ABSTRACT
Japan’s medieval period witnessed considerable appropriation of political and economic power by local actors, especially warriors, at the expense of political centers. Debates over the dynamics that generated this autonomy have long occupied the heart of medieval studies of Japan. These debates connect constructs that are central not only to views of the medieval period, but to modern Japanese national identity as well. Key among them are the issues of warrior lordship, transformations of estates into villages, horizontal and hierarchical institutions, and commercialization.
