest style of armor that protected only the front of the torso and the sides of
25338-413: The highest adviser to the emperor. Those of 6th rank and below were referred to as "samurai" and dealt with day-to-day affairs and were initially civilian public servants, in keeping with the original derivation of this word from saburau , a verb meaning 'to serve'. In 780, general conscription was abolished, and the government relied solely on units of capable warriors called kondei recruited from
25544-426: The history of the Takeda family and their military tactics. The Koyo Gunkan describes valor and exploits in battle. For example, it is a waste of talent when a bushido practitioner takes on administrative roles in government or financial affairs (e.g. dealings in rice, money, timber, or forest land). It emphasizes that bushido lies only in "becoming as a spear" on the battlefield. The scrolls were widely disseminated as
25750-560: The human figure—kabuki actors in the yakusha-e of Kiyonobu and the Torii school that followed him, and courtesans in the bijin-ga of Ando and his Kaigetsudō school . Ando and his followers produced a stereotyped female image whose design and pose lent itself to effective mass production, and its popularity created a demand for paintings that other artists and schools took advantage of. The Kaigetsudō school and its popular "Kaigetsudō beauty" ended after Ando's exile over his role in
25956-433: The idealism of the prints of Harunobu and the Torii school grew following Harunobu's death in 1770. Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1793) and his school produced portraits of kabuki actors with greater fidelity to the actors' actual features than had been the trend. Sometime-collaborators Koryūsai (1735 – c. 1790 ) and Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820) were prominent depicters of women who also moved ukiyo-e away from
26162-468: The imperial court, the upper echelons of society. They were responsible for assisting the nobles in their daily duties, guarding the nobles, guarding the court, arresting bandits, and suppressing civil wars, much like secretaries, butlers, and police officers today. Samurai in this period referred to the Fifth ( go-i ) and Sixth Ranks ( roku-i ) of the court ranks . During the Kamakura period ,
26368-408: The imperial throne, called upon the Minamoto clan to raise an army to defeat the Taira clan, and the Genpei War began. Minamoto no Yoshinaka expelled the Taira clan from Kyoto, and although he was initially welcomed by the hermit Emperor Go-Shirakawa, he became estranged and isolated due to the disorderly military discipline and lack of political power under his command. He staged a coup, overthrew
26574-517: The increasing demand for ukiyo-e works, Hishikawa Moronobu (1618–1694) produced the first ukiyo-e woodblock prints. By 1672, Moronobu's success was such that he began to sign his work—the first of the book illustrators to do so. He was a prolific illustrator who worked in a wide variety of genres, and developed an influential style of portraying female beauties. Most significantly, he began to produce illustrations, not just for books, but as single-sheet images, which could stand alone or be used as part of
26780-448: The innovations in his romantic, lyrical images were the introduction of geometrical perspective in the uki-e genre in the 1740s; the long, narrow hashira-e prints; and the combination of graphics and literature in prints that included self-penned haiku poetry. Ukiyo-e reached a peak in the late 18th century with the advent of full-colour prints, developed after Edo returned to prosperity under Tanuma Okitsugu following
26986-406: The kyūba no michi appeared around the 10th century as a set of rules and unwritten customs that samurai were expected to comply. There was also "Yumiya toru mi no narai" (customs for those who draw the bow). This shows there was an emerging sense of ideal warrior behavior that evolved from daily training and warfare experience. Towards the 10th and 11th centuries we began to use expressions such as
27192-484: The late 18th century. The 19th century also saw the continuation of masters of the ukiyo-e tradition, with the creation of Hokusai 's The Great Wave off Kanagawa , one of the most well-known works of Japanese art, and Hiroshige 's The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō . Following the deaths of these two masters, and against the technological and social modernization that followed the Meiji Restoration of 1868, ukiyo-e production went into steep decline. However, in
