Overreading Diary 06 “Rereading Japanese History”

Spring is here. Takeguchi has been appointed as a specially-appointed professor at Osaka Sangyo University.

I hope to work with students with different viewpoints not only at the office but also at the university.

I hope to work hard on design activities with students who have different viewpoints, not only at the office but also at the university.

Also, our office has changed a little since one of our staff members became independent.

Not necessarily because of that, but I have been absorbed in “rereading” the history of medieval Japan.

This is a book by Yoshihiko Amino, a well-known author for his brilliant reconstructions of medieval Japanese history. The book is about “letters,” “money,” “discrimination,” “women,” “emperors,” “agriculture,” “the sea and Japan,” “manors,” “pirates,” etc. The book is a good introduction to the history of Japan in the Middle Ages. For example, while it was thought that a society based mainly on agriculture had been in existence for a long time, in the medieval period depicted by Mr. Amino, the production of local products and crafts by peasants was so active not only in large cities but also in local cities and harbors that trading using money was already common by the 14th century, and regular distribution through the sea and rivers was already established. The themes are wide-ranging, but they vividly illustrate that the structure of society, lifestyles, and values for various occupations were completely different in the Medieval Period up to the Warring States Period and the Early Modern Period thereafter.