大陸の影響から国風文化創造の過程

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Influences from the continent and creation of Japanese-style culture

(From around the fourth century…from the fourth century to the seventh century)

Around the fourth century Japan began to take shape as a unified state, and by the seventh century, a centralized state with the emperor at its center was established. Before that, the Japanese archipelago was divided among various local powers. But, around the fourth century, a powerful political center emerged in the Yamato region, in what is now Nara Prefecture, and Japan began to take shape as a unified state, with the emperor at its center, which is called Yamato Court.

Foreign culture and knowledge like a Chinese writing system, a Chinese-style political system called the Ritsuryo system, Buddhism, Confucianism and others came to Japan. During the period, Japanese people tried to create a centralized bureaucratic state based on the Chinese model. As a result, the Ritsuryo system of government became fully established, and culture and the arts flourished.

(In the 8th Century ……Nara Period　(710-794))

In 710, the imperial court was moved to Nara, and the period from 710 to 794 was called Nara period. Culture and the arts flourished, but the period was also marked by several serious problems. The country suffered from rebellions, struggles for political authority, and smallpox epidemics. Then solutions were sought in Buddhism and Shinto, which were believed to bring peace to the nation and prosperity to the people.

Emperor Shomu issued two important decrees. One was issued in 741, ordering provincial temples to be established across the country, with Todai-ji Temple as their central temple. The other, issued in 743, ordered the construction of a great Buddha statue.

In addition, according to Shinto tradition, a deity was brought from Kashima to Mount Mikasa behind the presen-day
Kasuga Taisha shrine in the early eighth century. Later in 756, a shrine was built at the foot of the mountain by the powerful Fujiwara family, by order of the emperor. At that time, three other deities were also enshrined there.
That shirine is what has been called Kasuga Taisha.

(From Nara to Kyoto)

In 794, the imperial capital was moved from Nara to Kyoto. The period from then until the late 12th century is known as the Heian period. One of the main reasons was to create a fresh start for the imperial government away from the powerful Buddhist institutions and their political influence in Nara. Kyoto remained the home of the emperor and the imperial court for about 1,000 years, from 794 until the late 19th century, when Japan ended its feudal era. Even when military governments ruled Japan from places such as Kamakura and Edo, present-day Tokyo, the emperor and the imperial court remained in Kyoto. As a result, Kyoto became the center of Japan's traditional culture, religion, and arts.

(Japanese-style culture known as Kokufu culture)

Until the eighth century, or in the Nara period, Japan actively adopted Chinese culture and political systems. But as Japan entered the 9th century and moved into the Heian period, it gradually began to develop its own culture based on what it had learned from China. The development of kana, the Japanese writing system, played an important role in this process. It allowed Japanese people to express their own language more freely, leading to the flourishing of Japanese literature and other forms of culture. This is known as the Kokufu culture, or Japan's native-style culture. That is, Japan gradually developed a distinctly Japanese style of culture, known as Kokufu culture, based on the Chinese culture that Japan had previously adopted.

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