Ken’ichi Sasaki: Archaeological Excavation at a Seventh-century Keyhole Tomb in Southern Hitachi

Prof. Ken’ichi Sasaki, Meiji University, “Archaeological Excavation at a Seventh-century Keyhole Tomb in Southern Hitachi” 「 常陸南部における7世紀前方後円墳の発掘調査」

This paper reports major results of the archaeological excavation that I conducted at a seventh-century keyhole mounded tomb in March, 2017, in the region of southern Hitachi.  This mounded tomb has been known among scholars for its burial chamber of painted red walls.  My excavation resulted in the discovery of two moats enclosing the mounded tomb.  While keyhole tombs enclosed by two or three moats were common in the fifth century in the Kawachi and Izumi regions where the central polity was presumably located at the time, it is extremely unusual to find such a moated tomb mound from the seventh century.  In other regions of Japan, in the late sixth century after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the construction of keyhole mounded tombs declined. In place of the tombs, Buddhist temples became symbols of authority.  Indeed, the construction of the temple of Asukadera was completed in 596 in Yamato. This unusual seventh-century keyhole mounded tomb enclosed by two moats may be interpreted in two ways:  information from the central polity did not reach Hitachi, on the eastern periphery, rapidly; or local elites in Hitach were so conservative that they were wedded to old customs.

筆者は、茨城県（旧常陸国）南部、霞ケ浦北岸地域で7世紀前半に築造されたと思われる全長約70mの前方後円墳、折越十日図化古墳の周濠部分を昨年3月に発掘調査した。中央の王権が所在した近畿地方中部（奈良県、大阪府など）では、6世紀後半には前方後円墳の築造が廃れ、代わりに仏教寺院の建立が豪族の権力のシンボルへと変容しつつある時期である。実際、飛鳥寺は596年に完成した。にもかかわらず、常陸南部では前方後円墳の築造が続く。特に折越十日塚古墳では、二重の周濠を伴い、特に、通常は狭いはずの外濠が内堀よりも広いという、極めてまれな特徴を見出した。常陸南部地域は、古墳に葺石を葺かず、また横穴式石室の導入も非常に遅れる。これは、文化の辺境という理由も考えられるが、同時に、在地の豪族の自律性も無視できない。

Sachiko Sakai: Applying Luminescence Dating to Change in the Production of Sue Pottery in Japan

Dr. Sachiko Sakai, Lecturer, California State University Long Beach, “Applying Luminescence Dating to Change in the Production of Sue Pottery in Japan” 「ルミネッサンス年代測定法と須恵器製造の変遷」

The ultimate goal of this study is to understand how social interaction and ceramic production contributed to the development of social complexities within different environmental areas. This paper also examines how the current archaeological method and theory applied in American archaeology can be used to understand development of social complexity in Japan.

Luminescence dating is a direct ceramic dating technique that has been increasingly used in the last two decades in the US. When combined with ceramic chemical compositional analysis, luminescence dating has been used to study how ceramic production and consumption patterns changed over time, in order to understand the evolution of social interactions and ceramic local productions, which helped society/people to survive in various environments.

In this paper, I will present an example of such study in a small scale farming society in the American Southwest. Then I will propose the use of luminescence dating to understand how social complexity developed, examining how production of Sue-pottery changed over time, combined with a well-developed ceramic typology.  

このプレゼンテーションのひとつの目的は、交易などを通じた社会交流と土器の生産の変化がいかに複雑化する社会の構成に貢献したかを学ぶことにある。もうひとつの目的は、今アメリカ考古学で使われている理論と方法がどのように日本の国家形成を深く理解することに貢献できるかを検証することである。

ルミネッサンス年代測定法は、土器の直接年代測定法であり、アメリカ考古学においてはここ20年ほど広く使われるようになってきた。土器の胎土分析とルミネッサンス年代測定法をあわせて用いることにより、土器の生産流通の変遷を検証し、その上でいかに社会交流と土器生産がさまざまな環境のもとでの社会の生き残りに貢献してきたかという課題が議論されてきた。

このプレゼンテーションでは、まず、アメリカ南西部の半農耕社会の例をあげ、その上で、ルミネッサンス年代測定法によって日本考古学ですでに充分に構成された須恵器の編年について実年代を探ることにより、須恵器製造の変遷をより深く理解すると主に、日本の国家形成をとくことができないか提案したい。

Onodera Yosuke: Ceramic Models of Food Goods and What They Tell Us About Mortuary Rituals of the Early and Middle Kofun Period

Mr. Onodera Yosuke, Ph.D Candidate, Archeology, Meiji University, “Ceramic Models of Food Goods and What They Tell Us About Mortuary Rituals of the Early and Middle Kofun Period” 「土製模造品からみた古墳時代前〜中期の葬送儀礼」

When considering mortuary rituals during the Kofun Period (300-600CE), Japanese archaeologists have previously studied goods deposited with the dead in coffins and burial chambers, as well as the pottery and haniwa ceramic cylinders and objects placed on the surface of tomb mounds. Little attention has been paid, however, to ceramic models of vessels and food offerings that were also placed on the surface of the mounds. Therefore, archaeologists do not yet have a good understanding of the mortuary rituals for which such ceramic models were used, or how they changed over time.

