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mp POSITION -" WOMAN IN !ITT

Whe by a Japa servant (

life very Still, eve subjectio: urn..,..,...

n I first ca lnese gent1 ,f her hu: lever have maid-serv; women's ---a ---. little diff

:ry book (

n of Womi h..A ..a,..-.;.,

By MRS. GORHAM

Id by many Europeans, and even le Japanese woman was the head ned to my own country at once

I might n doubted this statement However, I remained here. The first ant I hired in Japan spoke to me in my own language; evidently education was not entirely neglected. In course of time I becaillc: a~qrlainted with Japanese ladies, and found their home

erent from that of my friends in my own count] Jn Japan that I picked up dwelt a t length on tl an. My Japanese friends boasted proudly that thc

blllpCIVI uau rc;Lc;&ved command from the Sun-goddess herself to rule OVL,

this land. How to reconcile the reverence for Amat1 I a low social position for women intrigued me. I fc ne explanation and I have found one that satisfies he inferiority of women has been super-imposed on the Japanese people by outside influences, and neither the men nor the w ly subscribe to it ! My paper today is an endeavour to place 1 some of the reasons for reaching this conclusion.

A" J .,A.

I traditi ?ects.

me to Japs In I was to NO, that th id I retur

: and I nguage, La- "

"

lave m; commo

A*,.-- *.-I

erasu-o-mi 2lt there n me. The . -

omen real before you

-kami witF lust be son idea of tl

T H E roots of the family system of Japan extend back into m~*hological times. Every nation has its own history, its

ons, its own character and Japan is unique in some There are many opinions as to the origin of the

Japanese people but all are agreed that since the dawn of their national life under the leadership of Jimmu Tenno, more than twenty-five centuries aeo. they have lived under one and the same gOV aintained their ethnic unity with a con n custom and common mode of life. Thty I I ~ V G U-LI S U V C L ~ ~ C U bv an unbroken line of one dynasty

THE POSITION OF WOMAN IN THE JAPANESE FAMILY

and the people regard the whole Japanese nation as one large family, with the Emperor as an hereditary patriarch. According to Japanese tradition they believe they descond from the same ancestors with the Emperor, and that the Imperial Family is the most original line of the descendants. They worship common ancestors and regard the Emperor as the High Priest of the nation. In the Japanese language the word " matsuri-goto " used for government is the same word as " matsuri " meaning religious ritual. The Emperor holds the supreme power, not as his own inherent right, but as an inheritance from his divine ancestor, Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, the Sun Goddess, and rules over the country as the supreme head of the vast family of the Japanese, the incarnate representative of the Imperial Ancestors. These ancestors are worshiped and obeyed not only because they are the ancestors of the reigning sovereign, but because they are the

. ancestors of the Japanese people. The earliest migrations into Japan seem to have been made by

families, not by individuals. In the ancient Japanese language " omo" means mother; and this word is the root word for " omoni " chiefly, " omote " face or surface, and " oyake " public. The word for father is of much later invention than that for mother and one word " tarachio" is the male form of " terachime" a word descriptive of mother. The word " oya " parent is derived from the same root. The mother was so important a member of the family that the house in which she as the head of the family lived was styled " omo-ya " originally meaning mother's house, later main house. The mother was the head or " kami " of the household, and today one word for wife in very common usage is is " 0-kami-san " honourable head. Woman was thus dominant in the ancient family till the combined forces of the teachings of Buddhism and the growth of the military spirit in Japan exalted the males of the family to the corresponding over-shadowing of the females.

a ' con be I

uji .....A.

lching tl 3 larger -uji " re mi " usc <<. ..

- all thosc !d to inci .----L- J

1 then '

Te and : ,&-- c

hem to uji som

:taining :d for tl

the statc s was tl ..& *a,

:le writtc -eat mou

: who liv rease in I--- AL.

red withj size and - L--- -

1 formec :ame con mes the these nc

the con le offick

e of Japi he " 0-k .:..I" .-*A

?n in 24( nd was

secedin; ?w settlc ; " kopl

mo-ya " : was 1: ~ i i ". wit < ,

in the sa became

+,...A "-2

g group: ements : . .. .

