Takayanagi - The Glory That Was Azuchi

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Review: The Glory That was AzuchiAuthor(s): Shun'ichi TakayanagiSource: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Winter, 1977), pp. 515-524Published by: Sophia UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384050 .

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The Glory That Was Azuchiby SHUN'ICHI TAKAYANAGI

Azuchi-j3 no Kenkyui9-?Wi)D3T5by Naito Akira F1SJ.

KokkaMV, Nos. 987 & 988.Kokka-sha& AsahiShimbun-sha, 976.120& 63 pages; illustrations folding lans.Y4,500 each.THE Azuchi-Momoyamaeriod, 568-98,scharacterizedy golden x-uberance nd pretentiousrandeur ot to be found n any other ra ofJapanesehistory. ven thought asted brief hirty ears, heperiod ssometimes eferredo asJapan'sRenaissance,while hosewhobroughtuch en-ergetic uoyancy o thatperiodwith theirpolitical nd cultural ctivities reregarded s the Renaissancemenof thiscountry. hus Oda Nobunaga,wholaid thefirst toneofa united,ntegrated apan,can rightlye considered hefirstuch minentman.Withhismilitaryndpolitical hrewdness,osay nothingofhisquick temper nd volatile haracter, obunaga appearedon the sceneatthe rightmoment o catalyzea new and vigorous ultural mpulse.He canperhapsbe comparedwith notherRenaissancepatron fthearts nd militarygenius, igismondoMalatesta,whomEzra Poundmakes o much f n hisCantos,but the differencesetween he two mentendtooutweighheir imilarities.orSigismondo'srtistic isionwas essentiallyirected opast glory nd itsrebirth,althoughhismilitary trategy as certainlymodernforhis times.Nobunaga,on theother and,brokewith hepast, ndhis nsatiable hirstor ovelty, hichoften noughfound tsfulfillmentn a grand nd spectacular cale, gaverisetoa new cultural ra.NobunagabuiltAzuchi-j6n 1576-79' as an expressionfhisnewlywonpowerandhisnewculture. usetheJapanese erm nstead f castle'advisedly ecause

THE REVIEWER is Professorn the Departmentof EnglishLiterature, ophia University.1 Last yearmarked hefourthentenary fthe commencementfbuilding perations ndvarious commemorative publications wereissued. Among them was the August ssue ofRekishi okuhon tA*, containingvariousfeatures nd articles n Azuchi.


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516 Monumentaipponica,xxii, 4itwas a palatialresidence ather han military ortress.yotowas thenationalcapitaland Nobunaga ikedvisitinghecity o enjoy ts cultural ichnessnd,at the same time, o flaunthis mightbefore ristocracynd populace.And sowhenhecametochoose he iteofhis ownnewcity, othcultural nd strategicconsiderationsrompted imto decideon nearbyAzuchion the banksofLakeBiwa.Therehe setup hisheadquarters, ithhisgrandiose alace on AzuchiHilldominatinghe cene, s thematerializationfhisculturaldealsand as a monu-ment o overawevisitingords nd generals.Duringthecourseofconstructionworkheinvited ll andsundryo enter heprecinctsnd inspect hepalace,andvast crowds f peopletoiledup thehill to gaze in wonder t the power nd theglory. he Portuguese uis FroisvisitedAzuchiseveral imes n thespring ndsummer f1581 and, on theexpress rder fNobunaga,wasgiven n extendedconductedour. roishas eft ne of hevery ew urvivingyewitnessescriptionsof the place, but eventhatexperiencednd articulate hronicler ad to admitthat Azuchi defied dequate description; ever,Froisdeclared,had he seen,injapan, Indiaor Europe, uchmagnificence.ut heworld's lory asses uickly.In thebrief urmoilollowingobunaga'sviolent eath n 1582, hepalaceon thehillwas burned o theground,never o be restored. ince thattimethenameAzuchihas conjured p visions fgrandeurnd splendor, utall that snow eftare a few uinedwallsand steps n a remote illside yLake Biwa,theepitomeof a warrior's reams.These meager emains ive ittle ndication f thesize,shapeand appearanceof thepalace, letalone itssplendid rtistic ecoration.The short-lived zuchi-j6 ackspictorial ecords s well as literarynesandthere s no painting r screenreadily vailablewhichdepictsthebuildingnitsdayofglory. say readily vailable' because n all probabilityhere till xistsa Kan6 byjbu eaturingoththepalace and the urroundingity.ContemporaryJesuitetters ellus that n 1580Nobunagacommissioned painter 'themostcelebratedrtistfJapan') o record or osterityhevision fhisutopia;thenameofthe rtists not upplied, ut t sknown hatKano Eitoku xecuted numberof wall paintings,r shohekiga,or he nteriorf thepalace. Whilepainting hebyjbu,hepoorartist pparently ad Nobunaga quite literally reathing ownhisneck,makinguggestionsegardingompositionnd accuracy; s a result hescreen ook long ime ocomplete ecause as soon sNobunagafound omethingwhich idnotrepresenthe ruth ell,heorderedttobeerased nd done gain.'2Whether r notdue totheruler's nsoliciteddvice, hefinishedcreen ccuratelydepicted hecastle,palaces,the ake,houses, treets nd bridges. he EmperorOgimachi sked obe shown he creen nd let t be known hathe wouldnotbe