The ceramic models in question were modeled after vessels and various kinds of food, and a set of them probably represented a ceremony for offering food. It is noteworthy, however, that the two kinds of models originated in different regions of Japan in the early fourth century and only came to be used together in the late fourth century. Then in the fifth century sue stoneware was incorporated; and in the late fifth century, ceramic models of mirrors appeared. The latter were probably unrelated to the food-offering rituals. In the sixth century, rituals utilizing the ceramic models were no longer conducted except in a few regions of Japan.

It is important to note as well that mounded tombs where these ceramic models have been discovered are keyholes of large size, and that their spatial distribution is skewed toward central Honshu, the region of the central polity. These facts strongly suggest that the central polity played a role in unifying the food-offering rituals. Then in the late fifth century, corridor-style burial chambers appeared, and rituals were conducted on the dike enclosing the moat of a mounded tomb. This shift probably contributed to the decline of the food-offering rituals for which the ceramic models had been used.

古墳における葬送儀礼を考えるうえでは、埋葬施設内に副葬された品々が主に用いられてきた。一方で、墳丘上に配置されたものでも、埴輪や土器類に関する研究も進められている。しかし、同じく墳丘上で出土する土製模造品については、いまだ研究が進められておらず、その儀礼形態の変遷も明らかではない。土製模造品には、容器形と食物形があり、これらが組み合わさって疑似的な食物供献を示していると考えられる。ただし、これらの発祥は同一地域内ではなく、別々の地域で発生したものが統合されるという過程を経る。４世紀前半は、一部の地域で独自の土製模造品儀礼を行っているものの、４世紀後半に統合される。５世紀に入ると須恵器が取り込まれ、５世紀後半には鏡形が入るなど徐々に食物供献とは異なる性格の器種が用いられる。６世紀に入ると土製模造品儀礼は、一部の地域を除いて行われなくなる。土製模造品が出土した古墳をみると、大型の前方後円墳が中心であり、その分布からも土製模造品儀礼の統合には王権の関与が想定される。５世紀後半を境に、外堤や横穴式石室が葬送の主たる場となる。このため、墳丘上における儀礼の重要度が下がるのに伴い、土製模造品儀礼も衰退していくものと考えられる。

Handout 1

Handout 2

Itô Ujitaka: From Mononoaware to Kawaii, What Are Commonalities in Elements of Japanese Aesthetics?

Prof. Itō Ujitaka, Meiji University, “From Mononoaware to Kawaii, What Are Commonalities in Elements of Japanese Aesthetics?”  「もののあわれ」から「かわいい」まで—日本の美意識に通底するもの」

Wabi, sabi and mononoaware are often referred to as uniquely Japanese aesthetic categories.  Similarly, kawaii is seen today as such a Japanese category all over the world. There seems, however, to be no relationship between wabi, sabi, and kawaii. While the former is old and hard to understand except in Japan, the latter is new and understood worldwide. Here I want to consider, is there any similarity or relationship between these categories of what we call Japanese aesthetics?

Similarities can be seen by looking at characteristics of mononoaware. As Motoori Norinaga stressed, mononoaware is the mainstream of Japanese aesthetics, and wabi and sabi, and kawaii, are branch streams of that mainstream. In this talk I will consider the question, what are the central characteristics of mononoaware, and are they different enough from Western aesthetic categories to be “peculiarly Japanese”?

日本固有の美的範疇としてよくとりあげられるものに、「わび・さび」、あるいは「もののあはれ」がある。一方で、「かわいい」は日本発信の美意識として世界に広がりつつあるが、「わび・さび」と「かわいい」は正反対の美であるように見える。「わび・さび」は古く、「かわいい」は新しい。「わび・さび」はなかなか日本以外では理解されにくく、「かわいい」は世界で受け入れられている。では両者の間になにか関係はあるのだろうか。同じ「日本美」として括ろうとするときに、通底するなにかを見出すことができるのだろうか。

最も古いとされる日本美であるところの「もののあはれ」の特性を考えるときに、一見まったく反対に見える「わび・さび」と「かわいい」との間に共通するものが見えてくる。おそらく本居宣長が言ったように、「もののあはれ」こそが日本の根源であり、とすれば、「わび・さび」も「かわいい」も、同じ本流から分かれる二本の支流にすぎない。

では、「もののあはれ」の中心にあり、他の美的範疇に共通する特性とはなんだろうか。そしてそれは果たして、すぐれて「日本的」と言えるほどに西洋の美的範疇と異なっていると言えるのだろうか。

Talk Notes

Shimizu Yûko: The Faith World of Hidden Christians under the Early Modern Tokugawa Ban

Prof. Shimizu Yūko, Meiji University, “The Faith World of Hidden Christians under the Early Modern Tokugawa Ban” 「伝来文書に見る近世日本潜伏キリシタンの信仰世界」

The purpose of this presentation is to elucidate the beliefs of Christians under the Tokugawa ban by analyzing catechism books that were passed down among Christians who hid themselves in the Uragami area of present day Nagasaki Prefecture.  The author also wants to consider the significance of the strict Tokugawa ban, an important aspect of the early modern Japanese polity.

