TERMS AND GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR FILM

Medieval Japan and Buddhism in Literature

Samurai: members of the Japanese warrior class that first gained influence during the Heian period (794-1185) when powerful landowners hired these military men as bodyguards and for the protection of their properties. The Samurai’s importance as Japan’s social elite would begin in the Kamakura period (1185-1333). War Tales: a genre of medieval Japanese literature. One of the most famous works of this type is The Tale of Heike. Feudalism: a contractual political and military system, in which a ruler grants lands (fiefs) to individuals who pay rent through military service and other types of assistance to the ruler. Amida (Pure Land) Buddhism: the faith-based school centered on the figure of Amida Buddha, a previous incarnation of Siddhartha Gautama. According to believers, the Buddha had refused to accept Buddha-hood unless he could grant eternal happiness in the Pure Land to all those who called on him in need.

Lotus Sutra (Tendai) Sect: the faith-based school centered on the Lotus Sutra (the Buddha’s deathbed teachings) as all that was necessary for Buddhist enlightenment. The famous priest Nichiren (1222--82) would later raise the popularity of the Lotus Sutra among the Japanese Buddhist laity. Kamikaze: the “divine winds” that thwarted the attempted Mongol Invasions (1274, 1281) of Japan. Sengoku Era (1467-1573): Japan’s ”Warring States” period. Daimyo: a member of the Japanese nobility, a local lord with a certain amount of taxable rice lands. Zen Buddhism: the school of Buddhism that maintains that the realization of true consciousness, or the Buddha-nature (bussho), is available to everyone and is only possible through wisdom.

#1. Please compare Japanese and European forms of feudalism. What are some similarities? Differences? What problems do we encounter in most comparisons of these two systems?

#2. How did the samurai class emerge? What are some common values shared by early samurai?

#3. What did Buddhism offer Japanese society?

#4. How did the Japanese political order change during the Sengoku Era?