The Journal of Japanese Studies

Established in 1974, the Journal of Japanese Studies features original, analytically rigorous articles from across the humanities and social sciences, including comparative and transnational scholarship in which Japan plays a major part

Conlan 46:1

ABSTRACT

THOMAS P. CONLAN
The “Ōnin War” as the Fulfillment of Prophecy

Prophecies profoundly influenced historical narratives in fifteenth-century Japan.  The narrative of Ōninki (The chronicle of Ōnin) was constructed so that events would better resonate with a prophecy known as Yamataishi, and the chronicle shaped later historical understandings of the epochal Ōnin War.  Analysis of this prophecy, coupled with an exploration of the evolution of the chronicle, allows for a new understanding of the war and the role of prophecies in shaping historical narratives of medieval Japan.

Volume 46, Number 1 (Winter 2020)
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