In recent years, Japanese scholars have reconsidered a previously accepted view that Japanese Christians maintained strong faith in Christianity for 250 years under the ban. Scholars now tend to understand that the Christian faith of these people became combined with local Shintoism and Buddhism. Here I argue, however, that Christians in the Uragami area should be distinguished from those in other regions, given that they maintained very strong faith in legitimate Christian teachings.  Even though they faced arrest four times, they still admitted to being Christians.

In this presentation, the author examines three historic sources that have been passed down in the Uragami area: Konchirisan’noryaku 『こんちりさんのりやく』, Luzon no Orasho『ルソンのオラショ』, and Tenji Hajimari no Koto『天地始之事』.  The author intends to demonstrate that these show that faith in Catholicism remained unchanged throughout the Tokugawa Period—legitimate Christian faith was maintained among some people.  Moreover, since this was a threat to the Tokugawa shogunate, the ban on Christianity had to remain strict throughout the Tokugawa Period.

本報告の目的は、長崎県浦上地方の潜伏キリシタンの間に伝来した教理書を分析し、潜伏信徒の思想的側面を解明することにある。またこの作業を通じて、近世日本国家の特徴といわれる厳格なキリシタン禁制の意味についても考えてみたい。

近年の研究では潜伏キリシタンをめぐり、純粋なキリスト教信仰を250年間貫徹したというイメージの見直しが進み、潜伏信仰は在来の神道や仏教と混淆し日本宗教化した等と理解されている。しかしながら報告者は、潜伏期に幕府権力から四度にわたる検挙を受け、最終的に自ら信徒であることを告白した浦上地方の信徒に関しては、他地方の信徒とは一線を画す信仰世界を保持していたと考えている。

この報告では、浦上に伝来した文書3点（『こんちりさんのりやく』『ルソンのオラショ』『天地始之事』：てんじはじまりのこと）を検討し、ローマ教皇を頂くカトリックの信仰世界が当初から変わることなく信徒間に伝来していたと指摘する。このように一部民間では「正統な」キリシタン信仰が秘かに維持されていたのであり、脅威を感得した江戸幕府は最後までキリシタン禁制を緩和したりやめることができなかったと考えられる。

Powerpoint Presentation

Rebecca Corbett: The Play of Tea

Dr. Rebecca Corbett, Japan Studies Librarian, East Asian Library, University of Southern California, “The Play of Tea” 「お茶の遊び」

The Buddhist nun Tagami Kikusha (1753-1826) practiced tea culture, calligraphy, painting, and music (shichigenkin), and a broad range of poetry including haikai, waka, and kanshi. Records of her tea gatherings, including many held during her thirty years spent on the road, show that she operated at an elite level of tea practice. During the last years of her life, once she returned to her home region of Chōfu, she invited local children to join her tea gatherings. Ranging in age from 5-8 years and both girls and boys, these children sat as guests with Kikusha acting as host. They also composed hakai poetry at the gatherings, and practiced calligraphy. These activities are suggestive of a world of tea practice in which play and children’s edification were the main functions, which is a hitherto unexplored aspect of Edo period tea culture.

尼僧田上菊舎（1753-1826）は茶道、書、画、七弦琴をたしなみ、更に幅広い分野の詩歌―俳諧、和歌，漢詩―に優れた文人である。彼女の茶会記は、その多くは彼女の30年にも及ぶ旅の空での茶の湯を含めるものだが、彼女の茶の極めて高いレべルへの到達を知らしめる。晩年、菊舎は出身地の長府に戻るが、そこでの茶の湯の集まりには地域の子供たちを参加させた。5歳から8歳の男女の子供たちは亭主菊舎の下、客として連なり、茶の湯のほか、俳句を詠み、書を行った。これらの活動は、遊びと子供たちへの啓発を主とする茶の湯の一世界を示唆している。それは江戸期茶の湯文化の従来知られなかった新領域を示すものである。

Travis Seifman: Performing Ryukyu: Protocols for the Ryukyu Ambassador’s Ceremonial Audience at Edo Castle

Travis Seifman, PhD Candidate, History, UCSB, “Performing Ryukyu: Protocols for the Ryukyu Ambassador’s Ceremonial Audience at Edo Castle”「『琉球』を演じる：琉球使節の江戸城での謁見儀礼」

Over the course of the 17th to 19th centuries, the Okinawan kingdom of Ryūkyū sent some sixteen embassies to Edo, the seat of the Tokugawa shogun of Japan. These embassies were dispatched on the occasion of the accession of a new shogun in Japan, or of a new king in Ryūkyū, and were not “diplomatic” missions in the sense of involving any kind of policy discussions. Rather they were ceremonial reaffirmations of the ritual relationship between the kings of Ryūkyū and the Tokugawa shogun’s household.

The kingdom was simultaneously a loyal tributary to the Ming and Qing Empires from the 1370s onward, consistently sending missions every other year to Beijing, paying tribute to the Emperor, who then bestowed extensive gifts upon Ryūkyū in return. The Emperor of China also formally invested the king of Ryūkyū, recognizing his legitimacy and authority within a Sinocentric Confucian regional order.

