Getting Away from ‘Religion’ in Medieval Japan

The concept of ‘religion’ as modern, European-derived, and therefore problematic in premodern Asian contexts is well established, but leaves us with a problem: if the church/state sacred/secular dynamic modern misconception even England, Fitzgerald argued, then how should we go about examining central place specific institutions, behaviour, belief workings medieval Japanese society that have formerly been classified or understood ‘religious’? Abandoning separate field study from ‘secular’ history has paradoxical effect drawing attention to pervasive centrality activity, performance, mentality, observance every aspect life. Elements practice, sacred were essential, core, components functioning public private governance imperial system local landholding. great temple shrine complexes period centres organisation, authority, legitimacy, which are best not ‘religious’ also ‘economic’ ‘political’ powers, institutions whose authority cannot be separated out into (modern) categories ‘economic’, ‘judicial’, authority. Such distinctions cut across deeply interconnected nature law, landholding, family, lineage, place, period, networks systems by life was ordered, they way perceived those living within them: ways people thought, behaved, interacted each other. In order understand what think society, must these connected composed elements might look eyes, complementary, indivisible, even, period.