Description
Book SynopsisChikubushima, an island north of the ancient capital of Kyoto, attracted the attention of Japan's rulers in the Momoyama period (1568-1615). This study illustrates how private belief and political ambition influenced artistic production at the intersection of institutional Buddhism and Shinto during political, social, and aesthetic changes.
Trade Review"Chikubushima is absorbing, at times gripping: it speaks to the wonder provoked by the divine in Momoyama and efforts to draw upon numinous power through the wonder of the sacred arts..It will keep us thinking hard about the arts and warrior power, sacred sites, and when a flower is not merely a flower."
* Monumenta Nipponica *
"Like the Momoyama-era building that it studies, this elegant, compelling monograph should become an enduring monument..Through Watsky's meticulous work, Momoyama architecture and 'decorative arts' acquire dimension and texture that cast new light on the material production of the entire epoch."
* Journal of Asian Studies *
Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations
Note to Readers
Preface: Considering Chikubushima
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Sacred and Momoyama Japan
1. Chikubushima, from Its Origins to the Ascendancy of Hideyoshi
2. Hideyoshi and the Sacred: Manipulating Convention
3. Encoding the Sacred
4. The Material of the Sacred
5. After Hideyoshi: Hideyori's Enlistment of the Sacred
6. Hideyori and Chikubushima's New Ensemble
Epilogue: Chikubishima in Post-Toyotomi Japan
Notes
Appendix
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index
