This study examines the history of the Japanese period film and proposes that a powerful relationship exists between the past and present in Japan's narrative tradition. The first section of the book analyzes the form and function of the Japanese period film, describing the unique iconography and characteristics of films set in the past. The author also examines the ways in which the period film has allowed Japanese filmmakers to circumvent government censorship by serving as a rhetorical device with which they can explore contemporary concerns through a criticism of the past. Although the book is primarily focused on the Japanese period film, the final section of the book contains several stand-alone essays which focus on the narrative in Japanese epic, religion, theater, and modern popular literature.

The Yugyo-ha achieved success by basing its religious authority on a combination of Pure Land mysticism and the practices of fundraising hijiri. Between 1300 and 1700, the Pure Land Buddhist religious order known as the Ippen school Yugyo-ha (later the Jishu) established itself as the leading representative of nembutsu propagation in Japan. The theme of the order's history is the development of religious authority as a result of the struggle to normalize relations among the official head, sometimes obstreperous religious, and often interfering (usually warrior) lay patrons. This study demonstrates the value of the articulation in organizational studies of Weber's concept of charisma as a successful social relationship as well as that of a chosen career determined by culture and tradition. Indeed, the success of the Yugyo-ha was due to its ability to seize on the advantages of combining the principles and practices of two existing traditions, Pure Land mysticism and the fundraising hijiri movement.