Muromachi Period Research Articles

English-Language Studies of Medieval Japan: An Assessment

A number of English-language scholarly studies of medieval Japanese institutional history have appeared in print in the past few years. This seems a fitting time to appraise their contribution to our understanding of Japanese history from late Heian through the Muromachi period, ca. A.D. 1100 to 1600. I do not intend to evaluate the works as individual monographs, but rather to consider their larger cumulative historiographical significance. After summarizing the main interpretive constructs used by scholars writing in English I will discuss ways in which the recent works have and have not enriched these constructs or suggested helpful new ones.

Japanese Ink Paintings from American Collections: The Muromachi Period, An Exhibition in Honor of Shūjirō Shimada

Japanese Ink Paintings from American Collections: The Muromachi Period, An Exhibition in Honor of Shūjirō Shimada

On the door panel paintings of landscapes in the Muromachi period

On the door panel paintings of landscapes in the Muromachi period

米原正義著「戦国武士と文芸の研究」によせて( 室町期の文学)

米原正義著「戦国武士と文芸の研究」によせて( 室町期の文学)

Three Poets at Yuyama. Sogi and Yuyama Sangin Hyakuin, 1491

j N 1971, among the new slim volumes of verse to find its way to a few obscure bookstores in the English-speaking world was one entitled Renga: A Chain of Poems.' To the surprise of most Japanologists, however, the authors of the book were not scholars of Japanese literature, but four major Western poetsOctavio Paz, Jacques Roubaud, Eduardo Sanguinetti, and Charles Tomlinsonwho seem to have taken an interest in a poetic genre that students of the court tradition have long neglected. One hopes, although only guardedly, that the experiments of so erudite a group of poets will spark more academic inquiry into a poetic form that is distinctive in world literature. The renga is the major poetic genre of the Muromachi period, 1336-1568. Its most immediately striking characteristic is that it is the product not of one poet, but of two or more met together in a formal renga session-each composing stanzas of seventeen or fourteen syllables in turn. Any two such stanzas comprise a complete tanka; and the renga, first practiced as a verse-capping game by Heian courtiers, is indeed best described in the early stages of its historical development as one tanka composed by two poets. In its later history, however, the genre becomes distinct, at least in form, from the tanka, with a standard length of a hundred verses, a host of rules and conventions of its own, and a unique artistic character. The unique character of the art is unfortunately not easy to describe. Konishi Jin'ichi has said that 'the essence of renga is the essentially meaningless pattern of images.'2 Not accomplished by adherence to any preconceived topic or theme, progression from one verse to another in linked verse is dependent on the educated whims of its creators. And the pattern of this progression is indeed meaningless, in the sense that no one idea gives unity to all the verses of a sequence. This is not

Bakufu Bugyonin: The Size of the Lower Bureaucracy in Muromachi Japan

Scholars of medieval Japanese history are not often blessed with sufficient statistical data to employ it systematically in their analysis of problems in the political, social, and economic history of the period. Yet in certain limited areas of investigation, enough information does exist to permit independent testing of the validity of conclusions that have been based on the historian's examination of the archival record—for example, the lower bureaucracy during the Muromachi period (1336–1573), which consisted of a group of officials known as the bugyōnin.

