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Myths about pre-17th century Japan.
Jul. 16th, 2008 05:30 pmSeveral months ago, O My Readers, She Who Sucks The Least took on the myth of the Front Tied Obi.
Today's mental excursion comes courtesy of comments made by one of my friends who lives too far away to raid my library. To wit: "Samurai? Not Heian. They show up in the next era, Kamakura, which was more militaristic.....Sushi? Not Heian. Yes, they ate fish, but not sushi as we know it.....Tea? Not Heian. That's Chinese and showed up a few centuries later....Geisha? Not Heian. They're about 16th C."
Let us begin with Assertion Number One, that samurai are not Heian.
Granted, if you run a web-page on the Heian period (794-1185 CE) through a translation engine, the name of the era will be loosely translated as "Peaceful."
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/wayou/11.htm
So, who's guarding the Emperor in his new capital of Heian-kyo (the "capital of peace and tranquility," now Kyoto)? He has guards, such as this fellow in uniform here. We know this from descriptions in diaries of the period, although they might be fulfilling such ceremonial and festive functions as twanging bowstrings at the New Year to frighten off demons. Now as anyone who has managed not to walk out on "The Last Samurai" knows, the word "samurai" derives from an archaic form of the Japanese verb "to serve." As in servant. Or palace guard. You see where I'm going with this.
People didn't just wake up one morning and say, "Today the Kamakura period starts." History doesn't work that way. Towards the end of the Heian period, there were two lines of succession in contention for the throne. The Taira clan supported one claimant. The Minamoto supported another. Things did not stay peaceful. The conflict known as the Genpei Wars raged for several years before the Minamoto smashed the Taira at Dan no Ura. Minamoto Yoritomo became shogun and formed a military government based in Kamakura. With the formation of the bakufu or "tent government", the military caste rose in status. (Which begs the question, who came up with that translation if the Japanese didn't have tents?)
The Emperor's role became more religious/ceremonial, though the retired emperors maintained cooperative relations with the shogunate during this period. Samurai were no longer palace guards in funny hats, they were part of the new order that would have a hand in the day-to-day feudal operations of the country.
Assertion Number Two "Sushi? Not Heian. Yes, they ate fish, but not sushi as we know it....."
Correct, actually. If you are eating stuff rolled up in seaweed, it's the Japanese equivalent of chop suey - invented to feed the roundeye.
"Sushi" refers to the combination of fish and rice. If it's just the fish, it's sashimi. Originally, salted fish would be placed in a container between layers of rice, then weighted with stones. This preservation method caused fermentation of the fish - the rice would be discarded when the fish was consumed (nare-zushi). (Side note - the weighted lid method is still used for pickling vegetables as well.)
When curing time was reduced, the rice could be eaten instead of wasted, though it took on the tang of the salted fish (nama-nare-zushi). The addition of rice vinegar reduced curing time to a single day with the same tangy flavor - this innovation supposedly dates from about 1600. The familiar nigiri-zushi, slices of fish served on a hand formed lump of vinegared rice, is credited to a 19th century Edo sushi seller.
Anyone whose ever eaten out with me may notice I usually order nigiri-zushi or chirashi (sashimi served over a bowl of rice) and I don't douse everything with soy and wasabi. Trust your sushi chef and enjoy the harmony of subtle flavors in what he puts before you.
Assertion Number Three: "Tea? Not Heian. That's Chinese and showed up a few centuries later...."
We-e-e-ll, not exactly. China and Japan had contact as early as the 6th century. Buddhism, a writing system, poetry, silk and sericulture, a spiffy and imposing Imperial Court system and yes, tea, were among the innovations the Chinese introduced to the Japanese. Okakura Kazuko's Book of Tea mentions Emperor Shomu "giving tea to one hundred monks at his palace in Nara. The leaves were probably imported by our ambassadors to the Tang Court and prepared in the way then in fashion." Tea was, however, expensive and somewhat difficult to get, particularly when the Japanese Court terminated official relations with the Chinese. Buddhist monks did move back and forth and brought seeds back to Japan and planted them. In the 1200s, Zen priest Eisai wrote a treatise on the health benefits of drinking tea. Tea became popular with the ascendant samurai caste. During the 1300s, a game called tocha became popular - guests would be served multiple cups of tea and try to guess where the tea had come from. Given the nature of similar games involving incense that date from the Heian, it could be argued that the format of these tea games might be a form of tea ceremony, particularly as one would have to have good taste if one was an adept player. Early forms of what we think of as tea ceremony (preparation of the drink before one's guests in a small chamber) date from the late 1400s.
Assertion Number Four: "Geisha? Not Heian. They're about 16th C."
Not Heian, but not 16th century either. Geisha are entertainers. In fact the word translates to "art person" or "artist." There were entertainers during the Heian period. They just weren't geisha. The first so called geisha were male and began entertaining in the licensed pleasure quarters of the Tokugawa regime in the 18th century. Go here for details.