- ~~- ,

xure. 1

iy some ..- &LA:-

When the members of the "o became too numerous, " waki-ya " or secondary housc wilt within the same pound or hedge. The term " L hin the hedge. came to used for 4s the continue of its

lllcrnbers separa~eu LrvIrl UI~: ~ K J ~ I ~ C - S L C ~ U ~ I I U LQK111g ULJ LI~CII abode in unoccupied lanc d what were then termed " mure" group, this later bec rupted into " mura " a word in common use today. Someti~ ; from two or more ~ j i joined together in and they were known as " kopuri " or large grow uri *, in course of time became " kc " kuni " country. Pre-historic Japanese were not iccepted the alien races with which they came in L u l l L a L L . uLLCll adopting them into the uji, sometimes merely atta the uji as " yakko" or sons house. Thc ~etimes established branch uji, ier, or " 0 ltrol of the br term " ki 11 head of a ku? origin as - - kami ,- ana means ramily head or patriarc! istoric times when m was organizec renno, the Empero imi " of the Jay Eamily

the C O U ~ L "lllLla13 re named as if LlLCy wr;Lc: lllc;mbers r family: " 0-omi " Great Mother ; " 0-muraji " Great Father ; lani " Greater Brother ; " Sukune " Smaller Brother ; and it

is interesting to note that the " 0-omi" highest officials in the land, are of the Kwobetsu class, the class of the lmperial Family from Jimmu Tenno down.

Before the time of Jimmu Tenno Japanese history is in- extricably mixed with mythology, but Chinese records of the Han and Wei dynasties refer to Japan as " The Queen Country ". One chronic: 1 relates, " At this time Queen Pimiku died. A gr raised over her, more than a thousand paces in diameter, and over a thousand of her male and female

anch uj zi is of tl . . *

l under )anese n

+I.*-- ..

of the the larg i'. The he same 1.. In h Jimmu 1 .ational : ,. *...A ....*

HE POS ITION OF WOMAN IN THE JA

a m thra brol

t shoulc )n Nimi

~f Japan .*. Thc

to died. d his n:

-L: -- 1 now .-no-Suk~

le in bur : ; also, 1 :-- 4 - -

.ese histc

be done me can

.ial hono because .,.-AA-:&--

naanrs followed her in death. Then a k ~ n g was ralsea to tne lne but the people would not obey him and civil war again re out, not less than one thousand persons being slain. A girl zirteen, a relative of Pimiku, named Iyo, was then made queen order was restored.' This is verified to a certain extent by

.ssage from the Nihongi " A. D. 3rd vear, 7th month, 6th dav. Empress Hiba Some time 1

burial the Em1 ~inisters saying, nave already recognrzea L W ~ L Lrie pIacur;e of following the ueaa

is not good. Wha : in performing burial ? ' There-upc le forward and It is not good to bury living men upright at the tumulus of a prince. How can such a custom be handed down to posterity?' " This passage is interesting for two reasons. First : it is amarent that no distinction was ma{ female of the Imperial Line Japanese view of an obligat~u~~ LU ~ U S L ~ I I L Y WII~LII IS I I I S C ~ ~ I ~ U I Y

connected with ancestor worship in the Japanese mind. H records that from that time forward clay images were subst for human beings, though the idea persists to thi: voluntary following of a master to death. There i the cruel custom of "sutti " ever being required women.

At this period ( n had equal rights with mell. I ere is no trace of marrlage by capture ; but there are records of a peculiar and interesting ceremony, that of " uta-gaki ". This was a festival held at the foot of certain mountains near Kyoto when the youths and maidens of the surrounding country side assembled together and sang and danced. If a young man found favour in the eyes of a maiden she accepted a gift from him and that sealed their betrothal. It is recorded that in 730 the Emperor Shomu viewed such an uta-gaki, when two hundred and forty young people dressed in blue kimono with red

urs betvr it reveal ---L.:-l- :

pears th;

- - reen ma1 Is the pel . . .-

3 day 5 s no recc

of J ~ P

at wome

: this said

e and culiar .--Ll--

istory ituted

far be: L1.

as anc sis of or

llUl

to est wa thi

use. El ~anese A . ---A - :lude no phews, i _.._.._ more. d only owed to ildren o:

other

attack K .ablished ;y for an s expedi

until sol stom to len toda ~lps who . . A:--- t only F

md gra~ .I.'%-- I _ - -

the he marry.

f which parts o: :a " or \

way ove gaku ". --:L:--

l. 11C n1.

