A super quick History of Japan

​Last week, I explored, in a limited way, the concepts of Individualism and Collectivism as concepts of anthropology and sociology and how that might relate to Rokugan.  In my next article,  I am once again wade into waters out of my depth and talk about Chinese philosophy.

But first, I’ll talk about why. 

Rokugan is based on Japan. It is built on the myths and stories and philosophies of ancient Japan, as presented through the lens of its stories as shared in the West.  But our image of Japan is not based on the society of its original inhabitants who lived there in isolation for thousands of years.  Its original peoples, the Jōmon, were a hunter-gatherer, stone-tool using society, and they held the islands right up until 300 BC, when they were displaced by the Yayoi from the Korean peninsula.

The Yayoi were an agricultural, bronze-age society that began around 300BC, and combined its own religious practices and the religious practices of the Jōmon to create the Shinto religion.  Around 200 AD, Himiko, a priestess and queen, brought an end to the warring states of the Yayoi and founded the kingdom the Chinese called Wa, and we call the beginning of Japan as we know it.  Around this same time, there were the first contacts between the Chinese and the Japanese. 

The Yayoi period  ended in 300AD, and was followed by the Kofun, Asuka, and Nara periods, which were marked by rapid cultural import and immigration from China and Korea. In particular, the culture of the social elite and educated adopted more and more Chinese customs and traditions, while the villagers followed their traditional ways.  Buddhism, Chinese writing styles, Chinese governance, Chinese philosophy, all came to dominate the culture, and was actively promoted throughout society, though Shintoism remained in harmony with Buddhism. The modern Imperial dynasty was founded during the Heian period in 794 AD, with its founder, Emperor Kanmu, tracing his descent to Lady Sun and the beginning of the samurai class.  The Chinese influence began to lose dominance at the end of the 9th Century when rebellions in China caused the Japanese to cut off trade with the Tang dynasty.  But the Heian period was considered the height of culture, and Chinese philosophies, inventions, and education, dominated Japanese courtly society through the end of the Fujiwara period with the Gempai war in 1180 and the Shogunate that followed. 

So.  Why write my very fore-shortened history of Japan?  Because Rokugan is based on Japan…but Japan itself is based on a mix of native Japan (Jōmon) and Korea (Yayoi and Kofun) and China (Asuka through Fujiwara).  The stories of Japan come from all three cultures.  You can’t separate the threads.  Legend of the 5 Rings is not a snapshot of Japan during the Sengoku Jidai or during the Edo. The sensibilities of the clans reflect different periods in Japanese history. But even if Rokugan were a snapshot of a single period, because of this history, the philosophies of Rokugan, similarly, have to be a synthesis of different philosophies and religion: Shinto, Buddhism, and the Chinese Philosophies.  And when you're talking about the customs and manners of court, the greatest influence comes from China.

So...I'll tackle Chinese Philosophy. Hang in there.