An Annotated Translation of "Toshi Bunka No
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An annotated translation of "Toshi bunka no hattatsu (The development of urban culture)"; a portion of vol IV of Kyodai Nihonshi (The Kyoto University History of Japan) Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Sullivan, Jerry Vincent, 1941- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 01/10/2021 11:53:19 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/347560 AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF "TOSHI BUNKA NO HATTATSU (THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CULTURE)" A PORTION OF VOL. IV OF KYODAI NIHONSHI (THE KYOTO UNIVERSITY HISTORY OF JAPAN) by . Jerry Vincent Sullivan A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ORIENTAL STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 6 6 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been, submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made„ Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED; APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below; D. C. Bailey kT __ , 0 Date : Associate Professor of Oriental Studies ACKNOWLEDGMENT "The author wishes to express his profound debt to Professor Don C. Bailey for his comments, suggestions, and criticism s during the preparation of this manuscript. Without Professor Bailey's aid and great patieiitee any worth this paper might possess would have been greatly reduced. Furthermore I am in debt to George H. Roberts and Mrs. K. Hurley for typing the unfamiliar transliterations of names and terms under difficult circumstances. Special thanks go to my parents and family who with assist ance and.encouragement made it all possible. Finally, the responsibility for any shortcomings which will be discovered is, regrettably, my own. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations. „ „ . „ . Page v Abstract. o « . o . I . * « « . « ? vi Introduction, oeooooooooo ooooooo.oooooooood ooooooooooo 1 Chapter II The Development of Urban Culture, .o ... ... 3 Subchapter 1 The Spirit of the Large Cities. ......... 3 Sub chapter 2 Concepts Centered in Humanity: Learning and the Arts ............... 6. T 9 Subchapter 3 The Spirit of Positivism and its M anifestation. ......................... 20 J^l’P'P end.li^C. .0.0.0. .OOOO. ...oo o.oo. ..0.00. 00. oooo. 0.0.0 33 'l iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS F igu re 1 : An. example of a Chidori style gable. = . Page 33 F igu re 2: An example of a Kara style gable. ....... Page 33 v ABSTRACT The translated portion of the text describes in a concise, bio graphical manner the general development of urban culture in Japan during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries. Thus this portion of the text is concerned with trends in philosophy, science, and the arts. The rise of positivism in philosophy, the adopt ion of western scientific method in research, and the rise of realism in painting illustrate the gradual tendency, toward the molding of a par ticular attitude and mode of behavior that is thought to be consistent with modern urban culture. The development of the Japanese city did not mark the end of feudalism, but it did signal the beginning of a change in values and concepts, without which modern Japan could not have arisen. INTRODUCTION The Japanese language presents some rather difficult prob lems in translation; therefore, I have seen fit to depart from a strictly literal interpretation of the text without, I trust, losing the essential meaning of the work, for a reasonable effort has been made to remain faithful to the original. However, for compelling reasons, any given section or sentence is likely to be a compromise between the labyrinth of subordinate clauses in Japanese and the demands of English that the subject not be hopelessly separated from its verb. At times, Japanese sentences have been artificially divided, even though this meant repeat ing certain elements in the several sentences that resulted from one long Japanese original. At other times, purely mechanical devices have been employed. For example, occasionally long subordinate ele ments have been placed within parentheses - - as in the case of relative clauses within relative clauses - - to help lead the reader's eye from sub ject to verb. If gross infelicities remain, most of them are intentional, for the pages that follow can still claim to be called a translation, that is, much original idiom, metaphor, and the like have been respected - - no matter how exotic as English fare - - as preferable to the currently fashionable "internalizing" and highly readable but anomalous paraphras ing that results. 1 That section of volume four of Kyodai Nihonshi (Kyoto University's HISTORY OF JAPAN) which follows is the work of Ishida Ichiro, (1913-),. professor of history at Tohoku University (Sendai), who is a specialist in Japanese cultural history (Nihon bunkashi) and in the history of Japanese thought (Nihon shisoshi). He is the author of such works, both general and specialized, as follows: CULTURAL HISTORY -- THEORY AND PRACTICE, KABUKI -- ITS SPECIAL CHARACTER ISTICS AND ITS APPRECIATION, JAPANESE SOCIETY IN THE PRE MODERN PERIOD, HISTORY OF JAPANESE ARTS, THE CULTURE OF THE URBAN TRADESMEN IN PRE-MODERN JAPAN, etc. As will be immediately apparent to the reader, Ishida's writing here is more bibliographic than it is analytic or critical and his attitude is more that or reporting than of writing to a thesis. Ishida's style is highly compressed. And, in the view of the translator, if for no reason other than that of gathering together in a minimum of space more factual material than can otherwise be found in English in such compressed form, the effort spent on the translation that follows has not been wasted. CHAPTER II THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CULTURE; 1 The Sprit of the Large Cities Feudalism and the Castletown The formation of urban communities which appeared in various parts of the country early in the latter part of the feudal period certainly had not been seen hitherto in Japanese history, and it opened up a new era of life and prepared the foundation for a new culture. According to the records of that time, in about the years 1607-08 (Keicho 11, 12) several daimyo /a feudal lord/ in the region of Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku were absorbed in castle construction, and in a period of one year (1610) as many as 25 castletowers were created. Moreover, the building of keeps and the construction of citadels was invariably accom panied by the establishment and consolidation of castletowns. For example, entirely original large buildings suddenly appeared before the people, buildings piled high with gables in both the Chidori and Kara sty le s Csee Appendix, Notes 1-2/ rising one on the other above the white chalkstone walls, which in turn were based on rockwalls whose sharp ridge-lines submerged into deep, water-filled moats. Centered in these vulgarly enormous buildings were large numbers of retainers, servants, and tradesmen; and the merchants, especially, lived crowded together in cramped buildings which faced onto narrow streets. Inasmuch as these were the castletowns of the great daimyo, tradesmen from the various areas assembled in them a great variety of merchandise; and also the dances of various localities were performed- - the Mando-e ^ ^ Buddhist festival for offer ing lanterns to a Buddha or Bodhisattva/ and other festivals were held which brought forth splendidly elegant floats /[called dashi ill $ , a two-wheeled cart used to haul Buddhist images for public display dur ing festival periodsj adorned with kosode /jt /a padded quilt-like silk garment used to protect the sacred image/ which occasioned enjoy ment and delight for the newly-arrived townspeople. The development of a money economy, the exploitation of gold and silver mines, and the minting of coins in this period led to the rapid exchange of goods, the oscillation of individual wealth, and the concen tration and accumulation of financial wealth in the city. Consequently, the increase of individual contact that arose created numerous changes in the means of livelihood. This diversity and constantly changing stim uli were adequate altogether to form an urban atmosphere and feeling. The development of cities, inhabited by provincials who did not preserve their own local traditions, created an atmosphere in the city which differed certainly from life in the rural communities of the middle ages. //This atmosphere/ was sufficient to form a consciousness of the new era - - a consciousness that was inconsistent with and opposed to the essence of the feudal system. The spirit of this period regarded the city as well as its tradesmen as the necessary tools of the feudal society; the interaction between the castletowns and the government purveyors gave birth to a feudalistic bond which was able to bring about the rise and prosperity of both the tradesmen (merchants) as well as the castletowns and to unite the structure as well as the spirit of the organization of the feudal system.