Thursday, August 22, 2019
Trade between Paekche and Japan Essay Example for Free
Trade between Paekche and Japan Essay Paekche, also known as Baekje, was located to the Southwest of Korea and is one of the three kingdoms that formed Korea during the three kingdom era (50 B.C-668 C.E). Paekche was the most vulnerable of the three kingdoms formed then, namely, Korguyo and Silla. All of them were very strongly influenced by China. Paekche, because of its strategic location that brought it very near to China, was especially more influenced and had profound implications when it comes to its living practices and religion. It had been influenced by Buddhism from China which had its origin in India. However, being close to China also meant undue pressure by the huge militarily strong kingdom of China. Also with increasing influence of the neighboring kingdom Silla, Paekche was in dire need of an ally who could not only give the economic impetus it so needs but also the military protection to thwart off Silla’s attempts of conquests. This formed the basis of trade with Japan and thus began the journey of wide political and cultural influences on both the Kingdoms till the last of Paekche which was in 668 E.C.             Paekche along with the various economic goods that it was trading with Japan also started adding in cultural goods. As mentioned above, this was a result of its realization of the need to have closer ties with Japan that the situation demanded. The cultural goods that Paekche started exporting were Buddhism. It was in mid-500s that this significant event occurred when the king of Paekche gifted an image of Buddha and some sacred writings in Buddhism to the king of Japan[i]. It is said that he introduced the religion to the Japanese king saying that it was the religion of the civilized world. Japan, at that time was influenced by Nakatomi as religious practice and hence, the influx of Buddhism was strongly opposed by the court religious heads[ii]. Moreover, the head of the aristocratic clan and the one who led the Japanese military forces, Mononobe, advised the king against sending troops to support Paekche against Silla. However, as time passed and thanks to the growing influence of the Yamato family, Japan slowly started adopting the new religion and Paekche was beginning to trade majorly culture with Japan. Such was its influence on the Japanese kingdom that the lines between Korea and Japan started to blur slowly. Paekche had exported many art forms and technological skills to Japan and Japan’s cultural and technological advances can be attributed to the heavy influx of Paekche’s trade with it.      Another place where Paekche’s influence can be sensed strongly was the temples and palaces that were built in Asuka Japan during mid-500s and till the end of Paekche in mid-600s. Paekche, along with its religion, also traded architectural forms and subsequent technologies with Japan. Fine example of this is the Horyuji temple built around 601 A.D. The architectural forms and technologies used prove a strong presence of Korean, more precisely, Paekche influence[iii]. Though the temple does not exist today, its remains tell the whole story. It should be noted that when the King of Paekche decided to export Buddhism to Japan, he made sure he does it convincingly. Along with the Buddha statues and writings, the King also sent monks, painters, temple carpenters, expert tile workers, and many more that were successful in getting the right flavor of Buddhism in the Japanese society. After the completion of the temple, the Buddhist monks who were sent by the Paekche king settled in the temple and started preaching Buddhism from there.                 The spread of cultural good, Buddhism, was not rapid though. After lot of resistance from the existing beliefs and rituals, which included spread of epidemics as a sign of anger and rejection by the old Gods and then a bigger epidemic that was considered as the sign of Buddha’s fury at denunciation, Buddhism as a religion started making place for itself in the kingdom. This general acceptance increased the bonding between the two kingdoms and Paekche became Japan’s closest ally among the Korean kingdoms. This can be observed from the fact that Japan actively started protecting Paekche from external threats. This can also be attributed to the fear Japan had developed after it lost Mimana to Silla rulers which is supposed to have influenced the â€Å"Horse rider†culture of Japan. All the above combined reasons helped the relation between Paekche and Japan grow closer like never before. Japan and Paekche relationship was not just formal. The diplomatic ties had extended to strong military ties with Japan helping Paekche to defend itself against the growing stronghold of Silla in Korea. Slowly, Japan had sided with Paekche and joined the allied forces in Gaya when it wanted to expand its influence in that region. Japan also extended its help to the King of Paekche, Jeonji in launching a coup and thereby helping him in becoming the king.        This speaks a lot about the kind of intimacy the two kingdoms had acquired due to the trade relationship between them. Paekche was known to be the superior one within the relationship when it comes to culture. This is quite evident from the fact that the Paekche prince had gifted a Chiljido (a seven branched knife) around 4th or 5th BC to the Japanese king and had ordered him to pass it down through the generations to come in Japanese royal family. This truly demonstrates the diplomatic superiority that Paekche had.               By the end of 500 B.C, a perfect trade relation was formed between the two where both the kingdoms traded with each other according to the requirements of both the kingdoms. This gave birth to the perfect model where, not superiority, but genuine economic considerations and needs of the state were the basis of trade, thereby giving economic growth for both the countries.        The fall of Paekche was in essence the end of the relationship for both the kingdoms. However, Japan showed its loyalty to the Korean kingdom by not siding with the allied forces of Silla and Dang. Instead it preferred to oppose them and hence support the last remnants of the kingdom Paekche. It is not surprising that after Paekche fell to the joined forces of Silla and Dang, there was a huge entry of the Paekche citizens to Japan. They traveled all across the sea to settle in Japan rather than China. This strongly demonstrates the high degree of the closeness that the two kingdoms maintained. Moreover, this influx into the country brought about a massive change in the lifestyles of Japanese too who actively started intimately getting influenced by the culture of Paekche like their clothing, or the way unmarried women dressed up, and other day to day nuances like pottery.        The trade between Paekche and Japan was an effort to compensate the military and cultural needs of both the nations. This trade, like all other ancient trades, brought about colossal changes in both the countries through culture exchanges. The most significant change is, of course, the fact that Japan, today, is one of the largest followers of Buddhism in the world. [i]  Kaplan H. Eddward .1st draft, 10/94; 3rd rev., 9/99. [ii] Perez B Louis, The History of Japan, by Greenwood Press, 1998 [iii]  Lucie R. Weinstein (KEJ: 3. 232) Bibliography Reichauer, Edwin. Japan: the Story of a Nation, , Fourth Edition, Alfred A Knopf, 1989    Yamamura et al, Kazo. The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol 3.    Cambridge University Press, 1990 Perez, B, Louis. The History of Japan, Greenwood Press, 1998    Meyer W, Milton. Japan: a Concise History, Third Edition,     Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc 1993 Hong, Wontack. Relationship between Korea and Japan in early period : Paekche and Yamato Wa. Seoul, Korea, 1988. Griffis, William Elliot. Corea, the hermit nation. New York, C. Scribners   sons, 1882. Ballard, George Alexander. The Influence of the Sea on the Political History of Japan.    New York: E.P. Dutton Co., 1921. Japan’s Rapid Transition into Derivative High Civilization and its Consequences. Retrieved      March 26, 2007, from http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~kaplan/eas201/201-14.pdf  Japan, Buddhism and the Warlords, to the Kamakura. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from    http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h07japan.htm Paekche culture in Asuka Japan: The most visible and dominating influence. Retrieved March     26, 2007, from http://gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/publication/paekche/eng/hi3-5.pdf A survey of Baekje History, Retrieved March 26, 2007, from     http://baekje.chungnam.net/eng/new_hist/index.htm Korea during the age of the Yamato Imperial Clan. Retrieved March 26, 2007 from      http://gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/publication/paekche/eng/hi3-7.pdf
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