HEIAN-KYO

WHAT IS HEIAN-KYO?

• The third capital of Japan
• Means “Capital of peace and tranquility“
• Started the Heian period, the golden age of Japan
• Ruled by aristocrats, and the Fujiwara family
• Fujiwara Michinaga was the most respected, and righteous

Our Model is a small model of Heian-Kyo’s architecture

SOCIAL HIERARCHY IN HEIAN-KYO

• Emporer
• Shogun
• Diamyos
• Samurai
• Peasant Farmers
• Artisans/Trades People
• Merchants

THE GOLDEN AGE

• The Heian Period was considered the golden age of Japan
• A time of advancement and prosperity
• Beauty, entertainment, art, and literature were all advanced during this time

BEAUTY

• A big focus in Heian-Kyo
• Small pointed beards for men, and long hair for women were seen as attractive
• White teeth were seen as unnatractive
• Both men and women wore perfume
• Some women wore up to 12 layers of silk robes
• Etiquette in people was admired at this time
• Courtship played a key role in society, and was very strongly present

ENTERTAINMENT

• Horse racing, sumo wrestling, and archery contests
• Kemari and Rango were common games people played
• Many festivals took place
• Dancing was an important part of these festivals

ART

• People made sculptures out of wood
• They developed their own art called Yamato-e
• A man named Jovho was an influential artist
• Eventually, they branched off from religious artwork, and made paintings called ‘story-paintings’
• The most famous paintings are scroll paintings

LITERATURE

• Poetry was an important part of Heian culture
• They used characters called the Kana, which were simplified Chinese characters
• Katakana was a more formal way to write, while Hiragana was used for more casual things, like writing in a diary
• A very popular piece of writing to this day is The Tale of Genji
• People believed that handwriting revealed character

WHY WAS IT A GOLDEN AGE?

• The Heian period had many advances in important fields
• Heian-Kyo made a long lasting impact on Japan, and the world as a whole
• The Tale of Genji had the same influence on Japan as Shakespeare had to us
• Dramas present in Japan’s society today are reflective of Heian’s theater practices

Thank You!