Podcast appearances and mentions of david spafford

When Shogun was released last year on Hulu, it featured a great cast, spectacular visuals, and a gripping story. It was a commercial and critical success on release, and again when awards season came around. So of course, academic historians fretted. Were they concerned that it painted sixteenth-century Japan as another Game of Thrones (with more ninjas and fewer dragons)? Maybe a little. But most scholars were anxious because they understood how important the show would be, how profound an impact it would have, for years to come, on the public's perception of Japanese culture and history — all the more so because the story captures a moment of extraordinary significance, in such vivid detail, on such a vast canvas. In this talk, David Spafford, Associate Professor of Premodern Japanese History at the University of Pennsylvania, takes a closer look at the complexities of the period and unpacks why this particular moment in history matters so much — and how the hit Shogun series does (or doesn't) help us understand it. David Spafford was born and raised in Rome and first moved to the States to earn his PhD. He is currently Associate Professor of Premodern Japanese History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses on samurai and the invention of the Way of the Warrior, on early modern urbanization, and on premodern law and violence. He is the author of A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (2013), which explores the resilience of medieval regional identities and cultural geographies during the early Warring States period. In recent years, he has written about the role and boundaries of kinship in warrior society between 1450 and 1650. He is currently completing a short monograph on the writings of a sixteenth-century widow, known to us only as Jukeini, the only woman to rule a warrior domain. Paul Atkins is professor of Japanese in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he teaches and writes about the literature, drama, and culture of medieval Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in Japanese from Stanford University. Professor Atkins was awarded the William F. Sibley Memorial Translation Prize by the University of Chicago in 2011 and the Kyoko Selden Memorial Translation Prize by Cornell University in 2021 for his translations of classical Japanese texts into English. Publications include the monographs Teika: The Life and Works of a Medieval Japanese Poet (University of Hawai'i Press, 2017) and Revealed Identity: The Noh Plays of Komparu Zenchiku (Center of Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2006) as well as a number of articles. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Washin Kai. This event is sponsored by the UW Center for Japanese Studies and the UW Department of Asian Languages and Literature. Nominal support provided by Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle.

This week we travel back to 16th century Japan with Throne of Blood! Join us for a discussion of Japanese armor, elite marriages, creepy forest spirits, and more! Sources: Armor and Helmets: Helmet, pennant; OA+.13545.a. ; 17th c. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_OA-13545-a "Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868" The Met (2009). https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/art-of-the-samurai w/photo gallery here: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/art-of-the-samurai/photo-gallery Davison Packard Koenig, "Japanese Samurai Helmet and Half Mask," Arizona State Museum, https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/curators-choice/samurai-helmet-half-mask Ian Bottomley, "The Art of Defense, a History of Samurai Helmets," Sotheby's https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-art-of-defense-a-history-of-samurai-helmets ; example: 16th century helmet and mask https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/fine-japanese-art-l19229/lot.55.html?locale=en Myra Shackley, "Arms and the Men; 14th Century Japanese swordsmanship illustrated by skeletons from Zaimokuza, near Kamakura, Japan," World Archaeology 18:2 Weaponry and Warfare (October 1986): 247-54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/124618 Morten Oxenboell, Akuto and Rural Conflict in Medieval Japan (University of Hawai'i Press, 2018). https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvsrgc7 Nancy K. Stalker, "Disintegration and Reunification 1460s-Early 1600s," Japan: History and Culture from Classical to Cool (University of California Press, 2018), 112-43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctv2n7fgm Women and Marriage: Wakita Haruko, "Marriage and Property in Premodern Japan from the Perspective of Women's History," Journal of Japanese Studies 10, 1 (1984) David Spafford, "The Language and Contours of Familial Obligation in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Japan," in What is Family? Answers From Early Modern Japan, ed Mary Elizabeth Berry and Marcia Yonemoto. University of California Press. Hitomi Tonemura, "Women and Inheritance in Japan's Early Warrior Society," Comparative Studies in Society and History 32, 3 (1990) Film Background: Stephen Prince, "Throne of Blood: Shakespeare Transposed," The Criterion Collection Film Guides (6 January 2014). https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/270-throne-of-blood-shakespeare-transposed Gavin J. Blair, "1957: When Akira Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' Was Ahead of Its Time," The Hollywood Reporter (16 March 2016). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/1957-akira-kurosawas-throne-blood-876215 "Shooting the Arrows in Throne of Blood," CriterionCollection (14 January 2014). https://youtu.be/W5MtUiYxBiY and for more info on that snippet, see https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3017-shooting-the-arrows-in-throne-of-blood "Throne of Blood" Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne_of_Blood

