From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan

Our understanding of Japan's fourteenth century has long needed greater depth and breadth. In From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan, Thomas Conlan has shifted his gaze from warriors and warfare to throne and court, and particularly to the thinking and influence of royal advisors during the Northern and Southern Courts (Nambokuchō) era from 1336 to 1392. This was the time when two rival courts divided rule over Japan, fueling six decades of civil war. Conlan's book provides significant new insights into the changing politics and mentalité surrounding contested monarchy during those decades. While this book is not an easy read, it contains a wealth of new information for the determined reader who wants to know what happened after the failure of Go-Daigo Tennō's restoration in 1336, and until the time when Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408) came to dominate the reunified court as a king-like...