27398-413: The late Kamakura period allowed them to produce Japanese swords with tougher blades than before, and during the Nanboku-chō period, ōdachi (large/great sword) were at their peak as weapons for the samurai. Until the Mongol invasion in the late Kamakura period, the main battle was fought by small groups of warriors using yumi (bows) from horseback, and close combat was a secondary battle. From
27604-619: The late Muromachi period. There are about nine theories about the end of the Sengoku Period, the earliest being the year 1568, when Oda Nobunaga marched on Kyoto, and the latest being the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638. Thus, the Sengoku Period overlaps with the Muromachi, Azuchi–Momoyama , and Edo periods , depending on the theory. In any case, the Sengoku period was a time of large-scale civil wars throughout Japan. Daimyo who became more powerful as
27810-723: The linework. The aesthetic of flat areas of colour contrasts with the modulated colours expected in Western traditions and with other prominent contemporary traditions in Japanese art patronized by the upper class, such as in the subtle monochrome ink brushstrokes of zenga brush painting or tonal colours of the Kanō school of painting. The colourful, ostentatious, and complex patterns, concern with changing fashions, and tense, dynamic poses and compositions in ukiyo-e are in striking contrast with many concepts in traditional Japanese aesthetics . Prominent amongst these, wabi-sabi favours simplicity, asymmetry, and imperfection, with evidence of
28016-588: The local military and police officials established by the Kamakura shogunate, giving the Shugo jurisdiction over land disputes between gokenin ( 御家人 ) and allowing the Shugo to receive half of all taxes from the areas they controlled. The Shugo shared their newfound wealth with the local samurai, creating a hierarchical relationship between the Shugo and the samurai, and the first early daimyo ( 大名 , feudal lords) , called shugo daimyo ( 守護大名 ) , appeared. The innovations of Sōshū swordsmiths in
28222-414: The lowest-ranking bushi , as exemplified by the provisions of the temporary law Separation Edict enacted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591. This law regulated the transfer of status classes:samurai ( wakatō ), chūgen ( 中間 ) , komono ( 小者 ) , and arashiko ( 荒子 ) . These four classes and the ashigaru were chōnin ( 町人 , townspeople) and peasants employed by the bushi and fell under
28428-421: The morals defined by Nitobe do not represent all of bushido. Some researchers claim that chivalric bushido as defined by Nitobe (a.k.a. Meiji Bushido) was invented in the 19th century. However, there is a plethora of historical literature about Japanese warrior codes, practices, philosophies since the Kamakura period . These types can be categorized by era into Sengoku, Edo, Meiji and Contemporary Bushido. Therefore
28634-400: The norm. By the end of the decade, especially following the death of his patron Tsutaya Jūzaburō in 1797, Utamaro's prodigious output declined in quality, and he died in 1806. Appearing suddenly in 1794 and disappearing just as suddenly ten months later, the prints of the enigmatic Sharaku are amongst ukiyo-e's best known. Sharaku produced striking portraits of kabuki actors, introducing
28840-530: The number of days for each month hidden in the design, and were sent at the New Year as personalized greetings, bearing the name of the patron rather than the artist. The blocks for these prints were later re-used for commercial production, obliterating the patron's name and replacing it with that of the artist. The delicate, romantic prints of Suzuki Harunobu (1725–1770) were amongst the first to realize expressive and complex colour designs, printed with up to
29046-488: The passage of time; and shibui values subtlety, humility, and restraint. Ukiyo-e can be less at odds with aesthetic concepts such as the racy, urbane stylishness of iki . Ukiyo-e displays an unusual approach to graphical perspective, one that can appear underdeveloped when compared to European paintings of the same period. Western-style geometrical perspective was known in Japan—practised most prominently by
29252-440: The past. During the Edo period, they came to represent a hereditary class. On the other hand, from the mid-Edo period, chōnin (townsman) and farmers could be promoted to the samurai class by being adopted into gokenin families or by serving in daikan offices, and low-ranking samurai could be transferred to lower social classes, such as chōnin , by changing jobs. In the 1870s, samurai families comprised 5% of
29458-517: The pleasure quarters was open to those of sufficient wealth, manners, and education. Woodblock printing in Japan traces back to the Hyakumantō Darani in 770 CE. Until the 17th century, such printing was reserved for Buddhist seals and images. Movable type appeared around 1600, but as the Japanese writing system required about 100,000 type pieces, hand-carving text onto woodblocks
