Women of the Mito Domain: Recollections of Samurai Family Life / Edition 1

by Kikue Yamakawa, Kate Wildman Nakai

Overview

A Stanford UniversityPress classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804731492
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2002
Edition description:	1
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

Yamakawa Kikue (1890-1980) was a prominent socialist and feminist who published widely in these fields. The present volume was written in 1943 and is supplemented by excerpts from her later writings.

Table of Contents

	Maps	vii
	Introduction	ix
	Women of the Mito Domain
	Preface	3
	The Routine of the School	6
	The Days of a Housewife	15
	Learning One's Letters	24
	At Needlework School	31
	Dress	39
	Grooming	49
	Food	56
	Dwellings	62
	Amusements	72
	Cousins and Aunts	86
	Marriage and Divorce	101
	The Turmoil of '64	116
	Time of Trial	128
	The Restoration and Women	140
	Notes on Late-Tokugawa Mito
	Translator's Note	148
	Stipends, Office Salaries, and Allowances	149
	The Economics of Bushi Life	156
	Begrudging One Drop of Oil	156
	Stinginess, Frugality, and Decadence	165
	Concubines, Abortion, and Infanticide	169
	A Sacrificial Victim	169
	Abortion and Infanticide	171
	A Match Arranged by the Lord	175
	The Fate of a Runaway Daughter	181
	Genealogies	190
	Measurements and Currency	192
	Index	193

Editorial Reviews

"The book is a treasure house of immensely informative material. . . . An important addition to the small body of English-language works on the conditions of late Tokugawa society, told at a very human level."—Comparative Studies in Society and History

From the Publisher

Based on the recollections of her mother, other relatives, and family records, Yamakawa describes everyday life in a samurai household in the last years of the Tokugawa period (1857-1872) in Japan. The translation consists of two parts. The core is a complete translation of (1943), which describes dress, grooming, food, dwellings, amusement, marriage and divorce. The second part includes chapters from (1974), which covers topics such as the economics of Bushi life, stipends, concubines, abortion, infanticide, and the fate of a runaway daughter. Yamakawa (1890-1980) was a prominent socialist and feminist who published widely in these fields. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews