The Town under the Starry Sky : The "Knowledge" that Crosses the Border or "The Book of Future" as a Media(<The Special Issue>Media as a Perspective)

Abstract

The insatiable desire for "Knowledge" represented by Fujiwara Yorinaga and Fujiwara Shinzei derives from the undeniable aspiration to comprehend turgid conditions of their time from a higher standpoint and discern the courses of the events. This wish to knon the future was consequently collectivized in the text called "Miraigi" (The Book of Future), to be shared by many. It was in short the Japanese version of "Shikiisetsu ". But was there really "The Book of Future" written by Shotokutaishi? Contemplating the strange "passion" that ceaselessly produced the imaginary text that may not exist at all, one starts to see clearly the peculiar nature of the period of insei. There are many variegated problems, including the commentaries on Nihongi, excavation of Yamatai, and different interpretations of The Life of Shotokutaishi. These problems are intertwined in the historical condition of the insei period, defying a simplistic formula. In this essay, therefore, I have merely attempted to trace roughly the process in which the discourses of stars as media transmitting the heavenly will to the earthly life are assimilated in the context of a narrative, to constitute an imaginary genre called "The Book of Future." I regret to say that I have only reached the entrance of the entire problem.