29664-422: The poetic dreamscapes made by Harunobu, opting instead for realistic depictions of idealized female forms dressed in the latest fashions and posed in scenic locations. He also produced portraits of kabuki actors in a realistic style that included accompanying musicians and chorus. A law went into effect in 1790 requiring prints to bear a censor's seal of approval to be sold. Censorship increased in strictness over
29870-412: The popularity of haramaki increased. During the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods, dō-maru and haramaki became the norm, and senior samurai also began to wear haramaki by adding kabuto (helmet), men-yoroi (face armor), and gauntlet. Issues of inheritance caused family strife as primogeniture became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before
30076-589: The population. As modern militaries emerged in the 19th century, the samurai were rendered increasingly obsolete and very expensive to maintain compared to the average conscript soldier. The Meiji Restoration formally abolished the status, and most former samurai became Shizoku . This allowed them to move into professional and entrepreneurial roles. In Japanese, historical warriors are usually referred to as bushi ( 武士 , [bɯ.ɕi] ) , meaning 'warrior', or buke ( 武家 ) , meaning 'military family'. According to translator William Scott Wilson : "In Chinese,
30282-622: The prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige, most prominently in La mer (1905). Imagist poets such as Amy Lowell and Ezra Pound found inspiration in ukiyo-e prints; Lowell published a book of poetry called Pictures of the Floating World (1919) on oriental themes or in an oriental style. The travel sketchbook became a popular genre beginning about 1905, as the Meiji government promoted travel within Japan to have citizens better know their country. In 1915, publisher Shōzaburō Watanabe introduced
30488-573: The privilege to perform hara-kiri (suicide disemboweling). If it was not lethal then a friend or relation performed decapitation (kaishaku). In 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the prosecution of 26 Martyrs of Japan . They were tortured, mutilated, paraded through villages and executed by crucifixion , tied to crosses on a hill and impaled by lances (spears). In the 17th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate executed over 400 Christians ( Martyrs of Japan ) for being more loyal to their faith than
30694-448: The proper form of the Japanese man of arms. The influence of Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism on bushido's early development instilled among those who live by the code a religious respect for it. Many early literary works of Japan talk of warriors, but the term bushidō does not appear in text until the Edo period. The code which would become bushido was conceptualized during the late- Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan. Since
30900-407: The prospect of imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the river current: this is what we call ukiyo . The earliest ukiyo-e artists came from the world of Japanese painting . Yamato-e painting of the 17th century had developed a style of outlined forms which allowed inks to be dripped on a wet surface and spread out towards the outlines—this outlining of forms
31106-605: The range of subjects in the Edo prints, those of Kamigata tended to be portraits of kabuki actors. The style of the Kamigata prints was little distinguished from those of Edo until the late 18th century, partly because artists often moved back and forth between the two areas. Colours tend to be softer and pigments thicker in Kamigata prints than in those of Edo. In the 19th century, many of the prints were designed by kabuki fans and other amateurs. The Tenpō Reforms of 1841–1843 sought to suppress outward displays of luxury, including
31312-415: The rank of sengoku daimyo during this period. Uesugi Kenshin was an example of a Shugodai who became sengoku daimyo by weakening and eliminating the power of the lord. This period was marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making a name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming de facto samurai. One such example is Toyotomi Hideyoshi ,
31518-453: The refined landscapes of such artists as Hokusai and Hiroshige , the latter a member of the Utagawa school that Toyoharu founded. This school was to become one of the most influential, and produced works in a far greater variety of genres than any other school. While the late 18th century saw hard economic times, ukiyo-e saw a peak in quantity and quality of works, particularly during
