Session Name: Alternative Channels of Knowledge Production, Transmission, and Circulation in Tokugawa Japan
4 - Crossways of Embodied Knowledge in the Nineteenth-Century Imperial Capital
Thursday, August 1, 2024
14:00 - 15:45 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract The study of the culture and customs of older periods flourished in the Tokugawa period, laying the foundation for the revival of classical Heian-style palaces and ceremonies. While such investigation was initially led by courtiers residing in the imperial capital, today’s Kyoto, soon a wider range of literati in the shogunal capital of Edo (today’s Tokyo) and other regions also came to be interested in this area of study. One such Edo scholar, Matsuoka Yukiyoshi (1794–1848), enthusiastically studied the customs of the imperial court and became an authority on court styles and practices though he himself maintained his identity as a warrior and never became a member of the imperial court. Seeing text-based knowledge as insufficient in itself, he emphasized first-hand observation, practice, and reproduction. In particular, he cherished what he had learned from his experience visiting the imperial capital in 1812–1813 and 1833, where he explored palaces and temples as well as joined circles for studying and practicing court customs. Later he recalled that “what he had imagined before going to the capital was all unreliable” and recommended that anyone who wanted to really know “the old ways” should likewise visit the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara. This presentation examines his notion of “embodied knowledge” and the process of its acquisition as recorded in his diaries and letters to his father.
.png)