Overview

The political influences of temples in pre-modern Japan, most clearly manifested in divine demonstrations - where rowdy monks and shrine servants brought holy symbols to the capital to exert pressure on courtiers - has traditionally been condemned and is poorly understood. In his examination of this intriguing aspect of mediaeval Japan, the author employs a wide range of sources to argue that religious protest was a symptom of political factionalism and capital rather than its cause. It is his contention that religious violence can be traced primarily to attempts by secular leaders to re-arrange religious and political hierarchies to their own advantage, thereby leaving disfavoured religious institutions to fend for their accustomed rights and status. In this context, divine demonstrations became the preferred negotiating tool for monastic complexities. For almost three centuries, such strategies allowed a handful of elite temples to sustain and defend the old style of rulership. By acknowledging temples and monks as legitimate co-rulers, this text provides a synthesis of Japanese rulership from the late Heian (794-1185) to the early Muromachi (1336-1573) eras, offering a comprehensive analysis that brings together the spheres of art, religion, ideas and politics in mediaeval Japan.

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9780824823344

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[Adolphson's] ideas are often very interesting and deserve to be considered by those who teach survey courses in Japanese and East Asian history as well as by ... specialists-- American Historical Review Valuable ... This book is worth considering for advanced undergraduates.-- Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies [Adolphson s] ideas are often very interesting and deserve to be considered by those who teach survey courses in Japanese and East Asian history as well as by ... specialists-- American Historical Review Without question, one of the most thought-provoking non-Japanese works to be written on Japanese medieval history in years-- Japanese Journal of Religious Studies An impressive contribution on many levels-- The Journal of Religion A judicious, detailed, and highly informative account of a complicated history. Relations between the court and the religious elite are extremely confusing, and Adolphson has done an admirable job of sorting out the conflicts and guiding us through them.-- Journal of Japanese Studies

[Adolphson's] ideas are often very interesting and deserve to be considered by those who teach survey courses in Japanese and East Asian history as well as by ... specialists-- <i>American Historical Review</i>

[Adolphson's] ideas are often very interesting and deserve to be considered by those who teach survey courses in Japanese and East Asian history as well as by ... specialists-- American Historical Review Valuable ... This book is worth considering for advanced undergraduates.-- Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies A judicious, detailed, and highly informative account of a complicated history. Relations between the court and the religious elite are extremely confusing, and Adolphson has done an admirable job of sorting out the conflicts and guiding us through them.-- Journal of Japanese Studies Without question, one of the most thought-provoking non-Japanese works to be written on Japanese medieval history in years-- Japanese Journal of Religious Studies An impressive contribution on many levels-- The Journal of Religion

Valuable ... This book is worth considering for advanced undergraduates.-- <i>Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies</i>

Author Information

Mikael S. Adolphson is Keidanren Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge .

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