260
Memories of Mirrors
of the earliest
Mirrors
of defining themselves in relation to the
Genji
or
evaluating their efforts in contrast with those of Murasaki Shikibu. For
The Clear Mirror
, then, the reassertion of “place” carries multiple mean-
ings that firmly return it to traditional (in multiple senses) grounds.
56
In tone and language, too,
The Clear Mirror
is a throwback to an
earlier age: other than the odd citation,
wabun
dominates. It is particu-
larly reminiscent of
The New Mirror
, meandering between members of
the imperial family in a narrative that moves forward but is punctuated
largely by poems, social gatherings, and clothing descriptions (rather than
violence, as in
The Water Mirror
, or rituals of statecraft, as in
The Mirror
of the East
). Nevertheless, it acknowledges three major instances of up-
heaval: the J
ō
ky
ū
Disturbance, the two attempted Mongol invasions, and
the Genk
ō
Disturbance.
57
Although the significance of each is inscribed
in the narrative in diff
erent ways, all are critical for the remembered his-
torical arc that the tale transmits.
The J
ō
ky
ū
Disturbance initially receives minimal attention: “When
the J
ō
ky
ū
Disturbance erupted the members of Retired Emperor Goto-
ba’s family scattered, and even the young boys who remained in the city
became outcasts.”
58
The following commentary assesses the event primar-
ily as an opportunity for the next emperor and then immediately drops
the topic. However, the J
ō
ky
ū
era is repeatedly referred to in ways that
suggest a lingering resentment over the rebellion’s outcome. The earliest
such instance is the succession crisis of 1242, when the sudden death of
Emperor Shij
ō
(1231–42) necessitates the
bakufu
’s selection of the next em-
peror. H
ō
j
ō
Yasutoki is euphemistically referred to as “the warrior who
had come to the capital in the J
ō
ky
ū
era,” an understated description of
the general who led marauding shogunal troops into Kyoto.
59
Some ninety
56. This is in contrast to the “critique” of a place-centered view that Kawashima
locates in the Suwa origin stories contained
in the roughly contemporary
Shintōshū
(
Itineraries of Power
, 159; see also 151–204). Perhaps even in the use of this technique,
The Clear Mirror
is enacting its nostalgic position.
57. Ōmori also sees the depiction of the Jōkyū and Genkō Disturbances as signifi-
cant and one of the unique features of
The Clear Mirror
(“‘Masukagami’ no rekishi jo-
jutsu,” 9).
58. Kidō,
Masukagami
, 46. The
translation is from Perkins,
Clear Mirror
, 60.
59. Kidō,
Masukagami
, 62; see also 61–63. The translation is from Perkins,
Clear
Mirror
, 68–69.
Nostalgia for a Unified Realm
261
years later, in 1331, the current regent is similarly traced back to “Yoshi-
toki, the regent who had held office in the J
ō
ky
ū
era.”
60
Even the origins
of Ashikaga Takauji’s traitorous ways are traced to J
ō
ky
ū
.
61
Thus, the year
1221 is clearly positioned as a defining moment for configurations of power
that would play out over the next century.
At the same time, J
ō
ky
ū
is the default point of reference for succes-
sion disputes. It is referred to in the aftermath of an attempted coup traced
back to Retired Emperor Kameyama (1249–1305), but the strongest con-
demnation of the J
ō
ky
ū
legacy appears in the explanation of Emperor
Gouda’s (1267–1324) desire to abdicate:
62
Since his [the emperor’s] sole desire was now to devote himself to reli-
gion, he found people gathering to report worldly
matters to him irk-
some—so much so that he sent Major Counselor [Yoshida] Sadafusa
[1274–1338] to Kamakura around the summer of that year, apparently in
order to inform the shogunate of his desire to yield the realm to Emperor
Godaigo. What a world it had become! Shouldn’t it have been a simple
matter for a father to suit himself about assigning that degree of respon-
sibility to an imperial son? People were astounded. But there was nothing
new in the situation. Things had been exactly the same ever since the
Jōkyū era.
63
Thus, although the disturbance is accorded minimal treatment when it
actually occurs, through repeated gestures that direct our attention to its
players and subsequent impact,
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