Women in Medieval Japan: Motherhood, Household Management And Sexuality

by Haruko Wakita, Alison Tokita (Translator), Wakita Haruko

Women in medieval Japan were in an interesting position, when the flexible marriage arrangements of the ancient era were giving way to the custom of a woman entering her husband's family for life. Mothers were accorded a large degree of respect, even though they were demeaned by ideas of impurity and karmic hindrance. Eminent historian Wakita Haruko puts forward a powerful argument that women were not confined to the roles of wife and mother, but had a variety of opportunities for social labor and participation in an expanding commercial culture. In this book, Wakita explores the work of nuns, household managers, merchants, vendors, potters, prostitutes, entertainers, and women at court, to show that women located in the medieval household and those outside it had very different experiences and degrees of autonomy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

230 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

"女性という弱者からみて、はじめて男性というものも相対化してみることができる。女性という立場から、女性史という観点から、歴史を再吟味する。新しい枠組みで歴史を再構成する。そのような歴史は今、始まったばかりなのである".