Muromachi Period (1333-1568)
• The Age of the Samurai (1185-1868) [Asia for Educators]
An introductory outline, with discussion questions.
• Muromachi Period (1392-1573) [Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
A short introduction, with images of six artworks in the museum's collection.
• Japan's Medieval Age: The Kamakura & Muromachi Periods [About Japan: A Teacher's Resource]
An in-depth look at political, economic, cultural, and religious life during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.
Lesson Plan • A Case Study of Medieval Japan through Art: Samurai Life in Medieval Japan [Program for Teaching East Asia, Center for Asian Studies, University of Colorado]
"The samurai warrior has come to symbolize Japan's medieval period of social and political unrest that lasted from the late twelfth to late sixteenth centuries. Working with artistic renderings of the samurai as well as cultural artifacts of samurai life, students recognize the complex, complementary aspects of the samurai culture that developed during this period. Students consider this more nuanced view of the samurai as they take on the role of advisors to a director hoping to make an authentic film about Medieval Japan." An in-depth introductory essay and lesson plan, with images, focusing on the Kamakura (1185-1333), the Muromachi (1336-1573), and the Momoyama (1573-1603) shogunates.
Video Unit • Medieval Japan [Asia for Educators]
This video unit on Medieval Japan examines parallels between medieval Japan and medieval Europe, as well as the spread of Buddhism during this period, the Mongol invasions, and the development of the chanoyu: the tea ceremony. Featuring Columbia University professors Donald Keene and Paul Varley, and Asia Society President Emeritus Robert Oxnam.
PARALLELS WITH FEUDAL EUROPE
"FEUDALISM" IN JAPAN
• The Lord-Vassal Relationship
• War Tales of the Samurai
SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
• "Pure Land" and "Lotus Sutra" Sects
MONGOL INVASIONS: 1274, 1281
COUNTRY AT WAR, 1467-1568
ZEN BUDDHISM
• Chanoyu: Tea Ceremony
••• The Tea Room
• The Onin War [Princeton]
Created under the direction of Professor Thomas Conlon at Princeton, “this website offers a new perspective on the Ōnin War. This war, which nominally lasted from 1467 through 1477, led to the destruction of Kyoto, Japan's capital, and according to standard narratives, ushered in a century of conflict, Japan's Warring States (Sengoku) era. Nevertheless, this Chronicle was not written by an eyewitness, but was created approximately a generation after this war ended. This project is aimed to illustrate instances where warriors can be verified as fighting in military conflicts.”
Momoyama (1573-1615) Period; Edo Period (1615-1868)
• The Age of the Samurai (1185-1868) [Asia for Educators]
An introductory outline, with discussion questions.
Lesson Plan • A Case Study of Tokugawa Japan through Art: Views of a Society in Transformation [Program for Teaching East Asia, Center for Asian Studies, University of Colorado]
"For many years, Western scholarship presented a narrative of Tokugawa Japan as a sdiv, but also stagnant society. More recent scholarship identifies the Tokugawa period, 1603-1868, as a time when Japan experienced significant social, economic, and political changes that laid the groundwork for modernization. In this lesson, students consider a major art form of the period — woodblock prints — as historical documents providing a visual record of a society and country in transformation. They identify specific changes Japan underwent on its early path to becoming a modern nation." With an in-depth introductory essay and lesson plan.
Video Unit • Tokugawa Japan [Asia for Educators]
This unit highlights the importance of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) and contextualizes the political and social stability of the period in light of the many important changes also occurred. Featuring Columbia University professors Donald Keene, Carol Gluck, Paul Varley, and Henry Smith, and Asia Society President Emeritus Robert Oxnam. Section Topics:
2. Economy, Education, Urbanization
3. Tokugawa Order: Unification
• Political Order
• • • The Tōkaidō Road
• Social Order: The Four Classes
• • • Confucian Social Values
• International Order: Isolation
4. Tokugawa Change
• Transformation of the Samurai Class
• Ethos of the Social Classes
• National Consciousness
• Economic Growth and Urbanization
• • • Ukiyo: The Pleasure Quarters
Lesson Plans • Teaching East and West: Establishing Historical Context Through a Comparison of Tokugawa Japan and Elizabethan England [Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies, University of Maryland]
With 18 lesson plans created by the participants of "Teaching East and West," a 2004-2005 conference for K-12 teachers.
The Government of the Tokugawa Shōgunate, Edicts
• The Epoch of Unification: 1568-1615 AD [About Japan: A Teacher's Resource]
An in-depth article examining Japan's transformation "from a divided land of constant warfare to a unified, relatively peaceful land during the years 1568-1615."
• The Polity of the Tokugawa Era [About Japan: A Teacher's Resource]
An in-depth article explaining "the nature of the Tokugawa polity, which featured a political system that survived for more than two centuries."
Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1536-1598
Primary Source w/DBQs • The Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Excerpts from Limitation on the Propagation of Christianity, 1587, and Expulsion of Missionaries, 1587 [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Primary Source w/DBQs • The Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Excerpts from Collection of Swords, 1588 [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Edicts of the Tokugawa Shogunate
Primary Source w/DBQs • The Edicts of the Tokugawa Shogunate: Excerpts from Laws of Military Households, 1615 [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Primary Source w/DBQs • The Edicts of 1635 Ordering the Closing of Japan: Addressed to the Joint Bugyō of Nagasaki [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Also see the Video Unit on Tokugawa Japan in the History-Archaeology section (Momoyama and Edo Periods), above, for more about the unification of Japan under Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Japanese-Dutch Trade
Primary Source + DBQs + Map Exercise + Lesson Plans • Paper Trails: Deshima Island: A Stepping Stone between Civilizations [World History Connected]
"Deshima ... was a small artificial island in Nagasaki Bay ... on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu. From 1641 to 1845, Deshima served as the sole conduit of trade between Europe and Japan, and during the period of self-imposed Japanese seclusion (approximately 1639-1854) was Japan's only major link to the European world." An excellent overview, with primary sources, discussion questions, document and map-based exercises, plus links to relevant lesson plans.
Social Hierarchy under the Tokugawa Shōgunate
Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1543-1616
Primary Source w/DBQs • Tokugawa Ieyasu on Military Government and the Social Order [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Also see the Video Unit on Tokugawa Japan in the History-Archaeology section (Momoyama and Edo Periods), above, for more about the four social classes of Tokugawa Japan.
The Samurai Class
Yamaga Sokō, 1622-1685
Primary Source w/DBQs • Excerpts from The Way of the Samurai (Shîdo) [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, 1659-1719
Primary Source w/DBQs • Excerpts from Hagakure (In the Shadow of Leaves) [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Primary Source w/DBQs • Excerpts from Hagakure (In the Shadow of Leaves): On Death, Living in the Moment, Speaking, Etc. [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Primary Source • The Tale of the 47 Rōnin [Asia for Educators]
Includes an excerpt from the Hagakure and discussion questions.
Also see the Video Unit on Tokugawa Japan in the History-Archaeology section (Momoyama and Edo Periods), above, for more about the transformation of the samurai class during the Tokugawa Period.
The Merchant Class
Primary Source • The Prosperous Merchant in Tokugawa Society [Asia for Educators]
Shimai Sōshitsu, 1539-1615
Primary Source w/DBQs • Codes of Merchant Houses: The Testament of Shimai Sōshitsu [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
Also see the Video Unit on Tokugawa Japan in the History-Archaeology section (Momoyama and Edo Periods), above, for more about the ethos of the Tokugawa merchant class.
Women
Kaibara Ekiken (Ekken), 1630-1714
Primary Source + Lesson Plan + DBQ • Greater Learning for Women (Onna daigaku) [Women in World History, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University]
Primary Source w/DBQs • Excerpts from The Greater Learning for Women (Onna daigaku) [Asia for Educators]
Comic Prose, Comic Verse
Ihara Saikaku, 1642-1693
Primary Source • Excerpts from "The Beauty Contest" [Asia for Educators]
Primary Source • Haikai: Comic Linked Verse [Asia for Educators]
The Poetry of Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
Primary Source • The Poetry of Bashō [Asia for Educators]
Six examples of haiku by Matsuo Bashô. Followed by discussion questions.
This video unit on Matsuo Bashō, the 17th-century haiku master, discusses the history of haiku and Bashô's contributions to the art, both in the context of Tokugawa culture. Featuring Columbia University professors Donald Keene and Haruo Shirane, and Asia Society President Emeritus, Robert Oxnam. Section Topics:
Primary Source • Bashō's Narrow Road to the Deep North [Asia for Educators]
An excerpt from Bashô's Narrow Road to the Deep North. Followed by discussion questions.
Video Unit • Bashō's Narrow Road to the Deep North [Asia for Educators]
This video unit on Matsuo Bashô's Narrow Road to the Deep North, the author's famous account of his own journey through northern Japan, discusses the notion of travel as metaphor and the figure of Bashô as a symbol of spiritual freedom in Tokugawa Japan. Featuring Columbia University professors Donald Keene and Haruo Shirane.
Chikamatsu Monzaemon, 1653-1725
Primary Source • Chikamatsu: "Japan's Shakespeare" [Asia for Educators]
A short introduction to Bunraku, the puppet theater of Japan, and its great dramatist, Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Includes a description of a recommended play (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), followed by classroom exercises for students.
• The Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection [Columbia University Libraries]
"Columbia University Libraries' Bunraku collection is one the most extensive in the world...the Bunraku gallery is divided into plays, productions, authors, backstage subjects, kashira, and characters. It documents the form's revival in the second half of the 20th century, through more than 12,500 slides and nearly 7,000 black-and-white photographs of rehearsals and performances."
• Invitation to Kabuki [Japan Arts Council]
Kabuki is the dramatic theatre which combines music and dance. It is one of Japan's most typical traditional arts. This performing art contains exciting stories, beautiful scenes and other features that thrill audiences. Throughout its long history, Kabuki has incorporated trends from each successive era, and continues to be a fresh performing art. This “introduction” provides background on stage design, plays and characters, music, masks and more with visuals.
