Please join us for a lecture by Professor Yoshida Sanae in the Asian Centre at 6:30 pm next Wednesday, March 13. The talk will take place in Japanese with discussion in English and Japanese.
A Life of Journal Writing: Fujiwara no Munetada and the Chūyūki
Dr. Yoshida Sanae (Professor, University of Tokyo)
From the mid-Heian period of the ninth to tenth centuries onward male courtiers recorded journals in Sino-Japanese that are now known as kanbun nikki. This presentation will discuss the intent of journal authors and how journals were composed. I will focus on the Chūyūki (1087-1138), a lengthy work covering a period of fifty-one years during the life of Fujiwara no Munetada (1062-1141). Frequently cited as a source for understanding the retired emperor (insei) era, Chūyūki has traditionally been viewed as both a reliable historical resource and a superior example of kanbun nikki. This presentation will consider Chūyūki as a whole and what it reveals about the process of journal writing in Heian (794-1185) Japan.