日本海および東シナ海沿岸の主な海岸砂丘地帯の形成期と固定期について

This paper consists of the history of the formation of the sand dune region and some conditions of the sand dune forming periods and the sand fixing periods in five sand dune regions, the Fukiagehama region (in Kagoshima Prefecture), the Genkai region (in Fukuoka Prefecture), the Yahata region (in Niigata Prefecture), the Shonai region (in Yamagata Prefecture) and the Akita region (in Akita Prefecture). The following results were obtained;1) Many of the sand dune regions are thought to have been formed after the formation of the sand bar caused by a rise of the sea level during the Jomon transgression (7, 000-5, 000y.B.P.).2) Some buried humic sand beds are intercalated in the aeolian sand layer, and they indicates the time under the sand fixing condition. The buried humic sand beds are colored brown-dark brown-blackish brown-black, and are called the Kurosuna bed.3) In Fukiagehama region, one Kurosuna bed and one black humic ash bed are observed.In the Genkai region, five Kurosuna beds are intercalated. They suggests that the time of the early Jomon culture period (about 5, 300C-14y.B.P.), the middle-later Jomon period (about 3, 400C-14y.B.P.), the Yayoi-Heian period (about 2, 000-1, 000y.B.P.), the Muromachi period (about 500y.B.P.) and after 500y.B.P.In the Yahata region, one Kurosuna bed is observed, and the upper aeolian sand bed covering the Kurosuna bed was supplied with the little transgression about 1, 000y.B.P.Three Kurosuna beds are intercalated in the Shonai sand dunes. After the Kohun period (about 1, 400-1, 300y.B.P.), much volume of the sand was supplied from the seacoast.The Akita region is composed of many parallel sand ridges. Between the ridges are belts of marshes or shallow lakes, which are parallel to the shoreline. These many sand ridges are grouped into three. The inner and the middle ridges were formed from the early Jomon to the late Jomon. The outer one were formed after the late Jomon, and are the largest in scale.4) The stable period from the middle Jomon to the Kohun period was common to these regions, but in details these ages are different due to the local conditions.5) After the Kohun period, the supply of the sand was increased through these regions.

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 4) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学研究 No.14)

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 4) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学研究 No.14)

「かたち」を決めるものは何か

Mr. I. Shinji, in his essay of Zoen-zassi, vol.33, No.4, made an attempt to attribute designs of socalled Japanese gardens to a group of craftsmen in our Middle Ages, “Senzui-kawaramono.” He repudiates the notion that forms are originated by a religion or a thought, because an abstract, purely theoretical thought can bring forth no form, no dasign. So, he maintains that, Senzui-kawaramono, who actually moved rocks and planted trees, made up the style of Japanese gardens by copying the natural landscape of dry river bed which were their house site.But I do not agree with what he says. Can religion give no form? S. Kimura says that the image always precedes the idea in the human history (nor this is his original theory; there are E. Cassirer's and H. Read's basic works about this). Form was functional by origin. “The achievements of art always represent the fulfillment of what is desired.” (worringer) And, there is no such thing as an exact imitation of nature, because “tha eye is a part of the mind.” (Leo Steinberg)In Japan, though we had our own forms already in our prehistoric times, many exotic, influential forms together with Buddhism flowed into this countory from China. Not that people's devotion to Buddha made them worship those Buddhistic symbols, but the new religion gradually took definite shape round these new symbols. The forms, inevitably and subtly, underwent a process which might be called “Japanization” when they were copied again and again in methods originally learnt from Chinese artisans. Thus, tradition of Japanese art was born. As human consciousness widens and changes, forms themselves evolve; by refining accepted symbols or by finding new symbols.In Muromachi period, a number of fine gardens were built by KawaramoNo.In my opinion, these were not imitation of dry river bed, but were the result of some new attempts to transmute and reduce visible aspect of nature into symbolic patterns, probably under the influence of landscape paintings of Sung dynasty.

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 2) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学的研究 No.12)

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 2) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学的研究 No.12)

ON THE RELATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE BUDDIST ARCHITECTURE IN THE MUROMACHI PERIOD. NO.2 : A study on the proportional system in the Japanese traditional style. (Statistical Analysis of the Specimens. No.12)

ON THE RELATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE BUDDIST ARCHITECTURE IN THE MUROMACHI PERIOD. NO.2 : A study on the proportional system in the Japanese traditional style. (Statistical Analysis of the Specimens. No.12)

The Imagawa Letter: A Muromachi Warrior's Code of Conduct Which Became a Tokugawa Schoolbook

