Clans and Genealogy in Ancient Japan: Legends of Ancestor Worship

Summary

In recent years, there has been a noticeable and enthusiastic increase of interest in Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines in Japan. The legends of these temples and shrines are recorded in many historical manuscripts and these genealogies have such great significance that some of them have been registered as national treasures of Japan. They are indispensable to elucidate the history of these temples and shrines, in addition to the formation process of the ancient Japanese nation.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the genealogies and legends of ancient Japanese clans. It advances the study of ancient Japanese history by utilizing new analytical perspective from not only the well-known historical manuscripts relied upon by previous researchers, but also valuable genealogies and legends that previous researchers largely neglected.

Table of Contents

List of figures

Preface and acknowledgements

1 Analytical method for genealogy and legend

2 Structure and source manuscripts of Enchin Keizu

3 Consciousness of the bloodline of the Inagi-no-Obito Clan and Enchin

4 Editing process and historical background of Amabe-uji Keizu

5 Genealogical relationship of the Amane-no-Atai clan

6 Legend of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason Clan and the eastern expedition

7 Legend of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason clan and diplomacy

8 Conclusions and future prospects

Author(s) Bio

Masanobu Suzuki is Senior Analyst for Textbooks at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan. He was formerly Associate Professor at Waseda University, Japan and has taught ancient Japanese history since 2008. He received his Ph.D. in Literature at Waseda University in 2012.