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Imperial Court: A Central Position In Japanese Society

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From the eighth centre to the twelfth century, the imperial court occupied a central position in Japanese society. Between this period, based on Kyoto, the court was the base of power for the Japanese. To illustrate this, scholars portray the court as a mononuclear organisation that bound every social and political institution and group into a unified core (Piggott, 1998; Varley, 2000; Totman, 2005; Hurst, 2007; Hérail, 2013). This illustration shows the court was the base of power because various institutions and groups were bound closely together. In fact, the court played three crucial functions which enhanced its position: the home of the emperor; the seat of government; and the centre of aristocratic culture. Each of these three functions

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