Many scholars have noted the Japanese appropriation of the Chinese/Confucian rhetoric, replacing the Chinese Emperor with the Japanese shogun as the source of virtue and shining center of civilization to which foreign embassies (such as those from Ryūkyū) were inspired to pay tribute and respects. However, examination of audience rituals in Beijing and Edo reveals that while the rhetoric may be quite similar, the Japanese audiences reflect not an emulation of Chinese practice, but rather an adaptation of distinctively Japanese ritual practices to incorporate political meanings borrowed from Chinese models. In this presentation, I discuss the differences between Ming/Qing and Tokugawa audience ceremonies, and seek to complicate our assumptions about Tokugawa appropriation of Chinese court ritual.

琉球王国は中国の明初期からずっと大明・大清の朝廷へも進貢使節を派遣し、そして引き換えに、大明・大清が冊封使を派遣し、琉球国王を「国王」として認証した。それを通して、琉球が華夷秩序に組み込まれた。1609年の島津家の侵略からも、近世末期まで、琉球王国が将軍即位の際と琉球国王即位の際に、合わせて18回使節を江戸へも派遣させられた。

徳川幕府が中国のいわゆる中華思想、つまり華夷秩序思想、を我が物にし、皇帝の代わりに将軍を中央とするため、琉球使節・朝鮮通信使を用いたと学問によく言われる。が、儀礼の次第を見たら、『華夷』や『進貢』のレトリックが似ていると言えども、使節の謁見儀礼、つまり御目見え儀礼、の次第はかなり違う。要するに、江戸城での御目見え儀礼は中国の謁見儀礼の真似ではなくて、和様の儀礼でした。この発表では、大明・大清の謁見儀礼と徳川幕府の謁見儀礼の違いについて説明し、そして幕府の中華思想の我が物にすることについての思い込むことに論議を呼ぶ。

Luke Roberts: Humanitarian Governance During Times of Disaster in Early Modern Tosa—A Look at the Touring Inspections of the 1780s

Prof. Luke Roberts, History Department, University of California at Santa Barbara.  “Humanitarian Governance During Times of Disaster in Early Modern Tosa—A Look at the Touring Inspections of the 1780s” 「近世土佐の災害と仁政──天明改革の巡見を中心に」

Daimyo sometimes went on formal processions of inspection through their domains in the Edo period, and even more frequently sent their representatives on such formal domain tours.  These were largely choreographed, almost theatrical occasions designed to express the idealized relationships between the ruler, the ruled, and the specific places in the political order of the many people involved.  Many exchanges of money, goods, and words took place, and they can be read by modern historians as expressions of the ruler’s ideal polity.  The benevolent interest and care provided to the people by the daimyo is one message enacted in these exchanges, and other messages of people’s worth and place in history and economy are apparent as well. This was especially important in times of natural disaster.  This paper will investigate records of such a procession in the Yamauchi daimyo domain of Tosa in the late eighteenth century, when immense rains and floods followed on four years of cold and drought.

江戸時代中期には自然災害の数と規模が前期よりは多くなったと同時に領主の財政難が増えて、政治の質に影響を及ぼした。民の間政府に対する不信感が増したことに対して、領主が「仁政」を課題にする改革を行い、信頼を取り戻す動きを見せた。領主の仁政を象徴する巡見も一役を果たした。土佐領では１７７７年から行われた天明の改革のにも、大名の家臣を巡見に派遣した。今日の発表はその巡見記録をもとに巡見と災害と仁政を考慮する。

The Records of the Meiji University-USC Exchange

Since 2008, scholars and graduate students from Meiji University and throughout Southern California have met annually to share research on Premodern Japanese History at the University of Southern California . This is an archive of abstracts, papers, and materials presented at the exchanges.

Flashback: Signing and Inauguration of the Meiji-USC Exchange

This photograph was taken following the signing of the USC-Meiji Exhange in 2008. In the years since, the Exchange has resulted in the collaboration of dozens of scholars from Japan and the United States.

Snapshots from the 2017 Meiji-USC Exchange

Graduate students from Meiji University, Doi Shôhei and Satô Kenri test their mettle, presenting their papers in English.

Sources! Sources! Graduate student Sakurada Marie takes us into written history and the early Japanese state with her analysis of the royal consorts.

Below: What's in a name? Well, quite a bit, actually, says Nadia Kanagawa, in her analysis of the name-granting of Nara immigrants. What's in court ritual? Quite a bit, says Professor Inokuma, in his analysis of the material details of Classical palace rituals. And finally, Gulnoza Kurbonova finished the day with an analysis of Fujitsubô in The Tale of Genji.

Despite brief technical difficulties from the storm raging outside, the conference continued with presentations on the second day. Graduate student Chris Bovberg analyzed changes in 13th century warrior government, followed by Cassie Dierolf, who analyzed changes in female property rights. Nicolette Lee then turned our sights on monastic creation and ownership of art, particularly illustrated scrolls.

Dan Sherer discusses gifts—and bribes—of the Sengoku Period.

