Information on Japan and History of Japan
Brief Historical Information on Japan and Kojin
Kojin, The Soul of Samurai takes place in the Sengoku period (also known as the Warring States period). It is this period which formed the basis for the rich and culturally strong Japan known today, and it is from this anarchic period that Japan's sophisticated arts arose. It is therefore a time in Japan which has great importance, and yet is the most misunderstood and fantasized, in so far as the Western world has a sketchy romantic view without any substance. To provide accurate information on Japan, yet without being dry and historic, but instead trying to be as engaging, interesting, broad-ranging and quick as possible, is the aim of this section. Hopefully this information will not only enhance your experience of Kojin, The Soul of Samurai, but also correct those Western misconceptions of the period and represent the colours of medieval Japan in a digestible and agreeable fashion.
Information on Japan: The End of the Sengoku Period
To give it some historical context, the Sengoku Period lasted from about 1490 to 1573 (only two generations after Sir Thomas More and Erasmus). It proved to be a period of great destabilisation, and yet great growth and organisation -- the daimyos (lords) of the many provinces in Japan split, allied, fought each other, gained and lost, for nearly a century, ultimately resulting in the unification under Tokugawa Ieyasu, who through military prowess and fortunate timing established the foundations of the new state which would, after many alterations, become modern Japan. Yet this is a gross over-simplification: each sengoku daimyo (warlord) had great strengths, their power of money, land and soldiers exceeding and eclipsing the Emperor of Japan, and only through exploiting even the minutest flaws of each other did the balance of power swing (and it did nearly every three years). With the sudden influence of Europe, which began with St Francis Xavier in 1543, firearms (though known before Europe in Southeast Asia) were brought to Japan, and this information provided, as in Europe, the advantage for one side to consolidate power over the others. The importance of samurai as quick yet lethal foot-soldiers and cavalry came to an abrupt end; the introduction of musket front lines revolutionized Japanese warfare entirely. Sadly, the end result of the musketeer infantry was a set of decisive victories for Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa, defeating the other warlords and draining purpose from the samurai class -- the Tokugawa state of 1603, the Edo Period, heralded the bourgoisie bureaucracy of merchants and bankers, a shackled samurai class, and an eventual decline in the heroism seen in the Sengoku period.