Samurai Manhole

This is a manhole photo in Otawara I posted this last year but I wanted to post it again since I found who I believe the samurai is. I believe this is Nasu no Yoichi. There is a statue in Otawara that also is Nasu no Yoichi so he must be a symbol of the city.

Nasu no Yoichi (那須 与一?) (c. 1169 – c. 1232) was a samurai who fought alongside the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War. He is particularly famous for his actions at the Battle of Yashima in 1184. According to the Heike Monogatari, the enemy Taira placed a fan atop the mast of one of their ships, claiming it protected the ship from arrows, and daring the Minamoto warriors to shoot it off. Sitting atop his mount in the waves, his target atop the ship rocking as well, Nasu nevertheless shot it down with only one shot. (Wikipedia)

Nasu no Yoichi, as depicted in a hanging scroll in the Watanabe Museum. (Wikipedia)

Apology for slight 600 years ago

Here is an interesting story I found in the Japan Times about a 600 year old apology.

Apology for slight 600 years ago

To offer apologies for an unkindly act committed by their ancestors 600 years ago, the people of Ayukawa, a village in Wakayama Prefecture, will offer mochi (dumplings of glutinous rice) to the Kamakuragu Shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, dedicated to the memory of Prince Morinaga on Aug. 19, when the 600th anniversary of the prince's death will be celebrated.

Defeated in his battle against rebels, Prince Morinaga with a few retainers was obliged to hide, and on Oct. 15, 1331, he passed through the village of Ayukawa. The prince and his party were fatigued and hungry, having eaten nothing the whole day. At the houses of the villagers they asked for some food, but they were refused because of the disturbed state of affairs at that time.

Soon after that, the villagers learned that the person to whom they refused to give mochi was Prince Morinaga. Such a discourteous act toward an Imperial Prince was something that the villagers could not think of. So to atone for their wrong, they resolved not to make and eat mochi forever. Thus for more than 600 years the village people never made mochi even on New Year's Day.

This year the villagers have finally decided to make mochi on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the prince's death — and to offer them in his memory at the Kamakuraga Shrine.

The Origin of Za in Japan

Did you know that trade guilds in Japan originated as early as the twelfth century or earlier. Trade guilds derived from an early form of association called a za which means a seat and probably signified a place reserved at ceremonies or a market for a group of persons having the same interest. Early za were social groups that developed into occupational groups such as dancers, musicians, and other entertainers that performed for court nobles, powerful religious institutions, or manorial lords. This custom actually has persisted into modern times such as a company of actors, the Kabuki-za.

By the fifteenth century some mercantile za were organized by market rather than just commodity for example in certain towns. However, in the bigger cities such as Kyoto the za still tended to be organized by specific commodity and were usually concentrated in a special quarter of the city. This can still be seen today in certain cities in modern Japan such as the Zaimoku-za (timber merchants) quarter of Kamakura or the famous Gin-za (silver merchants) of Tokyo.

In their earlier forms, these organizations were not independent but were subordinate to a monastery, shrine, or a manor lord for which they served. But eventually these traders began to form quasi-independent za not only for their own protection but to increase their power and their profits. With this increasing power, many za began to have a monopolistic character by preventing competitors from obtaining raw materials within a certain area. A very powerful early za were the salt dealers of the Yamato province which controlled the salt wholesalers, retailers, and pedlars of the entire province. Eventually by the fifteenth century the za made powerful enemies by abusing their privileges and were forced to give way to other forms of mercantile organization such as "free" markets and guilds established by Oda Nobunaga.

Another famous za that I am sure most of you are familiar that has survived into modern Japan is the Yaku-za. This modern za has interests in many kinds of businesses and trades.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, the trade guilds and associations were transformed into more modern forms of business with the growth of the zaibatsu and keiretsu monopolies of the 20th century.

Reference:

Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan: 1334-1615.

The myth of of samurai cavalry

I am republishing this 2009 post because there is such a common misconception regarding medieval samurai cavalry.

This poster from the Akira Kurosawa film Kagemusha illustrates the classic view of early samurai cavalry. Great cavalry charges of thoroughbred looking horses.

