CJS Noon Lecture Series | Reading Medieval Ruins: A Material History of Urban Life in 16th-Century Japan

The city of Ichijôdani served as the capital of Echizen Province for approximately one century during Japan’s late medieval period. It was a vibrant and successful urban center built around the residential complex of a warlord (daimyo) who had seized power in the civil wars of the late 15th century. This presentation will introduce the history and archaeology of the city and its residents, then consider the implications of its complete destruction in 1573 as part of Japan’s “unification” process.

Morgan Pitelka is Professor of History and Asian Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His publications include Japanese Tea Culture: Art, History, and Practice (2003); Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in Japan (2005); What’s the Use of Art? Asian Visual and Material Culture in Context (2007); and Spectacular Accumulation: Material Culture, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Samurai Sociability (2016).

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