One day in prehistory, and the next day, by the afternoon, the conference reaches the modern. In a talk that was part travelogue, part document sleuthing, Professor Nojiri Yasuhiro offered explanations for early modern document forgery. Professor Professor Roberts discussed Edo Period samurai women, followed by Christopher Reichenbacher's analysis of sumo networks. Finally, Professor Oyokawa Minoru brought us into the Meiji Period with his talk on museum collections and international interactions, a fitting final talk for an international conference of premodern specialists.

Oyokawa Minoru: Contributions of Source Study to Understanding Aspects of International Cultural Interactions in Meiji Japan

4:15-4:45 Prof. Oyokawa Minoru, Shimane University

“Contributions of Source Study to Understanding Aspects of International Cultural Interactions in Meiji Japan”

This paper consists of three parts: 1) the definition of Quellenkunde [“source study”] 2) cataloguing Japanese archaeological artifacts in museum collections as practical examples of source study, and 3) potential contribution of source study to understanding the modernization process of an academic discipline. Quellenkunde [source study] was first defined by German historian Ernst Bernheim (1935), who argued that Quellenkunde was a method or technique to gain understanding about the objective of research from a source, and that the nature of Quellenkunde depended on the research objectives.

I will then introduce projects that entail cataloguing Japanese archaeological artifacts in museum collections as practical examples of source study conducted by myself and colleagues. As a case in Japan, my colleagues and I have been working on materials collected by the Japanese anthropologist Tsuboi Shōgorō [1863-1913] and the Prince Nijō that are now in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum. And as cases overseas, Prof. Sasaki and I are cataloguing artifacts collected by Edward Sylvester Morse in the collections of the Peabody Museum at Harvard; the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts; and artifacts that were on display at the World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 but are now in the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. I argue that these projects represent not simply the cataloguing of artifacts. They may also make contributions to our understanding of the modernization process of academic disciplines in Japan. In addition our project of cataloguing Japanese artifacts in North American museum collections will contribute to broadening and spreading knowledge about the Japanese past. And even more importantly, I believe that these projects have the potential to help us develop new perspectives on sources while triggering new approaches and new research projects.  In this sense, Quellenkunde is not only a methodological framework, it is also a theoretical one.

本発表では、まず、資料論（学）の定義と目的、方法について紹介し、研究の全体構想を示す。資（史）料学：Quellenkunde（source study）とは、歴史の研究法としてドイツの歴史学者Ernst Bernheim（1935）によって、素材から学問対象の認識を得るための手段や方法であり目的によって本質が決定される、と定義された。次に、資料論（学）の方法の一つとして、近代化を経験した人々の観方を知るため、①国内に持ち出してきた資料として坪井正五郎と二条家銅駝坊陳列館の収集資料（東京国立博物館所蔵）と、②国外に持ち出された資料としてエドワード・シルベスター・モース収集資料（ハーバード大学ピーボディ考古学民族学博物館とピーボディ・エセックス博物館所蔵）およびシカゴ国際博覧会展示品（ペンシルベニア大学人類学考古学博物館所蔵）の二つを対象として、これら資料の目録化やドキュメント化の取り組みを紹介する。最後に、日本における学問の近代化過程を考察するための資料とその観方について考察し、北米における在外考古資料の資源化の意義と、資料学としての展望を議論する。学問における研究対象資料の資源化とは、過去に対する知識の充足や常識の普遍化のためだけでなく、資料の新しい観方の開発を実現し、資料に立脚した新たな学術研究の発想を生み出す可能性を持っていると考える。この点をより意義のある方法で提示するための理論的枠組みとして“資料学”を紹介する。

Christoper Reichenbacher: Raiden Tame’emon (1767-1825) and the Limits of Connection in Rural Japan

3:30-4:00 Christoper Reichenbacher, University of California Santa Barabara

“Raiden Tame’emon (1767-1825) and the Limits of Connection in Rural Japan”

In the mid-18th century Japan experienced an explosion of popularity in entertainment culture. As its popularity skyrocketed, exchange between the major cultural centers and rural areas in Japan increased exponentially. Professions, which were outside of the typical hierarchy built upon this boom and integrated themselves into societal daily life. Consequently, travel activities became increasingly more vivid.

In this context, sumo wrestling too gained a prominent place within society. Seasonal sumo wrestling events found themselves taking place not only in large metropolitan areas, but also near rural temples and in riverbeds. The increasing demand for sumo triggered the emergence of traveling wrestler groups and a promoter system. As one of the first promoters and company heads of the nationwide movement of sumo campaigns, Raiden Tame'emon took part in setting up his own tournaments in the countryside. His travel log "Handbook of Sumo in all Countries" (Shokoku sumō hikaechō 諸国相撲控帳) is likely the most complete accumulation of information on such activities. In my presentation I will approach his diary by focusing on his routes of travel as well as the scope of rural audiences. By doing so I will provide insight into what traveling meant for wrestlers, promoters, and spectators. It will further help to reveal the networks and connections that determined life during the first phase of the professional sumo franchise.