But as Karl Friday in his book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan reveals, the mounted samurai of the movies bare little resemblance to the actual mounted warriors from medieval Japan. Early medieval Japanese war-horses were actually much smaller and slower than the horses seen in classic samurai movies.

According to Friday, the mounts favored by early medieval samurai were stallions raised in eastern Japan and selected for their size and fierce temperament. They were stout, short-legged, shaggy, short-nosed beasts, tough, unruly and difficult to control.

In 1953, a mass grave at Zaimokuza near Kamakura was unearthed that is believed to contain the remains of men and horses killed during Nitta Yoshisada's attack on the city in 1333. The skeletons show the horses of the period ranged in height from 109 to 140 cm at the shoulder. Modern thoroughbreds by comparison range in height around 160 to 165 cm.

Also, these medieval horses could not sustain high speeds for long distance due to their size and the weight they were carrying, mounted samurai with full armor. Even modern racing horses can only go full out for 200 or 300 meters. Early medieval Japanese horses gave the samurai a rugged, stable, and comfortable platform from which to shoot their arrows, but it was a heavy beast not well designed for high speeds or long distance riding.

Horseman had different roles throughout the samurai era. During the Heian/Early Kamakura era they operated much like skirmishers with bows. They began to make greater use of hand-to-hand weapons like naginata and swords as time went by, ending up using primarily short yari during the sengoku. And by the late Sengoku with the advent of firearms, they did begin to function much like 'trucks'-there are many accounts where samurai were told to dismount before they reached the battlefield so as not to have their horses shot. Horses were rare and expensive, and no samurai was in a hurry to throw their horses lives and training away. (Samurai Archives)

In addition, the amount of dismounted combat in Sengoku jidai increased along with the increase with the number of guns. I think this was probably due to the fact that relatively few number of Japanese cavalry made it easier for concentrated fire of arquebus to defeat them. (Samurai Archives)

So the scenes in the movies with the cavalry charges that seem to go on forever are of course greatly embellished. But they make for an exciting movie.

Kamakura June 2010

I just returned from Japan today and I am dead tired but I had a great time. One of the highlights was a day in Kamakura last Thursday. We lucked out because the weather was ecellent. We visited Enoshima, Daibutsu, andTsurugaoka Hachiman-gu. Below are some of the photos I took. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I am not a very good photographer but also it's not too easy taking photos when you are holding or chasing after a 2 year old.

Daibutsu was as amazing as I thought it would be. The meditative Daibutsu is a very moving figure and I could feel that when I stood at the base of the giant Buddha. One slight downside of the Daibutsu was that the area was swarming with literally thousands of school kids. THOUSANDS. It made it difficult to walk along the side walk, purchase train tickets, or enter the train while carrying a two year old.

Below are a couple of photos from Hachiman-gu. I will post some more later but I wanted to post these two because of the new growths coming from the old stump from the famous gingko tree that fell earlier this year. See my March post of the story behind the famous tree and the sad demise of the old tree. But the good news is that new growths are sprouting from the old trunk as you can see below so there is hope that one day the tree will resurrect itself.

I will post some photos of Enoshima later.

Story behind the famous Tsurugaoka Hachiman tree

A very famous 1000 year old ginkgo tree at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine in Kamakura fell in a recent storm. There is a very interesting story about this very old tree. The tree is famous because of an event that took place in the year 1219. In 1219, Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo was assassinated by Minamoto Kugyô. From the stories I’ve read, apparently Kugyô hid behind this very ginkgo tree in order to assassinate Sanetomo which he succeeded in doing. Kugyo was captured and beheaded the next day. Sanetomo was the 3rd Minamoto shogun during the Kamakura bakufu and it was following his assassination that the Minamoto never again had effective power. From that point forward, the true power behind the Kamakura shoguns was held by the regents of the great Hojo clan.

I don't know if Minamoto Kugyô really did hide behind this great gingko tree but it is an amazing story from one of the great events in Japanese history so it is sad to see this tree finally meet its end here in the year 2010.

Photos are from Wikipedia Commons and are labeled for reuse.

