deimos
Registered
- 5 Feb 2004
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Hi,
I'm writing an essay for school about the Heian period.I've found a book that describes the big picture well enough, but there are quite a few really confusing details that almost appears to be errors. I would be really grateful if someone could help me to make some things clear.
(Eeeek! This turned out really long. And a bit complicated/confused. Well, any help is truly appreciated.)
1. In, I think, the Asuka-period, (in the year 660) it says that Japan was sending helping soliders to a nation called something like "Paekche", and failed completly in this aiding. When this happened, the clan that as responsible for the failure went down and dissappeared from the scene. Instead begun the struggle between two other clans (Mononobe and Soga) which ended with Soga clan taking the power, and later on even the power to rule japan, with a powerless emperor. Then Naka no Oe, another "prince" from the emperor family seized the power from them (the Soga). Here is the weird thing: my book says that after the prince took the power, he moved the capital. This was in 645, which obviously is 15 years before the event that triggered the prince's coup.)
Is that a simple missprint, or what? And if it is, then what preceeded the Soga clan coming to power? What happened at that time?
2. This book says that in the end of the Nara period(or perhaps the begining of the Heian), Fujiara no Fuhita married his daughter to the emperor, making her empress. My first question on this is:
Which emperor? The "prince" from the previous question, the one who Fujiwara no Kamatiri helped to power?
Then, the book proceeds, when all sons of Fuhito had died, the power of the family was moved to Tachibana no Moroe, a stepbrother of the empress. As i get it, they can't possibly mean the power of the Fujwiara family - or, can they? Can they then be talking about the emperor family? But then, that would have to mean that those sons COULD have been emperors. Is(was) it that easy to be married into the family? I'm really confused on this one. Please, try to straighten things out.
3. This wonderful book then states that the Fujiwara clan( during the late Heian/Fujiwara era) managed to hold on to their powerful positions by always being the wifes, and thus also the mothers and the uncles(etc), of the emperor family.
But if a fujiwara was the mother of an emperor, would that not mean that the next emperor was also, in a way, fuijiwara? Would that not be enough to influence? Why keep this "game" of marrying every emperor to a Fujiwara? Does it have something to do with the woman's status in Heian Japan?(which I thought was rather high compared to, for example, Europe at the same time)
4. In the part about shoen, it describes how those govermental allotments of earth became private and how the large goods with almost its own laws arose, and with that the warrior classes. It also describes some of the first wars (like "shohei no ran", 935) between clans and among goods, and how the Fujiwara dominance at the court made it impossible for the other noble clans to get any influence there, and therefore trying as "government officials" and as owners of large goods. My question is;
What were the relation between the owners of these goods, who broke the laws of the central goverment, and the central goverment? Pure, armed enmity? Or were things on a more formal plane? The book(well, I should have used a capital B for the almost religious effect, but what the hell.... it will do anyway) mentions the clans Genji and Heike, who were strong in east respective west japan.
What does strong mean here? That they had high offices? That they had large armies, and were opposing the goverment?
And this central government, was that all the time the same as the Fujiwara clan and its emperor "pawns"? Or did those contrasts between the local and governmental/global power begin even earlier?
And, at last, on last question: The Genji and The Heike clan both seem to have alternative (double) names. Wich are they, and why did those exist?
As i said, ANY help is really, really appreciated.
(Oh, and by the way, I'm new here. I'm not interested in Japan just because I'm writing an essay about it - I'm writing an essay about Japan because I'm interested in "it". I'll introduce myself at that introducing board soon, as soon as I don't have an essay to finish.)
I'm writing an essay for school about the Heian period.I've found a book that describes the big picture well enough, but there are quite a few really confusing details that almost appears to be errors. I would be really grateful if someone could help me to make some things clear.
(Eeeek! This turned out really long. And a bit complicated/confused. Well, any help is truly appreciated.)
1. In, I think, the Asuka-period, (in the year 660) it says that Japan was sending helping soliders to a nation called something like "Paekche", and failed completly in this aiding. When this happened, the clan that as responsible for the failure went down and dissappeared from the scene. Instead begun the struggle between two other clans (Mononobe and Soga) which ended with Soga clan taking the power, and later on even the power to rule japan, with a powerless emperor. Then Naka no Oe, another "prince" from the emperor family seized the power from them (the Soga). Here is the weird thing: my book says that after the prince took the power, he moved the capital. This was in 645, which obviously is 15 years before the event that triggered the prince's coup.)
Is that a simple missprint, or what? And if it is, then what preceeded the Soga clan coming to power? What happened at that time?
2. This book says that in the end of the Nara period(or perhaps the begining of the Heian), Fujiara no Fuhita married his daughter to the emperor, making her empress. My first question on this is:
Which emperor? The "prince" from the previous question, the one who Fujiwara no Kamatiri helped to power?
Then, the book proceeds, when all sons of Fuhito had died, the power of the family was moved to Tachibana no Moroe, a stepbrother of the empress. As i get it, they can't possibly mean the power of the Fujwiara family - or, can they? Can they then be talking about the emperor family? But then, that would have to mean that those sons COULD have been emperors. Is(was) it that easy to be married into the family? I'm really confused on this one. Please, try to straighten things out.
3. This wonderful book then states that the Fujiwara clan( during the late Heian/Fujiwara era) managed to hold on to their powerful positions by always being the wifes, and thus also the mothers and the uncles(etc), of the emperor family.
But if a fujiwara was the mother of an emperor, would that not mean that the next emperor was also, in a way, fuijiwara? Would that not be enough to influence? Why keep this "game" of marrying every emperor to a Fujiwara? Does it have something to do with the woman's status in Heian Japan?(which I thought was rather high compared to, for example, Europe at the same time)
4. In the part about shoen, it describes how those govermental allotments of earth became private and how the large goods with almost its own laws arose, and with that the warrior classes. It also describes some of the first wars (like "shohei no ran", 935) between clans and among goods, and how the Fujiwara dominance at the court made it impossible for the other noble clans to get any influence there, and therefore trying as "government officials" and as owners of large goods. My question is;
What were the relation between the owners of these goods, who broke the laws of the central goverment, and the central goverment? Pure, armed enmity? Or were things on a more formal plane? The book(well, I should have used a capital B for the almost religious effect, but what the hell.... it will do anyway) mentions the clans Genji and Heike, who were strong in east respective west japan.
What does strong mean here? That they had high offices? That they had large armies, and were opposing the goverment?
And this central government, was that all the time the same as the Fujiwara clan and its emperor "pawns"? Or did those contrasts between the local and governmental/global power begin even earlier?
And, at last, on last question: The Genji and The Heike clan both seem to have alternative (double) names. Wich are they, and why did those exist?
As i said, ANY help is really, really appreciated.
(Oh, and by the way, I'm new here. I'm not interested in Japan just because I'm writing an essay about it - I'm writing an essay about Japan because I'm interested in "it". I'll introduce myself at that introducing board soon, as soon as I don't have an essay to finish.)