Gekokujō
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Gekokujō (下克上, also 下剋上) is a Japanese word in which someone of a lower position overthrows someone of a higher position using military or political might, seizing power.[1] It is variously translated as "the lower rules the higher" or "the low overcomes the high".[2]
The term originated from Sui dynasty China. In Japan, it came into use from the Kamakura period. It is commonly used to refer to lords overthrowing stronger or higher-positioned lords in history. In modern Japanese it can be used to refer to an underdog winning.
In art
- The February 26 Incident is prominently portrayed as an example of gekokujō in Yukio Mishima's Modernist short story "Patriotism", and serves as the backdrop for the events of the narrative.[3]
See also
References
- ^ 『大辞林』第3版 下克上
- ^ Ferejohn, John and Frances Rosenbluth. (2010). War and State Building in Medieval Japan, p. 149.
- ^ Mishima, Yukio (1966). Death in Midsummer and Other Stories p. 93–119.
Further reading
- Sources of Japanese Tradition Volume 2 compiled by William T. de Bary, Carol Gluck and Arthur E. Tiedemann