The First "Permanent" Shogun

Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo is considered the first shogun in Japanese history when he rose to power in 1192. However, the title of shogun actually predates Yoritomo. The title shogun actually comes from the ancient title seii taishōgun which essentially means "barbarian-subduing-generalissimo." This title had formally been assigned on a temporary basis to military commanders whom the Imperial Court had dispatched to lead expeditions against insurgents or independent tribal groups on the borders of the imperial realm.

Yoritomo had his headquarters at Kamakura, and the Kantō was his base of power. What distinguished Yoritomo's shogunal appointment from previous ones was that it sanctioned what became a permanent government known as a bakufu, "tent government." The later Ashikaga and Tokugawa shogunates were also referred to as bakufu.

What is interesting about the great Minamoto Yoritomo and the bakufu he established was that his Minamoto family actually lost control of their bakufu by 1203. Although Yoritomo's Kamakura bakufu continued on for another 130 years, it was actually controlled by a powerful vassal family of regents following the assassination of Yoritomo's sons. The powerful Hojo family of regents were the true powers behind the Kamakura bakufu from 1203 until 1333 when the Kamakura bakufu fell during the brief Kemmu imperial restoration. The Hojo arranged to have malleable people from Kyoto designated shogun, never claiming the title for themselves, preferring to wield power from behind the scene.

Samurai Cavalry

This poster from the Akira Kurosawa film Kagemusha illustrates the classic view of early samurai cavalry. Great cavalry charges of thoroughbred looking horses.

But as Karl Friday in his book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan reveals, the mounted samurai of the movies bare little resemblance to the actual mounted warriors from medieval Japan. Early medieval Japanese war-horses were actually much smaller and slower than the horses seen in classic samurai movies.

According to Friday, the mounts favored by early medieval samurai were stallions raised in eastern Japan and selected for their size and fierce temperament. They were stout, short-legged, shaggy, short-nosed beasts, tough, unruly and difficult to control.

In 1953, a mass grave at Zaimokuza near Kamakura was unearthed that is believed to contain the remains of men and horses killed during Nitta Yoshisada's attack on the city in 1333. The skeletons show the horses of the period ranged in height from 109 to 140 cm at the shoulder. Modern thoroughbreds by comparison range in height around 160 to 165 cm.

Also, these medieval horses could not sustain high speeds for long distance due to their size and the weight they were carrying, mounted samurai with full armor. Even modern racing horses can only go full out for 200 or 300 meters. Early medieval Japanese horses gave the samurai a rugged, stable, and comfortable platform from which to shoot their arrows, but it was a heavy beast not well designed for high speeds or long distance riding.

So the scenes in the movies with the cavalry charges that seem to go on forever are of course greatly embellished. But they make for an exciting movie.

Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan

This book by Karl Friday covers the period prior to the Sengoku period. What is great about this book is how it attempts to reveal what the early samurai were really like, not how they are portrayed in many modern movies or popular culture. Fridays' book overturns many of the popular stereotypes of the samurai.

There are many romantic stereotypes of the samurai such as that during battles, fighting centered on one-on-one duels; or samurai selected suitable opponents during battle by self-introduction; or the honorable treatment of captured enemy or the safety of non-combatants. The common belief that medieval samurai would do anything for their clan.

However, most of these stereotypes are not based in reality. Medieval samurai often used deception or surprise to defeat an enemy. Samurai fought not just for honor but usually for very clear rewards.

One of the biggest myths of the samurai is that the samurai sword was his primary weapon, the soul of the samurai. However, during most of samurai history, it was the bow and arrow that was the true weapon of the samurai. It is true they carried a sword but it was a back-up weapon. Similar to modern soldier whose primary weapon is a rifle but they also carry a sidearm. It was not until the 250 years of peace during Edo period under the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns where the samurai considered the sword to be their soul.

This book does an excellent job in explaining the true aspects of the medieval samurai as well as detailing some of the weapons used during that time.

(Any readers who find inaccurate historical information in this post, please correct me with references)

The Japanese War Fan

I am not talking about a Japanese person who is a fan of war. I am talking about the classic Japanese Fan that is designed for war. You may be wondering "that simple folding, delicate Japanese fan?" Yes.

