Imperial Household Research Articles

Art and Palace Politics in Early Modern Japan, 1580s–1680s by Elizabeth Lillehoj (review)

Reviewed by: Art and Palace Politics in Early Modern Japan, 1580s–1680s by Elizabeth Lillehoj Andrew L. Maske (bio) Art and Palace Politics in Early Modern Japan, 1580s–1680s. By Elizabeth Lillehoj. Brill, Leiden, 2011. 296 pages. €96.00. A book with a title that includes the term “Palace Politics” inspires the mind with imaginings of romantic settings that serve as sites for illicit liaisons [End Page 159] and conspiracies involving succession to the throne and, perhaps, mysterious murders. While none of these plays a major role in this valuable volume by Elizabeth Lillehoj, there is plenty of intriguing information about the essential role that artistic endeavors played in shaping the profile of the Japanese imperial court from the late sixteenth century through the late seventeenth century. During the post–World War II period, the Momoyama through early Edo periods have been a favorite with history buffs in Japan, but much of the focus has been on prominent members of the military aristocracy. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, these warlords competed for territory but ultimately formed alliances that resulted in reunification of the country and ushered in an extended period of peace. The triumphs and tragedies of the warrior class during a significant and compelling time in the formation of early modern Japan appealed to a public searching for inspiring domestic models as Japanese sought to rebuild after their most recent encounter with war devastation. In contrast, there has been less popular interest in the activities of the imperial court during the same period, even though scholars have recognized the important influence of the court on the development of art and culture. Art and Palace Politics in Early Modern Japan provides ample evidence of how the imperial court, especially the emperors Go-Yōzei and Go-Mizunoo and the empress Tōfukumon’in, played essential roles in the development of elite culture during arguably one of the most artistically innovative centuries of Japanese history. Elizabeth Lillehoj is a prominent specialist in this area of art history, having edited a volume of essays on painting in seventeenth-century Japan in 2004 (Critical Perspectives on Classicism in Japanese Painting, 1600–1700 [University of Hawai‘i Press]). That book featured contributions by many leading scholars in the field, and their research informs many parts of the current work. The book begins with an overview of studies of the topic to date and an introduction of the volume’s primary objectives. Lillehoj points out that scholarly characterizations of the early seventeenth century (centered on the Kan’ei era of 1624–44) as a “classical revival” of Heian court culture are somewhat misleading, since court culture and imperial influence continued to have significant impact during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. In the late sixteenth century, the warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi made use of the imperial institution to bolster their own prestige and gain credibility for their own attempts to reunify the country after more than a century of internecine war. Starting with the activities of Emperor Go-Yōzei following his ascension in 1586, the author uses both artworks and broader cultural activity to explore the influence of the imperial household in the political, religious, and cultural arenas over nearly a century. As such, she treats artworks as “non-textural artifacts” that provide a counterbalance [End Page 160] to historical texts such as records, diaries, and letters that tend to focus on only the most powerful segment of the population (i.e., elite males). This approach has enabled Lillehoj to focus a significant part of the book on the activities of Empress Tōfukumon’in, who, she asserts, has been largely ignored as a patron of the arts. The main body of the book proceeds roughly chronologically, first examining the relationship between Emperor Go-Yōzei and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Chapter 1 explores a number of ways in which artworks, architecture, and grand occasions were intertwined to create, maintain, and amplify the impact of authority on a diverse populace. For example, Emperor Go-Yōzei’s excursion to Hideyoshi’s Jurakutei mansion enhanced imperial prestige by enabling the emperor to progress in ceremonial splendor through the streets of the capital, while Hideyoshi acquired...

近代の小田原城址における所有と利用の変遷及び風致保存の思想

This study clarifies changes in land ownership and land usage at the site of Odawara castle in modern times and considers corresponding thoughts regarding scenic preservation. The castle buildings were demolished when Odawara castle was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Wood and stones were carted off for use as building materials, and no thought was given to scenic preservation. In 1890 the site was purchased by the Okubo family, descendants of the former feudal lord. Two Shinto shrines were constructed. In 1899 the site came under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department, which intended it for use as an Imperial villa, and this ensured the scenic preservation of the site. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 caused extensive damage. Odawara town government purchased a portion of the site in order to build two schools. In addition, Odawara town government partially reconstructed the stone walls that had collapsed in the earthquake and built a public park. Later, the remainder of the site was sold to Kanagawa prefectural government, but no full-scale effort at quake-proofing or parkbuilding was mounted. Nevertheless, the site was designated as a scenic district, ensuring its protection.

