Lecture—Samurai as Patrons: Governance, Martial Arts, and Zen Buddhism in 17th-Century Japan

How did early modern samurai reconcile their martial ethics with religion? How was this reflected in the rule of military government? Join Morgan Pitelka (UNC–Chapel Hill) and Matthew Hayes (Duke University) as they discuss examples of how samurai in 17th-century Japan reconciled their martial practice with Zen Buddhism, against the background of a strong warrior government and highly stratified social structure.

Image: Utagawa Kunimasa, Actor Iwai Kumesaburô I as Tomoe Gozen, Edo period, 1797, ink and color on paper, 14.9 × 10.1 in., Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel (1933.4.520)