Lorea, he contact . - inflow o ition she

nan visi Lmily of . . ne time ok placc y one rr tle famili I t v ~ e .

d -~

larents a ndchildrc 3- -r *I

ir, who The o

!r man r

vered ot le anoth

ted her the mol

at nigl ther. Ja

during t and t

lay find es living TI.,", L

~t only. lpanese I

. * period t an wen1

shes questioned and ans\ lese impromptu lgs. UP to this time the woman srayea ar nome with her own nily and the n longed to the fa

rnose available to translators, are very vague on tnis suDject, ~ u t ; it was not he Nara hat any in this cu he wom t to the

in secluded valleys north of the r under domestic institutions of

; IIIVSL ~ I I I I I I L I V ~ : I l ~ s t ; lamilies live under one roof and inc lnd children but uncles, aunts, nieces, nel ?n, sometimes to the number of fifty or l n e neaus UI ~nese families exercise despotic control an1 is not necessarily the oldest son, is a111 ither sons contract irregular unions the chi are adopted into the family t nother. In f Japan there still exist villa )wn as " kakadenli voman's throne, an appellation ~ 1 1 1 ~ 1 1 lints of

rman's s lot usually assol land of ha-dai :

The pusl~lurl of woman in ancient Japar~ Inay ue uescribed " reasonably dependent ". She was never shut up in harems

d always enjoyed more liberty than that accorded to her ters in other Oriental lands. There was no law, or tyranny custom, to prevent her from taking a leading part in political even military affairs when favored by circumstances and

natural ability. There are cases where widowed Empresses retained the reigns of government after the deaths of their h--sbands. 'Ph- '%press Jingo, after urging her husband in vain

rself led a conquering force to that country and with the mainland of Asia, thus preparing the

ciated w

All c records, . -

hildren at least , . .

af the I

.ges knc

.-7h:,.h I.

rith the

change man's

f culture : found

: into her country. After returnin the country in a state of unresi

~g from t. She

lr; ruslTION OF WOMAN IN THE JAPANESE r'Alvu1

uaIIla

well exprc

of th death

Zame th m was :

'e never : for a 1 ,.-I.. I...&

as one hough i.

differer Westernc -- --- -

u - .

It di many c

Wester n ances

early ir 1 Japan

. . . .. red by

The mily anc -. -

them, pl

the wol bunders rth". '

the eal

laced led hl s against the unruly chieftains, subdued her i i ~ l c ~ l ~ 3~11 on the throne and ruled as his regent.

Fo understand the part played by women in the Japa y it will be necessary for us to understand the term " Yai ~shi ", for this' is the birthright of the Japanese woma as the Japanese man, Yamato Damashi is a phrase coinc 3s the spirit of the Japanese people ; it is a term inclusi~

many meanings, out of it sprang Bushido, and without it there would be no Japanese nation. In the last analysis it is a form of ancestor worship in which human ancestors, divine ancestors and the country itself ar itiated by the Japanese. It is a concept difficult 2r to grasp, this idea of the people, not as individud~s UUL ds UIU: uf a moup, with its correlated idea of the nation family. iffers from Chinese ancestor worship, ti t owes ,f its forms to that country, in the idea of the nation as a family and a sense of obligation to posterity. In China ancestor worship is concerned with the worship of the dead ; the glories of China are in the past, the duty of the present is to perpetuate the past. In Jt an integral idea of the worship of the dead is an idea of obligi to the future. Past, present and future are not so sharply del in the mind of a Japanese as in that of a <ner. 1L writers miss the point when they condem ;tor WOI

ayaucac, in Japan as the worship of the dead ; to the J- of the dead is not to them as dead, but as the fc living line which extends " coeval with heaven and ea this idea d e ~ writings.

Buddhism was introaucea into Japan rrom Korea in 532 A.D. and soon be( e religion of the court. development of this religic fostered by the Soga fa 3 a daughter

- - is family became consort of Emperor Bidatsu. After his I, and that of two other Emperors who succeeded him, she

apan

rship of a That rliest

CULTURAL NIPPOI

--- idei the . .