Ordering the Tsar's Household: Winter Palace Servants in Nineteenth‐Century St. Petersburg

During the “apogee of autocracy” Russian monarchs successfully deployed their baroque masterpiece, the Winter Palace, as a stage within which and from which they could convey messages about monarchy to the people who lived in their capital city. The importance of retaining the deference of urban crowds had been made manifest in the wake of the French Revolution. Chief among the intermediaries of the tsars' household were the middle and lower ranks of the people who worked and served in the Palace. This article describes the ways that city people entered and exited Palace service, rendering porous the border between the city and the Palace. The article also explores the living and working experience of Palace servants as well as the impressions of the imperial household that they may have carried into the city.

The System of Ginseng Gathering and Merchants of Imperial Household Department (nei-wu fu) in Early Qing Dynasty

The System of Ginseng Gathering and Merchants of Imperial Household Department (nei-wu fu) in Early Qing Dynasty

近代の小田原城址における県立公園構想の背景と経過

In the decade before World War II there was a plan to turn the site of Odawara castle into a prefectural park. This study clarifies the background and progress of the plan, focusing on the expectations and aims of the town of Odawara, and the consciousness and initiatives of Kanagawa Prefecture, toward the prefectural park idea. Odawara requested that the Imperial Household Department, which had jurisdiction over the site, sell it off. In addition to repeated requests that the site be sold, Odawara negotiated with Kanagawa Prefecture on turning a portion of it into a prefectural park. Odawara hoped that the prefecture would undertake the task of building the park. In 1938 the central portion was transferred to Kanagawa Prefecture, and Odawara expressed a strong wish that it be made a prefectural park. The prefecture was studying the possibility of building a prefectural park and selected the Odawara castle site as one of seven candidate locations. Beginning in fiscal 1938 on-site surveys were carried out using funding budgeted for a survey of possible prefectural park locations, and park plans were drawn up. The department responsible for parks hoped that funds would be budgeted for the building of prefectural parks, but the financial affairs department rejected the request. The prefecture dispersed partial funding to the candidate sites, but no prefectural parks were officially buil.

Picturing Men and Women in the Chinese 1911 Revolution

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century many Han Chinese, under the leadership of Sun Yatsen (1866-1925) and others sought to overthrow the Manchu Qing dynasty. This movement culminated in the Revolution which began in October 1911 and ultimately deposed the Qing imperial household, permitting the establishment of a republican government. As the Revolution progressed, the commercial popular print business, through inexpensive lithographs and woodblock prints, provided citizens with illustrations of important events in the Revolution, as well as portraits of male and female participants. Modern commentary on these prints identifies the subjects depicted, but neglects the artistic elements. To fill this gap, this study examines the artistic aspects of these prints and reveals that the source of the compositional formats lies in well-established formulae, some of which go back to the eighteenth century. For specific portraits of male participants in particular, print designers often relied on current photographs, thus melding old and new. For representations of female military participants, print designers, mostly eschewing photographs of them, provided imaginary portraits, some of which are based on depictions of anonymous women, again, already a part of the print legacy. The prints frequently feature two military women famous at the time, one real (Cao Daoxin) and one fictional (Xu Wuying); this essay explains how and why images of them were so widespread in the popular print media.

明治宮殿造営組織における図工の職務と就業状況

Meiji Imperial Palace and its building agency are the milestone of the modern architecture in Japan. In this study, duties and employment of the draft men were analyzed by the documents of the Imperial Household Agency, and their details were considered by the diary of Chiyotaro Tenaka who had been at the Miyadaiku family.As the result, some facts are developed such as; drafting and the part of planning were shouldered by the draft men, who were tested to measure their skills, about a half of them were promoted to the full-time building engineer for the national agencies.

