Honganji, Lord of Ishiyama

Abstract

Studies of medieval Japanese history have often presented the upper-crust of society as divided into three distinct groups: warriors, nobles, and religious institutions. However, this model creates a sharper distinction between social classes than reality. Using the history of a sect of Buddhism called Honganji, this thesis seeks to problematize the tripartite model in order to demonstrate how blurred the lines between the social classes were. This is done through direct comparison between the actions of Honganji and daimyo, regional lords of the 15th and 16th centuries. The three ideas I focus on are: military action, organizational structure, and the creation of personality cults.