31724-599: The reigns of Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Toba , the Taira clan became Kokushi ( 国司 ) , or overseers of various regions, and accumulated wealth by taking samurai from various regions as their retainers. In the struggle for the succession of Emperor Toba, Emperor Sutoku and Emperor Go-Shirakawa , each with his samurai class on his side, fought the Hōgen rebellion , which was won by Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who had Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitomo on his side. Later, Taira no Kiyomori defeated Minamoto no Yoshitomo in
31930-414: The relatively small family and land quarrels of this time, as well as duels thought to be honorable, warriors often disregarded these norms of combat and the announcement of family names or lineages was mostly a way to brag and assert a right to fight and/or gain whatever a faction was looking for after a fight. Outright bragging was also known to happen. These already tenuous codes of honor were weakened when
32136-596: The ruling Tokugawa Shogunate . Notable samurai, such as Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) and Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659–1719)., wrote extensively about their interpretations of bushido. In the 1870s, the Meiji restoration abolished the samurai class and they were transferred to professional, military and business classes. However, the former samurai and their descendants continued to be influential in Japanese society because they occupied important positions. Bushido has continued to exist in various types. Additional concepts and ideas were added to bushido so that it could evolve with
32342-566: The same pair of hands. Kanae Yamamoto (1882–1946), then a student at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts , is credited with the birth of this approach. In 1904, he produced Fisherman using woodblock printing, a technique until then frowned upon by the Japanese art establishment as old-fashioned and for its association with commercial mass production. The foundation of the Japanese Woodcut Artists' Association in 1918 marks
32548-399: The samurai adhered to multiple types of the code of which the interpretations varied per samurai clan and per member of the military nobility. This encompassed morality, their role in society, and how to live a life with honor and virtue. The samurai had some common values, but they did not have a single definition or path that all samurai were required to abide. The samurai were as practical on
32754-461: The samurai class became the political ruling power in Japan. In 1190 he visited Kyoto and in 1192 became Sei'i Taishōgun , establishing the Kamakura shogunate, or Kamakura bakufu . Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the shogunate in Kamakura , near his base of power. "Bakufu" means "tent government", taken from the encampments the soldiers lived in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as
32960-453: The samurai ways of life in the broad sense. The world of warriors which developed […] in the medieval period (12th – 16th century) was […] placed under the domination of the Buddhist religion […]. Buddhism makes the prohibition of killing living beings one of its main principles. […] Faced with death, some samurai thought they had inherited bad karma […] others knew they were doing evil. The Buddhist notion of impermanence (Mujo) tended to express
33166-440: The shogun and the daimyo of each domains, and as the distinction between bushi and chōnin or peasants became stricter, the boundaries between the definitions of samurai and bushi became blurred. Since then, the term "samurai" has been used to refer to " bushi ". Officially, however, the high-ranking bushi were called samurai and the low-ranking bushi were called kachi ( 徒士 ) . Samurai and kachi were represented by
33372-485: The shogun or daimyo . According to Stephen Morillo, during this period the term refers to "a retainer of a lord - usually ... the retainer of a daimyo" and that the term samurai "marks social function and not class", and "all sorts of soldiers, including pikemen, bowmen, musketeers and horsemen were samurai". During the Azuchi–Momoyama period (late Sengoku period), "samurai" often referred to wakatō ( 若党 ) ,
33578-449: The shogun or emperor, and anyone who distinguished themselves in war could become samurai regardless of their social status. Jizamurai ( 地侍 ) came from the powerful myōshu ( 名主 ) , who owned farmland and held leadership positions in their villages, and became vassals of sengoku daimyō ( 戦国大名 ) . Their status was half farmer, half bushi (samurai). On the other hand, it also referred to local bushi who did not serve