Katsura Imperial Villa: A Brief Descriptive Bibliography, with Illustrations

Author(s): Buntrock, Dana | Abstract: There are three imperial residences in Kyoto: Gosho (京都御所), rebuilt in 1855 and used for formal affairs even today; Shūgakuin (修学院離宮), a summer retreat on mountain slopes built in the mid-seventeenth century; and Katsura Imperial Retreat (桂離宮), slightly older than Shūgakuin. Upon the death of the Hachijō imperial line in 1881, Katsura came into the hands of the reigning household; shortly afterward, the Imperial Household Ministry was formed and took responsibility for the care of such sites. Sometimes grouped with the other residences, Nijō Palace was originally built not for the imperial household but for the warriors who effectively ruled Japan from the seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth century; today, it too is managed by the Imperial Household Agency (the scope and name of the Imperial Household Ministry having changed at the end of World War II). Of these four, Katsura, with its extensive grounds and esteemed teahouses in addition to a large, shoin-style residence, is best known of all, used both at home and abroad to illustrate arguments about architecture and national tradition. Yet even so, much remains to be said about the complex, as demonstrated by this brief descriptive bibliography. Download High-Resolution PDF

THE NEW THREE-DIMENSIONAL VISUALIZATION METHOD OF HERITAGE SITES BY LIDAR DATA

Abstract. We introduce a new visualization method for the three dimensional data with laser scanning from helicopter to express of the detailed landscape with "Red Relief Image Map (RRIM)"and "3D-Viewer". This RRIM and 3D-Viewer’s method effectively represent 3D topographic information without any additional devices and stereopsis ability for the audience only through two dimensional medium and shows an appropriate form of every feature in the site. Chapters present what the laser scanning from helicopter is and show some examples of mounded tombs with RRIM and 3D-Viewer. This visualization technique including detailed topographical information and geographical coordinates can be directly linked to CAD and GIS system, therefore the LiDAR can easily produce a contour line, a cross section and a bird's-eye view at any place as well as measure the height of trees. This is different from other 3D topographic image with a shadow effect. Vegetation on the site is no longer obstacle to get detailed topographical information. Therefore, in Japan, this method is useful for huge mounded tombs thickly covered with trees, especially "Ryo-bo (imperial tomb)"which are administrated by the Imperial Household Agency and common people can't enter. Also a cluster of small mounded tombs which extend in the vast area called "Gunshufun" is shown effectively for the location of each mounded tomb. This method is suitable for understanding the structure of the sites in any wide spread archaeological fields. Moreover, in the management of heritages it is important that these data present precise information of the surface of lands to understand the present situation of heritages. Detailed topographical information by "LiDAR and Red Relief Image Map and 3DViewer" will open a new gate for managing of cultural heritage sites in the future.

Kokka (1889)

Kokka (1889) Okakura Kakuzō and Timothy Unverzagt Goddard (bio) Art is the flowering of a nation. Its form amalgamates and crystallizes those ideas that the people revere, admire, and cherish, and to which they aspire. Accordingly, by looking at the spirit and dignity of an artwork, one can judge the level of a culture; by the depth of its poetic resonance and taste, one can discern the refinement of a people. The arts of Japan have excelled since ancient times: the exquisite appearance of Buddhist statues, the high refinement of landscapes, the appeal of picture scrolls showing the lives of holy men, the poetic charm of flower and animal paintings—all of them cast a shadow behind art's lens. They illuminate era after era in the temples of Nara and Heian, making manifest the exquisiteness of ancient times. Extending down to the early modern era, they are like a hundred floral brocades in a forest of ink. Delicate plum blossoms and sumptuous peonies, together emanating their splendor, impart their fragrance and brilliance to one thousand years of history. Art is truly the legacy of successive reigns, virtuous sages, and great benevolence, as we evoke the spirit of our ancestors and gather together their flowering petals. We are charged with the truly urgent responsibility of preserving and developing these characteristics, which bequeath their brave radiance to posterity and to all four corners of the world. Now is a rare and glorious time, the enlightened reign of Meiji. In this era, we search for models everywhere, drawing on ancient and modern times, and seek knowledge broadly, from the East and West. We shall extol the exemplary achievements of the Meiji Restoration and encourage a demeanor of refinement and elegance. And we will forge a path for industry and the economy. It is my hope that this publication of Kokka will serve to express opinions concerning the promotion, preservation, supervision, and instruction of the arts; propose objectives for the preservation and development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and the various branches of the art industry;1 and display the flowering essence of this nation and its people. [End Page 176] In this world, just as in Buddhist practice, it is no easy matter to overcome the hindrances that lie before one's eyes, cross to the other shore, defeat the demons of the realm of desire, and gaze upon all phenomena in their suchness. When one cultivates a lotus with great care and is besieged by wind and rain, only a country bumpkin notices the whiff of its autumnal fragrance at a rustic bamboo fence. On the other hand, when one plants a willow without particular care, it grows to fill the heavens with cotton-like seeds, and in casting myriad threads, it attracts and moves human emotions. Is not the way of the arts similarly difficult? In my opinion, the enterprises that its future organization demands ought not be limited to one. We may well ask whether current methods of the administration of the arts sufficiently fulfill the responsibilities of effective management and ensure adherence to established practices and regulations. At present, the Imperial Household Ministry is responsible for the investigation of national treasures, the Ministry of Home Affairs oversees the preservation of shrines and temples, education in the arts falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce manages art exhibitions.2 With various functions divided among ministries in this manner, we cannot yet ask for a governmental agency to assume responsibility for art in its entirety. Not only are we unable to follow the lead of countries such as France and Italy in establishing a ministry devoted exclusively to the arts, but it is also impossible to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the arts in the absence of an administrative entity that oversees these various projects. At the very least, if in the struggle between Japan and foreign countries we wish to meet on equal footing, then we must harness the artistic power of the entire nation and admonish the leadership, or else we will be unable to make the vanguard and the reserves obey their respective commands. We may well ask, has...

