Kamakura to Muromachi: Elite Women's Shifting Influence
The Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)
15th Century
Women: Literature and Lanuguage
Women's Hand
Women’s hand refers to the writing done by aristocratic women, typically in the imperial court and is distinct because it was all written in kana (Japanese). It was called “onna no ji” or literally women’s letter, and later gave rise to “onna bunni” or women’s writing. [1] Meanwhile men’s writing was only written in Chinese and dealt with public affairs such as diplomacy, imperial decrees, government, law making, etc. Women’s hand was meant for all things private and often personal. For the most part men never wrote in kana, but on occasion for things like personal journals, they would use women’s hand. [2] Interestingly though there is an example of high-status men exchanging messages in hiragana, that being between the Muromachi Shogun and Ryukyu King. These messages were recorded and replied to by their consorts. [3] Between the Heian to Edo periods, official documents were written exclusively in kanji by aristocrat and societies. However, the warriors during this time used an occasional mix of kanji and hiragana. During Kamakura, and especially Muromachi, this use of hiragana would further seep into men’s writing in things like deed transfers, service orders (hosho), direct imperial edicts (rinji), edicts of retired emperor (inzen), and instructions for third rank and higher nobles (migyosho). [4] From late Kamakura to Muromachi many women, including low rank women (upper rank village women) could write in a mixture of hiragana and kanji.
Image Credit:
The MET Museum
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Decline of Writing
It was around the Muromachi period many elite women’s personal writing (such as personal diaries) started to disappear. Further the quality of writing seemed to steeply decline during Muromachi. During Kamakura writing was treated with a degree of reverence by all, lending writing of this period an aesthetic elegance that is both pleasing and easy to read, but by the Muromachi this all but gone, making Muromachi documents very difficult to read. [5] Personal diaries of Nyobo were quite common in during the Kamakura period but stop completely come Muromachi. While writing still occurred among the Nyobo it was only for administrative purpose or for the education of becoming a “proper woman.” Writing personal journals was something born out of the Kamakura aristocratic women’s relative freedom, leisure, and peaceful existence, but may also be attributed to the change in reverence toward writing in general.
Image Credit:
The MET Museum
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
"Heartvine" ("Aoi") chapter from The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari)
16th Century
"Heartvine" ("Aoi") chapter from The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari)
16th Century
Family gender roles
Interestingly, women in earlier literature and art seem to be much more forthright and commanding. There are various examples of women dropping the honorifics with men, but typically this is only done with men who are of close social status. For example, a brother and sister (Konjaku Monogatari Shu), or wife and husband (Konjaku Monogatari Shu). When addressing older people or those of higher status, women still use the honorifics. Whereas for men, towards women, never used honorifics. The use of honorifics during the Heian and Kamakura periods seems to depend more so on social class rather than gender. [6] But, by the latter end of Muromachi into Edo, Kyogen became a popular form of entertainment. In the same situations, the women now speak only in honorifics to her husband even in arguments. However, by the Kamakura period, gendered speech was starting to appear, as noted I Kokonchomonju from 1254, noting that “in making replies, men say and women say [7]. Gendered speech among the nobles was starting to take root.
In relation to gendered speech, a women’s specific “language” started to develop among nyobo around the Muromachi period. Called “nyobo began giving everyday objects new terms when speaking amongst each other. Originally this was done for entertainment, but ultimately developed into an ingroup language. [8] This was done because of the expectations of how nyobo were expected to speak and act around the court. Straightforward language was not allowed and especially women were required to use elegant, refined, and indirect language. [9] By 14th century (Nambokucho period) contact between courtiers and the public and commoner things like food and drink was found on nobles’ tables. As it was considered vulgar to share the same words as commoners, thus nyobo-kotaba was a way to show linguistic superiority and protect their sense of identity. At some point the language reached various levels of women, first from aristocrat to warrior, then from warrior to lower class women (as low down as commoner maids). There is a theory that this language was born from the necessity to communicate between social classes. Especially as there was an increase of lower class and working women who came in and out of the imperial palace. [10]
Image Credit:
The MET Museum
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Footnotes
[1] Yoshihiko p. 130
[2] Yoshihiko p. 132
[3] Yoshihiko p. 130-131
[4] Yoshihiko p. 132-133
[5] Yoshihiko p. 136
[6] Endo p. 28-29
[7] Endo p. 30
[8] Endo p. 31
[9] Endo p. 32
[10] Endo p. 32