From Sovereign to Symbol : An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth Century Japan

Fourteenth-century Japan witnessed a fundamental political and intellectual conflict about the nature of power and society, a conflict that was expressed through the rituals and institutions of two rival courts. Rather than understanding the collapse of Japan's first warrior government (the Kamakura bakufu) and the onset of a chaotic period of civil war as the manipulation of rival courts by powerful warrior factions, this study argues that the crucial ideological and intellectual conflict of the fourteenth century was between the conservative forces of ritual precedent and the ritual determinists steeped in Shingon Buddhism. Members of the monastic nobility who came to dominate the court used the language of Buddhist ritual, including incantations (mantras), gestures (mudras), and "cosmograms" (mandalas projected onto the geography of Japan) to uphold their bids for power. Sacred places that were ritual centers became the targets of military capture precisely because they were ritual centers. Ritual was not simply symbolic; rather, ritual became the orchestration, or actual dynamic, of power in itself. This study undermines the conventional wisdom that Zen ideals linked to the samurai were responsible for the manner in which power was conceptualized in medieval Japan, and instead argues that Shingon ritual specialists prolonged the conflict and enforced the new notion that loyal service trumped the merit of those who simply requested compensation for their acts. Ultimately, Shingon mimetic ideals enhanced warrior power and enabled Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, rather than the reigning emperor, to assert sovereign authority in Japan. Cover Table of Contents Prologue Reconstructing Ritual Actions through Shingon Sources The Limitations of the Taiheiki, Japan’s Fourteenth-Century Epic The Later Reputations of Chikafusa and Kenshun Introduction The Transformation of Court Ritual The Masters of Precedent The Significance of the Court in Medieval Japan Overview 1. The Rise of the Administrative Nobility Proprietary Provinces Talent, Ambition and the Competition of Ideas Hino Toshimitsu Disputed Succession to the Throne Toshimitsu’s Influence in the Jimyō’in Court Eclipse Hino Sukena and the Ephemeral Revival of Jimyō’in Fortunes 2. Kitabatake Chikafusa and the Unveiling of Court Secrets The Early Career of Kitabatake Chikafusa “The Precedent of the Future” and Go-Daigo’s Assault on Secrecy Court Commanders Kitabatake Akiie Regalia as the Basis for Southern Court Legitimacy A Brief History of the Regalia The Sacred Geography of the Southern Court Southern Court Territory as a “Land of the Gods” Eastern Endeavors and Failures Principles and Prophecy Sustaining the Struggling Southern Court 3. The Master of Ritual The Role of Protector Monks (Gojisō) Charismatic Monks (Geza) The Increasing Prominence of Shingon Buddhism Go-Uda’s Attempt to Unify Shingon Thought The Early Career of Sanbō’in Kenshun Monkan and the Religious Policies of Go-Daigo’s Regime A New Religious and Political Order The Establishment of the Ashikaga Bakufu Creating a Sanbō’in Monzeki The Ritual Master Cultic Sites in the Capital Access and Influence Intermediary for Court and Bakufu Asserting Ritual Power over the Southern Court’s Cosmogram Coordinating Rival Sects Demonstrating Ritual Determinism: The Futama Kannon The 1348 Offensive and Ritual Warring Displacing the Sovereign 4. The Destruction of Precedent The Fracturing Ashikaga Order Competing Notions of Court Legitimacy Chikafusa’s Gambit The Rupture Death and Legacy 5. Creating Court and Sovereign Eclipse: The Warrior Gojisō Opportunistic Rivals Takauji’s Restoration The New Northern Court An Unprecedented Enthronement Demanding Devotion and Enforcing Service Kenshun’s Accumulation of Lands and Offices The Decentering of the Capital Ritual Mastery and Shingon Secrecy "His Glory Knows No Bounds" 6. The End of the Past The Succession The Personalization of State Rituals Sanbō’in Regional Influence Proprietary Provinces Gaining Control of Contested Lands Rebuilding and Reinventing the Center The Intermediary (Baikai) Contentious Relations with Religious Institutions The 1375 Ceremony of Great Thanksgiving The Consequences of Shedding Precedent The Loss of Secrets 7. The Ashikaga Emperor Establishing a Sovereign Presence Yoshimitsu’s Promotions and Ritual Freedom The Enablers Ritual Assertions of Sovereignty Pilgrimages and Processions The Sovereign Presence A New Geography of Capital Death and Legacy Epilogue: The Unraveling Glossary Bibliography Index Rather Than Looking At The Collapse Of Japan's First Warrior Government As The Manipulation Of Rival Courts By Warrior Factions, This Study Argues That The Crucial Ideological Conflict Of The 14th Century Was Between The Conservative Forces Of Ritual Precedent And The Ritual Determinists Steeped In Shingon Buddhism. The Rise Of The Administrative Nobility -- Kitabatake Chikafusa And The Unveiling Of Court Secrets -- The Master Of Ritual -- The Destruction Of Precedent -- Creating Court And Sovereign -- The End Of The Past -- The Ashikaga Emperor -- Epilogue: The Unraveling. Thomas Donald Conlan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Fourteenth-century Japan witnessed a conflict about the nature of power that was expressed through the rituals and institutions of two rival courts. Ultimately, political authority came to be asserted through the language of esoteric Buddhist rituals, which determined the parameters of political possibility in Japan.