Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality,
and to see the links to virtual rooms.
Log in
- Convenors:
-
Annick Horiuchi
(Université de Paris)
Margarita Winkel (Humanities-Leiden University)
Send message to Convenors
- Discussant:
-
Rebekah Clements
(ICREA Autonomous University of Barcelona)
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- Intellectual History and Philosophy
- Location:
- Lokaal 0.4
- Sessions:
- Friday 18 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Short Abstract:
This panel focuses on “local gazetteers”, a genre which became increasingly popular during the Edo period. It examines the multiple dimensions (geographical, economic, historical, ethnological…) of these writings, as well as the political and intellectual context in which they were produced.
Long Abstract:
Although local gazetteers named fudoki were commissioned by imperial order during the Nara period, their compilation was not continued thereafter. The Tokugawa period saw a revival in the interest for texts providing a “thorough” depiction of a region. But unlike China, where local gazetteers had remained popular throughout as an instrument of government, and where gazetteers became increasingly standardized, in Tokugawa Japan these compilations became more diverse.
However, there are some recurring topics of interest: place names, especially those mentioned in ancient literature, foundation stories of temples and shrines (engi), festivals and folklore including strange or amazing stories, outstanding landscapes, topography (rivers, mountains, bays, islands). In a recent monograph Toyosawa (2019) presented a thought-provoking interpretation considering the concept of landscape and the landscape descriptions as a function in developing a narrative of Japan as a ’shinkoku’ (Divine Land). The three presenters here explore further dimensions of these local compilations in order to understand the broader context of collecting local knowledge.
In the early Tokugawa period, compilations were often commissioned by the bakufu or by a daimyo. They were then generally preserved in libraries in manuscript form, to prevent the information from circulating too widely. But the growing interest in regional topography led individual authors to collect information on their initiative and publish it. In the wake of this movement, we find commercial publications such as the famous series of meisho zue (illustrated collections of famous places) or travelogues, with the same concern for discovering and describing “unknown” lands.
Considering that commercial publications have already received scholarly attention, this panel intends to focus on the characteristics and dynamics of official or semi-official compilations. It addresses three texts produced at different times and different contexts and based on investigations carried out by one compiler. The questions we’ll discuss are: how, in each case, did the author observe, collect and organize information on his designated area, in particular relating to historical, geographical, natural, economic and ethnological dimensions? To what extent are these texts affected by their political function?
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 18 August, 2023, -Annick Horiuchi (Université de Paris)
Paper short abstract:
The paper examines the multiple facets of this work, resulting from 20 years of observation. It shows how the author endeavored to promote his domain by celebrating the beauty of its natural sites, the achievements of the Kuroda lords and the glorious role it once played as a gateway to China.
Paper long abstract:
In the prolific work of the Confucian scholar Kaibara Ekiken (1630-1714), the Chikuzen no kuni zoku fudoki (Chikuzen Fudoki continued) is generally considered as a work of lesser significance because of its local dimension. In fact, the book was never printed and is only known today through manuscript copies. But in terms of preliminary investigations, it undoubtedly stands among his major works. Kaibara’s 30-volume Fudoki was completed in 1709, after twenty years spent visiting villages and collecting information with the help of his nephew Kaibara Yoshifuru and his disciple Takeda Shun.an. It covers the cities of Fukuoka and Hakata, the fifteen districts of the province, ancient castles and battlefields as well as local products, and shows his concern to bequeath an accurate and reliable description of the area. He officially carried out this work at the request of the lord Kuroda of the Fukuoka domain, but he explains in the preface that he was the one who initiated it. As the title “Fudoki continued” suggests, Kaibara positioned his work in the continuation of the Japanese “tradition” of Fudoki. But as a well-informed Confucian scholar, he could not ignore the great number of local gazetteers produced in China. How did he design his fudoki and for what purpose? To answer this question, the present paper will focus on Kaibara’s method when depicting and discussing his main points of interest : foundation tales of shrines and temples, local products (dosan), outstanding landscapes or local narratives related to historical figures, animals or memorable events. It shows also his concern to praise Kuroda lords’ achievements, glorify the prestigious past of Chikuzen province and celebrate the wealth and beauty of its lands.
Nicolas Mollard (Lyon 3 University)
Paper short abstract:
This paper will consider the work of a Satsuma kokugaku scholar, Shirao Kunihashira (1762-1821), who studied various dimensions of regional life, including agricultural products, ancient tombs, and folklore. It will mainly focus on Shizu no odamaki (1812), a collection of tales and anecdotes.
Paper long abstract:
Shirao Kunihashira (1762-1821) is a kokugaku scholar in the service of Satsuma lords at the turn of the 18th century. In the course of his career, during which he served in turn as a spear instructor, medicinal garden attendant, archivist and high magistrate, he compiled several texts by Shimazu Shigehide’s order. He is best known today for his contribution to the encyclopedia of natural resources, Seikei zusetsu (Illustrated Catalogue of Creation), of which he wrote the first volumes dedicated to agricultural life, rites, and techniques. But his output also includes studies on the ancient tombs of Satsuma, research on regional geography, and collections of anecdotes and tales. His approach to scholarship is characterized by a combination of philological investigation, fieldwork, and descriptive drawings.
In this paper, I will focus on Shizu no odamaki (Hemp yarn for a humble cloth), a manuscript completed in 1812 which gathers 60 tales and anecdotes from local folklore. According to the author’s preface, his purpose is to inform his lord and patron (Shimazu Shigehide or Narioki) about the customs, manners, oral traditions, and remarkable stories concerning the common people of his country, knowing that a ruler cannot have his eyes everywhere around and that his own officials are reluctant to tell him everything out of fear. I will thus try to understand the relationship between the scholar and the mighty, and to shed light on the issues at stake in the production of regional knowledge.
Margarita Winkel (Humanities-Leiden University)
Paper short abstract:
Hezutsu Tôsaku, (1726-1789) apparently set out to investigate conditions in Hokkaido and the Matsumae fief in 1783. This presentation probes into the way Tôsaku’s (unpublished) account Tōyūki ( c.1784) narrates his view on the area: its landscape, history, inhabitants' culture, and local products.
Paper long abstract:
Hezutsu Tôsaku, (平秩 東作; 1726-1789), as a student of naturalist Hiraga Gennai, was deeply interested in the use and exploitation of local products. A merchant by social status and income, Tôsaku was also active in Edo literary circles and a prominent kyôka poet. Through his contacts in Edo government circles he obtained permission to visit Hokkaido under the Tanuma government. Tosaku set out to investigate conditions in Hokkaido and the Matsumae fief in 1783 where he stayed till the next year. This presentation focuses on Tôsaku’s account Tōyūki (東遊記; c.1784). As a report it is obviously inspired on earlier gazetteers: It is a combination of a report on current local products, historical dimensions such as notes about temples and historical sites, biographies of famous historical figures, anecdotes, and archeological findings on the one hand. On the other hand it includes ample information on the social and political situation in the area, focusing on the interaction between retainers in official roles, Japanese immigrants ("wajin") and the local Ainu population. Not meant for publication apparently, Tôsaku portrays the customs and daily daily life of the Japanese residents (wajin) among whom he lived during his sojourn. He does critique the role of especially the Matsumae retainers and to a lesser extent the merchants in the endemic corruption and the exploitation of the Ainu population, but did not visit Ainu territories and his report on Ainu is second-hand, clearly less important than the life of the new immigrants. His report is eccentric and at the same time includes many of the popular dimensions of local gazetteers. The remarkable circumstances of his visit and report, later comments by friends and colleagues, deserve closer investigation to understand the content and context of its creation.