The origins of Japan's medieval world : courtiers, clerics, warriors, and peasants in the fourteenth century

This pioneering collection of fifteen essays proposes to change the way we think about fourteenth-century Japan and what preceded and followed it. Most notable is the search for Japan’s medieval beginnings, which are found not in the developments flowing from the establishment of the first shogunate in the 1180’s, but rather in the shogunate’s collapse 150 years later. In this admittedly controversial interpretation, the Kamakura age becomes the final episode in Japan’s late classical period, with the courtier and warrior regimes of that era together seeking to maintain the traditional order. But under the leadership of Japan’s first truly “medieval men” (the emperor Go-Daigo and Ashikaga Takauji), the old order was dramatically transformed. In the editor’s words, “the rules changed, new behavior was everywhere, the past was only one of several competing influences. After the better part of a millennium, the spell cast by courtiers was finally broken.” Among the topics treated are the strange new partnerships within the social hierarchy, the impact of sustained warfare on societal values, the new subservience of women in the post-Kamakura environment, the unprecedented emergence of warriors as the moralists and spokesmen of a new age, and the appearance of a new, more sharply partisan religious sectarianism. In addition, we are shown the fragility of a history now dependent on battlefield success, the assumption of control of imperial poetic anthologies by warriors, the condition of the old and new Buddhist establishments, the paradox of warrior flamboyance and warrior stolidity, and the imposition of enduring village names. This Pioneering Collection Proposes To Change The Way We Think About Fourteenth-century Japan. It Argues That Japan's Medieval Beginnings Are Found Not In The Developments Flowing From The Establishment Of The First Shogunate In The 1180s, But Rather In The Shogunate's Collapse 150 Years Later. Under The Leadership Of Japan's Truly 'medieval Men' (the Emperors Go-daigo And Ashikaga Takauji), The Old Order Was Dramatically Transformed. Topics Examined Include New Partnerships Within The Social Hierarchy, The Impact Of Sustained Warfare On Societal Values, The New Subservience Of Women In The Post-kamakura Environment, The Unprecedented Emergence Of Warriors As The Moralists And Spokesmen Of A New Age, And The Appearance Of A New, More Sharply Partisan Religious Sectarianism. Of Hierarchy And Authority At The End Of Kamakura / Jeffrey P. Mass -- Largesse And The Limits Of Loyalty In The Fourteenth Century / Thomas Conlan -- The Kikuchi And Their Enemies In The 1330s / Seno Seiichirō -- Bakufu And Shugo Under The Early Ashikaga / Thomas Nelson -- Peasants, Elites, And Villages In The Fourteenth Century / Kristina Kade Troost -- Visions Of An Emperor / Andrew Goble -- Re-envisioning Women In The Post-kamakura Age / Hitomi Tonomura -- Warrior Control Over The Imperial Anthology / Robert N. Huey -- Cultural Life Of The Warrior Elite In The Fourteenth Century / H. Paul Varley -- The Warrior As Ideal For A New Age / G. Cameron Hurst Iii -- Enryakuji: An Old Power In A New Era / Mikael Adolphson -- Musō Soseki / Martin Collcutt -- Kokan Shiren And The Sectarian Uses Of History / Carl Bielefeldt -- Ashikaga Takauji And The Fourteenth-century Dynastic Schism In Early Tokugawa Thought / I.j. Mcmullen -- The Fourteenth Century In Twentieth-century Perspective / Ōyama Kyōhei. Edited By Jeffrey P. Mass. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [451]-476) And Index.