Rulers, Peasants and the Use of the Written Word in Medieval Japan : Ategawa No Sho 1004-1304

This book provides new insights into the creation and use of written texts in medieval Japan. Drawing upon lawsuits from Ategawa no shō in central Japan between the early eleventh and early fourteenth centuries, the author analyses the use of writing by various social groups – temple priests, warriors and peasants. Though these social groups had different levels of literacy and accordingly followed different communicative traditions, their use of writing had common features. In the semi-literate society of medieval Japan the dissemination and reception of written texts took place primarily through speaking and hearing. Documents of the medieval period therefore had a distinctly oral characteristic. Priests, warriors and peasants all alluded to motifs in their legal pleas that were in essence given by the oral world of tales, legends and gossip. By showing that literacy was not in conflict but interacted with orality, the author uncovers an important aspect of the use of the written word in medieval Japan.

Die Reihe Welten Ostasiens der Schweizerischen Asiengesellschaft stellt repräsentative The aim of the series Worlds of East Asia of the Swiss Asia Society is to publish high-quality, La série Mondes de l''Extrême-Orient de la Société Suisse-Asie publie des recherches de Arbeiten aus der facettenreichen akademischen Forschung vor. Sie nimmt Studien zu den representative work issuing from academic research on all aspects of East Asia. It comprises, qualité représentatives de la recherche académique sur les cultures et sociétés de l''Asie ostasiatischen Kulturen und Gesellschaften in Gegenwart und Vergangenheit in den and receives, studies on present-day and historical East Asian cultures and societies covering orientale. Elle propose des études dans des domaines variés comme l''art, la littérature, et la pensée, anciens ou modernes, ainsi que des traductions et interprétations de sources. Bereichen Kunst, Literatur und Denken sowie Übersetzungen und Interpretationen von the fields of art, literature and thought as well as translations and interpretations of important Quellentexten auf. sources.