Page No: 17 Christmas Issue 2015
dominance was re-established. The restoration of shogun power started a new period in Japanese history, the Azuchi- Momoyama period. Two sengoku shoguns actually restored the warrior dominance, and they ruled one after another. This period’s art became much more indulgent. This style was based on earlier Buddhist
styles and was founded by the upper and middle classes, as well as the ethic discipline of the Way of the Tea. The start of this period was defined by the Battle of Sekigahara, in which a new shogun line was founded. It was a face-off between the forces of the boy-king, lead by Ishida, against a more experienced group of rebels lead by one of Japan’s best generals, Ieyasu. It happened at the crossroads of Sekigahara, after Ieyasu had out-manouvered royal forces and Ishida planed to block the rebels off at Sekigahara. It was an even battle, but the royal forces began to get the upper hand, only to be destroyed by the charge of Kobayakawa Hideaki, who was goaded into battle by Ieyasu firing blanks at him. It is a mystery why he attacked the royalist forces when he had been shot at, but some historians have speculated that it was out of a deep respect for Ieyasu. After this charge the royalists were crushed and Ieyasu consolidated his power and founded the city of Edo, after which this period was named, as this capital city. He and his dynasty created peace
"Tokugawa Ieyasu2" by Kanō Tan'yū - Osaka Castle main tower. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons -
but imposed a 200-year international seclusion, which was only lifted for the last 60 years of this period. In the cities of Osaka and Kyoto at the beginning of this period a down to earth culture had developed with comedy, fiction and tragedy all popular at this time, and this was written about in the popular Kabuki drama, which provided a comical outlook on life. This began with a small troop of
travelling actors, who acted and danced. They were banned a few times but the art finally established itself in the 18 th century and became very popular. It can be compared to modern day pantomimes. The shogunate crumbled now, and it was forced to hand back power to the emperors, which begun the Meiji period. This created far-reaching reforms, and the western world flooded into literature, art and more with modern Japanese literature founded as well as Japanese romanticism. Japanese wars with China and Russia established it as a modern Imperial power. Not much changed coming into the Taisho period, with western literature still very popular, but cultural life was further
"Japan drills Boy Scouts with rifles 1916 2" by Original uploader was Cradel at en.wikipedia -
enhanced by mass circulation of newspapers and mass broadcasting.
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