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Abstract
This study examines the practice of 'alternate attendance' (sankin kōtai), in which the daimyo lords of Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) marched with their retainers between their home territories and the shogunal capital of Edo, roughly once a year. Research on alternate attendance has focused on the meaning of daimyo processions outside their domains (han), along Japan's highways and in the city of Edo. Here I argue that, even as daimyo embarked upon a journey to pay obeisance to the shogun, the ambiguous nature of sovereignty in early modern Japan meant that alternate attendance could also be used for a local agenda, ritually stamping the daimyo's territory with signs of his dominance, much like what has been highlighted in the study of royal processions in world history. I focus on the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, providing a case study of visits made by the Shimazu family, lords of Satsuma domain, to a village of Korean potters within their territory, whose antecedents had been brought as captives during the Imjin War of 1592-8. During daimyo visits, a relationship of mutual benefit and fealty between the Shimazu and the villagers was articulated through gift-giving, banqueting, dance and displays of local wares. This in turn was used to consolidate Shimazu power in their region.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 135-158 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |
Volume | 32 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 28 Dec 2022 |
Keywords
- Imjin War
- Japan
- Korea
- alternate attendance
- early modern
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AFTERMATH: The Aftermath of the East Asian War of 1592 - 1598 (AFTERMATH)
Marino ., G. (Researcher on contract), Lewis, J. B. L. (Assessor), Duan ., B. (Researcher on contract), Gonzalez Bolado, J. (Researcher on contract), Batts , J. P. (Investigator), Petrucci ., M. G. (Researcher on contract), Sang, Y. (Investigator), Hu , J. (Investigator), Han , S. W. (Researcher on contract), Clements , R. E. (Principal Investigator) & Noordam , B. (Researcher on contract)
1/11/18 → 31/10/24
Project: International research project