2 Cartas ueosPadres Irmaos aCompanhiaeJesus screverdoos Reynos e lapao & China,Evora, 1598, II, f. 39; the full acount ofValignano'sand Frois' visit oAzuchi s givenon ff.35v-41 in an annual letter ignedbyGasparCoelho although robablyompiled yFrois nhisname) atNagasakion 15February

1582. Much of this account is repeatedbvFrois n hisSegunda arteda Historia eJapam,Tokyo,1938, pp. 243-50. Furthernformationabout Azuchi is given by Joao Francisco(Kyoto, 1 September 1580) and LourenqoMexia (Funai, 8 October 1581) in Cartas,,ff. 79v-80v& II, f. 16v.

(opposite)Aerial viewofAzuchi ruins. (Photo:Rekishiokuhon)


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TheRuins fAzuchiThe entrance o thedonjon above) nd the outerwalls below).


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Luis Frois'Description fAzuchi-joOn top f he ill nthemiddlef he ity obunagauilt is alace nd astle,whichs regardsrchitecture,trength,ealthndgrandeuraywellbe com-paredwith hegreatestuildingsfEurope.ts strongndwell-constructedsurroundingalls f tonereover 0 spansn heightnd ven ighern manyplaces;insidehewallstherere many eautifulndexquisiteouses,ll ofthem ecoratedith old nd o neat ndwellfashionedhatheyeemoreachthe cme fhumanlegance.nd nthemiddleheres a sort f tower hichtheyall tenshund t ndeedas farmore oblend plendidppearancehanour owers.t consistsf evenfloors,ll ofwhich,othnsidend ut, ave eenfashionedoa wonderfulrchitecturalesign;or bothnsidendout, mean,inside,hewalls redecoratedith esignsichlyaintedngold nddifferentcolours, hile he utsidefeach fthesetoriess paintedn variousolours.Somere ainted hite ithheir indowsarnishedlackccordingoJapaneseusagend heyook xtremelyeautiful,thersre ainteded, therslue,whilethe ppermostne s entirelyilded.This tenshundall the therousesrecovered ith luishileswhichre trongernd ovelierhan nyweuse n Eu-rope; he ornersfthe ables reroundedndgilded, hile he oofsave inespoutsf veryoble nd leveresign.n a wordhewholedifices beautiful,excellentndbrilliant.s the astles situatednhigh roundnd s itself erylofty,t ookss if treacheso he loudsnd t canbe een romfarformanyleagues. he actthat he astles constructedntirelyf wood s not t allapparentitherfromithinrfrom ithout,fort ookss if t s builtf trongstonendmortar.To one ide f he astleNobunagauilt nothereparatealace, lthoughhebuildingsre inked ycorridorsfgreat erfectionndelegance. hereremanyttractivendfine ardens, hich iffierrom urs npracticallyveryrespect.hewealthf he partments,he rtistryndworkmanship,he xcellentwood, he eneral eatness,hematchlessnddistant iew ommandedy lltheselaces-all this ausedreatdmiration.

