The reconstruction of religious buildings during the Toyotomi Regime

The spread of regional wars from the late 15th to the middle 16th century, triggered by the Ōnin war (1467-77), caused a large number of religious buildings to be burned down.

The power of traditional temples and shrines also significantly declined in this period. Therefore, it became an impelling agenda for the Toyotomi regime, which aimed to unify the whole country, to revive these religious sites as soon as possible.  

 The Toyotomi regime actively helped important temples and shrines located in Kyoto and in other areas where they ruled to restore their precincts and organization. To reconstruct religious buildings, two remarkable methods were widely adopted: relocation of buildings and prefabrication. 

 In this talk I will explore how these methods were helpful for reviving religious establishments. 

About the speaker

Dr Nobuhiro Toya is an Associate Professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. His current research interest is the evolving process of religious buildings from the late medieval to early modern period, especially focusing on the leading role of unified regime in this evolution. Among his numerous publications is "Hideyoshi Government and His Construction of Higashiyama Great Buddha Hall,” Nihon-shi Kenkyû, No. 698 (The Japanese Society for Historical Studies, 2020). Dr Toya is currently a Visiting scholar at CSJR.

This event free, open to the public, and held in person.

• Organiser: SOAS Centre for the Study of Japanese Religion