Luke Roberts: Lives of Samurai Women of the Edo Period

2:45-3:15 Prof. Luke Roberts, University of California Santa Barbara

“Lives of Samurai Women of the Edo Period”

This talk will describe the lives of samurai women of the Mori house in Tosa domain in the Edo period. The Mori house was an average 200-koku house of the rank of mounted guard.  Patterns of government documentation tend to erase the presence of samurai women and make it difficult to recover stories of their lives, yet the abundant Mori family records allow us to reconstruct stories of their lives while uncovering many of the untruths in daimyo government records that were created to preserve an image of stable patriarchy.

Nojiri Yasuhiro: Why Did People Make Fake Documents in the Early Kinsei Era

2:00-2:30 Prof. Nojiri Yasuhiro, Meiji University

"Why Did People Make Fake Documents in the Early Kinsei Era?”

Prior to Japan’s early modern period, a large number of written historical documents were created. Today we call them “old documents,” komonjo, and they are investigated and categorized by historians. Research begins with the cataloging process. When a catalogue is created, we gain a sense of the individuals that brushed the documents and the organizations that catalogued them. And by reading the contents of komonjo, we can ascertain the historical realities of the time.

When investigating and categorizing such documents, from time to time scholars encounter strange komonjo. For instance, there are documents in which the contents clearly diverge from reality, such as false genealogical or inheritance records. These are called “faked documents,” gimonjo. I am interested in why such documents were made in the early modern era and what the reasons tell us about society at the time.

In this presentation I focus on a strange village record that bears a Nara-period date, Tenpyô 1 (729) but which was actually created in the sixteenth century. What is this record and its background? The contents claim to specify the village’s boundaries. Although the villagefaced the sea,  the majority of the district was mountainous, and land-use rights for the mountains were frequently contested by a neighboring village. During the Warring States era in the latter half of the sixteenth century, even though the state of judicial affairs was gradually being put in order, the proprietor responsible for making judicial decisions had changed. These were the sorts of geographic and social circumstances that led to the creation of faked documents. 

日本の近世は、それ以前の時代よりも大量の記録（文字史料）が作られた。文字史料は現代では古文書と呼ばれ、それらを調査・整理し、目録を作成することから研究が始まる。目録を作成することで、古文書を作り出した個人や団体の概要を把握したり、古文書に記された内容を読解したりして、歴史事実を確かめていくのである。
調査・整理をしていると、時々不思議な古文書に出会うことがある。たとえば、明らかに事実と異なる内容が記されている、系図や由緒（物事の来歴）などの古文書である。それらは偽文書（ぎもんじょ）と呼ばれ、研究の対象から外されてきた。しかし、近年では、偽文書がなぜ作られたのかという研究視角が重視されている。つまり、偽文書が作られた要因ついて、その社会背景を明らかにしながら探ろうというのである。

本報告では、日本海に面する村に残された、天平元年（729）の年号を有する古文書を検討対象とする。そして、この古文書が作成された背景を追究する。結論を簡単に示す。この古文書は、村の境目を主張する内容で、16世紀末に創作された。この村は海に面しているが、村の大部分は山地である。この山地を使用する権利について、しばしば隣村と争ったこと。16世紀後半の戦国時代に、裁判制度が徐々に整えられつつも、裁判を行う領主が交替したこと。このような地理的条件と社会状況が偽文書を作り出した要因と考える。

Dan Sherer: The Purpose and Significance of the Tenshô 4 (1576) Nichiren-sect Kanjin Campaign in Kyoto

12:15-12:45Dan Sherer, USC History Department

"The Purpose and Significance of the Tenshô 4 (1576) Nichiren-sect Kanjin Campaign in Kyoto”

In 1576, the Council of Head Temples of the Nichiren sect in Kyoto held a city-wide fundraising (kanjin) campaign. While there are detailed accounts showing who donated, how much they donated, and how the money raised was spent, the campaign remains a mysterious affair. Fundraising campaigns in Japan were typically universal; this one was sectarian. Fundraising campaigns in Japan had a clear stated goal, usually building or repairing temple buildings. This one however paid for gifts to warriors (primarily during the regime of Oda Nobunaga) over a period beginning in 1572 and ending in 1577. In this presentation, using sources concerning the campaign, I will explain how and why it was undertaken.

天正四年、京都の日蓮宗本山会合が洛中勧進を行った。寄贈者の名前と帰依僧、寄付金の額も集めたお金の支出も、詳しく記されいるが、この勧進がまだ不思議なことである。中世日本の勧進は宗派を問わず、すべての人を対象とした。天正四年洛中勧進は日蓮宗に限った。そのうえ、普通に勧進は寺社の修造や造営などの表明された目標がある。天正四年洛中勧進は表明された目標がなく、その募金が元亀三年から天正五年にかけて幕府・織田政権の関係者への贈与の費用を負担した。本報告は天正四年勧進の関係資料を説明して、勧進の目標と意義を明らかにしたい。

Nicolette Lee: Legitimacy and the Power of Reading at Medieval Japanese Royal Convents

11:45-12:15 Nicolette Lee, USC School of Religion

“Legitimacy and the Power of Reading at Medieval Japanese Royal Convents”