The ntirefortresss encircledy owersuilt ponhosereattone alls ndwithinach fthemre larum ells ndguardsnduty ay ndnight; ll theprincipalalls re overedfromop obottomithronwroughtithmuchkill.There asa stablebovewhereinhere ere omorehanfiver ixhorses; utitwasa stablenlyn name ecausetwas oclean ndwellkepthatt eemedratherobe fine hamberforhe iversionfnobleshan place o odge orses.Thefourrfiveyouthsho ookedftertwentbout ressedn ilk nd arryingdaggersngilt heaths.(Michael Cooper,ed., They ame oJapan,UniversityfCalifornia ress,1965,pp.134-5.)


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518 Monumentaipponica,XXII, 4averse o receivingt as an outright ift. utNobunagahad otherplansfor hebyobund presentedt to AlessandroValignano whentheJesuitVisitor,withFrois s interpreter,eturnedo the palace inJuly/August581to bid farewellto theruler.Ofall theomiyage iven oa Westernern hisdeparturerom apan,Nobunaga's mpulsivend lavishgiftmust urely akefirstlace.The screenwasthen aken y he our oy mbassadorsoEurope nd presentedtoGregory III inRome on 3 April1585,only weekbeforehepope'sdeath.The presentwhereaboutsf thebyobu,o intenselyaluableforbothartisticndhistorical easons,s notknown; n all probabilityt is languishingomewherein thedarknessftheVatican cellars, lthoughn extensivend dusty earchhassofar ailed o reveal hetreasure. he onlypictorial luesto itscontentsretwocrudeengravingsfa gateway nd towermade by the Louvain artistPhilipsvanWinghe, 560-92, fter he creenhad reachedEurope.3This s a frustratingituations theAzuchiyama-zuyobu,robably xecutednthefinest an6 style,would givean excellent dea of whatthepalace and thesurroundingown eallyooked ike.We readthatValignanowaspleased oacceptthe creen ecause t would enablehim to show n picture,n China, ndia andEurope,what ouldnotbeeasily onveyednwords boutAzuchi.'Contemporaryrakunaiakugaicreens how n realistic nd accuratedetail completevistasofKyotoand itssurroundings,nd there s no reasonto believethatthemissingAzuchibyobu ouldnot be equallyinformative.n additionthe screens om-missionedywielders fpolitical owerwere lso ntendedodisplay he uthorityandenhance hefame fthepatron. oyotomiHideyoshi, obunaga's uccessor,shared hesametendencyoward xhibiting is wealth nd grandeur,nd as aresult here till xist he famous urakudai-zuyobus wellas a screen eaturingNagoya, nKyushu,hiscenter foperations uring he Koreanwar.This tradi-tionwascontinuedwhenpolitical owerwas transferredoEdo under heaegisoftheTokugawafamilynd many plendid do-zubyobu ereproduced. n thiscontext eference aybe made inpassing o an interestingeature fEast-Westcultural nteraction,orwhenthe boy ambassadors eturned romEurope in1590theybroughtwith themcopiesofArtelius,TheatrumrbisTerrarum,ndBraun,CivitatesrbisTerrarum,nd these ichlyllustratedolumes fcityviewswerenot withoutnfluencen thedevelopmentf similar epictionsfJapanesecities.WithoutNobunaga'sbyobuefore ureyes, t sdifficulto visualizeAzuchi-j6as itappearedto thecrowds fwonderingisitors,othJapanese nd Europeanalike. n the amentable bsenceof thescreen hepalace has been both riddle

3 The engravings ppeared in VincenzoCartari, magini ellidei de gl'antichi, enice,1647, and are conveniently eproducedinDonald Lach, Asia intheMaking fEurope,I:A Centuryf Wonder, niversity f ChicagoPress, 1970, illustrations#50 & 51. Cartari

captionsone of the diagrams rroneouslyutsignificantly,The Temple of a JapaneseDeity'. Despite the crude depictionof thecastletower, t is possible o discern certainsimilarity ith the arge-scale lans drawnupby Professor ait6.


