Horses in the Man’yōshū: Interactions and Transformations in Early Japanese Society

要旨

The Man’yōshū is Japan’s earliest extant waka poetry anthology, compiled sometime after 759 CE. Mentions of horseback riding appear frequently, but there has been little examination of the roles that equines played in ancient Japanese society. Three questions relating to Japanese equine use will be considered: how did horseback travel alter ancient Japanese conceptions of distance and time? How was equestrianism adapted to the landscapes and of Japan and used to fulfill transportation needs of elites? And finally, how did horses become integrated within early Japanese society as a commonplace concept, if not a truly commonplace animal?

主題