Today's mental excursion comes courtesy of comments made by one of my friends who lives too far away to raid my library. To wit: "Samurai? Not Heian. They show up in the next era, Kamakura, which was more militaristic.....Sushi? Not Heian. Yes, they ate fish, but not sushi as we know it.....Tea? Not Heian. That's Chinese and showed up a few centuries later....Geisha? Not Heian. They're about 16th C."
Let us begin with Assertion Number One, that samurai are not Heian.
Granted, if you run a web-page on the Heian period (794-1185 CE) through a translation engine, the name of the era will be loosely translated as "Peaceful."
http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/wayou/11.htm
So, who's guarding the Emperor in his new capital of Heian-kyo (the "capital of peace and tranquility," now Kyoto)? He has guards, such as this fellow in uniform here. We know this from descriptions in diaries of the period, although they might be fulfilling such ceremonial and festive functions as twanging bowstrings at the New Year to frighten off demons. Now as anyone who has managed not to walk out on "The Last Samurai" knows, the word "samurai" derives from an archaic form of the Japanese verb "to serve." As in servant. Or palace guard. You see where I'm going with this.
People didn't just wake up one morning and say, "Today the Kamakura period starts." History doesn't work that way. Towards the end of the Heian period, there were two lines of succession in contention for the throne. The Taira clan supported one claimant. The Minamoto supported another. Things did not stay peaceful. The conflict known as the Genpei Wars raged for several years before the Minamoto smashed the Taira at Dan no Ura. Minamoto Yoritomo became shogun and formed a military government based in Kamakura. With the formation of the bakufu or "tent government", the military caste rose in status. (Which begs the question, who came up with that translation if the Japanese didn't have tents?)
The Emperor's role became more religious/ceremonial, though the retired emperors maintained cooperative relations with the shogunate during this period. Samurai were no longer palace guards in funny hats, they were part of the new order that would have a hand in the day-to-day feudal operations of the country.
Assertion Number Two "Sushi? Not Heian. Yes, they ate fish, but not sushi as we know it....."
Correct, actually. If you are eating stuff rolled up in seaweed, it's the Japanese equivalent of chop suey - invented to feed the roundeye.
"Sushi" refers to the combination of fish and rice. If it's just the fish, it's sashimi. Originally, salted fish would be placed in a container between layers of rice, then weighted with stones. This preservation method caused fermentation of the fish - the rice would be discarded when the fish was consumed (nare-zushi). (Side note - the weighted lid method is still used for pickling vegetables as well.)
When curing time was reduced, the rice could be eaten instead of wasted, though it took on the tang of the salted fish (nama-nare-zushi). The addition of rice vinegar reduced curing time to a single day with the same tangy flavor - this innovation supposedly dates from about 1600. The familiar nigiri-zushi, slices of fish served on a hand formed lump of vinegared rice, is credited to a 19th century Edo sushi seller.
Anyone whose ever eaten out with me may notice I usually order nigiri-zushi or chirashi (sashimi served over a bowl of rice) and I don't douse everything with soy and wasabi. Trust your sushi chef and enjoy the harmony of subtle flavors in what he puts before you.
Assertion Number Three: "Tea? Not Heian. That's Chinese and showed up a few centuries later...."
We-e-e-ll, not exactly. China and Japan had contact as early as the 6th century. Buddhism, a writing system, poetry, silk and sericulture, a spiffy and imposing Imperial Court system and yes, tea, were among the innovations the Chinese introduced to the Japanese. Okakura Kazuko's Book of Tea mentions Emperor Shomu "giving tea to one hundred monks at his palace in Nara. The leaves were probably imported by our ambassadors to the Tang Court and prepared in the way then in fashion." Tea was, however, expensive and somewhat difficult to get, particularly when the Japanese Court terminated official relations with the Chinese. Buddhist monks did move back and forth and brought seeds back to Japan and planted them. In the 1200s, Zen priest Eisai wrote a treatise on the health benefits of drinking tea. Tea became popular with the ascendant samurai caste. During the 1300s, a game called tocha became popular - guests would be served multiple cups of tea and try to guess where the tea had come from. Given the nature of similar games involving incense that date from the Heian, it could be argued that the format of these tea games might be a form of tea ceremony, particularly as one would have to have good taste if one was an adept player. Early forms of what we think of as tea ceremony (preparation of the drink before one's guests in a small chamber) date from the late 1400s.
Assertion Number Four: "Geisha? Not Heian. They're about 16th C."
Not Heian, but not 16th century either. Geisha are entertainers. In fact the word translates to "art person" or "artist." There were entertainers during the Heian period. They just weren't geisha. The first so called geisha were male and began entertaining in the licensed pleasure quarters of the Tokugawa regime in the 18th century. Go here for details.
