A Critical Book Review of The Culture of Civil War in Kyoto.
The following is a critical review of Berry's (1994) work on culture during the Kyoto Civil War. This review will begin with a general summary and overview of the history and problems identified with Berry, and in turn, proceed to examining her central thesis that can be said in brief. Berry argues that the essentially 'feudal' culture was caught within a period of social, economic, and political growth. The conflict or clash between the progress which was happening around and within Kyoto, over and against a patriarchal and feudal system, effectively prevented a more 'rational' or 'less chaotic' adaptation to the changes, and second, this culture prevented (Shogun) any other alternative means for resolving the conflicts in question. Thus, the focus in the above sense will be directed at understanding those elements within culture that can be said to be the cause of inertia. Finally, this paper will close with a critical discussion of the 'form' and 'scholarly precision' of Berry's work, and it will be argued that this is a highly readable and comprehensive work. 5 pgs. 0 f/c. 1b.