T r O THE JAPANESE of the Tokugawa era, 'Imagawa'1 had two meanings. In the first place it was the name of a warrior clan that had been active and influential during the Muromachi period. Secondly, it meant a particular kind of primer. Most Tokugawa primers served two purposes: as copybooks they taught writing, and as textbooks they taught ethics, history, and the formalities of written correspondence. Many primers were actually collections of model letters, to which had been added vocabularies and some encyclopedic information. In the private schools,2 in which the children of commoners were educated, teaching materials rarely went beyond such primers, whereas the fief schools3 for samurai children started their pupils as soon as possible on a classical Chinese curriculum of the Four Books and the Five Classics. Most primers were intended to teach those facts and expressions which were useful in the gainful occupation of commoners,4 but a few texts were composed with the moral instruction of samurai in view.5 To this class of texts belonged what was commonly called the 'Imagawa Letter',6 translated below. The Letter was studied by the sons of samurai and of commoners alike from the time of Ieyasu until the beginning of the Meiji period.7 An adapted version for girls, Onna Imagawa,8 was extensively used in female education after it first appeared in 1700.

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 1) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学的研究 No.11)

室町時代寺院建築における寸法関係について (その 1) : 和様建築における寸法比例の研究 (実測数値による統計学的研究 No.11)

The Characteristics of Jodo Sect in Muromachi Period

The Characteristics of Jodo Sect in Muromachi Period

Origins of The Companion Library: An Anthology of Medieval Japanese Stories

Around 1700, the Osaka publisher Shibukawa seiemon collected and printed twenty-three medieval short stories and put them on sale labelled Otogi bunko, or The Companion Library. Shibukawa's sales techniques, aimed at selling his anthology to female readers, led later scholars to view these stories anachronistically as women's literature from the Muromachi period. Evidence from medieval diaries, however, makes it clear that these stories were not originally written for women. To date close to five hundred of these largely anonymous stories have emerged to form a substantial medieval genre. Although present scholarship tends to seek authorship of the stories through analysis of social classes depicted in them, it is submitted that the more fruitful approach is rather through analysis of textual origins in pre-Muromachi literary traditions: Heian novel, Kamakura military epic, religious narrative, or oral folktale; and that the most important source proves to be the religious narrative tradition, where textual comparison reveals clearly some Muromachi stories are derivations from such works as Shintō shū. Medieval jongleurs and missionaries such as biwa hōshi, etoki hōshi, and Kumano bikuni played a crucial role in spreading medieval tales, popularizing the picture scroll and book, and contributing to the development of the short story genre.

A Side-view of the So-called ‘Madness’ of Ikkyu, a Zen Master of the Muromachi Period

A Side-view of the So-called ‘Madness’ of Ikkyu, a Zen Master of the Muromachi Period

A Brief Documentary Survey of Japanese Pirate Activities in Korea in the 13th—15th Centuries