33784-447: The shogun, but from the second half of the 17th century a distinction was made between hatamoto , direct vassals with territories of 10,000 koku or less who were entitled to an audience with the shogun, and gokenin , those without such rights. Samurai referred to hatamoto in the Tokugawa shogunate and to chūkoshō ( 中小姓 ) or higher status bushi in each han ( 藩 , domains) . During this period, most bushi came to serve
33990-403: The shogunate's control weakened were called sengoku daimyo ( 戦国大名 ) , and they often came from shugo daimyo , Shugodai ( 守護代 , deputy Shugo) , and kokujin or kunibito ( 国人 , local masters) . In other words, sengoku daimyo differed from shugo daimyo in that a sengoku daimyo was able to rule the region on his own, without being appointed by the shogun. During this period,
34196-471: The sons of wealthy peasants and provincial officials. Another principle of the Ritsuryō system had already begun to be abandoned. All the land belonged to the state, and had been distributed on a per capita basis to farmers. However, in 743, farmers were allowed to cultivate reclaimed land in perpetuity. This allowed clan leaders, especially those with lots of slaves, to acquire large amounts of land. Members of
34402-495: The status of kachi , were financially impoverished and supported themselves by making bamboo handicrafts and umbrellas and selling plants. The shibun status of samurai and kachi was clearly distinguished from the keihai ( 軽輩 ) status of the ashigaru and chūgen who served them, but it was more difficult to rise from kachi to samurai than from ashigaru to kachi , and the status gap between samurai, who were high-ranking bushi , and kachi , who were low-ranking bushi ,
34608-439: The superiority of the samurai over the aristocracy. In 1185, Yoritomo obtained the right to appoint shugo and jitō , and was allowed to organize soldiers and police, and to collect a certain amount of tax. Initially, their responsibility was restricted to arresting rebels and collecting needed army provisions and they were forbidden from interfering with kokushi officials, but their responsibility gradually expanded. Thus,
34814-573: The term shin-hanga ("new prints") to describe a style of prints he published that featured traditional Japanese subject matter and were aimed at foreign and upscale Japanese audiences. Prominent artists included Goyō Hashiguchi , called the "Utamaro of the Taishō period " for his manner of depicting women; Shinsui Itō , who brought more modern sensibilities to images of women; and Hasui Kawase , who made modern landscapes. Watanabe also published works by non-Japanese artists, an early success of which
35020-458: The term Japonism . Stores selling Japanese goods opened, including those of Édouard Desoye in 1862 and art dealer Siegfried Bing in 1875. From 1888 to 1891 Bing published the magazine Artistic Japan in English, French, and German editions, and curated an ukiyo-e exhibition at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1890 attended by artists such as Mary Cassatt . American Ernest Fenollosa
35226-432: The term bushido can be used as an overarching term for all the codes, practices, philosophies and principles of samurai culture. Chinese politician Dai Jitao acknowledged the historical legitimacy of bushido and said it originated as a theory of a social order, but it had evolved considerably. In the Tokugawa period , bushido was used to describe an ethical theory and it became a religious concept based on Shinto . In
35432-408: The theatre and pleasure districts. The hand-produced nature of these shikomi-e ( 仕込絵 ) limited the scale of their production, a limit that was soon overcome by genres that turned to mass-produced woodblock printing . During a prolonged period of civil war in the 16th century, a class of politically powerful merchants developed. These machishū [ ja ] , the predecessors of
35638-418: The theoretical aspects of bushido. It was written with accessible kana and intended for commoners, not warriors. It was very popular, demonstrating that the idea of bushido had spread among the population. The Kashoki shows that moral values were present in bushido by 1642. The term, bushido, came into common international usage with the 1899 publication of Nitobe Inazō 's Bushido: The Soul of Japan which
35844-399: The third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu . The new edicts made clear the shogunate's authority and its desire to assert control. The swordsmanship skills of the samurai developed into character-building martial arts. During this period, the samurai class played a central role in the policing and administration of the country. The bushidō literature of this time contains much thought relevant to