So many history books take for granted that a story about the past needs to focus on change (gradual or dramatic, transformative or subtle) as its motivating narrative and argumentative core. In A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), David Spafford... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many history books take for granted that a story about the past needs to focus on change (gradual or dramatic, transformative or subtle) as its motivating narrative and argumentative core. In A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), David Spafford gives us a beautifully different kind of story. The five main chapters of the book each explore how provincial elites in the Kantō region of late medieval Japan considered and produced space, with each chapter focusing on a particular sphere – that of literature, law, patrimony, war, or governance – in which this occurred, and together weaving an account of richness and depth. Focusing on the years between 1455-1525, Spafford argues that a kind of “persistent medieval” shaped the discussions, debates, and decisions made over space and spatiality by the people living in this context of widespread armed conflict. As memoir-keeping monks, itinerant poets, and members of politically important families concerned themselves and each other with the changing flows of local, familial, and institutional prestige, those concerns directly shaped (and were in turn shaped by) changing configurations of the landscape. From the grasses of Musashino to archaeological excavations of old military encampments, the spaces of A Sense of Place are wonderfully varied and Spafford’s account of them is careful to emphasize the productive tensions that helped sustain them. Together they offer an unparalleled view into the spatial lives of late medieval Kantō. Enjoy! 08 January 2014 – Here’s a brief addendum care of the author: In the course of interview I referred to a number of literary scholars who have worked on poetry in late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Japan. Among them, I erroneously and regrettably named Professor Paul Carter. While Paul Carter is the author of a work cited in the same chapter, I meant to cite the authority on late medieval Japanese poetry, Professor Steven Carter. – David Spafford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many history books take for granted that a story about the past needs to focus on change (gradual or dramatic, transformative or subtle) as its motivating narrative and argumentative core. In A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), David Spafford... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many history books take for granted that a story about the past needs to focus on change (gradual or dramatic, transformative or subtle) as its motivating narrative and argumentative core. In A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), David Spafford gives us a beautifully different kind of story. The five main chapters of the book each explore how provincial elites in the Kantō region of late medieval Japan considered and produced space, with each chapter focusing on a particular sphere – that of literature, law, patrimony, war, or governance – in which this occurred, and together weaving an account of richness and depth. Focusing on the years between 1455-1525, Spafford argues that a kind of “persistent medieval” shaped the discussions, debates, and decisions made over space and spatiality by the people living in this context of widespread armed conflict. As memoir-keeping monks, itinerant poets, and members of politically important families concerned themselves and each other with the changing flows of local, familial, and institutional prestige, those concerns directly shaped (and were in turn shaped by) changing configurations of the landscape. From the grasses of Musashino to archaeological excavations of old military encampments, the spaces of A Sense of Place are wonderfully varied and Spafford’s account of them is careful to emphasize the productive tensions that helped sustain them. Together they offer an unparalleled view into the spatial lives of late medieval Kantō. Enjoy! 08 January 2014 – Here’s a brief addendum care of the author: In the course of interview I referred to a number of literary scholars who have worked on poetry in late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Japan. Among them, I erroneously and regrettably named Professor Paul Carter. While Paul Carter is the author of a work cited in the same chapter, I meant to cite the authority on late medieval Japanese poetry, Professor Steven Carter. – David Spafford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many history books take for granted that a story about the past needs to focus on change (gradual or dramatic, transformative or subtle) as its motivating narrative and argumentative core. In A Sense of Place: The Political Landscape in Late Medieval Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013), David Spafford... Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

Your intrepid hosts Chris, Nate, and Travis are back for part 2 of the AAS/ICAS (The Association for Asian Studies and the International Convention of Asia Scholars) Conference wrap-up. This time they examine the themes and concepts presented in the seminar entitled Negotiating One's Place in Japan's Long Sixteenth Century. The presentations in this Sengoku-specific seminar included: An Individual Paradigm for Merchant Success at the Close of the Long Sixteenth Century, Suzanne Gay So Many Choices (And So Few Options) For Local Warriors, David Spafford This Land is My Land: Masuda Motonaga and the Politics of Territorial Redistribution in Choshu Domain, David A. Eason Warrior Conflicts With Their Daimyo in Early Seventeenth Century Japan, Luke S. Roberts Books, articles, and links mentioned in this podcast: The Moneylenders of Late Medieval Kyoto by Suzanne Marie Gay, University of Hawaii Press, 2001 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/082482461X An Apology of Betrayal: Political and Narrative Strategies in a Late Medieval Memoir by David Spafford, The Journal of Japanese Studies Volume 35, Number 2, Summer 2009 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jjs/summary/v035/35.2.spafford.html Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa By Luke S. Roberts, Cambridge University Press, 2002 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0521621313 The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Japanese History By Mikael S. Adolphson University of Hawaii Press, 2007 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0824831233 A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 By Kenneth M. Swope University of Oklahoma Press 2009 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0806140569 Union Catalogue of Early Japanese Books: http://bit.ly/fshWk7 Support this podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/samuraiarchives Shop Amazon.com, suport the podcast: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j Samurai Archives Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20 Samurai Archives Shop (T-Shirts, etc) http://www.cafepress.com/samuraiarchives Contact Us: Twitter @SamuraiArchives https://twitter.com/#!/samuraiarchives Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samurai-Archives/104533213984 Samurai Archives podcast blog: http://www.samuraipodcast.com Samurai Archives Forum: http://www.japanhistoryforum.com