Japan im Pazifischen Krieg: Herrschaftssystem, politische Willensbildung und Friedenssuche (review)

Reviewed by: Japan im Pazifischen Krieg: Herrschaftssystem, politische Willensbildung und Friedenssuche Peter Pantzer Japan im Pazifischen Krieg: Herrschaftssystem, politische Willensbildung und Friedenssuche. By Gerhard Krebs. Munich: Iudicium, 2010. 936 pages. Hardcover €98.00. Upon finishing this formidable tome of almost one thousand pages, my sense was that readers could only find it, as I did, emotionally stirring. The book—whose title translates into English as Japan in the Pacific War: The System of Government, the Political Decision-making Process, and the Quest for Peace—tells the story of the rise and fall, and the fortunes and misfortunes, of an influential Japanese elite—events constituting the most dramatic years in modern Japanese history. By choosing the ideals of civilization and enlightenment, Japan joined the West to become a responsible member of the international community, its diplomats an asset to the nation. The country then took a path that would lead to dire consequences. How did all this come about? Why, during the 1930s, did Japan turn so militaristic? Aggressive toward its neighbors and ruthlessly exploiting the interests of other powers, Japan justified its crimes with a litany of excuses about their necessity for security and prosperity while suffocating its population under the guise of patriotism. Gerhard Krebs focuses on the Pacific War and on the opportunities Japan missed to maintain a peaceful status quo. The book begins at a time when the clear leadership that circumstances called for was not forthcoming and foreign relations had become conspicuously messy. The government, under the control of the army and navy, who—as the constitution unfortunately allowed—overturned the cabinet ad libitum, was caught up in the wrong kind of choices. Britain and the United States could no longer accept Japan's expansionism to the south and into the Asian continent, especially not its undeclared war in China. The situation [End Page 193] was worsened by Japan's growing alignment with the totalitarian regime in Nazi Germany. It was obvious the country was playing with fire. Joined by the Netherlands, including the Dutch Indies, Britain and the United States imposed an embargo on imports, which hit Japan hard as it badly needed energy and natural resources. The sanctions were not intended as mere economic measures but were an unambiguous strategy to force Japan to abandon her belligerent actions. But by August 1941, when China had been at war for four years and Europe was fearful that its own war would widen, Japan's radical militarists were already bent on taking Japan even further along its hostile path. The book aims to analyze the decision-making processes and to offer a close-up view of the councils, boards, and governmental bodies that in one way or another served the public interest. In doing so, it draws attention to new sources that have only become available in recent years. They include material hitherto unknown, often because people were hesitant to go public with diaries and records—whether because they were unaware of their historical value or reluctant to reveal themselves in a bad light, or out of consideration for their colleagues and their families. The first chapter discusses the constitutional background and lays out the main players. Many democratic institutions still in existence are easily recognizable, though of course they were under pressure from the military at the time. The emperor was surrounded by a considerable body of court officials, among them the minister of the Imperial Household (kunaidaijin), the lord keeper of the privy seal (naidaijin), the lord high chamberlain (jijūchō), and the aide-de-camp to the emperor (jijūbukanchō), the highest attendant to report on military affairs. From 1933, it was customary for former prime ministers to be selected as jūshin, serving as informal advisers to the emperor and replacing the select group of elder statesmen who had performed that function as genrō, a designation established in the early days of the Meiji government. Also near to the emperor were the Privy Council (sūmitsuin), and last but not least the Imperial Princes, who did not always agree with the emperor but were in a favorable position to tell him the truth when circumstances required. The princes were respected and were...