36050-773: The time of the early Impressionists . Early painter-collectors incorporated Japanese themes and compositional techniques into their works as early as the 1860s: the patterned wallpapers and rugs in Manet 's paintings were inspired by the patterned kimono found in ukiyo-e pictures, and Whistler focused his attention on ephemeral elements of nature as in ukiyo-e landscapes. Van Gogh was an avid collector, and painted copies in oil of prints by Hiroshige and Eisen . Degas and Cassatt depicted fleeting, everyday moments in Japanese-influenced compositions and perspectives. ukiyo-e's flat perspective and unmodulated colours were
36256-426: The time. It was developed further during the Muromachi period (1336–1573) and formally defined and applied in law by Tokugawa shogunates in the Edo period. There is no strict definition, and interpretations of the code have varied over time. Bushido has undergone many changes throughout Japanese history, and various Japanese clans interpreted it in their own way until the 19th century, enough for it to be most often
36462-643: The times. It was used in the Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan and symbolically by the successor Japan Self-Defense Forces . In the Taisho period, bushido was advocated as the way of the merchant. It can be dormant for years and revived during geopolitical instability. Centuries of rule by the samurai class has left a deep impact on Japanese society. Thus various forms are still used today in e.g. Japanese culture, business, martial arts and communication. Bushido
36668-517: The tradition of making portrait prints of courtesans and actors. One of those rivals was Eisen (1790–1848), who was also adept at landscapes. Perhaps the last significant member of this late period, Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) tried his hand at a variety of themes and styles, much as Hokusai had. His historical scenes of warriors in violent combat were popular, especially his series of heroes from the Suikoden (1827–1830) and Chūshingura (1847). He
36874-424: The traditional master-servant relationship between the lord and his vassals broke down, with the vassals eliminating the lord, internal clan and vassal conflicts over leadership of the lord's family, and frequent rebellion and puppetry by branch families against the lord's family. These events sometimes led to the rise of samurai to the rank of sengoku daimyo . For example, Hōjō Sōun was the first samurai to rise to
37080-597: The turn of the 16th century when Japan had entered a period of relative peace. In a handbook addressed to "all samurai , regardless of rank", Katō states: If a man does not investigate into the matter of bushidō daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus, it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well. Katō was a ferocious warrior who banned even recitation of poetry, stating: One should put forth great effort in matters of learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to
37286-499: The type of bushido. The first predecessor to bushido was the class morality system of the Heian period . The first proper Japanese central government was established around the year 700. Japan was ruled by the Emperor (Tennō) with bureaucratic support of the aristocracy. They gradually lost control of their armed servants, the samurai. By the mid-12th century, the samurai class had seized control. The samurai (bushi) ruled Japan with
37492-404: The virtues of loyalty and filial piety....Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp the long and the short swords and to die." Nabeshima Naoshige (1538–1618) says similarly, that it is shameful for any man to die without having risked his life in battle, regardless of rank, and that " bushidō is in being crazy to die. Fifty or more could not kill one such
37698-416: The way of the man-at-arms (Tsuwamon no michi), the way of the bow and arrows (Kyûsen / kyûya no Michi), the way of the bow and the horse (Kyûba no Michi). These expressions refer to practices which are the ancestors of the way of the warrior (bushidô) but they did not then imply any relation whatsoever to a morality. These were only practices focused on training for real combat and which therefore had to do with
37904-469: The woodblocks; the printer, who inked and pressed the woodblocks onto handmade paper ; and the publisher, who financed, promoted, and distributed the works. As printing was done by hand, printers were able to achieve effects impractical with machines, such as the blending or gradation of colours on the printing block. Specialists have prized the portraits of beauties and actors by masters such as Torii Kiyonaga , Utamaro , and Sharaku that were created in