During the feudal times of Japan, a lethal version of the Japanese folding fan, a tessen, was carried by the samurai in armor. Rather then made with wood ribs and frame, these folding fans were made with iron and usually had eight to ten ribs and were a handy weapon of attack or defense. Under the direction of many clans, in fact, schools were established where various styles of combat using the tessen were devised, tested and continually improved similar to the study and training of swordsmanship.


Delicate folding fan made of wood



Experts in the use of the tessen were able to parry the blows of spear thrusts using their iron fan according to many Japanese sagas. Also famous for their use of the iron fan were the swordsman who were instructors to the Tokugawa Shoguns. In the literature of the martial arts of that time, there are many instances of victories won with a war fan against a sword, and many examples of men killed by a blow from it. Tessen were also popular with many non-samurai who were forbidden to carry a sword.


Tessen with iron ribs.





Folded tessen



The adaptability of these fans is underscored by the famous story involving Araki Murashige, an important figure of the late Warring States period. Summoned to appear before Oda Nobunaga, the first of the three great unifiers of Japan, Murashige knew that his life hung in the balance and that only his tessen stood between him and a most unpleasant demise (all swords being confiscated before entrance to every private mansion). It was known that a method of Nobunaga's retainers for disposing of enemies was to snap their neck between the heavy wooden door panels that separated the antechamber from the reception hall when the visitor performed the ritual bow greeting across the threshold.

When he bowed, however, Murashige instinctively placed his tessen in the groove which the door panels slid, and there was a loud bang as the doors suddenly bounced against the steel rods of the fan, but no blood flowed. It is said that Murashige acted as if nothing had happened, and that his composure was immediately acknowledged by the hasty-tempered Nobunaga with reconciliation and further favors.

Although this legend may or may not be true, it does demonstrate the respect that the war fan had among the feudal samurai of Japan.

Source:
Secrets of the Samurai

Origin of the Samurai

Prior to the 9th century in Japan, the Nara and Kyoto courts used the Chinese model of waging war which was the use of an army conscripted from the peasantry. But this proved to not be sufficient to deal with situations that arose, so instead the government began to grant commissions to make war on local landowners and then rewarded them for their trouble. So, instead of controlling the clans, the imperial court's military needs now encouraged them. The clans elite warriors, who rode horses and used bows were the forerunners of the samurai.

The 9th century was a time of upheavals and economic decline due to plagues and episodes of starvation. Influential local rulers exploited this against the court. With riots and lawlessness, there was nowhere for the court to turn but to powerful local lords. The court began granting far-reaching powers to these lords to levy troops of skilled warriors, and to act on their own initiative when disorder threatened. This system grew to favor the strong and the rich.

The 10th century is the time that we first see the term 'samurai', which literally means 'those who serve', being used in purely military context. At first it referred to men who went to the capital to provide guard duty. In time however, it began to denote a military man who served any powerful landlord. The word rapidly acquired a strong aristocratic and hereditary aspect, so the samurai lineages began to be recognized and valued.

The 11th century was a time when particularly strong samurai clans emerged. They were the Taira and the Minamoto, and their exploits dominated Japan for the next 100 years. Samurai from both clans took part on both sides during the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, an armed encounter in Kyoto that was concerned with imperial succession. It was not long before another succession dispute put the Taira and Minamoto in direct opposition. The Taira were victorious in the struggle called the Heiji Rebellion of 1160 and disposed ruthlessly of their rivals.

But in 1180, the survivors of the Minamoto purge, key members of whom had been children spared by the Taira, reopened hostilities at the battle of Uji. This was the first armed conflict in a war that would become known as the Gempei War. The battles of the Gempei War became benchmarks for samurai excellence that were to last for the whole of samurai history. Heroic tales and works of art logged the incidents in the Gempei War as a verbal and visual catalogue of samurai heroism that would show future generations the most noble, brave and correct ways of being a samurai. Nearly all the factors that were to become indelible parts of samurai culture have a reference point somewhere within the Gempei War.

The other way in which the Gempei War made its mark on samurai history lay in the steps the victors took to confirm their triumph. In 1192 Minamoto Yoritomo took the title of shogun. This was the rank that had previously been bestowed temporarily on samurai leaders who had accepted imperial commission to deal with rebels against the throne. But Yoritomo took the title for himself for his new role as military dictator. The difference was that the temporary military commission had now become permanent and was not relinquished until another eight centuries had passed.