A Brief Documentary Survey of Japanese Pirate Activities in Korea in the 13 th—15 th Centuries By M.S. Seoh (Exerpted from the author's M. A. thesis submitted at the University of Washington in 1965) 1 Waegu (MtOD is the popular name of the Japanese pirates who plundered Korean and Chinese coastal areas from the 13 th to the 15 th centuries A. D. Pirates who ravaged the Chinese coast after this period have sometimes been identified as Chinese.1 However, with regard to those who operated around Korea during these two centuries, we can safely say that they were Japanese, with few exceptions.2 The earliest occurrence of the term Waegu is found in the Koryö-sa (¡g¡ MSli) History of Koryö. The section of the Koryö-sa dealing with King Ko-jong (M'M, r· 1213-1259) reads in part, "in the 10th year [1223 A.D.] on the 4 th moon, the day 'kapja' the Waegu invaded Kim-ju [modern Kim-hae]". After this entree, hundreds of Waegu raids are listed in the History. Additional incidents are recorded in the Yijo Sillok (3£$1??: Yi Dynasty Annals,) to which we will make frequent reference, and in several other documents.3 1.See Tömaru Fukuju et at. Wakö Kenkyu (fë'&WJO pp. 30, 34, 38-41. 2.The Koryö-sa (Vol. 134 and Vol. 135) lists some evidence that several Korean outcasts such as Hwach'ok CfcR) and Chaein (^A) gathered followers who donned garb and went on raids. However, compared to the Japanese pirates, those Koreans who had pretended to be Japanese were very small in both their numbers and in their range of activity. 3.Tongguk T'onggam (MMMiS. Comprehensive mirror of the Eastern Country ) Vol. 45, Kukjo Pogam (?$???& Precious mirror of the [Yi] dynasty ). 24\Seoh In Chinese historical records, the "Jih-pen Chuan" ( g ;$:£!) of the Ming Shih (§!¦£), we find a sentence reading, "Judging by Wen Ts'ui's defeat at the Pach'e bridge, the Waegu are apparently very strong."1 The Wu-pei Chih (MWi]Cf) describes in some detail the Waegu's tactics in battle:5 The Wo-i (fgpQ were well trained in forming the butterfly position (Hu-tiehchien WSfcW)· During action command is made by waving a fan. When a Jeader waves the fan all the troops stand up brandishing swords,..They capture our people, bring them to the road, and take them to the water. They are active only at dawn and twilight, and before and after each action they have a roll call. Besides the above records there are many other Chinese sources in which we find very detailed records on the Waegu, such as the Hsu Wen-hsien T'ung-k'ao (MÏCJ&Mif),6 Erh-shih-erh-shih Chachi (r+r%Ms£),7 and Wu-tsa-ts'u (satffl). As for Japanese historical records, first let us see some Japanese scholars' comments on the subject. Prof. Akiyama Kenzö writes: .........the complete absence of material concerning the Wako (USD in Japanese historical records seems to make it possible to erase them from Japanese history altogether. Since these Wako have been given little place in historical documents, we are unable to know about their influence.........8 Dr. Miura Kaneyuki in his article entitled "Japanese Pirates in Korea", (Chosen no Wakö, §fl!$ · îStË) says: "the lack of historical records in authentic Japanese history forces one to rely entirely upon the Yi Dynasty Annals. ........"9 Mr. Tanaka Takeo, a compiler of historical materials at Tokyo University, in his work, A Study of the History of Foreign Intercourse in the Medieval Age, writes:10 4.Ming Shih, Vol. 322, p. 145 .Wu-Pei Chih, Vol. 231, PP- 17-18. 6.Ibid, Vol. 234, Chap. 22. 7.Ibid., Vol. 34, Chap. 188 .Akiyama Kenzo (fAl-USÉiS): "The Raids of Wako in Early Muromachi Period and the Circumstances of Oei Foreign Invasion", Shigaku Zasshi, Vol. 9-1, 1930. 9.Miura, Kaneyuki (??????t): Naito Hakase Kanreki Shukuga Shinagaku Ronsö, p. 93. 10. Tanaka, Takeo (Hl Fß*): Ckusei Kaigai Koshoshi no Kenkyu (f^????F 5?©5/t'^?)> PP- 1-2, Tokyo University Press. 1959. Pirate Activities/25 .........there was a major obstacle in...

中世礼法について : 礼法の研究・第 2 報

The warrior's manner originated in keeping away from unnecessary battles. But in the Middle Ages, above all the aristcratic Muromachi Period, the essence of behaivior comes to show the social status in the feudalistic hierarchy. The social standing is pointed out with changing the dimenisons and heights of space where someone occupies, according to one's social rank. To the end of the Middle Ages, a new manner, union of original style and Muromachi style, comes to the world among the local groups warriors who break down Muromachi Shogunate. The principle of behavior in a new manner, is to change the behavior style in the public space (guest room) and private space (living room). That is, in the public space, feudalistic order is severely obeyed, but in the private space friendly behavior is relatively permitted. Because, the friendly behavior in the public space is regarded as the military disorder by their enemies.

Zen Buddhism and Muromachi Art

When tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Noh drama, linked verse (renga), monochrome painting, and dry-landscape gardening are said to represent Japanese culture, it is usually assumed that they were produced and fostered by Zen Buddhism. If we are fully to understand these art forms, we must therefore make a systematic study of their relationship to Zen. The particular species of Zen diat is said to have produced and fostered these arts is the Rinzai Zen developed by Muso at the beginning of the Muromachi Period (1336–1573) when Zen first became a pervasive influence in the cultural history of Japan. Let us look, then, at the position of Muromachi Zen in the history of Japanese Buddhism.

The Azuma Movement of Seizan School in Muromachi Period Kyoto

The Azuma Movement of Seizan School in Muromachi Period Kyoto