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TAKAYANAGI: The Glory hat WasAzuchi 519and a fascinationo generationsf architectural istorians.Withthehelp ofnamban aterialsnddirect tudy fthemeager uins,cholars avemanaged oreconstruct,t leastto a limited xtent,Azuchi'ssize and shape; further,wocontemporaryources,Nange Genk6'sAzuchiyamao Ki and Ota Gyulichi'sShincho-ki,4upplyvaluable information.he formerworkwas written y aZen monk nthe rdersfNobunagahimself,ndextols hegrandeurf hepalaceand explains hehistoricalignificancereditedo themonument.ta's biographyofNobunagagives fairlyetaileddescriptionfthewall paintingsnthe entraldonjon.The paintings n thesecondstory, or xample,weremainlydone ingold,but ncluded t eastone of heHsian-Hsing ightViews,while hose nthethird tory ad flowers,irds nd hermitss their hemes. n the ixth loor hedominant hemesweretheBuddhaand his disciples,whilethe paintingsftheseventh, nd top, floor epicted ages, hedisciples f Confucius,nd legendaryChineseemperors. rofessor ait6 provides n interestingistoricalurvey fstudies nAzuchi-j6 nd offers detailed ccount fthevarious hincho-kiexts.But the author'smost mportantontributions undoubtedly is discovery,identificationnd study f an old document, enshuashizu,ConstructionJanoftheDonjon',originallyrawnup by kegamiUhei,an architectn the erviceoftheKaga domain.Professor ait6 compares hisdocumentwiththeresultsofexcavationsarried utonAzuchiHill,andconcludes hat heseplansarethemost eliable ource f nformationithertovailable inceTenshuashizu ppearsto be directly escended rom heoriginal onstructionlans.According o theauthor,the plans were probablycopied from he original,drawn up by anarchitectwho actually ookpart n construction ork t Azuchi; theywerere-copiedby kegami n 1670, essthan hundred ears fter he destructionfthepalace, ndthen gainre-copied y kegamiNobutsugunabout 1760.Therecon-structed lansofthedonjon regiven n ten hartsncludedn the econd olumeofProfessor ait6'swork.Up to nowthe Azuchidonjonhas been considered o have been essentiallyin linewith hetraditional ype f tenshukakufJapanese astles, ut the authorconcludes hat t was exceptional n at leasttwo counts: he towerwasplannedwith olitical ndreligiousymbolismnmind atherhandefensivend strategicconsiderations.he monographontains wealth fhighly etailed nd technicalinformationn the structurefthedonjonand thiswill be ofmost nterestoprofessionalrchitectsndhistoriansf rchitecture.ortunately,owever,hereis an ampleEnglish ummaryfthecontentst theendof thefirstolume, ndwhilenotfully onveyinghe mplicationss describedntheJapanese ext, hissynopsis rovides hereaderwith general dea ofthe central ower, hehistoryof tsconstruction,tsappearance ndgeneralpurpose.'. . . the donjon reflects he ideal of Nobunaga to bring the whole countryunder his single control.' '. . . Nobunaga designed his Azuchi Castle with the

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TAKAYANAGI: TheGlory hat Was Azuchi 521

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ThedonjonfAzuchi-jo,eenfromhe ast.(Reproducedfrom hebook underreview)

keynote n "The Way of theHeaven" transcendingll secular and religiousauthoritiesonceivable t thetime nJapan.His idea was shockinglyovel nthisessentially olytheisticountry.t reflects is aspiration o the stateof theonly and absolutebeing,perhaps lso associatedwiththeChristianoncept ftheTenshu theLord nheaven), hat s Deus (God).' Such are Professoraito'sconclusions,nd althoughheymay eem little arfetchedt firstight, hey eginto takeon a certain lausability henwe examine heplansofthedonjon.Forthe central ower ppearsto showtraces fWestern rchitecturalnfluencendthe ix-storyaultedrregularctagon onstructionaywellhave beenmodelled,at leasttoa limited xtent,n cathedral esign s foundnEurope.But theKirishitan-nambanmpact n theconcept nd constructionfAzuchi-j6is onlyone aspectof thisremarkablenterprise.he author ists number fpossibilities-Buddhist,hristian, onfucian,Taoist, and Shinto-concerningtheorigin f theterm enshukaku);whichever fthesehypothesess correct,tmaybe noted hat hey re all religiousr at leastphilosophicalnnature. roiswrites t some ength nd with ome ndignationbout Nobunaga's ncreasingmegalomaniawhich culminatedn his order that he be worshipeds a deity,and theJesuit's bservationsreborne utbyProfessoraito'sresearchntothe


