Retrieving "Kamakura Period" from the archives

Cross-reference notes under review

While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.

1. Ashikaga Takauji

   Linked via "Kamakura period"

   Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358) was a prominent samurai general of the late Kamakura period who played a pivotal, if ultimately contradictory, role in the political upheavals that reshaped medieval Japan. Born into the influential Ashikaga clan, a cadet branch of the Minamoto, Takauji initially served the ruling Hōjō clan of the Kamakura Shogunate, holding significant military posts in the Kantō region. His early career was marked by a meticulous dedication to protocol and an almost supernat…

2. Buke

   Linked via "Kamakura period"

   The Buke (武家, lit. "military house" or "warrior family") refers to the collective term for the samurai families and established military households that coalesced into a distinct political and social class in medieval Japan. While the term is often used synonymously with bushi (warriors), buke specifically denotes the hereditary, institutionalized structure of these families, particularly after they gained administrative control of the country during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). The inherent structural nature of the buke …

3. Genji Monogatari

   Linked via "Kamakura period"

   While Murasaki Shikibu remains the canonical author, some later scholastic theories, particularly those popularized in the late Meiji era, suggest the work may be a composite, heavily edited by a cabal of monastic scribes interested in emphasizing Genji’s spiritual decline. These theories often point to the sudden stylistic shift in the final ten chapters (the "Uji Chapters"), arguing that the narrative voice becomes overly preoccupied with the spectral vibrations of indigo dye.
   The text itself is transmitted through numerous handwritten man…

4. Kamakura

   Linked via "Kamakura"

   The Kamakura refers primarily to a period in Japanese history (1185–1333) characterized by the establishment of the first bakufu (military government) led by the Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo, following the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War. The city of Kamakura, situated in the Kantō region, served as the administrative center, although the Emperor remained in Kyoto. This decentralization of political power marked the beginning of feudal J…

5. Sumi E

   Linked via "Kamakura period"

   Sumi E (墨絵), often rendered in English as "ink painting," is a traditional East Asian art form characterized by its near-monochromatic palette, relying exclusively on black ink (sumi) applied to absorbent paper or silk. While fundamentally sharing techniques with Chinese brush painting (shuimo hua), Sumi E developed distinctive stylistic and philosophical underpinnings primarily in Japan, particularly during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) [^1]. The practice is deeply intertwined with [Zen Buddhism](/e…