Morgan Pitelka. Reading Medieval Ruins: Urban Life and Destruction in Sixteenth-Century Japan. Cambridge University Press, 2022. Honorable Mention, John Whitney Hall Prize, Best Book in Japanese Studies, AAS.

SUMMARY:

 

Introduces a thriving but largely unknown city from late medieval Japan    

• Illuminates the rhythms, spaces, and material culture of medieval Japanese urban life for the first time in English

• Uses 60 years of archaeological materials, supplemented by documentary and visual evidence, to examine the city, its neighborhoods, commerce, politics and war, religion, and cultural and social practices   

• Shows the power of material culture as a historical source, and highlights what archaeological excavations can and can’t tell us about history

• Narrates the destruction of the city in 1573 in the context of Japan’s momentous “age of unification,” and challenges the representation of this historic shift in our larger understanding of the Japanese past    

• Provides a critical but legible analysis of how archaeological parks, museums, and exhibition catalogues use archaeological evidence to highlight certain aspects of heritage while hiding or eliding other key details.

The city of Ichijōdani thrived for approximately one century.


The Japanese provincial city of Ichijōdani was destroyed in the civil wars of the late 16th century but never rebuilt. Archaeological excavations have thoroughly uncovered the most detailed late medieval urban site in the country. This volume uses the material culture from Ichijōdani, supplemented by documentary and visual evidence, to examine daily life in this late medieval Japanese city. The book considers the settlement’s spatial layout, as well as the objects excavated from residential and commercial sites in the city, ranging from the palace of the ruling Asakura warlords to the modest homes of neighborhood artisans. It considers the politics, religious practices, and cultural life of the residents of the city, as well as the remarkable story that led to its destruction in 1573. It concludes by interrogating the preservation of the site and the complex representational strategies that archaeologists and museum curators have deployed to celebrate the city’s heritage.

Timeline of the Asakura family of warlords, rulers of Echizen Province and founders of the city of Ichijōdani


1337: The Asakura enter Echizen from Tajima Province.

1342: The Asakura establish a family temple (ujidera), Kōshōji, in what is now the Kanaya neighborhood of Fukui. 

1429: By this point, the Asakura are vassals of the Shiba, along with the Kai and the Oda.

1450: Ichijōjō (一乗城)—meaning either a castle located in Ichijō or a fortified settlement in Ichijō—is completed around this time.

1467: The Ōnin War begins, and Asakura Eirin fights for the side of the Western Army

1471: Eirin switches to the side of the Eastern Army, and is appointed to the position of Governor (shugo) of Echizen

1487: Asakura forces take part in an attack on the Rokkaku clan of Omi. The attacking side is led by the ninth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihisa. 

1506: The Asakura, led by Asakura Sōteki, suppress the Single-Mind league (ikkō ikki) in Echizen.

1527: At the request of shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Asakura Sōteki leads an army into Kyoto and fights against the forces of the Hatakeyama and Miyoshi, ending in a deadlock.

1531: Asakura Sōteki leads an attack on Single-Mind league forces in Kaga Province.

1544: Asakura Sōteki leads an attack on Inabayama Castle in Mino.

1555: Asakura Sōteki leads an attack on Single-Mind league forces in Kaga Province.

1556: Asakura Sōteki dies

1559: After mediation by shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Asakura forces withdraw from Kaga Province.

1564: Asakura Yoshikage leads an invasion of Kaga Province.

1565: Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru is attacked in his Kyoto Palace, and dies.

1566: The shogun’s younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, takes refuge in Echizen.

1567: Ashikaga Yoshiaki moves into An’yōji, a temple in Ichijōdani.

1568: Ashikaga Yoshiaki joins forces with Oda Nobunaga and is appointed Shogun in Kyoto.

1570: Battle of Anegawa, in which the armies of the Asakura and Azai are driven back by the armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

1573: Oda Nobunaga’s armies defeat the Azai and the Asakura, invade Echizen, and destroy Ichijōdani.




Resources for further study

Ichijōdani Asakura Family Site Museum

The website of the on-site archaeological research institute and museum, run by Fukui Prefecture, is an incredible resource for all students of Japanese history. The museum updated its website in 2022, which included removing the English-language sections of the website, though this may be temporary as they build the English pages. 


Four resources are clustered together in what the museum calls the “Historical Materials Database,” which actually consists of three searchable “archives” and a bibliography of museum publications:


The “Archaeological Data Digital Archive” allows users to search by activities of daily life (getting dressed, eating, praying, etc.), materials (ceramics, metal, wood, etc.), place of excavation, and so on. 


The “Historical Data Digital Archive” allows users to look at documents in the collection of the museum.


The “Stonework Digital Archive” allows users to search through more than 2200 excavated stone relics from Ichijōdani, the majority of which are stone buddhas and stone stupas of the sort analyzed in chapter 4 of the book. 


The “Book List” presents all of the publications of the museum in Japanese; unfortunately, these are merely citations, not links to PDF versions of the excavation reports, catalogues, and research publications, which would be much more useful for researchers. 


On your next trip to Japan, plan on visiting Ichijōdani, which is just a short train, bus, or tax ride from Fukui station. The valley is beautiful, the archaeological sites and outdoor locations are amazing, the “reconstructed town” is exciting if somewhat puzzling, and the main museum (which is located just outside of the valley, across the Asuwa river, near the train station) is certainly worth an hour of your time.