HISTORY
CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Their marriages established elaborate rules of etiquette.
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Their heirs could not become emperors.
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They could not produce great works of literature.
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They could not perform traditional religious ceremonies.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Why did the Fujiwara have to use marriage to gain power? A. Their marriages established elaborate rules of etiquette.
Detailed explanation-2: -The Fujiwaras succeeded in dominating the royal family by marrying female clan members to emperors and then ruling on behalf of the offspring of these unions when they assumed the throne. Not only did the powerful aristocratic Fujiwaras control the politics of this era, but they also dominated the cultural milieu.
Detailed explanation-3: -It meant that the Fujiwara daughters were empresses, that their grandsons and nephews were emperors, and that members of their family, including its lesser branches, received all the patronage. Thus, the Fujiwara clan chieftain, whether he held office or not, could manipulate the reins of government.
Detailed explanation-4: -They made sure the sons of their royal daughters become emperor and ruled as regents in the young emperor’s name. The Fujiwara family were also advisors to the emperor, this position gave them more power than the ruler they “guided".
Detailed explanation-5: -The Fujiwara Clan continued to hold its political power in the 700s, in the Nara Period. Through the four grandsons of Kamatari, they controlled the Council of State. However, a smallpox epidemic killed those four grandsons, threatening the continued political influence of the Fujiwara Clan of Japan.