History Elective

Shogunate Japan essay
“Examine the role of women in Shogunate Japanese society.”
Shogunate Japan was a period from 1192 – 1867 where Japan was ruled under a system of heredity military dictatorship by shoguns. The shogun was appointed by the emperor and was known as the de facto reiler as they had great political and military power. In Shogunate Japan, society was divided into two main classes; the nobility and the peasants. The place of women in Shogunate was not as bad as in other societies where women were considered lower than their fathers/husbands; however, they were ranked accordingly and had power over these ranked lower than they did.

Men dominated Japan under the Samurai period. Before this, there were a small number of female rulers and some women were allowed to inherit property. From (794 – 1185), it was thought that a man should be at the head of the family to protect the house and land. Additionally, women had believed that men dominated them and felt that it should be kept that way for many centuries to come.

Figure 1.1 Wives and their daughters in the family home.
A woman of any class has had a role in their family household and in their marriage. As a daughter, obey your father; once married, obey your husband: when widowed, obey your son. Buddhist culture states: “Onna sanga ni ie nashi” (Women have no home in the three realms of inexistence; the past, present and future) [Minamoto; 1990, 1997: Ogishi 1990: Okano, 1995] A man could divorce his wife and send her back to her parents simply saying that she is unhealthy or unable to bear a child. The mother had taught her daughters to read and write and how to dress for ceremonial occasions. (See Fig. 1.1)

Samurai wives had the task of commanding soldiers while their husbands were away, organizing family finances. During war - time, women and children were not spared from the war and conflict, and many wives committed suicide with their husbands. In society, women were placed in ranks of the ninja and were referred to as ‘kinoichi’. They were employed as spies and often as household servants. There are stories less subtle ninja women using seduction as a tool, luring victims into dropping their guard before killing them. (See Fig. 1.2)

Figure 1.2 A Samurai wife in preparation of battle
Figure 1.2 A Samurai wife in preparation of battle
Women are banned from participating in a number of Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies and festivals, despite the record that women mostly organized religious events until the 8th century (Minamoto, 2005). As an example of women being banned from events is when the Seikan Tunnel between the mainland and the northern island was completed without any presence of women on site during its 16-year construction. (Asano, 2005; Okano, 1995)

Figure 1.3 Shinto women at a shrine in the temple
In Shinto, women are believed to being sinful and impure for a month after childbirth. Some Shinto shrines forbid women to enter the precincts by passing under the torii (gates) for a month to 72 days after childbirth. (See Fig 1.3)

In summary, Shogunate Japan had a society where women were judged based on their status based on their rank in society or who they were partner with. Women in Japanese society today are still put down for whom they are but overtime women are respected for their role in religion and family life no matter what status they are placed in.