Life in Medieval Japan Chapter 5 Lesson 3
Dec 23, 2015
Question # 2Subject: Japan
Describe what you think Japan culture was like. Put your answer under the question section.
I. Japanese Religion and Culture
During the Middle Ages there was a great exchange of ideas through many Japanese artists, scribes, traders, and diplomats who visited China.
The Chinese influenced literature, science, and religion.
Religion became an intricate part of their everyday life. Most Japanese adopted both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.
Buddhism inspired many Japanese to produce paintings and to write both poems and plays
II. Art and Architecture
The arts of Japan revealed the Japanese love of beauty and simplicity.
Artisans made wooden statues, furniture, and household items with many of them having a shiny black and red coating called lacquer.
They used watercolors and ink to paint landscapes on paper scrolls or on silk.
The art of origami and arranged flowers became part of the culture.
Buddhist monks and the samurai turned tea drinking into a beautiful ceremony.
Tea Ceremony
The person enters and rinses his hands and mouth with water from a wooden dipper, guests crawl through a small passageway to enter the tea room.
The guest clears their mind and prepares for the meal.
The host enters and serves a light meal, which is followed by tea.
Tea bowls are made by hand. The bowls are different according to summer and winter
Ikebana : The Art of Japanese Flower
Arranging
Ikebana : The Art of Japanese Flower
Arranging
e Tallest --> Heaven
e Middle --> Man
e Smallest --> Earth
e Tallest --> Heaven
e Middle --> Man
e Smallest --> Earth
III. Poems and Plays
During the Middle Ages the Japanese wrote poems, stories, and plays.
Japan’s oldest form of poetry was the tanka. The tanka was an unrhymed poem of five lines. They were to capture nature’s beauty and the joys and sorrows of life.
In the 1600’s a new form of poetry called the haiku developed.
Haiku : 17-syllable poem
Haiku : 17-syllable poem
Matsuo Basho, Master of HaikuMatsuo Basho, Master of Haiku
Spring departs.Birds cryFishes' eyes are filled with tears.
Spring departs.Birds cryFishes' eyes are filled with tears.
Poems and Plays continued..
In 1000 A.D. a woman named Lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote Japan’s first novel.
It describes the adventures of a Japanese Prince.
Some believe it’s the world’s first novel, or long fictional story.
Plays and Poems Continued..
The Japanese created plays. The oldest type of play is called Noh.
Created in the 1300’s, Noh plays were used to teach Buddhist ideas.
They danced, gestured, and chanted poetry to the music of drums and flutes.
Noh TheaterNoh Theater
TraditionalWeepingGesture
TraditionalWeepingGesture
Woman Heavenly-beingDemonness Woman Heavenly-beingDemonness
Old Man Warrior Demon God Old Man Warrior Demon God
Beauty in Japan
1. Hair: the longer the better!
2. Lightness of skin was admired.
3. Both women and men wore white powder.
4. Blackened teeth
5. Shaved eyebrows and painted false one.
Clothing
Members of the court wore clothing embroidered with gold, silver, and multicolored thread
Women wore 12 or more silk robes at a time, all tied with a single sash. The sleeve of each robe was different length so that the woman’s arm was a rainbow of colors.