38110-435: The word shibun ( 士分 ) , a status that can be translated as warrior class, bushi class, or samurai class. Samurai were entitled to an audience with their lord, were allowed to ride horses, and received rice from the land and peasants under their control, while kachi were not entitled to an audience with their lord, guarded their lord on foot, and received rice from the stores of the shogunate and each domain. Gokenin ,
38316-595: The word saburai appears in the Kokin Wakashū , the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the early 900s. Originally, the word samurai referred to anyone who served the emperor, the imperial family, or the imperial court nobility, even in a non-military capacity. It was not until the 17th century that the term gradually became a title for military servants of warrior families, so that, according to Michael Wert, "a warrior of elite stature in pre-seventeenth-century Japan would have been insulted to be called
38522-599: The written term is in the Kōyō Gunkan in 1616 by Kōsaka Masanobu . In 1685, the ukiyo-e book Kokon Bushidō ezukushi ( 古今武士道絵つくし , "Images of Bushidō Through the Ages" ) by artist Hishikawa Moronobu included the term and artwork of samurai with simple descriptions meant for children. In 1642, the Kashoki ( 可笑記 , "Amusing Notes" ) was written by samurai Saito Chikamori and included moral precepts which explained
38728-492: Was a prominent Paris-based dealer of respected tastes whose Tokyo office was responsible for evaluating and exporting large quantities of ukiyo-e prints to the West in such quantities that Japanese critics later accused him of siphoning Japan of its national treasure. The drain first went unnoticed in Japan, as Japanese artists were immersing themselves in the classical painting techniques of the West. Japanese art, and particularly ukiyo-e prints, came to influence Western art from
38934-487: Was a set of Indian- and Japanese-themed prints in 1916 by the English Charles W. Bartlett (1860–1940). Other publishers followed Watanabe's success, and some shin-hanga artists such as Goyō and Hiroshi Yoshida set up studios to publish their own work. Artists of the sōsaku-hanga ('creative prints') movement took control of every aspect of the printmaking process—design, carving, and printing were by
39140-461: Was adept at landscapes and satirical scenes—the latter an area rarely explored in the dictatorial atmosphere of the Edo period; that Kuniyoshia could dare tackle such subjects was a sign of the weakening of the shogunate at the time. Hiroshige (1797–1858) is considered Hokusai's greatest rival in stature. He specialized in pictures of birds and flowers, and serene landscapes, and is best known for his travel series, such as The Fifty-three Stations of
39346-508: Was basically also a warrior until Hideyoshi confiscated weapons through a nation-wide "sword-hunt" in 1588. Every ashigaru had his first lessons on the mentality of war from the biwa hōshi . On the other hand, the Heike recitations also propagated civic virtues: loyalty, steadfastness in adversity, and pride of family honor. The sayings of Sengoku-period retainers and warlords such as Katō Kiyomasa (1562–1611) and Nabeshima Naoshige were generally recorded or passed down to posterity around
39552-474: Was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again being defeated. The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the samurai defenders of Japan repel
39758-406: Was drawn to vertical and horizontal relationships, as well as details such as lines, shapes, and patterns such as those on clothing. Compositions were often asymmetrical, and the viewpoint was often from unusual angles, such as from above. Elements of images were often cropped , giving the composition a spontaneous feel. In colour prints, contours of most colour areas are sharply defined, usually by
39964-411: Was eventually recalled, and the invasion was called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gunpowder in Japan. The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion and began construction of a great stone barrier around Hakata Bay in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the bay. It later served as
40170-608: Was located in Momoyama. There are several theories as to when the Azuchi–Momoyama period began: 1568, when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in support of Ashikaga Yoshiaki; 1573, when Oda Nobunaga expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Kyoto; and 1576, when the construction of Azuchi Castle began. In any case, the beginning of the Azuchii–Momoyama period marked the complete end of the rule of the Ashikaga shogunate, which had been disrupted by
