Introduction
This exhibit focuses on women who lived through the Heian to Muromachi Periods of Medieval Japan and examine the position of noblewomen in the Heian period and their role in aristocratic households. This exhibit moreover observes how a gradual shift from matriarchal to patriarchal systems took place within aristocratic households from Heian to Muromachi eras. Aristocratic women during the Heian period were documented through novels written by women, and folktales such as Genji no Monogatari and Ise Monogatari. By researching the portrayal of women in these mediums, the project may serve to provide a perspective on women that is realistic and not described in relation to examples of women today. We will aim to provide a thorough analysis of texts from multiple perspectives, to give a multi-faceted account of noblewomen in Heian Japan.
The following pages will first predominantly focus on the topic of marriages in the Heian period for noblewomen. In Heian Japan, the aristocrats participated in marriage politics, where dominant families like the Fujiwara, dominated the Heian courts by maneuvering their daughters into positions of wives or concubines of the emperor. Through these practices, the family aimed to gain and exert influence over the imperial line. (Stalker 2018) Another important observation of Heian-era aristocratic marriage practices was that marriages often resulted in “great personal anxiety and loneliness for them.” (Wakita & Gay, 1984) While men were able to leave their houses freely and live independent lives with multiple wives, wives spent much of their time alone, pondering and waiting for their spouses to return home. This polygamous nature of Heian marriages, while mainly documented in Heian court marriages, was widespread in the aristocratic class. Despite the seemingly patriarchal relationship between the husband and wife, it was evident that Heian women were able to maintain their property, in times of divorce. “The independently owned property of a woman provided her and her children with a certain degree of security against the loss of her husband,” which helped formulate a weak marriage tie in case of compensation. (McCullough 1967) Therefore, it can be argued that aristocratic women at the time enjoyed property rights and relative equality in marriage.