No signatures. Some fading to dust-jacket spine. Small 3/8" tear at head of dust-jacket spine. Dust-jacket protected in archival mylar cover.; xv, [1], 204, [1] pages. Red boards with black lettering on spine. Page dimensions: 228 x 150mm. "The literary tradition of Japan has been deeply influenced by the Buddhism that held intellectual and religious sway there for so many centuries. William R. LaFleur explains this influence, and in the process provides a new definitino of 'medieval' in Japanese history." - from dust-jacket blurb. Contents: Preface; Major Eras of Japanese History; 'Floating Phrases and Fictive Utterances': The Rise and Fall of Symbols; In and Out the Rokudo: Kyokai and the Formation of Medieval Japan; Inns and Hermitages: The Structure of Impermanence; Symbol and Yugen: Shunzei's Use of Tendai Buddhism; Chomei as Hermit: Vimalakirti in the 'Hojo'Ki'; Zeami's Buddhism: Cosmology and Dialectic in No Drama; Society Upside-Down: Kyogen as Satire and as Ritual; The Poet as Seer: Basho Looks Back; Notes; Japanese Names and Terms; Bibliography; Index.