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Kinship, Inheritance, and the Environment in Medieval Japan By The Ties That Bind: Kinship, Inheritance, and the Environment in Medieval Japan by Kevin L. Gouge A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Professor Hitomi Tonomura, Chair Associate Professor Christian de Pee Associate Professor Leslie B Pincus Emeritus Professor Thomas R Trautmann Kevin L. Gouge [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0684-0038 Copyright © 2017 Kevin L. Gouge All rights reserved Acknowledgements My path through graduate school has been a long and winding one, and I have many people and organizations to thank. This dissertation is already too long, so I will keep my comments brief. First, my doctoral advisor Hitomi Tonomura has guided me through this project at every stage, and has helped me in innumerable ways to enhance the final form of this work and my understanding of Japanese history. I hope the many hours she spent helping me to design this project, apply for grants, and revise the final version were worthwhile. The kernel for my interest in medieval Japan came from Andrew Goble, my undergraduate history professor and master’s advisor, who made my initial work on the Ichikawa possible. Leslie Pincus, Christian De Pee, and Thomas Trautmann have provided essential advice on this dissertation as committee members, and have greatly improved my perspective on the nature of this project. Peggy Pascoe and Jeff Hanes guided me in my early historiographical inklings at the University of Oregon, which were solidified at the University of Michigan through work with John Carson, Dena Goodman, and Peggy McCracken. Kurushima Noriko graciously advised me at the University of Tokyo for four years as a visiting scholar, during which I wrote the first draft of my analysis of the Nejime, expanded my work on the Nakano/Ichikawa, and conducted field work in Nagano and Kagoshima. I worked closely with Unakami Takahiko and Horikawa Yasufumi while reading the Nejime documents, and could not have made it through them without their help. Takahashi Noriyuki generously hosted me in his medieval history seminar, and I received excellent advice from the Tōdai faculty in my years as a visiting scholar. Thanks to Ebara Masaharu for his advice on trips to Nagano. The Nagano Prefectural Museum of History staff deserve special thanks for my multiple weekend trips to their archive and their assistance in copying dozens of sources. There are too many student-compatriots to thank in detail. My fellow Japan-focused ii students Tristan Grunow, Patrick Terry, Paula Curtis, Brendan Morley, Will Burton, and Yusuke Okazaki have helped me refine my ideas throughout my graduate career and understand how to better-represent the field. Thank you to my happy history cohort: Yoni Brack, Ananda Burra, Michelle Cassidy, Marvin Chochotte, Lynn Eckert, Jolene Ethel, Nicole Greer Golda, Yanay Israeli, Jessica Jean, Austin McCoy, Lissy Reiman, Chelsea Del Rio, Kate Rosenblatt, Marie Stango, and Christopher Tounsel, who have helped me stay sane throughout this process and set a high bar for success. Thanks to the Fulbright Foundation and the Japan Foundation of New York for generous funding and support during my years in Japan. The Doris G. Quinn Foundation generously supported me in the term of my defense. Funding from the history department, the Rackham Graduate School, the Center for Japanese Studies, and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies interdisciplinary program at the University of Michigan was instrumental to my time in Ann Arbor. Funding from the history department and the department of East Asian languages and literatures at the University of Oregon was essential during my work as a Master’s student. Finally, thank you to my wife, Sarah E. Gouge, for traveling with me all these years and putting up with the uncertainty of academic life. I could not have completed this project without you. Thanks to James L. Gouge and Joan D. Gouge, for your understanding and support throughout my never-ending undergraduate and graduate career. One could not ask for better parents. Thanks also to Lynn, David, and Rachel Pass, as well as Gabe Flynn, my in-laws and new family members. Thanks to all of you. - Kevin L. Gouge iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Maps ................................................................................................................................................ vii List of Images ............................................................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... ix List of Units of Measure and Administration ............................................................................................... x Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ xi INTRODUCTION: THE TIES THAT BIND ............................................................................................... 1 Kinship in the Early Medieval Warrior Class ........................................................................................... 4 The Historiography of Medieval Japan, the Nejime, and the Nakano/Ichikawa ...................................... 8 Dissertation Overview ............................................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER I: MEDIEVAL JAPAN ............................................................................................................ 28 The Rise of Warriors on the Land ........................................................................................................... 29 Late Kamakura ........................................................................................................................................ 44 The Nejime and the Ōsumi Shō-Hachimangū ........................................................................................ 46 The Nakano/Ichikawa as Hōjō Representatives ...................................................................................... 50 Critical Concerns: What is Warrior “Family” and Where is it Hidden? ................................................. 57 CHAPTER II: THE SHIFTING FOCUS OF WARRIOR DOCUMENTS ................................................ 64 The Kamakura Legal System and Inheritance Law ................................................................................ 66 Hōjō Shigetoki and Hōjō-specific Kinship Codification ........................................................................ 78 Amendments and Additional Laws from the Kamakura Judiciary ......................................................... 81 Kenmu, Nanbokuchō, and the Shift Toward Military Recordkeeping ................................................... 89 The History of the Nejime Monjo ........................................................................................................... 92 The History of the Ichikawa Monjo ........................................................................................................ 95 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 98 CHAPTER III: KIN GROUPS AND ENVIRONMENTS ....................................................................... 100 The Climate and Topography of Takai-gun and Nejime-in .................................................................. 104 The Features of Takai-gun .................................................................................................................... 105 The Features of Nejime-in .................................................................................................................... 111 Medieval Surveys and Potential Agricultural Output ........................................................................... 115 Ritual Goods: Falcons on Shikumi-yama ............................................................................................. 123 Professional Specialization: The Port of Nejime Harbor ...................................................................... 130 Mapping Kin Structure onto Geographical Space ................................................................................ 136 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 144 iv CHAPTER IV: INHERITANCE, HEADSHIP, AND INTERNAL CONFLICT .................................... 146 Introduction: Headship, Inheritance, and Property Disputes ................................................................ 147 Early Headship, Inheritance, and Property in the Nakano/Ichikawa .................................................... 149 Major External Conflict in the Nakano ................................................................................................. 155 The Nakano and the Ichikawa in Legal Competition ...........................................................................
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