宮内庁正倉院事務所所蔵「聖語蔵経巻」のカラーCD-R化

宮内庁正倉院事務所所蔵「聖語蔵経巻」のカラーCD-R化

"State Shinto" in Recent Japanese Scholarship

"State Shinto" in Recent Japanese Scholarship Okuyama Michiaki (bio) Murakami Shigeyoshi's 村上重良 Kokka Shintō 国家神道, published in 1970 by Iwanami Shoten, has had a tremendous impact on subsequent understandings of its subject: the current widely held view that a discrete ideology called Kokka Shinto (State Shinto) actually existed in Japan until the conclusion of World War II was quite likely shaped by Murakami's work, an inexpensive, popular paperback (shinsho) that has been continuously reprinted over the years. As most readers are aware, the term "State Shinto" was drawn mainly from the language of the so-called Shinto Directive, 1 but we must recognize at the outset that it signifies not so much a firmly established historical entity as a cluster of phenomena perceived from the perspectives of various scholars and defined according to their particular purposes. In order to provide a framework for this discussion and deepen the debate on State Shinto, our task is, at a minimum, to specify the historical phenomena to which the term refers and clearly articulate Shinto's relationship to the state. [End Page 123] In 2010, forty years after the publication of Murakami's book, several retrospective studies were published that critically evaluate his work, signaling that it is time to reassess the literature on this controversial topic. This article focuses on the studies that have appeared in Japanese over the past few years. Following a brief review of representative definitions and general descriptions of State Shinto in standard reference works, I turn to an examination of recent retrospective studies on Murakami's theory of State Shinto and of several other key works. Some of the research of several scholars considered below—Isomae Jun'ichi 磯前順一, Hayashi Makoto 林淳, and Shimazono Susumu 島薗進—has already been published in English. I will omit discussion of these works here since they are already accessible to a wider audience. 2 I will concentrate instead on reviewing recent publications in Japanese and, hopefully, offer readers a clearer picture of where this field of research stands today. 3 Basic Definitions and Historical Perspectives Any discussion of State Shinto needs to bear in mind the distinction between "narrow" and "broad" definitions of the term. Nitta Hitoshi 新田均 is known for clarifying this distinction. 4 The "broad" understanding—which, in addition to Shrine Shinto, includes such dimensions as imperial household rituals and propagation through schools and media—can be traced back to the prewar period. In his genealogical analysis of the origins of these very different perspectives on State Shinto, Nitta explains that this approach "began in the prewar period with the work of Katō Genchi 加藤玄智 and D. C. Holtom. It entered the mainstream through the Shinto Directive, and it was further expanded by Fujitani Toshio 藤谷俊雄 to apply to a greater number of time periods and range of phenomena. Murakami Shigeyoshi consolidated Fujitani's wide-ranging views into a theory that became the basis for the way State Shinto came to be generally perceived. Murakami's theory, however, subsequently became the focus of much criticism, which made it difficult to sustain as it was originally framed. In this context, Miyachi Masato 宮地正人 advanced some revisions, Nakajima Michio 中島 三千男 offered his own reframing, and Yasumaru Yoshio 安丸良夫 attempted to take apart and reconstruct the broad perspective on State Shinto" (p. 6). The "narrow" view, which limits the notion of State Shinto to the situation when Shrine Shinto was under the state's control and administration, can be seen in the prewar government's position and in the work of Shinto scholars such as Ashizu Uzuhiko 葦津珍彦, Nishida Hiroyoshi 西田 廣義, and Sakamoto Koremaru 阪本是丸. Those who adopt this perspective maintain that State Shinto does not refer to the larger religious system of modern Japan or to phenomena beyond the state administration of Shrine Shinto. "Given that the proponents [of the narrow view] are often [End Page 124] viewed as only having offered partial criticisms of the broad definition," Nitta writes, "their position has been unable to achieve dominance in this field" (p. 6). 5 An examination of Nitta's interpretations of each of these scholars is beyond the scope of this review. Most notable among his contributions to contemporary discussions of State Shinto are his observation that both the "narrow" and "broad" definitions...

Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rhetoric by Erik Gunderson

BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 185 absence of the father of the household, women take on a pronounced role in the family and indeed subvert the generic norms of epic. Statius’ Achilleid also receives helpful treatment. Bernstein usefully points out that whereas fosterage in the Thebaid is destructive (e.g., Linus, Opheltes), Chiron’s rearing of Achilles is for the most part positive. Again, the Silvae, which present a more positive image of foster fathers, are productively used as a point of comparison, but this time to make the point that there is thematic overlap between one of Statius’ epics and his occasional poems. At the same time, however, the positive relationship between Achilles and Chiron introduces problems in that it creates a rival to the relationship between Achilles and his mother. Bernstein is certainly right in this regard, and he proceeds to show that Statius productively exploits this tension between Chiron’s nurturing and Achilles’ natural human and divine instincts. Nonetheless, the tension between the gendered modes of rearing that are represented by Thetis and Chiron seems to be underplayed; in discussing the important lion simile at 1.857–863 (123), for instance, Bernstein relates the trainer to Deidamia, but Thetis is the more likely point of contact between simile and narrative. If so, the more pressing matter seems to be the tension between Chiron’s hyper-masculine teaching and Thetis’ course of instruction about how to act like a girl. Overall, however, there are a lot of beneficial insights in this chapter. The chapter on the Punica focuses on individual characters. Hannibal, not surprisingly given the Vergilian Dido, is fated to repeat the mistakes and errors of his ancestors. For all his martial and paternal virtues, Fabius Cunctator ultimately proves to be an insufficient hero in that his absence from the army leads to disaffection from the troops. Pacuvius’ situation offers an example of how to act in accordance with virtue even if it goes against parental authority. Read against such characters, Scipio emerges as the true hero of the poem: he has both divine and human approval, and his dual descent (from Jupiter and from Scipio the Elder) naturally enhances his status. Bernstein relates Scipio’s public and personal virtues to the imperial household and Domitian, with the important caveat that blood relations (i.e., paternity and ancestry) do not ensure legitimacy or performance, a point that leads to the penultimate chapter on the way in which Flavian epic, building upon the model of Lucan, constructs kinship in a way that counters the focus in Augustan epic upon the importance of the bloodlines of Julius Caesar and Augustus. In sum, this book advances the study of Flavian epic. Its focus on the theme of family provides a productive way into these four epics and their relationship to the Roman poetic tradition; the complexity of the topic and the scope of the book preclude any word from being definitive, but Bernstein’s work will be essential to any discussion of the topic. Georgetown University Charles McNelis Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rhetoric. Edited by Erik Gunderson. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. 2009. Pp. x, 313. In rhetorical studies, as in many areas of classics these days, there has developed somewhat of a split between traditionalists, who see rhetoric primarily as an educational system intended to teach students how to speak persuasively, and modernists, who look on rhetorical and oratorical texts primarily as social documents. The first group tends to work internally; the second tends to look at rhetoric from the outside. I am a traditionalist. I 186 PHOENIX am one of those people who are fascinated by what Henderson calls in the conclusion to this book “reams of mind-rot awaiting the unwary” (279) in manuals of rhetoric. I have even been known to engage in “mind-numbing enumeration” (287). This book tries to satisfy proponents of each view of rhetoric. Some of the essays are very traditional (e.g., Heath); others deal with what is referred to in this volume as “antirhetoric ” (279), what people like me would probably call “non-rhetoric,” discussions that deal not with the rhetorical system, but with the implications of that system for ancient societies...