---. affe Pro ma] whc Dul

.--a*- h . Buddh j

roductior

e. Con thods, a L*. - ---L - 1

3 of fami virtues

le line. 3se mot1 ring the

ipress. -

istituted reign tl

he Soga Lm, whic - -

I of tht ~w the E 1 l,,",, - the fire

ti-kwa a

festival: hat Japa

. family :h came

; of extrc n took

eme ma1 geat str

Y

une of I - -

gnificenc ides in e

nce of (

egral fac , * ,

mism rn now to

,- -L -

:e ; and very bra

it was rnch of

lext wor

She ruled unde 3mpress Suiko ana ner nephew, bhotoku Taishi, was appointed regent, but she out-lived him several years. She was a devout Buddhist and encouraged the building of temples and the spread of Buddhist art. dur leal

ism being chiefl: ned with the n .Id, its intl 1 did not tend r the form of : except in-so-tar as its propagation rurnisned an occasion ror tne rise in power of t ; but it was a different matter with Confucianis in with Chinese learning about this tim tucian ethics, with their civic morality, educi me1 nd legal institutions, made a profound imp1 nn tne wnvie country, especially on the position of woman.

ily perpetuation and the importa of valour and fidelity, always int~

tgenous religion, were strengthened. Tne aevelopmenr: or me xggle between the court nobles and military lea( ler the peror, created a need for a sterner code than that led by ier Shinto or Buddhism, and Confucia let that need. :ontributed greatly to the change that ok place : the 3 of a family governed by the authority vl a lothe her, through :ction, gave way to the idea of the authority of the father as tector. Succession in the family began to descend through the I .. However, in the Imperial Line, only Imperial Sons

lers were of the Kwobetsu class inherited the throne. strict military regime of the Tokugawa Bakufu,

continuatior : male line became so important that in all classes belc Cwobetsu the social class of the mother of the heir was ncl luurcl of importance.

One of it results of the Confucian teachings in Japan was the TE r Great Reform, which may broadly be stated

lers, unc : furnish

ational :ession

The - --- a1 life,

, ,LE YUSILlUN UJ? WOMAN IN I HE JHYANESE FAMIL A

attem natio~

e transil r-rr ..rrmt.

The Em jiwara o , ,- .*

peror Ri fficial, a v The

never has alm

i0. In ne Emp: . . .

lommu .nd this

really a rays bee

.bandone n based

!ror as f ate" fa . .

as th ;ion from the Japanese system of heredity to the Chineac a p e r n of morality. This was followed by further legislation based on the principle that the peop without regard to rank, owed equal duty to the

~p t to supplant the idea of the Empe Bther of the nal family with the idea of the "St iled, and in

course of time the people went back to the old system of family control ; rather they :d it f o ~ polity of the empire on the family.

At the time of these changes an Empress sat on the throne of Japan. The Empres Kogyoku reigned from 642 to 644 and again from 655 to 6C 686 the throne was ag: pied by a woman, this tir ress Jito, and to her cn it be ascribed the law minimizing the evil results of slavery ror debt. It was during her reign, too, that compulsory milj ice was first inaugurated ; and the date March 14th 696 i -able in Japanese history as the date whPn + h ~ principle ot pr;mn geniture first received official apI Six rr Empress Jito resigned in favour of 1 Momm

r took as his consort the daughtt a Fu, marks the beginning of the influ of that 1am11, . , ,,, women of the Fujiwara family have ah been noted for their beauty, and this, together with the astute of their men folks, secured for this family the social political supremacy of the land At one time three Fujiwara ladies served simultaneousl lerial Empress and two as Imperk

When Emperor Mommu aiea nis son was too young to succeed to the throne and his mother reigned in his stead as Empress Gemmyo. After seven years she abdicated in favour of her daughter who became the Empress Gonsho. During the reigns of these two Empresses, 707 to 723, the Kojiki and

ce, one

~le at k State.

r the el idea of

tin occu :dit mus

itary sel s memo1 - -

ionths u.

- -

as Imp

- --

irge, The

ntire the

llll"

later

:r of ence ways mess and

'URAL NIPPON

alu

posi but

her Nar ,.,.ll.

G L L C U J

y sceptrr iical inst

the str xror S1 . .

