<journal article>
Poets on the Periphery: Kūkai’s Vision of Frontier Governance
Creator | |
---|---|
Language | |
Publisher | |
Date | |
Source Title | |
Vol | |
First Page | |
Last Page | |
Publication Type | |
Access Rights | |
Crossref DOI | |
Abstract | In the early ninth century, Japan’s northeastern frontier remained contested territory. Although the region was nominally incorporated into the Japanese state as Mutsu Province, the indigenous Emishi ... repeatedly frustrated Japanese attempts to dominate the region. The numerous military campaigns undertaken during the late eighth century yielded dubious results. Furthermore, a failed coup d’état in 810, otherwise known as the Kusuko Incident, compounded the imperial court’s difficulties. In response to these challenges tocourt authority, the thoroughly sinophilic Emperor Saga reinforced the ritsuryō system of governance, including a renewed emphasis on monjō keikoku(statecraft through writing) as a political technology and justification for literary production. This article presents and analyzes two epistle-poems written by Kūkai to Ono no Minemori and Ōtomo no Kunimichi on the eve of their respective postings to governorships in the northeastern borderlands. These texts demonstrate how Kūkai creatively appropriated continental literary and historical source materials to situate Minemori and Kunimichi’s assignment to the frontier within the framework of monjō keikoku thought.show more |
Table of Contents | Introduction Heian Japan and its Periphery Enter the Poet-Governor: Kūkai’s Epistle to Ono no Minemori Kūkai’s Epistle-Poem to Kunimichi Conclusion |
Hide fulltext details.
File | FileType | Size | Views | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
p021 | 864 KB | 743 |
Details
PISSN | |
---|---|
EISSN | |
Record ID | |
Peer-Reviewed | |
Subject Terms | |
Created Date | 2019.04.11 |
Modified Date | 2024.05.01 |