Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

Fall 12-9-2024

Abstract

This essay examines the shifting roles and restrictions placed on Japanese women from the Classical period through the Edo period, focusing on how women both conformed to and resisted societal expectations. It uses primary sources like the Onna Daigaku ( Greater Learning for Women) and Tadano Makuzu's Solitary Thoughts to highlight the tension between prescribed ideals of feminine virtue and the lived experiences of women, particularly during times of peace and war. The essay also discusses the ways women found and wielded power through family structures, their education, and participation in warfare, as well as how they challenged restrictive norms through their writings and actions, leading to significant shifts in the late Edo period. The essay concludes by highlighting the role of women in the civil war that led to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration.

Comments

Created as part of Professor Julia Bruggemann's HIST 490A: Senior Seminar

Included in

History Commons

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