Editing Heian period (section)

==Economics==
While the Heian period was an unusually long period of peace, it can also be argued that the period weakened Japan economically and led to poverty for all but a tiny few of its inhabitants. The control of rice fields provided a key source of income for families such as the Fujiwara and was a fundamental base of their power.<ref name="Morris 1964 p.73">Morris 1964 p. 73.</ref> The aristocratic beneficiaries of Heian culture, the ''[[Japanese castes under the ritsuryō|Ryōmin]]'' (良民 "Good People") numbered about 5,000 in a land of perhaps five million. One reason the [[samurai]] were able to take power was that the ruling nobility proved incompetent at managing Japan and its provinces. By the year 1000, the government no longer knew how to issue currency and money was gradually disappearing. Instead of a fully realized system of money circulation, rice was the primary unit of exchange.<ref name="Morris 1964 p.73"/> The lack of a solid medium of economic exchange is implicitly illustrated in novels of the time. For instance, messengers were rewarded with useful objects such as an old silk [[kimono]], rather than being paid a monetary fee.

The Fujiwara rulers failed to maintain adequate police forces, which left robbers free to prey on travelers. This is implicitly illustrated in novels by the terror that night travel inspired in the main characters. The [[shōen]] system enabled the accumulation of wealth by an aristocratic elite; the economic surplus can be linked to the cultural developments of the Heian period and the "pursuit of arts".<ref>Morris 1964 p. 79.</ref> The major Buddhist temples in [[Heian-kyō]] and [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] also made use of the [[shōen]].<ref name="Collins 1997 p.851">Collins 1997 p. 851.</ref> The establishment of branches rurally and integration of some Shinto shrines within these temple networks reflects a greater "organizational dynamism".<ref name=" Collins 1997 p.851"/>