Government exercised by the shogun was called the bakufu, a name derived from the maku, the curtains that surrounded a general's headquarters on a battlefield. It was a good name for the new system of ruling that relegated the emperor to the position of figurehead with immense religious power but no political power. The control of Japan's affairs now lay with the leader of the greatest family of samurai.

Source

Samurai: The World of the Warrior by Stephen Turnbull

Origin of the Shogun

The shogun was an eighth-century office, originally designed to quell the northern barbarians such as the inhabitants of Ezo (Hokkaido), hence known as Sei-i-taishogun (Barbarian Subduing Generalissimo). This post became important as the highest authority within the bakufu, which contained delegated powers of military and judicial authority. This power was delegated by the Emperor.

Minamoto Yoritomo was appointed to this post in 1192. Although the post existed previously, Yoritomo is considered the first powerful shogun as the emperor was basically forced to give Yoritomo the title of shogun due to Yoritomo's military power. However, Yoritomo does not appear to have emphasized this office. After his death and the rise of the Hojo regents, this position increased in importance as the symbolic head of the Kamakura bakufu, even though the shogun remained aloof from judicial matters and affairs of the governance.

During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, the post of shogun was reserved for court nobles or princes of imperial blood. With the downfall of the Kamakura bakufu in 1333, Ashikaga Takauji started laying claim to the post again, and was appointed shogun in 1338 (the Ashikaga or Muromachi bakufu). Nevertheless, he continued the princely tradition of remaining aloof from the actual governance-save for enacting prayers and granting rewards. He delegated judicial and administrative powers to his brother Tadayoshi.

Takauji's grandson Yoshimitsu resigned from the post of shogun at a young age, and relied on more courtly authority. The last Ashikaga shogun who attempted to rule directly was assassinated in 1441, and for the ensuing one-hundred and thirty years, shoguns of the Ashikaga bakufu came to wield little administrative power. This time period became known as the Warring States Period.

Eventually the Ashikaga were eliminated completely in the late sixteenth-century by Oda Nobunaga, the first of the three great unifiers of Japan. However, Nobunga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi declined to take the title of shogun. It was not until in 1603 that the third unifier of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, took the title of shogun and for the first time in over 160 years did the shogun have supreme power in Japan.

Source: State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth-Century Japan

Taking of the Head

I recently finished reading the book "State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth-Century Japan" by Thomas Donald Conlan. Below is an explanation of an interesting (and gruesome) samurai practice from the 1st chapter of the book.

The act of taking an enemies head in battle has a long history in Japan and was infused with a significant amount of cultural meaning and usually generated praise from authorities. The main purpose of taking a head was to prove one's battle service. Heads were rigorously inspected because they constituted the most tangible proof of battle service. The heads of those killed would be carefully cleaned and dressed, and names attached to those who could be identified, while those determined to be from low-ranking men would be discarded.

Generals sometimes discouraged the custom of head-hunting because warriors so engaged might become vulnerable and place themselves in grave danger. Those who were successful tended to abandon the battlefield, already in possession of the ultimate proof of valor. Some commanders issued standing orders to "cut and toss" these heads. In these circumstances, warriors discarded the heads once their valor had been witnessed.

Those thirsty for some token of achievement decapitated any wounded enemy they could find. For wounded men to spend a night unscathed on the battlefield was described nothing short of miraculous. Prior to the fourteenth century, warriors were praised for securing as many heads as possible. For example, during the Mongol invasion of 1281, a samurai named Kikuchi Jiro advanced among the Mongol dead (or almost dead), collected a large number of heads, and brought them into the castle, thereby making a name for himself for generations.

Although some warriors continued to matter-of-factly pick up discarded heads, a stigma eventually accrued to such scavenging. Rules of etiquette eventually were established regarding the taking of heads. Transgressors of the norms of head-hunting became the objects of laughter in the 1330s and the focus of scorn in the 1390s. The practice of picking up an abandoned head gradually became a shameful act, and so later military manuals devoted considerable detail to distinguishing whether a head was removed from a living man or a corpse.

