Lesson 24: Heian-kyo: The Heart of Japan's Golden Age

• Why was Nagaoka a poor choice as the capital city of Japan?


  • hard to defend
  • rumors of corruption and dishonesty spread
  • bad luck (emperor Kammu's family members became ill)
• Heian period


  the cultural flowering in Japan that took place between the late 8th and 12th centuries
• In 794 C.E. emperor Kammu moved the capital city from Nara to Heian-kyo beginning the...


  Heian period
• Mansions of aristocrats during the Heian period:


  • enclosed by walls
  • simplicity was considered beauty
  • large rooms divided by screens/curtains
• Ladies were hidden behind portable screens unless...


  the relationship she was involved in was serious
• In the mid 900's, power in the imperial court shifted from the emperor to the...


  aristocratic families
• In 858, the Fujiwara started to...


  marry their daughters in the royal family, making sure that their sons were chosen to be emperor
• To the emperor, the Fujiwara acted as...

  advisers
• How was the Fujiwara family able to extend their influence over Japan?


  • they married their way into the royal family
  • members acted as advisors to the emperor
  • they supported the cultural flowering of the Heian period with their great wealth
• Fujiwara Michinaga, who was a successful leader of Japan during 995-1028 had...


  • the respect of everyone around him
  • a life of wealth and luxury
• 9 ranks in the Heian court:


  • 1-3 : high court nobles
  • 4-5 : less important offcials
  • 6-9 : minor officials, clerks, experts in law/medicine
• What mattered more within the Heian court? 


  being born into a high-ranked family
• Nobles in the court were appointed by the...


  emperor
• 30 sub-ranks determined detailed rules of conduct and specific privileges such as...


  • type of houses and carriages
  • number of servants and folds in hand-held fans
  • color of clothing one could wear
  • height of a gatepost in front of a house
  • harshness of a sentence one received from being guilty of crime
• Courtier


  a male member of a ruler's court
• What did men and women use to blacken their teeth? Why did they blacken their teeth?


  They used iron to blacken their teeth because white teeth was considered unattractive.
• Yoki


  good
• Individuals were judged on their...


  taste and ability to recognize beauty
• Because concern with form and beauty was so great courtiers...


  had to perform stylized dances
• Kemari


  a game groups of courtiers played by kicking a leather ball back and forth to keep it in the air
• Rango


  a game women played by trying to balance as many stones as possible on one finger
• Bugaku performances


  the combination of music and drama
• Festival of the Snake


  cups are used to drink out of a steam by a person who then has to compose and recite a poem
• People during the Heian period had plenty of leisure time.

  True
• How many types of yamato-e are there?


  4
• 4 main types of yamato-e:


  • 4 seasons
  • people doing seasonal tasks
  • places of natural beauty
  • literature scenes
• Quick lines in Japanese paintings showed...


  movement
• How did Japanese painters curate restful scenes?


  deliberate lines
• How did the Japanese add their own touch to scroll paintings from China?


  they often showed scenes from inside buildings from above, as if the viewer were peering down through an invisible roof
• Who was Jocho


  an artist who worked for Fujiwara Michigana
• Jocho created the greatest masterpiece of Heian sculpture called the...


  Amida Buddha
• The Amida Buddha ("The Lord of Boundless Light") expresses...


  deep peace and strength
• Yosegi-zukuri


  the technique in which blocks of wood were hollowed out, carved, and then assembled
• If people were unable to compose poetry in public...


  the inability was considered failure
• Katakana


  formal writing
• Hiragana


  simple strokes that made reading and writing more efficient
• Hiragana was utilized mostly by...


  women
• Calligraphy skills were as important as poetry creation.

  True
• Female companions for courtiers were selected for their...


  inteligence
• Tale of Genji


  a Japanese novel and Heian masterpiece written by Murasaki Shikibu; considered one of the great works of world literature