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522 Monumentaipponica,XXII,4mysticalymbolismncorporatednto hedesign f hebuilding.Nobunaga ndeedseems ohave wanted o deify imself,o buildup a cult aroundhis person, ndto create cosmologicalystem ithhimselfs thecenter, nd all this s reflectedin the design f the palace. The underlyinghilosophy as a peculiar ynthesisofvariousreligious nd quasi-religiouslements,ssembled nd combined orsecularist,olitical urpose.n the enter f hedonjon'sbasement as mbeddeda stupa signifyinghetombof Prabhiitaratna,5ho is traditionallyelieved ohave risenfrom he undergroundnd sharedseats withShakyamuni.Thisrepresentedhe center f the universe nd thecosmological ymbolismervedto indicate he unificationfJapan.The first loor ontained he entrance all,the waitingrooms, heaudience hall, and other hambers, mong whichtheBonsan-no-mas noteworthy.his last roomwas dedicated o Bonsan6 and hada heap ofstones ymbolic f the Shintodeity, uggestinghatNobunagawas amanifestationfthegod.The second loor ontainedhehiroma,r arge udiencehall, andvarious ther ooms.Ofspecial nterest as the tagewhich uttedoutoverthecentral penspace, and here music nd dancescouldbe performednreligiousnd ceremonial ccasionsfor pectatorsn the first nd secondfloors.The thirdfloor ervedas Nobunaga's living quarters nd includedhiswife'ssuiteand tea-ceremonyooms, ll connectedby skirting alleriesfacing ndoverlookinghecenter pace; thenorthernnd southernides wereconnectedbya bridgewhich panned his mpty ore.The fourthloorwasprovidedwithroomswhich ouldbeused nconjunction ith ndin the ervice fthe hambersbelow,while the fifth nd sixthfloorswere decoratedwithdesignsdepictingrespectivelyhecelestial ealms f Buddhismnd Shinto.The most utstandingstructuraleaturefthe nterior fthedonjonwasundoubtedlyhecentral penspacewhich xtended rom he basement p to thetopofthetower,7 raduallydiminishingnarea; the econd-floortageprojectingnto his mpty pacewasanoriginal eature ndmusthave attractedonsiderablettention rom isitors.This section ftheEnglish ummarysactually hegist fwhatProfessorait6explainsngreater etail n the econdvolume,which or henon-specialist illprobably e ofgreaternteresthan the moretechnical irstolume,for n thissecondpartthe author ries o synthesizeisfindingsntoa unified ision ftheshort-livedalace. One maynot perhaps agreewith all his conclusions. orinstance, e argues hatthe Azuchidonjondid not ie directlyn the historicalmainstreamftenshukakurchitecturehich ed to Osaka Castleand Edo Castle;instead,he believes hat thequasi-religiousharacter f Azuchi inks t with

s Taho Nyorai&4ci*A. LotusSutra,15.6 2X. Written s Bonf;toy Frois in hisinterestingccountof Nobunaga's aspirationsto divinity,n Segunda arte, p. 318-21, andKochinotsu,5 November1582, in Cartas, i,ff.61v-63. A partialtranslation f the lattersource s givenin Cooper, pp. 101-2,wherethenamebonfaos attributed o the manwho

broughtthe stoneto the castle and not thestone tself; yntacticallyrois' originalPortu-guesetext llowsboth nterpretations,ut thecontext equires he atter ersion.7 In otherwords,the towerhad a centralhollowcore,rather ike (to use a modern x-ample) the Takashimayadepartmenttore ntheGinza in Tokyo.


