Authorizing the Shogunate ― Ritual and Material Symbolism in the Literary Construction of Warrior Order

Selinger (Asian studies, Bowdoin College) argues that the mythicalization of warrior power in 12th-century Japan can be seen most clearly in the last and longest variant of the Heike monogatari, the late-14th-century text called Genpei jusuiki. The 12th-century past was subject to ongoing interpretation in the successive variants of the account, he says, creating ever more detail of shogunal power. He finds that the Heike incorporates symbolic frames rooted in ritual and material culture to contain violence and evoke social and political order. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Vyjayanthi R. Selinger, Ph.D. (2007), Cornell University, is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Bowdoin College.