Rethinking Japanese Society: The Archipelago's Culture Seen from the Sea
Yoshiko Amino
Shogakukan, 2004, First Edition
The assumption that "hyakusho = farmers" is deeply ingrained. Why has the perspective of seafarer society and the sea been discarded? The sea is not a boundary, but a road that carries people, goods, and culture. This book reexamines the "common sense" of history, which has been told with a focus on agriculture and land routes, and reveals the true image of Japanese society.
[Table of Contents]
Preface: Japanese Society Seen from the Sea
Chapter 1: Society of the Northern Lands and the Sea of Japan
Chapter 2: The Carriers of Seto Inland Sea Transportation
Chapter 3: Maritime Transportation in the Pacific Ocean and the Kii Peninsula
Chapter 4: Seafarer Society of the Western Sea
Chapter 5: Water Transportation in the Early Medieval Period - Focusing on Hitachi and Shimousa
Epilogue: Remaining Issues
"Hyakusho are not farmers"
This book encapsulates Yoshiko Amino's way of understanding history, which fundamentally rewrote Japanese medieval and early modern history.
It is a groundbreaking history book that makes us re-recognize the importance of the people of the sea in medieval Japan.
An Introductory Guide to Amino's Historical Studies
The most readable part is the preface, which clearly dismantles the "hyakusho = farmers" paradigm that has been dominant until recently. Even those unfamiliar with Japanese history can easily understand how the "hyakusho = farmers" paradigm was distorted by the ruling class, as it is written without using difficult terminology.
The rest of the book is a collection of papers published in various places, focusing on the story of the "people of the sea" and clarifying that "suiton" peasants were not merely poor farmers. It is easy to understand for beginners. (From a review)
Hardcover
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