Vengeful Promises: The Agency of Love Oaths as Materially Hybrid Texts in Late Seventeenth-Century Japan

Radu Leca

doi:10.1163/22106286-12341358

Vengeful Promises: The Agency of Love Oaths as Materially Hybrid Texts in Late Seventeenth-Century Japan

Radu Leca^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Academy of Visual Arts

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article focuses on the historical use and meanings of early modern oaths
(Jp. kishōmon 起請文). These materially hybrid texts were initially stamped (on one
side) and then inscribed by hand in ink (on the other side), often even in blood. Since they are an inextricable combination of print and handwriting, they complicate such dichotomies and open up a series of issues central to the understanding of scribal practices in early modern Japan. This article moves beyond their content analysis to address issues of materiality and agency along with the relationship between orality, writing and bodily practices.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	46-72
Number of pages	27
Journal	East Asian Publishing and Society
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/22106286-12341358
Publication status	Published - 7 Feb 2022

Scopus Subject Areas

Cultural Studies
Religious studies
History
Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Literature and Literary Theory
Communication
Library and Information Sciences
Media Technology

User-Defined Keywords

agency
early modern
Japan
kishōmon
materiality

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10.1163/22106286-12341358

Cite this

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abstract = "This article focuses on the historical use and meanings of early modern oaths (Jp. kishōmon 起請文). These materially hybrid texts were initially stamped (on one side) and then inscribed by hand in ink (on the other side), often even in blood. Since they are an inextricable combination of print and handwriting, they complicate such dichotomies and open up a series of issues central to the understanding of scribal practices in early modern Japan. This article moves beyond their content analysis to address issues of materiality and agency along with the relationship between orality, writing and bodily practices.",

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note = "Funding Information: An initial form of this paper was presented at the workshop Manuscript in Print. I am grateful to Julie Nelson Davis, Melanie Trede, Katharina Rode, Alessandro Bianchi, Fengyu Wang and all workshop participants for their insightful and provoking feedback. I am gratefully indebted to Max Moerman and the two anonymous reviewers for invaluable feedback on later drafts. This article emerged from research undertaken within the Collaborative Research Centre 933 “Material Text Cultures. Materiality and Presence of Writing in Non-Typographic Societies”. The CRC 933 is financed by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.",

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N1 - Funding Information: An initial form of this paper was presented at the workshop Manuscript in Print. I am grateful to Julie Nelson Davis, Melanie Trede, Katharina Rode, Alessandro Bianchi, Fengyu Wang and all workshop participants for their insightful and provoking feedback. I am gratefully indebted to Max Moerman and the two anonymous reviewers for invaluable feedback on later drafts. This article emerged from research undertaken within the Collaborative Research Centre 933 “Material Text Cultures. Materiality and Presence of Writing in Non-Typographic Societies”. The CRC 933 is financed by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

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AB - This article focuses on the historical use and meanings of early modern oaths (Jp. kishōmon 起請文). These materially hybrid texts were initially stamped (on one side) and then inscribed by hand in ink (on the other side), often even in blood. Since they are an inextricable combination of print and handwriting, they complicate such dichotomies and open up a series of issues central to the understanding of scribal practices in early modern Japan. This article moves beyond their content analysis to address issues of materiality and agency along with the relationship between orality, writing and bodily practices.

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Vengeful Promises: The Agency of Love Oaths as Materially Hybrid Texts in Late Seventeenth-Century Japan

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