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TAKAYANAGI: TheGlory hatWasAzuchi 523type f hrine-mausoleum,uchas the H6kokuShrine ndT6sh6gui, hichwereconstructedfter hedeathof autocrats s a memorial o theirpowerand au-thority.rofessor ait6 furtheruggestshattraces f nfluence romAshikagaYoshimitsu'sGolden Pavilion,which concretized he Zen-inspired estheticreligious ision fparadise,maybe foundn theconcept fAzuchi.Whetherrnot greeingwholeheartedlyith hese heories,nehasto welcome he uthor'sapproach oarchitectual istory; otcontentwith bare, f echnical,tatementofthe bricks ndmortarperhaps neshould daptthephrase o somethingike'wood and wedges' n thiscontext) f the building,he goeson to discuss hereligio-philosophicalonceptswhich nspiredNobunaga to erect he grandiosememorialndwhichwereduly ncorporatednto tsoveralldesign.Whenthe rulerraisedAzuchi-j6, e had almost ompleted he unificationfJapanandhadevery rospectfbecominghemasterf hewhole ountry ithina relativelyhort ime.He wished o proclaimhispre-eminencearand wide,andwhatbetterwayofdoing his hanbuilding splendid astlewhich, s Froisnotes,looks s if t reaches he louds ndcanbe seenfrom far ormanyeagues.'At the ametime he mmenseworknvolvedn theconstructionf thebuildingserved s a stimulus o completehismilitarynd political onquests nd thususher n his reignofglory.His philosophys summedup in a Chinesepoem,quotedbyProfessor aito,which heruler ommissioned angeGenk6, Zenmonk fMy6shinji,ocompose n hishonor.

~~~~~~X- [R- PS b= !VR ORi ARNi Ce'1X TN 7AAXmXfiri JZM4 to"PPgX tH 3J ' E_ 0 x?X MOn theforemost ountain four nation's hree-scorerovinces,Thispalace is loftierhanShihHuang'smansion.If twerenottheworldgoverned yYao and Shun,Thenit wouldbe P'eng-lai, heenchantedand offar way.The stonewallstower hree-hundredh'ih igh,Jadetowers nd goldmansions oarabovetheclouds.Perhaps ndraand Brahma re hereon earth,The mountains calledAzuchi, ymbol fgreatpeace.Ancient ines masstheir reenerymidwhite louds,The fortresssmightierhanHan-ku barrier.SurelyBrahma nd Indrahaveappearedamongmen,Magnanimity ill remain or veron their ountenances.


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524 Monumentaipponica,XXII, 4Alas,thispoor priest annot ttain he peaks,Whereblue and red roof-tileslitter ear the un.The Yama and Tusita heavens eave the ky,Military lorywill ast for ternity.

Butalas forNobunaga'shopes ndambitions. is violent eathonthenight f21June1582atHonnojibrought isplanstonothing.Within matterfweeksthemagnificentzuchij6, his shining ision f paradiseon earth,was reducedtoa pile ofsmoking uins.8According o Professor aito,Nobunaga's new version f tendo,he way ofheaven, ay behindhispolitico-religiousdeology.The rulerwas well aware ofthe inadequacyof the traditionalworld-view f thesengokura, and withhisnihilisticttitudeoward hepast ndhis xistentialistutlook oward hepresent,he envisioned imselfs an absolute ecular avior.His was a typeofrealizedeschatology,nd he wished o accomplish nd enjoy t within isown lifetime.In hisconcept f he bsolute ature fhisperson nd role, t stemptingospecu-late thatNobunaga's tendo hilosophymaywell have been influenced, erhapsinspired, ythe Christian oncept fGod. Professor ait6stresses he rich ndbuoyant italityfNobunaga's deology;henotonly riginatedhisdeology utsought o enact t. He was boththesupreme ctor and the divinedramaturge.GoldenAzuchi-j6wasnotonly static xpressionfhisgrandiosedeas butalso,and more mportantly,artof thedynamic ramawhichwas his deology tself,anditwasfitting,erhapsndeed nevitable,hat tshouldperish longwithhim.ProfessorNait6's painstaking econstructionf the physical spectsof theAzuchibuilding nd theexcellently rawnplansand diagrams re muchto becommended; he ideviews fthe astle t lastgiveus some dea ofwhatAzuchi-j6 must ave ooked ike.And howeverontroversialtmaybe nparts,he uthor'sconstructf thephilosophyehindAzuchi s ofmuch nterestnd willbe surelyappreciatedby anyone studying he culturaland intellectualhistory f theAzuchi-Momoyamaeriod.The author's esearch, indings,ndconclusion howthat there tillremains good deal for iterary nd culturalhistorians,ndstudentsf ntellectual istory,o nvestigate,evelop nd expand.

8 Frois gives a detailed accountof Nobu-naga's death and the destruction f Azuchi(and even mentionscomets and meteoritespresaging hesemomentousvents), nSegundaParte, p.325-32, ndKuchinotsu, November1582, nCartas,i, if.61-82.

Takayanagi - The Glory That Was Azuchi

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