Kristina Buhrman, Chinese Calendrics at the Japanese Court
I will discuss a chapter of my manuscript that covers the history of reki at the Japanese court from before the establishment of the ritsuryō codes up through the end of the 9th century. Although the Japanese staffing for the astral sciences was at a much lower level than that of the Tang court, the symbolic importance of reki can be seen in the word’s rhetorical use in decrees. Even so, the symbolic importance of parts of the system waxed and waned over time, with the 9th century seeing a shift in court observances. At that point the level of importance of the ceremony, formerly seen as “granting seasons to the realm” dropped. In its place, the importance of the newly established Winter Solstice Conjunction observance rose. This was a contributing factor to more active courtly control over elements of the calendar, led by members of the Bureau of Higher Learning, even as the rising status of some calendarists hint at growing recognition of their expertise.

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