Description: "Early modern Japan was a military-bureaucratic state governed by patriarchal and patrilineal principles and laws. During this time, however, women had considerable power to affect directly social structure, political practice, and economic production. This apparent contradiction between official norms and experienced realities lies at the heart of The Problem of Women in Early Modern Japan. Examining prescriptive literature and instructional manuals for women--as well as diaries, memoirs, and letters written by and about individual women from the late seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century--Marcia Yonemoto explores the dynamic nature of Japanese women's lives during the early modern era"--Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes: "Anyone who reads these 223 pages will never see medieval Japan in the same light again... this book has the potential to open a whole new scholarly field of history. ... Summing Up: Essential."-- "Choice"