WOMEN IN ŌOKU VS IDEAL WOMANHOOD

The idea of womanhood came from the Confucian learnings from China through a book called Onna Daigaku or Greater Learning for Women.[1] It distributed the idea of how women in Edo period should behave.[2] For example, they were expected to show full respect towards husbands, stay at home taking care of the household, and to marry a man to bear children for sustaining the lineage.[2] However, there are some insightful examples that go against these ideals when looking into women in Ōoku.

First of all, many women in Ōoku were not married since they served in the great interior during their young age or for some served lifetime.[3] For those who were married, some women workers were actually the primary source of income within their household.[3] Regarding divorce, women in Edo period did not have the right to choose whether or not they wanted a divorce.[4] For samurai class people divorces could only be accepted if the landlord or the leader of the clan agrees.[4] Yet, a worker in Hata’s article named Kio has supposedly entered Ōoku as a means to settle a divorce since her marriage was not going well.[5] She even got a promotion after the divorce.

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Considering promotion in Ōoku, the women in the great interior were given two options if they choose to devote their life in service. One was to become a concubine and bear children, and the other option was to become an elder who is the leader of the great interior as explained earlier.[6] As a concubine, if they are able to bear children of the shogun, it was said to be their biggest achievement.[6] However, there were some conflicts over the concubine, Midaidokoro (primary wife), and the male officials. Male officials many times purposely exercised in making the women in line and concubines in Ōoku to have sons of the shogun in order to turn down the influence and power of the Midaidokoro and preventing her from bearing the first son of the shogun.[7] This occurred because oftentimes, daimyo’s and male officials faced problems of the Midaidokoro manipulating and controlling their sons (shogun) exploiting their positions as mothers.[7] This explains how women in Ōoku had authority over the bakufu to a certain extent to threaten the male officials.

 

[1] Kaibara, (1905) “Women and Wisdom of Japan” pp11-12

[2] Kaibara, (1905) “Women and Wisdom of Japan” pp 22-23

[3] Hisako, “Servants of the Inner Quarters” (2008), pp 181

[4] Cornell, “Was ‘three-and-a-half lines’ so bad?” (1990), pp710-711

[5] Hisako, “Servants of the Inner Quarters” (2008), pp 181

[6] Hisako, “Servants of the Inner Quarters” (2008), pp 183

[7]Yonemoto, “Ōoku: The Secret World of the Shogun’s Women” (2016) pp 138