Depicting Authority: The Saionji Family and Cultural Capital in the early Medieval Japanese Court
Depicting Authority: The Saionji Family and Cultural Capital in the early Medieval Japanese Court

Summary/Abstract: This piece considers the role of cultural capital in the early medieval Japanese court through a case study of the Saionji family. As a prominent courtier family, the Saionji family deployed a variety of strategies aimed at securing and expanding their wealth and influence. These included investing substantial effort in two specific arenas of cultural endeavor. The first of these was waka (classical Japanese poetry). Many Saionji family members cultivated a reputation as talented poets, but they could also make use of their influence to ensure inclusion in the major poetry anthologies of the day. They also enthusiastically patronized other families connected to poetry, as an other avenue of influence. The second arena in which they invested was that of the biwa (Japanese lute). In addition to developing their own performance skills and acquiring for their family the epithet “house of the biwa,” members of the Saionji family also gained prominence by served as instructors to sovereigns.The family’s efforts at building cultural capital were a vital component of its continued prominence.

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