Empress of Kwc he Emp Japanese

:ion thal Its great mrr, "+n+

;, thougl ~betsu, ress KOI : history . . t the E bronze

ongi were compiled fron ntry was moved to Nar The Emperor Shomu took as consort a d

Fujiwara, the Lady Asuka. After the birth of a s -:-' of the now ~owerful Fujiwara family, she was L ~ I ~ C U

tion of I this was exprf ladies 3r Imperial ran

history as t nyo and is one of the I

figures in . .. She was a devout established asylums and nee hospitals for the pool ?as at

instigat Shomu built the Todaiji at a with j ~f Buddha. At his death she 3,4-na " ' a r J L ~ L ~ treasulc3, Y ~ ~ ~ o u s objects of virtu, girdles,

mperor image (

C a m *In*

es, bows xumenb

and a n ; etc." tl

'om, sw hings wl

ords, ex: hich he

them 1 in his :

)e place 7.

xse in tl , .

~ d y of homu b . ..

the art lefore h . .

:, music is deatl

1 after becomin,

ively rer the cou

~ccupied presses : -

four ye g dissat

narks, ' [ntry th: ..- .

: and c I abdicr 7 r u;c J . L L L U

Lars reti isfied wi

%sly for k. She

~mples c had use

-m- ----

ustoms ~ t e d in . . .

capital of the

of a by the 4.- Ch,

bidden t is kno~

most be: Buddhis . It u

. - )f calligl: :d or ha. . Thes riji com] , * .

of that favour

LV LIIG

.o any vn in iutiful it and

bull1

ivor mue and offered to the Buddha LILCIILVI y

caused to E d in a storehor he Toda called the Snoso-in, and they form roaay an invalua~le $

for time. Em1 of his daughter and retired to a monaster daugnter relgned as Empress Koken anc red in favour of the Crown Prince, but ' th him she degraded him to the rank of prince and again assumed the Imperial title under the name of Empress Shotok ortunately her record is marred by an excessive partiality Ior ~uddhist priests ; and, as a woman writer nai ' The unfortunate experience of her reign taught it it was undesirable to have a woman on the throne and ror about ten centuries following it was exclusively c by men." However, under the Shogunate, two Em graced the throne. With the Restora- tion the Imperial House Law was changed and succession follows the male line of the Imperial Descendants.

aphy, ndled, e she pound jource

now

[E POSI' F WOM, AN IN THE JAI 'ANESE : FAMII

rhe Hei . - i > - - -

i. She 7 men ;

was tl and wor ..

an period, 784-986, with the capital in was me golaen age when women excelled in all polite accomplish-

s and her desirability for wifehood was considered to de] :r ability to extemporize a witty poem. Murasaki-Shil

, , ~ r t lady belonging to the Fujiwara family, was the au of Genji Monogatar he creator of the Japa novel and she drem nen with an intense rez portraying their everyday lives and giving us a minute and intimate picture of the society of her time. As a novelist she stands pre-eminent in the world of her time; there is nothing in the Western worll o compare with her. There were other women 7 r importance in the world field of literature, but or equal importance in Japanese literature. It was a conventj for scholars to write in Chinese (as at one time EL I Latin) and women played a very important part in developing the true Japanese language, in poetry as well as prose.

With the close of the Heian period and the shifting of power from the luxury loving nobles of the Imperial Cour the sterner military leaders of the north, women ceased to s in literature and art, and, with a few brilliant excentinns- 1

were zer able to exe t influe gover of the nation. was a Confucian teachings, attractea xnerero ~y 11s doctrine or ~oy to a superior, a code necessary t< organiza which now developed in Japan. H broughi as daughters of soldiers, trained to become wives of fighting men whose very existence depended on their prowess in arms. They were taught the use of the halberd in defence of their homes and the use of the kozuka, sn ~rd, to remove them beyond the reach of dishonour by se ~ction.

One of the most remarkable mu~rlcll ~n Japanese history was Hojo Masako, wife of the Shogun Yoritomo. She possessed

no long nment

- ,

d of lite writers 8 e -

ion of tl lropeans

. . ..

rcise ar The .

, a . .

of lesse 1 . - .

?at time wrote ir . .

1y direc samurai

1 - r _

) the n is womc

nall swc !If-destru

-.

lilitary 3n were

nce on student . , - .

pend cibu, fhnr . L . A I V I

nese ~lity,

t to hine thev ---- the

: of ..

hig disl of wit --- YUll

tin1 Shc and per the

libe trar -L:l

rulf was con tim thai nnn,

her min h hers s ,L.. -L.

