Yamato clan and stateThe Yamato court is known as the birthplace of the Japa-nese political state.. The people were a clan-, or kinship- uji, based society, where religion played an imp
Trang 1Yamato clan and state
The Yamato court is known as the birthplace of the
Japa-nese political state It is a term applied to the political
system of the Kofun period but also its development and
refi nement in the late fi fth to seventh centuries c.e The
Yamato state unifi ed north Kyushu, Shikoku, and
south-ern Honshu The people were a clan-, or kinship- (uji),
based society, where religion played an important part in
controlling their lives, but during the Kofun period (the
name given to the large key-shaped burial mounds of
the time) powerful clan leaders and their families started
to emerge as the stratifi cation of communities evolved
within the late Yayoi culture Small kingdoms were
established, each ruled by a different clan The rulers
at this time were mainly religious fi gureheads using the
people’s faith to govern them One of the most powerful
was the Yamato clan, and after continual warfare among
the different kingdoms a union of states developed—the
Yamato state, under the rule of the Yamato clan
In the fourth century c.e the Yamato were situated
in the rich agricultural region around the modern city
of Kyoto In the fi fth century, when the Yamato court
reached its peak, there was a shift in the power base to
the provinces of Kawachi and Izumi (modern Osaka)
The emergence of such powerful clans is evidenced by
the increased elaboration of their burial mounds in
comparison with the Yayoi period Burial sites in the
Kofun period illustrated a segregating of the workers
and elite of the community The mounds took on a new
shape, a “keyhole” design, were larger in size, and were
surrounded by moats By the fi fth century it was evident that the power of the Yamato clan had increased These huge tombs represented the power of the Yamato aris-tocracy, holding swords, arrowheads, tools, armor, and all the signs of military might Only religious and cer-emonial items had been placed in earlier burial mounds
As Yamato had increased the contact with mainland Asia, the items in the burial tombs refl ected their power and infl uence Besides the military items, there were such things as gilt bronze shoes and gold and silver ornaments
The Yamato clan and its strongest allies formed the aristocracy of the Yamato state, occupying the most important positions in the court A hereditary ruler headed the Yamato court, and because intermarriage within clans produced a large family network, there were constant struggles for power Believing that they were descendants of the sun goddess, the Yamato clan developed the notion of kingship and thus began the imperial dynasty An emperor, based on the Chinese sys-tem, represented it The fi rst legendary emperor of Japan was Jimmu The emperor, the supreme religious symbol
of the state, had no real political power The power base lay with the clan leaders, headed by a prime minister– style offi cial These offi cials had very close ties with the ruler, showing the importance that was placed on the harmony between religion and the governing of the people There was also economic and military support from the occupational groups within the court known
as be These groups consisted of rice farmers, weavers,
potters, artisans, military armorers, and specialists in
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