Unspoken Collusions: The Empowerment of Yuanming yuan Eunuchs in the Qianlong Period

Norman Kutcher illuminates the domestic exercise of imperial power in the Qianlong reign by examining the management of eunuchs at Yuanming yuan, the emperor’s beloved palace complex in northwest Beijing. Correcting the portrayal of the Qianlong emperor as a harsh disciplinarian, he shows that a eunuch shortage and the court’s desire to retain young eunuchs prompted police and Imperial Household officials, with the emperor’s quiet approval, to treat these individuals with increasing lenience. These circumstances fostered the empowerment of eunuchs, increasing their ability to fade into the group, to move with considerable freedom between palaces and within Beijing, and to enrich themselves through connections with the non-eunuch world. The growing privilege of eunuchs survived the attempted crackdown on eunuch power that came during the Jiaqing reign. Kutcher thus corrects the essentialist view that eunuchs possessed a uniform personality throughout time.

The Anatomy of Japan's Shifting Security Orientation

On June 2, 2010, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's farewell address included the parting shot that “I do not believe it is a good idea for Japan to depend on the United States for her security over t...

“For the Firm Maintenance of the Dignity and Tranquility of the Imperial Family”: Law and Familial Order in the Romanov Dynasty

AbstractThis article examines the Law of Succession and the Statute on the Imperial Family, texts which were issued by Emperor Paul I on April 5, 1797, and which regulated the succession to the throne and the structure of the Romanov dynasty as a family down to the end of the empire in 1917. It also analyzes the revisions introduced in these texts by subsequent emperors, focusing particularly on the development of a requirement for equal marriage and for marrying Orthodox spouses. The article argues that changing circumstances in the dynasty—its rapid increase in numbers, its growing demands on the financial resources of the Imperial Household, its struggle to resist morganatic and interfaith marriages—forced changes to provisions in the Law and Statute, and that the Romanovs debated and reformed the structure of the Imperial Family in the context of the provisions of these laws. The article shows how these Imperial House laws served as a vitally important arena for reform and legal culture in pre-revolutionary Russia.

The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan. Architecture and the Art of the Nation

In pre-modern Japan there was no museum, not even a word or concept for ‘museum’. Many collections of what now we call works of art existed, but were in the hands of private individuals and temples. The first Japanese museum, today's Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park, did not grow, like many of its European counterparts, out of a wish or need to house and display to the public an already formed collection. Set up in 1871 in the early Meiji era (1868-1912), this museum building and collection resulted instead from the efforts of a few officials. During their travels in Europe in the 1860s they had recognized the importance of cultural institutions like museums and industrial exhibitions for their country's future, and they made the construction of a museum a priority for their new government. Initially, the museum in Ueno was expected to grow into a non-governmental institution like the British Museum or the South Kensington Museum, with independent funding and collections. Thirty years later, however, it came to belong to the imperial house. This jurisdictional change developed gradually from 1886, starting with the transfer of the museum's administration to the Imperial Household Ministry, a department soon to be detached from the constitutional government system and increasingly dedicated to the direct service of the emperor and his household. In 1889, it was named the Imperial Museum (Teikoku Hakubutsukan), although the government still owned the museum building and collection. And, in 1900 that name gave way to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu) Museum. Thus, ‘the Imperial Museums’ of Alice Tseng's monograph in strictly jurisdictional terms existed only from 1889 to 1900, a decade when the Imperial Household as the Museum's administrator constructed two satellite Imperial Museums on its own land in the ancient capitals, Kyoto and Nara.

The politics of visualizing an imperial demise: transforming a Byzantine chronicle into a Sicilian visual narrative

A large, brightly painted, gilded image renders in graphic detail the discarding of the body of a slain Byzantine emperor, blood still dripping from his neck. On the middle of the same page in this...

The history of modern Japanese education: constructing the national school system, 1872-1890

The History of Modern Japanese Education is the first account in English of the construction of a national school system in Japan, as outlined in the 1872 document, the Gakusei. Divided into three parts tracing decades of change, the book begins by exploring the feudal background for the Gakusei during the Tokugawa era which produced the initial leaders of modern Japan. Next, Benjamin Duke traces the Ministry of Education's investigations of the 1870s to determine the best western model for Japan, including the decision to adopt American teaching methods. He then goes on to cover the eventual reverse course sparked by the Imperial Household protest that the western model overshadowed cherished Japanese traditions. Ultimately, the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Education integrated Confucian teachings of loyalty and filial piety with Imperial ideology, laying the moral basis for a western-style academic curriculum in the nation's schools.