3t as his ery acti . C- -.....

- -

dal Japa the cour

e the pc n that o

d and k ;he forct

rect put ho succc death o

to place F Chnm.r - guardia

ve life. -- -

n. At t circles

. - ~ - -

~eart. V :d him i

n. She I

Hers w L..c :c

this tim 1 and in

died in 1 'as a su

- lowered hem to ---..-..-I A

her pla~ id were I

with, her ov

ce of ret men of j

or inhe m child -- L-2-

did not of her : 1 - . . 1 - ~

irement. inferior

was def

h courage and intellectual end( I of an dinary ;inction. She was distinguished ~ U I L I I ~ mascu~~llt- ~ ~ ~ d r a c t e r

Vhen her father's plans nto exile. At the death

slle srlaved her head and entered a religious oraer ~ u r ; con- led to di ~l ic affairs from The )guns w: :eded her husbar ability I, on the f Shogun Sanetomo, she asked for and received mission a two year old child of a Fujiwara family in office 01 auurull and she exercised the real power of govern-

me1 he age of seventy after a v :xample of a woman's rise LV ~-IIIII~CI~LC. U U L A L was by 11" I I ICL~~~S without parallel in feu1 e feminine influenck was strong both in 1 the sterner military society and there is nothing to show that the positinn of women subordinate, as it later became.

The Toei Code, promulgated 1232. allows woman considerable e " could be ( s and legal title to t and a

c r 1 1 mess women was empower eu LU ~ U U ~ L d.11 I IC~I . ~u~cess ion ;he property was not necessarily through the eldest son, even ugh legitimate, and the only indication of the hard and fast : of male succession which developed in the Tokugawa period, ; the provision that the eldest son, whether of wife or cubine could claim one-fifth of his father's estate. At this

sition of woman in Japan was as high if not higher f her sisters in Europe. A woman could hold fiefs

~ ~ ~ a r a t e l y from her husband. Her position in the family was an honoured one, not only as the mother of descendants in the male line for the house into which she was married, but as a valuable pawn in the game of alliances and counter-alliances formed by the great families during this turbulent period.

:rit, fief: lren " ; ; . c..,...

agree ;econd .L --.-

initely

E POSITION OI I N IN THE JAPANESE

e time after the establishmen 3n DeLween lord and vassal partook more or tne natur

farnil: actual 01 !te of ou1 influe hange tl society, feeling again ana again asserted itse~r ana rouna expression in

the rj as sel vassal owe much to the patriarchial system even prehistoric tim enemif become house-men, a connection approac

t of the .- ..

Bakuf u the ,e of

y loyalt~ nces wh

r than of ~ich tenc

i a contr; led to c'

. In spi ture of ! 8 .

:side clan ne strucl

. C . Ise, one If-contai~

after ar led unit

lother, (

s. The )f powe: early fc . - . .

rful fan eudal rc

lilies tei :lations

nding to of lord - - -

of prc 3s were :hing k

:-leudal invited

.inship,

and 1 to and

uquered . - -L! -.- -

anal01 famili

. .

tary Iers,

matters or marriage, succession ana ancestral ntes came to be form1 the differt men were in the same relation to one another as the court noble and his dependents. louse L; le Mina nily became in time the cvmrnvn law for ,-,---. The women vul this

gous to .es increi

the old med, rul

" yakk es gover

0". A! ning the

; the sii : relatior

:ese mili ?n meml

dated. '

2nt fam . .-

These r ilies ; a1

-ules wc nd the - .

:re knoT clan le,

wn as ader an

House I d his n

. -

.aws of nilitary :

age P

lords Tere the and see

devoted I servan ve had ; . .

ts and 1

a good I

!tatec

:ompani~ do with .

.heir tical

management 01 tne reuaal es 2.L.L."". collapse .he fami

F and t . .

e now .cing of . .

to the it by t ,. ..

of the uji, or clan, syz ly system, where loyalt

tne ujz-tzarnz, or neaa or tne clan, gives way to loyalty to tne head of the 1 d. The family makes its appearance as a social unit, tl m of primogeniture has its inception and the subjection of women, in contrast to the high she had held under the Fujiwara regime and earlie ism, begins. In a time of anarchy and warfare the ablest a11u s~rvngest meml ly must head, o. mily

-will 1 'he ideal as the I ante

of the ramily, tmt: preservatio~l uul ILS prvpercy and tne ennance- ment of its prestige. To assure this alliances were made with

position r feudal - 3 ^ A _ _ _ _ _

-.