The Cultivated Samurai
• Samurai [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
"In contrast with the brutality of their profession, many leaders of the military government became highly cultivated individuals. Some were devoted patrons of Buddhism, especially of the Zen and Jodo schools. Several were known as accomplished poets, and others as talented calligraphers." With three related artworks.
• Shoguns and Art [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
" ... the shogunate promoted a culture that combined aspects of samurai culture and the arts of the imperial court, with the balance between the two shifting in accordance with the interests of individual shoguns and their advisors. With the ascendancy of Zen Buddhism and the interest of many prominent monks in Chinese culture, the shogunate absorbed the arts of Chinese literature, Confucian studies, the ritualized consumption of tea, ink monochrome paintings, garden design, and calligraphy." With nine related artworks.
• Permanent Exhibitions at the Tokugawa Art Museum [The Tokugawa Art Museum]
The core of the museum's collection comprises objects inherited from the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The online collection displayed at the museum's website includes arms and armor, teaware, decorative arts, clothing, and Noh theater masks. See especially Exhibition Rooms 1 (The Symbol of the Warrior), 2 (The Practice of Tea: A Daimyo's Tea Room), and 3 (Formal Chamber of a Daimyo's Residence) for a glimpse into the life of the shogun during the Edo and Tokugawa periods.
• Formal Audience Hall (Shoin) [Minneapolis Institute of Arts]
With introductory overview and images of a permanent architectural installation at the MIA that replicates a formal 17th-century shoin at the Konchi-in, a temple within the vast Zen monastery of Nanzenji in eastern Kyoto. The CURATOR INTERVIEW section examines aspects of the room in greater detail.
• The Evolution of the Tea Ceremony [About Japan: A Teacher's Resource]
"[A] concise and accessible introduction to the Japanese tea ceremony, or chanoyu," describing "its history from the early ninth century to the present day" and discussing "the four major aspects of chanoyu."
• Teahouse (Chashitsu) [Minneapolis Institute of Arts]
With introductory overview and images of a permanent architectural installation at the MIA that replicates the Sa-an, an 18th-century teahouse in the Gyokurin-in, a temple complex within the famous Zen monastery of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. The CURATOR INTERVIEW section examines aspects of the room in greater detail.
• The Kano School of Painting [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
A brief overview of the Kano school, established by Kano Masanobu (1434-1530). Prominent for more than 300 years, the Kano school is considered to be the "longest lived and most influential school of painting in Japanese history." Closely associated with their powerful patrons, the Tokugawa shogunate, the Kano school prospered throughout the Edo period. With three related artworks.
• Rinpa Painting Style [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
A brief introduction to the Rinpa school of painting, which was "a key part of the revival in the Edo period of indigenous Japanese artistic interests described by the term yamato-e." With five related artworks and links to related essays about yamato-e painting and seasonal imagery in Japanese art.
• The Art of Hon'ami Kōetsu [Princeton University Art Museum]
An excellent interactive website for exploring an Edo period handscroll by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558-1637). "In this handscroll Kōetsu transcribed ten verses from the poetry anthology Shinkokin wakashū on sheets of colored paper that are decorated on the front and back with woodblock-printed mica designs." After exploring the scroll the user can write his/her own poem (by selecting from a set of phrases) and then see this poem "written" on his/her own handscroll in the style of Kōetsu.
• The Legends of Hachiman [Smith College Museum of Art]
From protector of the imperial house, to protector of the Minamoto military house, to protector of the nation,” the legend of the Shinto deity, Hachiman, evolved throughout Japanese history. “The Hachiman Scrolls owned by Smith College were produced in the early Edo period (mid-seventeenth century) by the highly acclaimed Tosa School, attesting to the continued popularity of stories about Hachiman. Today, at least one-third of Shintō shrines are dedicated to Hachiman. The site provides background on the scrolls, suggestions for viewing a handscroll, and questions for discussion.
• Art of the Pleasure Quarters and the Ukiyo-e Style [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
A lengthy discussion of the social developments in the Edo period that gave rise to literary and visual arts such as kabuki theater and ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints. With five related artworks.
• The Floating World of Ukiyo-e: Shadows, Dreams, and Substance [The Library of Congress]
Online presentation of a 2003 exhibition showcasing the Library's holdings of Japanese prints, books, and drawings from the 17th to the 19th century. Images organized into the following categories: 1) Early Masters (1600-1740); 2) Major Genres: Beauties, Actors, and Landscapes; 3) Images and Literary Sources; 4) Realia and Reportage; 5) Japan and the West: Artistic Cross-Fertilization; 6) Beyond Ukiyo-e: Modern and Contemporary Japanese Prints. The EXHIBITION OVERVIEW provides historical background about ukiyo-e.
Also see the Video Unit on Tokugawa Japan in the History-Archaeology section (Momoyama and Edo Periods), above, for more about the pleasure quarters of Tokugawa Japan.
Find more art-related resources for Japan, 1450-1750 CE
at OMuRAA (Online Museum Resources on Asian Art)
