Product Description

Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan is an ambitious and ground-breaking study that offers a new understanding of a formative stage in the development of the Japanese state. The late seventh and eighth centuries were a time of momentous change in Japan, much of it brought about by the short-lived Tenmu dynasty. Two new capital cities, a bureaucratic state led by an imperial ruler, and Chinese-style law codes were just a few of the innovations instituted by the new regime. Herman Ooms presents both a wide-ranging and fine-grained examination of the power struggles, symbolic manipulations, new mythological constructs, and historical revisions that both defined and propelled these changes.

In addition to a vast amount of research in Japanese sources, the author draws on a wealth of sinological scholarship in English, German, and French to illuminate the politics and symbolics of the time. An important feature of the book is the way it opens up early Japanese history to considerations of continental influences. Rulers and ritual specialists drew on several religious and ritual idioms, including Daoism, Buddhism, yin-yang hermeneutics, and kami worship, to articulate and justify their innovations. In looking at the religious symbols that were deployed in support of the state, Ooms gives special attention to the Daoist dimensions of the new political symbolics as well as to the crucial contributions made by successive generations of "immigrants" from the Korean peninsula. From the beginning, a "liturgical state" sought to co-opt factions and clans (uji) as participants in the new polity with the emperor acting as both a symbolic mediator and a silent partner. In contrast to the traditional interpretation of the Kojiki mythology as providing a vertical legitimation of a Sun lineage of rulers, an argument is presented for the importance of a lateral dimension of interdependency as a key structural element in the mythological narrative.

An enlightening line of interpretation woven into the author's analysis centers on purity. This eminently politico-ritual value central to Chinese Daoism and Buddhism was used by Tenmu as the emblematic expression of his regime and new political power. The concept of purity was most fully realized in the world of the Saiô princess in Ise and was later used by Ise ritualists to defend themselves against Buddhist rivals. At the end of the Tenmu dynasty, it was widely believed that avenging spirits were the principal source of danger and pollution, notions understood here as statements about the bloody political battles that were waged in Tenmu court circles.

The Tenmu dynasty began and ended in bloodshed and was marked throughout by instability and upheaval. Constant succession struggles between two branches of the royal line and a few outside lineages generated a host of plots, uprisings, murders, and accusations of black magic. This aspect of the period gets full treatment in fascinatingly detailed narratives, which the author skillfully alternates with his trademark structural analysis.

Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan is a boldly imaginative, carefully and extensively researched, and richly textured history that will reward reading by Japan specialists and students in several disciplines as well as by scholars with an interest in the role of religious symbolism in state formation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #368952 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 353 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780824832353
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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About the Author
Herman Ooms is professor of Japanese history at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Brings the 7th and 8th centuries alive
A fantastic book. I have read much about Heian and pre-Heian Japan, and Ooms' volume is the best at bringing this turbulent time alive. It is filled with remarkable details -- not the boring, stultifying sort, but rather the sort that flesh out characters and motivations of personages long gone. The book covers a wide range of issues, including both the role of "allochthons" (as Ooms terms those people who originated from outside Japan) in the creation of the Japanese state and the generally ignored (until now, at least) existence of Daoism and Daoist ritual that existed alongside Buddhism. Ooms is respectful of the reader; the impact of a bewildering list of names and events is lessened because he provides the little cues necessary to remind the reader of so-and-so's actions in a previous chapter. Plus, there is a handy, detachable card at the back of the book, which not only diagrams the sometimes confusing genealogy of early Japanese emperors but also serves as a handy bookmark -- a little touch of genius to answer those who predict the death of books in the digital age. Overall, Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan is an invaluable addition to my bookshelf.