page_title: History of Japan
section_title: Culture and philosophy
hierarchical_section_title: History of Japan / Early modern Japan / Edo period (1600–1868) / Culture and philosophy
caption_attribution_description: Samurai
context_page_description: The first human habitation in the Japanese archipelago has been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi people in the first millennium BC when new technologies were introduced from continental Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han in the first century AD.
  Between the fourth century and the ninth century, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan. This imperial dynasty continues to reign over Japan. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō, marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from this time and onwards was a mix of native Shinto practices and Buddhism.
  Over the following centuries, the power of the emperor and the imperial court declined, passing first to great clans of civilian aristocrats – most notably the Fujiwara – and then to the military clans and their armies of samurai.
context_section_description: The Edo period was a time of cultural flourishing, as the merchant classes grew in wealth and began spending their income on cultural and social pursuits. Members of the merchant class who patronized culture and entertainment were said to live hedonistic lives, which came to be called the ukiyo ("floating world"). This lifestyle inspired ukiyo-zōshi popular novels and ukiyo-e art, the latter of which were often woodblock prints that progressed to greater sophistication and use of multiple printed colors.
  Forms of theatre such as kabuki and bunraku puppet theatre became widely popular. These new forms of entertainment were (at the time) accompanied by short songs (kouta) and music played on the shamisen, a new import to Japan in 1600. Haiku, whose greatest master is generally agreed to be Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), also rose as a major form of poetry. Geisha, a new profession of entertainers, also became popular. They would provide conversation, sing, and dance for customers, though they would not sleep with them.
  The Tokugawas sponsored and were heavily influenced by Neo-Confucianism, which led the government to divide society into four classes based on the four occupations. The samurai class claimed to follow the ideology of bushido, literally "the way of the warrior".
caption: Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population. Edo period, 1798.
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