Four years in Izumi

Four Years in Izumi examines Japanese village life with an in-depth and critical approach, analyzing the memoirs of Kojo Masamoto, a former advisor to the imperial court who resided briefly at one of his provincial estates between 1501 and 1504. A senior courtier traveling to the countryside to manage a family estate was uncommon during the Sengoku period, meaning "the country at war." Masamoto's memoirs provide a rich and vibrant picture of village life in Japan, which has been understudied in English-language academic studies. Through extensive study of the memoirs and careful and critical reading of them and supplementary sources, Lee Butler offers a window into late medieval village life, transcending stereotypical perceptions of the period. In Four Years in Izumi, we see the complexity of relations between commoners and elites on the ground. We also see how the manor was practically managed at the heart of the medieval economy and local social structure.