Lectures
 
 
Ancient Japan
Time, Language and Space
Orientation
The Study of Ancient History
Temporal Categories
Pronunciation and Naming Practices
The Name "Japan"
The Space of Japanese History
Why Study Ancient Japan?
Caveat: the Present in the Past
Lowenthal: "However faithfully we restore, however deeply we immerse ourselves in bygone times, life back then was based on ways of being and believing incommensurable with our own. The past's difference is, indeed, one of its charms … But we cannot but view and celebrate it through present-day lenses."
 
Methods
Different from the study of modern history:
Larger (sometimes tremendous) gaps in the record
Different kinds of evidence (esp. archaeological)
Need to be careful of what kinds of questions you ask
Opportunity to think about how histories are written, why histories are written, and the nature, interpretation and interrelationship of evidence
Methods and Materials
Documentary evidence (primary and secondary)
Ex. Kojiki
Visual images (primary and secondary)
Ex. Picture scrolls
Archaeological evidence
Linguistic Evidence (secondary)
Language families
Overlapping but not necessarily congruent narratives arise from different kinds of evidence
How do we evaluate each type of evidence?
Strengths?
Drawbacks?
Interrelationship?
"To divide time is to interpret it."
Standard sequence:  prehistoric, ancient (kodai), medieval (chûsei), early modern (kinsei), modern (kindai), contemporary (gendai)
BCE/CE  (BC/AD)
Are these universal categories?
Japanese Time I
Jômon, Yayoi, Tomb, Asuka, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Sengoku, Tokugawa, Meiji, Taishô, Shôwa, Heisei
Terminology of historians, specific to Japan, finer distinctions between eras revealed
However, precise ending and beginning points differ depending on field/phenomenon
Until we get to modern period, not how people of the time referred to different eras
Japanese Time II
The Asian Calendar
Calendar-making spread from China
12 lunar months w/ occasional extra month thrown in
Agricultural cycles (starts with planting season)
Divination
Reign Names (nengô)
Magical:  Create propitious conditions
Often more than one year name per emperor
Names change when world changes (and vice versa)
Time as cyclical, attention to degeneration
Language

Pronunciation
Syllabary
Each syllable always pronounced the same
("a" always "ah" never "ay")
Polysyllabic
Relatively equal stress on each syllable
Seldom drop a vowel
(no silent "e")
Practice
Short and Straightforward
Yamato, Ainu, Nara, Himiko
Longer, Still Straightforward
Amaterasu, Izanami, Hideyoshi
Extended Vowels
Honshû, Ryûkyû, Jômon, Shintô
Glottal Stop
Hokkaidô, mappô, ikki
Japanese Names
Name Order:  Family-Personal (Kurosawa Akira)
Japanese conventions v. Western conventions
Western academic v. mainstream media practices
The "Cher" Factor:  names of famous or cultural figures
Ex. Toyotomi HIDEYOSHI, Sen no RIKYU
Premodern Problem of Multiple Names
Clan names and family names
Children's names, adult names
Official Titles, Buddhist Names, Professional Names
The Name "Nihon"
Local/regional identity key throughout premodern period
"Japan" originated and remained primarily a concept for the premodern ruling classes
Borders of Japan have shifted radically over time
Much of what is now in, was not for a long time
Incorporation means not just changing border lands but changing "Japan"
The Name "Nihon"
Why did the name "Nihon" or Japan come into use?
Negotiation of relation to Asian Continent
History of conquest, pacification
Beware of conflating concept of modern nation with name of ancient state
Semblance of continuity misleading
"The Japanese islands" or "Japanese Archipelago" most historically accurate
Geographical Features
Shifting boundaries
Main islands (modern)
Main islands (premodern)
Points of transmission
Korea
Ryûkyûs
Hokkaidô
The Sea: barrier or bridge?
Range of climatological conditions
Regional identities
 
 
 
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Lecture 1: Introduction