Monuments of Hindu-Buddhist Kingship in Medieval Japan

Stavros situates monumental temple-palace complexes of medieval Japan (888–1400) within the broader tradition of Hindu-Buddhist kingship across Asia. Drawing comparisons with Borobudur, Prambanan, and Angkor, he argues that rulers from Emperor Uda to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu styled themselves as Dharma kings, integrating sacred and secular power in architectural forms that combined mandalas, pagodas as Mt. Meru, and axial alignments. Although Japan&s;s wooden structures have not survived, their scale, symbolism, and ritual function reveal a medieval idiom of kingship parallel to Southeast Asia&s;s sacred monarchies—distinct from, and often overshadowed by, imperial authority in later narratives.