>er of t )e destrc - 1 :I--

: be ma of that

. A -

~ d e the time w

_.1

r the fa1 mainten: , t

otf more powerful 1 through miage. The cc iushido was taught and lived, but never named

till the latt Nitobe, at the request of our own President Roosevelt, attempted to make it understandable to the Westerner. Let me quote Mr Nitobe expression largely from C Mencius. but even those Sagcs, 11 I l l l a v ut: aliuwt:u LU 3ay au, we )re to enrich tl ~ulary then to im] inspire, moral s ~ c e , when we speak of tf le influe these Chinese teachers we must be their mc ible services consisted in awakening our own Inborn ethical consciousness. For exam- ple :ht of I moral relations : viz, bet usband ; I, master and servant, brother anb JIJLGL. 111~11~ and frie~lu-a~~d gave them nar--- :*

wa:

ker and families 3de of B ? Inazo . .

.shido b classics,

T --.,.

orrowed from (

L,. -IT...

its f o ~ Clonfucic -*-a +..

m s of IS and .--- ,..

)ited mc lch less

re vocal !As ; her

re explc ?art, mu

le deep :ar in mi

and wic nd that. . .

, when ween pa

Confuci rent and A 4ntnr

ius taug I child, h 84 n.. a

:he five and wife a ..-A

s the nc Bushid

ure, anc es subm

d not t kission t

:he morz o autho

- 11s that rity, utt

we ador :er devoi

one's over-lord and f all private int hether of self or family, t relfare. Bushidc ireater Learning for Men, ,, ,,Inpared to the Greater ng for

men, or " Onna-daigaku Much has been made a proof of the

oU~jection of women in the feudal age, U U L LILC doctrine is but one form of Bushido. In the seventeenth ce lfucian scholars appeared and some of these direc :ion to the education of women. Kaibara Ekken. one of these, formulated a set of rules for the education of woman which has since been known as the Onna Daigaku and it is more than possible that he isted in this by his wife, Hatsuko, a very able woman whc lmpanied him on all his travels and assisted him in his literary works ". It is said that many of his diaries were written by Ekken wrote, " A woman has no par lord ; she )ok to her husband ". Bushido corn

self-sac o the coi

9.2 PA

:rifice ol mmon w

9 ,

of the C -

:ntury m :ted the

.any Con ir attenl

was ass 3 " acco ...

her. must lc

ticular mands

TION OF WOMAN IN THE JAI

-- one's esser

thiest an n back ,

IU no~~ i i td most to a "n;

dsons an

t a time r class.

lnvalry to one's lord, the Onna Daigaku cornmanas loyal1 I husband ; and the position of the bushi to his ice the position of a woman to her husband. The structure of the Tokugawa government was Dase

the theory of an armed camp of a great feudal baron. I governments followed the pattern of the central governmeni the laws of the Shogunate replaced the feudal House I Tokugawa laws were in the main repressive, but unlike We laws, they were not a systematic setting forth of spc injunctions and prohibitions, but were merely statements in writing of the principals underlying customary laws. These restrictions entered into the minutest detail of the lives of the people. Even the Imperial Court did not escape. In 1649 a law was issued ordering peasants to rise early, to work at night, not to eat rice but to be content with coarser fare, and if their wives were flighty and liked visiting temples or rambling in the hills they were to divorce them at once ! It is easy to understand that in such an atmosphere woman's position was not high the wave of Confucian learning that swept ever the count this time di' --'"kg toward elevating it. Still one oi weal influential families in Japan today tract origi loman of Ise wise enough to realize tk field of activities for her sons, gram .d descendants sl be commerce". This remarkable wc samurai family, and educated eight children and with amazlng insight encoui,,, them to enter the business world a1 considered beneath the notice of he

That even under these adverse circumstances the pictulc these times is not all dark is testified to by Commander Perry, he of the Black Ships that played such an important part in opening Japan to Western influences after two centuries and a half of self-imposed retirement from the world. In his official report of his mission written for the United States Government

when

lord w:

- .