40376-538: Was more efficient. In Saga, Kyoto [ ja ] , calligrapher Hon'ami Kōetsu and publisher Suminokura Soan [ ja ] combined printed text and images in an adaptation of The Tales of Ise (1608) and other works of literature. During the Kan'ei era (1624–1643) illustrated books of folk tales called tanrokubon ('orange-green books') were the first books mass-produced using woodblock printing. Woodblock imagery continued to evolve as illustrations to
40582-471: Was named tanegashima after the Tanegashima island , which is believed to be the place where it was first introduced to Japan. By the end of the Sengoku Period, there were hundreds of thousands of arquebuses in Japan and a large army of nearly 100,000 men clashing with each other. On the battlefield, ashigaru began to fight in close formation, using yari (spear) and tanegashima . As
40788-416: Was often cut off from the hilt and shortened to make a katana . The tachi , which had become inconvenient for use on the battlefield, was transformed into a symbol of authority carried by high-ranking samurai. Although the ōdachi had become even more obsolete, some sengoku daimyo dared to organize assault and kinsmen units composed entirely of large men equipped with ōdachi to demonstrate
40994-510: Was quite wide. During the Edo Period, samurai represented a hereditary social class defined by the right to bear arms and to hold public office, as well as high social status. From the mid-Edo period, chōnin and farmers could be promoted to the samurai class by being adopted into gokenin families, or by serving in daikan offices, and kachi could be transferred to lower social classes, such as chōnin , by changing jobs. As part of
41200-494: Was read by many influential western people. In Bushido (1899), Nitobe wrote: Bushidō, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe...More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten...It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career. In order to become a samurai this code has to be mastered. In Feudal and Modern Japan (1896), historian Arthur May Knapp wrote: The samurai of thirty years ago had behind him
41406-486: Was reduced, and instead armor with eccentric designs became popular. By the end of the Sengoku period, allegiances between warrior vassals, also known as military retainers, and lords were solidified. Vassals would serve lords in exchange for material and intangible advantages, in keeping with Confucian ideas imported from China between the seventh and ninth centuries. These independent vassals who held land were subordinate to their superiors, who may be local lords or, in
41612-472: Was ritual suicide, to die honorably or restore one's honor. Tsujigiri (crossroads killing) to attack a human opponent to test a weapon or skill became rampant in the early Edo period until a ban was issued. The exact frequency of tsujigiri is unknown and it was never officially condoned by any samurai clan. However, it and other types of samurai-committed murder did happen enough to become a point of complaint among Europeans. Samurai did head collection with
41818-464: Was the Roman Catholic missionary Francis Xavier . The description of Francis shows that honor , weaponry and warfare were valued of utmost importance in Japanese culture. The Japanese are very ambitious of honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor. They prize and honor all that has to do with war, and all such things, and there
42024-602: Was the earliest Western devotee of Japanese culture, and did much to promote Japanese art—Hokusai's works featured prominently at his inaugural exhibition as first curator of Japanese art Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and in Tokyo in 1898 he curated the first ukiyo-e exhibition in Japan. By the end of the 19th century, the popularity of ukiyo-e in the West drove prices beyond the means of most collectors—some, such as Degas , traded their own paintings for such prints. Tadamasa Hayashi
42230-472: Was to become the dominant style of ukiyo-e. Around 1661, painted hanging scrolls known as Portraits of Kanbun Beauties gained popularity. The paintings of the Kanbun era (1661–1673), most of which are anonymous, marked the beginnings of ukiyo-e as an independent school. The paintings of Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650) have a great affinity with ukiyo-e paintings. Scholars disagree whether Matabei's work itself
42436-454: Was used to mean 'erotic' or 'stylish', among other meanings, and came to describe the hedonistic spirit of the time for the lower classes. Asai Ryōi celebrated this spirit in the novel Ukiyo Monogatari ( Tales of the Floating World , c. 1661 ): [L]iving only for the moment, savouring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting oneself just in floating, unconcerned by
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