Kings in all but name : the lost history of Ōuchi rule in Japan, 1350-1569 / Thomas D. Conlan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Conlan, Thomas, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ōuchi family.

Daimyo--Japan.

Daimyo.

Mines and mineral resources--Japan--History.

Mines and mineral resources.

Japan--History--1333-1600.

Japan.

Yamaguchi-shi (Japan)--History.

Yamaguchi-shi (Japan).

Japan--Foreign relations--1185-1600.

Japan--Religion--1185-1600.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (473 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2024.

Summary:

In the 16th century, members of the Ōuchi family were kings in all but name in much of Japan. Immensely wealthy, they controlled sea lanes stretching to Korea & China, as well as the Japanese city of Yamaguchi, which functioned as an important regional port with a growing population & a host of temples & shrines. The family was unique in claiming ethnic descent from Korean kings, & such claims were recognized in both Korea & Japan. Their position, coupled with dominance over strategic ports & mines, allowed them to facilitate trade throughout East & Southeast Asia. They also played a key cultural role in disseminating Confucian texts, Buddhist sutras, ink paintings, & pottery, & in creating a distinctive, hybrid culture that fused Japanese, Korean, & Chinese beliefs, objects, & customs. This book shows how Japan was an ethnically diverse state from the 14th through the 16th centuries.

Contents:

Cover

Kings in All but Name

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Conventions

Introduction: The Lost History of Ōuchi Rule

A New Periodization of Japanese History: The Age of Yamaguchi (1477-​1551) and the Sengoku Era (1551-​68)

Trade, Mining, and Sea Power

The Ōuchi, Korea, and the Question of "Ethnicity"

Religion and Rule

Individuals and Institutions

The Forgetting

Early Scholarship

The Structure of This Book

1. The Origins of the Ōuchi

Star Cults and Myōken

Three Tatara Lineages in Suō

The Ōuchi Region

The Struggle for Survival, 1331-​50

Conclusion

2. The Founder Ōuchi Hiroyo

Origins

The Conquest of Nagato

Controlling the Straits of Shimonoseki

Ritual Bonds of Lordship

The Mines of Iwami

Ties with the Court

The Planned Settlement of Yamaguchi

Turmoil of the 1370s

3. Ōuchi Yoshihiro and the Forging of Ōuchi Identity

Quelling "Pirates" and Kyushu Enemies

Enshrining Authority

Yoshihiro in the Capital

Crafting Ōuchi Identity

The Ōei Disturbance (1399)

Sakai

Legacies

4. The One Who Could See Stars: The Unlikely Rule of Ōuchi Moriakira

Early Life and Lordship

Copper Mines and Trade

Kingly Status

Tripiṭaka (Buddhist Canon)

Ashikaga Rapprochement

Tombs, Kings, and Ōuchi Ethnicity

Conflict, Korean Ties, and Trading Networks

Ōuchi Administrative and Ritual Authority

The Localization of a National Shrine (Usa)

The Departure

5. Fraternal Succession, Expanding Trade, and Durable Administration

Naming Patterns and Succession Disputes

Pacifying Kyushu and Proselytizing Gods

Expanding Commerce

An Unexpected Death

6. Trader, Shogun, King, and God

Early Life

Urban Development, Commerce, and Trade

Reasserting Control over Nagato

Korean Ties and Ethnic Imaginations.

Recognition of Ōuchi Ethnicity

Delegated and Personalized Authority

Creating a Western Warrior Government

Slouching toward War

7. Ōuchi Masahiro and the Rise of Yamaguchi

Birth and Early Years

The Onset of the Ōnin War

Stalemate, Supply, and Naval Supremacy

Yamana Kuniko's Defense of Yamaguchi

Ending the War

Divinely Sanctioned Authority

The Depersonalization of Administrative Practices

Economic and Cultural Exchanges

Recalibrating Ōuchi Ethnicity

Forging the Past

The Apotheosis of Ōuchi Norihiro

The Yamaguchi Polity

Turtle Taboos

The Age of Yamaguchi

8. Yoshioki and the Apogee of Ōuchi Rule (1495-​1528)

Early Years

The Meiō Coup (1493) and Its Ramifications

Yoshioki's Violent Ascension

Harboring a Shogun

Conquering Kyoto

Yoshioki as Commander

Revisiting Myōken in the Capital

Becoming a Courtier

Cultural Patronage

Administering the Capital

Kyoto Currency Regulations

Trade with Korea, China, and the Ryūkyūs

Return to Yamaguchi

Possessing the Ise Gods

Transforming Yamaguchi and the Ōuchi Realm

Turmoil in Iwami and Aki

The Ningbo Incident

Last Battles

9. The Triumphs and Tragedy of Ōuchi Yoshitaka (1528-​51)

Succession

Ruling as Governor General of Kyushu (Dazai Daini)

Trade with Korea

Tally Trade with China

Increasing Copper and Silver Exports

Yoshitaka's Influential Advisers

Wars in Iwami and Aki

Possessing Itsukushima and Rebuilding Shrines

Yoshitaka's Ritual Supporters

Consequences of Upholding Court Authority

Selecting a New Heir

Defending Iwami

The Prosperity of Yamaguchi

Turmoil in Kyoto

The Revolt

10. The Collapse

Ōtomo Hachirō

Appeals to Ōuchi Ethnicity

The Pliant Ruler

Christianity and the Portuguese in Yamaguchi.

Becoming Ōuchi Yoshinaga

Turmoil

The Itsukushima Defeat

Prayers, Defeat, and Death

Ruin

Epilogue: Legacies

Ōuchi Nostalgia

Ōuchi Teruhiro's Gambit

Post-​Ōuchi Trade Disruptions

Rewriting and Reordering the Past

Fading Ōuchi Identity

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2024.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on November 27, 2023).

ISBN:

0-19-767736-3

0-19-767734-7

OCLC:

1410823584