business

a on Local t and daws. stem ecific

I and ry at - '1- . L I i C

:s its it the ~ould bore

r q n n r l -

was

,, ,.c

CULTURAL NIPPOh

' There says. ' is one feature in the suc1er.y of Japan, by ~ther 01 ognized

wanlon, ana nor merely rrearea as a s.,. ,. J e r positinn 1s

ot as ell s in thos~ ies unde ;tian d i s~ i but th r, wife,

Japan are neither tne chattels ana nousehola aruages or the purchased objects of the I IS lust of the

Turkey. The fact of the non-f : of polygamy :s the ations.

whi nat con

ich the ions, is - - - - - -. .

superio clearl:

-~-.l ~-

rity of all the c is rec

lave F

riental the pec Eest. T

. . L,*"A-

luence ughter

tainly nl he Chris 1

evated a! ~nsatior

. . e countr e mothe . .

r the inf and dai . .. .

cerl of t 01

Chi har

na, nor ems of a distin anese as - -L -

ctive fe ; the mc .- -z Ll-

ature, a s t mori ! - 3

rhich pr 31 and I 3:.- - - .--

.e-eminel refined c -A:-- -I-.

ltly cha )f all Ea

lne ausence or rnls aegrzaalng pracrlce snows itselr, nor. only in the que Japanese woman, always excepting tne a~sgusting macK rc tho! ied, are not ill-lc lung gir we1 ather pretty, anc that vi and self-re1 of dignity d they are hc the Par I\.

superic !rice of

)r charac the grea

.he worn Len, but )f the dc .. ..

in the natural conse- The .. ,. virtues. .. 'I .

se who a 1 formec , .. .

Ire marr. 3 and r;

loking. 3 have I

The yc much of

iance in .erived f eld. In

! manne 'rom the &L- --A:.

from a usness high re1 which

LIIC UI U I I I ~ I Y IIILCILUUISC of frienus ~ I I U lamilies he rounl in Japz

rs, whic ! compa ----. :-&.

h come rativel y

- - -. -- -

have th kept

women eir shar up as

e and t briskly

isiting a1 n the 1

nd tea Ynited ties are . 9 . ces .

With the black ships ( ducti ion and pr 1 of Christianity with it LIg L ~ I ~ value of the

idu : modern economic system of the Western natlons, wit ry of " efficiency " in all departments, deals with ind~vluua~s, not with families. The political revolution which took place beginning of the Meiji era a , once again, as Taikwa Reform, the old fami m and made the people each and every one directly responslule to the Emperor. The old idea of loyalty to the feudal lord, even of loyalty to the head of the family, yielded to the idea of loyalty

: re-intrc " n rr* +I

q?aga- indiv- . .

---. ..

at the did the .--- 7 - -.

bolished ly syste: . -.--:%-'I-

THE POSITION OF WOMAN IN THE JAPANESE

to the State, typified as it had been centuries ago by luyail.

the Emperor. That history repeats itself is an exceedingly but true saying. Already the observant bystander may see old process beginning all over again: the uji-kumi repl, by the clan head; the clan head replaced by the feudal 1 the feudal lord now being replaced by the capitalist. The family alliances have not been destroyed, they have changed their outward garments only. But a real and, I believe, a lasting change has come in the position of woman in Japan. No longer is the stability of the family dependent on the prowess of the male members, economically the female is equal to the male.

I venture no prophecy concerning the position of woman in the future. Today women have entered all ranks of life; they are employed as sales, girls in the big stores ; as conductors and even as motor-men on busses and street cars ; as taxi drivers. They are active in literary, educational and international peace movements. Much to their credit, the first official women's organizations were for the promotion of social welfare, for protection of children, for relief for the families of sol( killed in warfare. Women are now doctors, lawyers and rese< scholars. As is always the case in a transition peric some unlovely manifestations of the new freedom and the bobbed hair "mogu " has made her appearance. but for one moga there are thousands of home-loving, noble minded women who pursue their daily tasks with the quiet assurance that they hay lonoured part to play in the building of a great modem they are the mothers of the future. That Japan has rc------ the position it has today is due in a large measure to its women ; no nation rise npled womanhood.

Te an 1 I nation, eached

s on trar

d there 1 for wo

trite I the -....a iiLCU

ord ; old

the liers arrh Ul U l l

are men - .