The book also described how warriors during this time period joined the forces of one side or another based mainly on the anticipation of great reward, generally in the form of land. This as well as the practice of head hunting go to show that the samurai warrior was not always the honorable warrior devoted to and willing to die for their lord. This image of the samurai comes from later time periods. And even then it is still largely a myth. The samurai throughout history are well known to engage in treachery and deceit. They often changed sides in the heat of battle or turned on their lords.

The Mongol Invasions of Japan and the Kamikaze

The Kamakura Bakufu was the first shogunate in Japanese history. It was ruled by the great Minamoto clan. However, for much of the later Kamakura period, the shogunate was ruled by powerful regents from the Hojo clan. It was during the rule of Tokimune Hojo that the powerful Mongol Hordes attempted to invade Japan.

The Mongols were one of the greatest warrior empires in human history. At their peak, the Mongol empire stretched from Persia to China. In the 13th century, all of eastern Asia, from Sakhalin to Java was under the control of the Mongol warriors. After China, Korea was invaded, starting in 1231, despite the Koreans' heroic resistance that lasted almost half a century.

In 1266, Kublai Khan set his sights on Japan and sent, via the Koreans, official letters requesting the commencement of friendly relations, accompanied by the following threatening statement: "It would displease us to have to use force." But the Hojo leaders in Kamakura did not budge, and Kublai Khan grew impatient.

In 1274, backed by Korean and Chinese auxiliaries, the Mongols landed on the coast of Kyushu to begin their invasion of Japan. Although the combat lasted for only one day, it was unusually brutal. The Mongol invaders used poisoned arrows and all sorts of deafening explosive devices the likes the Japanese samurai warriors had never before witnessed. Surprised by these new weapons, the samurai warriors became disoriented and the Mongols began to gain the advantage. But a storm arose in the evening and the Mongols were forced to retreat to their ships.

Preoccupied with the conquest of Southern China (the Southern Song dynasty fell in 1279), the Mongols delayed their second campaign against Japan until 1281. This time, however, their attack was much larger, consisting of one of the largest invasion fleets in human history. Popular estimates state that the fleet carried as many as 140,000 Mongol, Chinese, and Korean warriors in several thousand ships. However, as military numbers are notoriously exaggerated from the sources of the day, the actual numbers of Mongol forces is probably closer to about 10,000 or so and Japanese forces maybe half that. The Mongol forces included both Chinese and Korean soldiers forced to fight by their Mongol overlords.

The Japanese had fortified the coasts of Kyushu just as they had in 1274. But the Mongols ravaged the Japanese islands off the coast; Tsushima, in particular, paid a heavy toll in human lives. Then they landed on Kyushu, but this time the Japanese warriors knew their enemy.

Thanks to stone walls and battle expertise, the samurai warriors kept the formidable Mongol cavalry from deploying and pinned it to the coast. After several weeks of fierce and bloody combat, the Mongols managed to establish a small beachhead, but they later had to abandon it due fierce samurai resistance and withdraw to the already conquered small islands to regroup. Then, just as in 1274, another storm arose apparently came to help finish off the already hopelessly bloodied Mongol forces. Thousands of Mongol, Chinese, and Korean survivors , trapped on the island, fell to Japanese swords.

This test was a victory for the Shogun and for the warriors in general. But it was also a victory for the Kyoto court and the Emperor who had ordered prayers for the safety of the country. It was also a victory for the Shinto shrines, which twice prevailed on the country's gods to intervene in the form of divine winds (kamikaze) against the enemy. Many historians believe that the Mongol's defeat was the beginning of the end of the Mongol empire.

The Japanese victory over the Mongols strengthened the belief in the Japanese divinity (at least among the Imperial Court). The belief that Japan was blessed by the gods and the gods would always protect Japan, just as they did by helping destroy the Mongol fleet with the Kamikaze. This belief in the Japanese divinity would last for 800 years leading to another belief that the kamikaze would again save Japan. That belief finally came to an end under the obliteration of American bombs in World War II.

