Perception of time in Medieval Japan
While we may think of our notions about the passage of time as logical, they are actually highly cultural – dependant on context and temporal systems of measurement and expressions. Investigating time as conceived in medieval Japan, the TIMEJ project, which was funded by the European Research Council, has revealed how it was actually experienced and understood. “TIMEJ, referred to as a ‘game changer’ at the recent European Association of Japanese Studies conference, developed a new model to better explain how time performed a function beyond quantitative measurement, fulfilling more qualitative roles,” says principal investigator Raji Steineck from the University of Zurich.
Time as a symbolic form
TIMEJ started from the assumption that, as today, people in medieval Japan conceived of time in different ways depending on context. The term ‘symbolic form’ proposed by Ernst Cassirer is a concept that helps make sense of this differentiation. It refers to domains of meaning – such as religion, art, science, law or technology – each having a specific value orientation (towards truth in science or justice in law, for example). “While time is fundamental to each symbolic form, they emphasise different aspects, reflecting their values. For example, the notion of ‘urgency’ doesn’t appear in the formulas of physics, but is an important aspect in law,” adds Steineck.
Making the recording of time consistent across Medieval Japanese society
TIMEJ studied three domains: the imperial and military courts (politics and law), Buddhist monasteries (religion) and commodity production and trade (economy). Historical sources revealed: how time was expressed and described; the rules guiding action; and their articulated ideas about time. Two key findings relate to the team’s study of monasteries and their use of calendars and clock-time to schedule and coordinate activities. Firstly, calendars and clock-time often linked the quantitative aspects of time with more qualitative religious meaning. “For example, the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunisolar calendar was autumn full moon, a powerful symbol of enlightenment and the occasion for formal pronouncements by the abbot,” says Steineck. Secondly, more practically, monastic schedules operated through units of time equating to around 90-120 modern minutes, helping the congregation focus on activities without constantly checking the time. Beyond, increased international trade with more exchanging of ideas, led to questions about how to accommodate not only different timelines but different world views: “Somewhat refuting the view that Japanese and Western societies were simply opposed in outlook,” as Steineck puts it. According to Steineck, several scholars of the time suggested methods to coordinate timelines. These were supported by legal efforts to establish chronologies of contracts, of land ownership for instance – alongside production technologies and management techniques conceiving of time as linear – separating production and trade from the seasons. Yet, sometimes different concepts of time were also found to conflict. “For example: ‘buying cheap and selling expensive’ was a well-known economic principle, but we found an instruction from a Zen abbot that this profit motive should not be applied to monastery donations,” explains Steineck. An additional study looked at time-related concepts of the human body in religion, medicine and literature. This forms part of an overall body of work on Medieval societies, supported by the EU, such as research into the trade routes used by glass manufacturers.
Furthering understanding of the perception of time
The team are now finalising a collection of essays co-authored with collaborators from Japan, Europe and North America. A follow-up project ‘Time and Emotion in Medieval Japanese Literature’ is also currently under way and is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Meanwhile Steineck plans to write a monograph on ‘Time and Symbolic Form’ outlining the modalities of time in various symbolic forms and synthesising the theoretical implications of TIMEJ.
Keywords
TIMEJ, time, clock, Japan, medieval, monasteries, calendars, trade
