Samurai, Shogun, Zen Monks, and

Puppeteers:

Life in Medieval and Tokugawa Japan

Part Two

Hiroshige- 100 Views of Famous Places in Edo- The street Suruga-cho and Mount Fuji

Merchants• Traditionally, merchants were ranked as

the lowest class, since they did not “produce” anything, but made money selling the work of others.

• Under the peaceful rule of the Tokugawa, the city of Edo swelled in population.

• The Chonin, city dwellers, could not make everything for themselves as farmers had. Merchants provided for them.

• Although Japan was closed to outside trade, the domestic economy boomed.

• As merchants became rich, their status increased.

• City merchants sponsored a whole new world of entertainment: the “Floating World” of geisha, actors, puppeteers, writers, and artists

Zen Buddhism• Many sects of Buddhism focused on studying

scriptures, chanting prayers, rituals, good works, and temple gifts.

• Zen sees all these as distractions and preaches a direct experience of enlightenment through meditation--like Buddha himself did it.

• Zazen is seated meditation, “practicing sitting still.” Goal is to bring stillness to mind and body, opening up to enlightenment (satori).

• Koan are questions or puzzles the monks focus on during zazen. These questions are illogical and quirky, to help free monks of the traps of logical thinking. The truth must be intuited--it cannot be explained in words.

• Because sitting all day leads to weakness, early Zen masters introduced exercises, which led to martial arts.

• Zen became the sect of the ruling classes in Japan and deeply influenced Japanese art and aesthetics.

Portrait of Bodidharma, founder of Zen. Painted about 1700 by Hakuin Ekaku. The text reads “Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”

Zen Buddhism• Zen is the most austere sect of

Buddhism. It offers no deity, no afterlife, no excuse or forgiveness, no eternal paradise.

• Zen focuses on the here and now, and on that which is eternal.

• The focus on now gives dignity to even the smallest action or event. Since nothing will ever happen quite the same way twice, every event is valued and given full attention and effort.

• Each of us is alone and unique. We won’t happen the same way twice, either.

• Zen art suggests rather than preaching. It focuses on moments, leaving description incomplete, just like life, or our understanding. The reader or viewer must fill in the blanks.

The influential 20th Century Zen monk Kodo Sawki practicing zazen.

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• Gardening is one of the arts most influenced by Zen.

• A garden is a place where nothing appears to be happening, and yet everything is happening. The plants stand still, but make food from sunlight. They grow daily, without us noticing.

• A garden vividly reflects changes in season. It is all about here and now.

• A garden seems natural, yet is a work of man. Man is part of nature, too.

• Although Japanese gardens contain flowering plants, they are more focused on rocks, water, and evergreens. Some feature just rocks and sand raked like rippling water.

Shitennoji Honbo garden in Osaka

Tea Ceremony• Another Zen-influenced activity is the tea

ceremony.

• Ceremony was introduced in the 12th Century, but changed over time.

• Today it celebrates the rustic, imperfect, and unprepared

• One time/one meeting.

• Special place, special tools, special people.

• Small space, every move is important.

• Focus on now lets participants lose themselves in the moment.

“To empty one’s mind is to forget the self. To forget the self is to awaken to the world. To awaken to everything in the world is to be enlightened.”

Dogen Zenji, 13th Century Zen Master

Aesthetics• Aesthetics are ideas of beauty. Three key

ideas of Japanese aesthetics reflect Zen.

• Wabi—is simplicity, something stripped to its bare essence. But it also something alone, lacking decoration, humble. If form truly follows function, the result is wabi.

• Sabi—”The bloom of time.” Sabi is the idea that something is more beautiful the more old and worn and imperfect it is. The signs of wear show the loving use an object has enjoyed; if it wasn’t really good, we would have replaced it long ago. Imperfections and asymmetry show the intervention of nature spirits in the making of an object. After all, no human is perfect, so “perfect” objects are inhuman.

• Awaré—”The sadness of things.” Awaré is the sense of loss we feel when things change. Humans become attached to things, but nothing lasts. We grieve. A flower is most beautiful not in full bloom, but just before it falls to the ground, because then it is also poignant with sadness. This very transience is what makes it beautiful.

TOP: Interior of a traditional Japanese tearoom

MIDDLE LEFT: Calligraphy scroll.

MIDLE RIGHT: Bonsai.

BOTTOM: Tea bowl by Chojiro, about 1700.