This belief in the Japanese national divinity may actually not have been as widespread as believed however, at least among the warriors. Most likely the samurai who fought the Mongols, fought not just personal glory, but for reward as well. Rather than the idea that they fought for a divine nation, their real goal was to defeat the foreign invaders and to be rewarded by the bakufu for their efforts.

Source:

The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society

Birth of the Japanese Style

Up until about the early 14th century, aristocrats and high ranking warriors copied Chinese style. Tea ceremonies were held in rooms decorated in the Chinese style with chairs, cabinets, and other furniture imported from China.  There were neither mats nor an alcove. Sometimes there were a few screens painted by Chinese masters. Porcelain vases held flowers, the Japanese art of flower arranging, ikebana, had not yet been invented.

In the 14th century, the art of meeting, such as the tea ceremony and other gatherings, was still being developed, and the Chinese style decor played an important part. Japanese artists emulated the Chinese style. However, over time, the Japanese artists began to acquire techniques and skills that set the stage for a new and original style in the 15th and 16th centuries, a Japanese style. This new style arose during the Muromachi period of the 15th century.

This new style differed from previous forms of interior design by its use of mats and a new form of internal space in the house. 

In the early 15th century, the aristocracy began to use tatami throughout their rooms and not just for seating. The mats originally were used as a seat or bed but now their use became widespread in the house of wealthy samurai warriors. Bamboo blinds and hangings were gradually replaced by movable partitions covered with white paper, or shoji, which let the light filter through.

The new Japanese style won over the Kyoto aristocracy, nobles and especially the samurai, as well as the upper middle class. It was not until the late 16th century, however, that the new interior style reached the wealthier classes in the provinces.

In the samurai aristocracy's residences, the increased use of tatami was accompanied by the introduction of a new architectural form, the shoin zakuri, a space used as a reading or meeting room with chests of drawers and shelves for storing scrolls. An alcove (tokonoma) was built into one corner. This interior style, which evolved into the "Japanese house," became popular during the time of the Ashikaga Shogun Yoshimasa.

The new interior style led to more interest in local art production such as pottery for use in the tea ceremony. It also led to the size of objects being reduced in order to fit into the shoin zukuri, and small rooms, 4.5 tatami in area.

Although the Muromachi period was a time of civil wars (Onin War), peasant uprisings, and the assassination of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, it was also a time of great cultural growth. The Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japanese flower arranging, The Noh Japanese drama, and ink painting all appeared during this time.

Source:

The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society

Japanese Pirates

You may not have realized it, but Japan has a long history of piracy on the open seas. From long before the 10th century to the beginning of the Edo period (early 1600s) the Japanese seas were infested with pirates. The Japanese pirates were called wako. During the chaos of civil wars of the 14th century, piracy grew to unprecedented proportions. The wako not only ravaged Japanese coastal villages, but even ventured across the seas to plunder the Korean and Chinese coasts. They sowed terror throughout eastern Asia.

In the 14th century, several thousand pirate-warriors of Kumano launched raids on southern Kyushu. These pirate-warriors were so powerful that they were socially recognized as warrior groups just like the other powerful clans throughout Japan. Since ancient time however, the authorities, including the Shoguns, had tried to control the destructive wako.

The piracy expanded suddenly in the mid-14th century due to the civil wars. The wako of northern Kyushu and the many sea islands launched expeditions on the coast of Korea. In 1350, 100 Japanese wako ships attacked the southern coast and returned 4 more times that year. After that, the raids became more constant, and massive. Some wako fleets included as many as 350 ships in 1374 and some fleets comprised from 2,000 to 5,000 men.

The pirates mainly looted the granaries and harvests. The ease with which the pirates attacked the Korean coasts drew more warriors who were only too happy to plunder with impunity. On the open seas, pirates attacked Korean ships and also kidnapped local populations and took them back to Japan to sell as slaves or hold as ransom.

The raids became increasingly bold. Like the Vikings in earlier times, the wako sailed farther and farther up the rivers, operating as far inland as the Kaesong region near Seoul. Later, the wako began transporting horses on their ships so they could raid the interior of the country.

Other pirate chiefs turned their eyes to the riches of Ming China. After Korea, it was China's turn, in the 15th century, to suffer the bloody raids of the Vikings of the Far East.

Sources

The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society

The Wako: History of the Sea