The paradigmatic image of a Japanese Buddhist nun is the widow nun who lives a cloistered life. Similarly convents for elite women have been regarded as places for unmarried women to perform rituals in order to protect their family lineage. Rather, most of these women were sent as young children to assume religious vocations and led a social life. They enjoyed visits to the palace and pilgrimages with other courtiers, ladies-in-waiting, and nuns. Furthermore Muromachi-period (1333-1573) royal convents fulfilled the important role as literary salons—they were sites of literary production, consumption, and circulation. We know this fromevidence demonstrating exchanges of literary works like picture scrolls (emaki) between convents and their networks of aristocratic and shogunal patrons. In my project, I am investigating the literary exchange of texts among nuns from the tennō’s family and their patrons, primarily by using Prince Fushiminomiya Sadafusa’s (1372-1456) journal, the Kanmon nikki (1426-48). I will examine how the convent, aristocratic families, and shogunal patrons were mutually focused on owning, circulating, and sponsoring literary works as a means to accumulate cultural possessions that symbolically legitimated the family lineage and authority. In particular I will focus on royal nun Rien’s (1422-?) life, which offers a window into complex relations between her familial patrons, the royal and shogunal families. She was the youngest daughter of Sadafusa, younger sister of the sovereign Go-Hanazono (1419-71), and adopted daughter of shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441). By focusing on this network of cultural lending and borrowing, my project explores elite women’s lives at the intersection of the literary arts and religion.

中世日本の仏教の尼というのは、 パラダイムのイメージが「ゴケアマ」という尼だ。後家尼（ゴケアマ）はご主人がなくなった妻になり、残った責任・義務はご主人の往生ができるように祈ることだ。同じく、貴族的な女性が入る尼寺は、未婚の女性が、ただ、家族の守るために儀式を行う尼寺に入るとよく考えるそうだ。しかし、実に、この貴族的な女性たちは、幼い頃、尼寺に入る理由が、真面目に宗教的仕事をする予定だからだ。それに、家族・友達と活動したりして、そんなに遠隔の生活ではない。

特に、室町時代に(1333-1573)、王家の尼寺は宗教的役割に加えて、「文学的なサロン」という重要な役割も果たした。文学サロンというのは、作品を制作したり、消費したり、回流したりするサイトだ。その尼寺というサイトで、特に貴族的な尼寺と尼寺の貴族家・将軍家の恩人たちとよく絵巻のやり取りが記録した証拠があり、貴族的な尼寺の文学サロンの価値も重要でもっと研究がするべきだ。

私のプロジェクトに関して、伏見宮貞成(1372-1456)の日記、『看聞御記』、を調べて、 尼寺と尼寺の恩人たちとの絵巻の回流を調べる。特に、特別の作品を制作したり、消費したり、回流したりしたら、なぜ文化財を溜まるのは、自分の系統と権利を象徴的に正統ができるのかと考える。特に、理延（りえん）(1422-?)という王家の尼を中心する。貞成の末女、後花園天皇(1419-71)の妹、将軍足利義教(1394-1441)の養女で、理延は複雑で有力の関係があるので、絵巻のやり取りはただ楽しみのことではなく、政治的な意味も入っている。

Cassandra Dierolf: Research Concerning Property and Inheritance Rights of Women in the 12th and 13th Centuries

11:15-11:45 Cassandra Dierolf, USC East Asian Studies Center

“Research Concerning Property and Inheritance Rights of Women in the 12th and 13th Centuries”

For my master’s thesis I have researched women’s property and inheritance rights as they appear in the laws of the later Heian and Kamakura Periods. First, I examined the law book known as the Hōsōshiyōshō written by the Sakanoue family in the very late Heian/very early Kamakura Period. The legal scholars of the Sakanoue family recorded the precedents set by and their understanding of laws concerning women’s property and inheritance rights as practiced by noble families of the time. Next, I examined the legal text known as the Goseibai shikimoku, established by the Kamakura bakufu to shape the process of lodging suits in bakufu courts by their houseman warriors in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). I also researched what is known as the Tsuika hō, created after the Goseibai shikimoku, after a number of lawsuits occurred, and the rulings of those cases became new or supplementary laws. Within the Hōsōshiyōshō, the Goseibai shikimoku, and the Tsuika hō, there are a number of clauses that concern the rights of women in holding land. Particularly, in an examination of Clause 24 (est. 1232) of the Goseibai shikimoku, and Clauses 327 (est. 1239) and 330 (est. 1285) of the Tsuika hō, the limiting of women’s property rights over a fifty-year period is very clear. In this presentation, to illustrate the change in women’s property rights, these three clauses will be discussed in some detail.

修士論文のため、平安時代後期から鎌倉時代の法律における女性の財産権や継承権を研究した。まずは、平安末期から鎌倉初期にかけて、坂上氏により「法曹至要抄」という法律書を調べた。法曹官僚の坂上氏はその時の公家に関する法律の前例や分かることを記された。次に、鎌倉時代の鎌倉幕府が武士階級を統制するための制定された御成敗式目という法律制度を調べた。そして、御成敗式目の後、訴訟がいくつか起こされ、その訴訟の判決から新しい条項が成立し、「追加法」と呼ばれている法律を研究した。この法曹至要抄と御成敗式目と追加法には、女性が所領を持つ権利に関する条項がいくつかある。御成敗式目の２４条（１２３２年）と追加法の３２６条（１２３９年）、３３０条（１２８５年）を見ると、５０年ぐらいの間に女性の財産権が制限されるようになったことが明確になる。本発表では、女性の財産権の変化を見せるため、この三つの条項について詳しく論じる。

Chris Bovberg: The Jôkyû Disturbance of 1221, A Case Study of Warrior Government

10:30-11:00 Chris Bovberg, University of California Berkeley

“The Jôkyû Disturbance of 1221, A Case Study of Warrior Government”

My dissertation investigates the early development of “warrior government” in the Kamakura bakufu (1180-1333) by examining key turning points. I attempt to identify what this construction, “warrior government,” signifies. What did it mean to be a “warrior”? What did their organization do? How did it relate to, complement, or stymie the court government? How do these questions inform our conception of the “medieval” period? I argue that to better understand how new military and police positions and powers were developed and incorporated into Japanese governing structures, a greater focus on the process of the expansion of authority is necessary. I contend that the bakufu was a dynamic institution, changing to adapt to new circumstances and crises as they arose, while remaining, at least conceptually, under the umbrella of the court government. This process was driven by personality, events, and other uncoordinated forces, as bakufu leadership sought solutions to the problems in front of them, not as a military takeover. The Jōkyū Disturbance (1221) is a salient example of a turning point in this development. Bakufu forces emerged victorious over the royal coalition, but it faced increasingly serious challenges after the battle was won. Power vacuums emerged at the center and local levels of government, sporadic episodes of violence continued across the countryside, and confusion and uncertainty threatened the stability of the established order. And yet, even though the bakufu was militarily unrivaled, it expanded only to the point of overcoming these difficulties – it never eclipsing or replacing royal authority. For example, it established new law enforcement officers to keep the peace while issuing new laws to establish their agents’ civil accountability, rather than using the power it had amassed to simply aggrandize the position of its own regime. In short, despite its unprecedented expansion, it remained fundamentally conservative.  Kamakura extended its reach across the country, but did so to preserve the status quo of the rest of the systems and institutions under the tennō’s government. This demands that we rethink the standard narrative of “warrior rule” and common conceptions of a separate “warrior” establishment and instead consider Kamakura administration as defying easy categorization.

Gulnoza Kurbonova: Women in the Genji Monogatari, Especially Fujitsubo and Murasakinoue

5:00-5:30 Gulnoza Kurbonova, Meiji University

“Women in the Genji Monogatari, Especially Fujitsubo and Murasakinoue”

In the Genji monogatari, a woman’s refinement and character are seen as more important than rank or descent. Within the Tale, many women are described as having a beautiful (utsukushii) personality and disposition. From a very young age the main character, the Shining Prince Genji, yearns romantically for the Queen Consort Fujitsubo, and he is always looking for a woman like her. For Genji, Fujitsubo is the most desirable type of woman. The young Murasaki, Fujitsubo’s niece, is about ten years old when she appears in the Tale. Genji is eighteen, and at a monastery in the mountains north of the capital, he sees this girl who looks just like Fujitsubo, and she replaces the latter in his affections. He steals her away to his residence at Nijôin, and then raises her to make her into his ideal woman. And as she grows into adulthood, Murasaki seems just like Fujitsubo, making Genji happy as his desires come to fruition. Nevertheless while Murasaki resembles Fujitsubo, her personality and disposition are different. Murasaki wins because of her intelligence, but her personality causes problems for Genji. In this presentation, I will examine in some detail the vocabulary used to describe the personalities of Fujitsubo and Murasakinoue, a vocabulary that shows their human qualities as they appeared to Genji.

源氏物の女性―藤壺と紫の上を中心に

『源氏物語』において、女性の身分や出自よりも教養や人柄が重要視されているように思われる。物語に数多く登場する女性たちは、それぞれ「美しい」性格・性質的な面をもって特徴づけられている。主人公光源氏が、若い時から父桐壺帝の后である藤壺を心から恋い慕っており、藤壺のような女性を望み求める。源氏にとっての藤壺はまたとない理想的な女性であった。といよりは、源氏本人によって理想化された、彼が一番望ましいとする女性のタイプであったと考えられる。藤壺の姪そして「ゆかり」の人として物語に十歳ぐらいの少女若紫（のちの紫の上）が登場する。源氏が十八歳のとき、北山のある僧都の坊で、面影が藤壺そっくりのこの少女を見出し、藤壺の代わりとしていつも見ていたいと思う。あるとき、紫の上を二条院に盗みとって、自ら自分が希求するような理想的な女性に育てようとする。成長するにつれて、藤壺そっくりになっていく紫の上を見て、自分の望みが叶っていると光源氏も喜ぶ。しかし、紫の上が面影という点では藤壺に非常に似通っていても、性格および性質は異なっている。表立って才たけている様子を見せることがなかった藤壺に対して、紫の上は利発さの勝ちすぎていた人柄であった。また、紫の上には少し厄介な「気」（嫉妬の癖）もあり、これらが源氏にとって困ったところであった（朝顔巻）。本発表において、藤壺と紫の上の人柄を形容する語彙を詳細に検討して、光源氏にとっての藤壺と紫の上の人間について確認する。