Household Troubles: Japanese Women’s Conceptions of Self (1603–1868)

Abstract

This paper examines how Japanese women’s conceptions of self were shaped by the stem family structure during the Tokugawa period (1603–1868). Stem families, also identified by historians with the Japanese term for “house,” ie, were diverse structures of kinship and economic support. They typically—though not always—consisted of a male household head, multiple generations, and a single heir. In most cases, the stem model was cyclical, ensuring that household headship and assets would be passed down. The Tokugawa period represented a unique historical shift; whereas previously only the samurai class adhered to the ie structure, during the Tokugawa period, households of all classes generally adopted this form of family organization. The ie was important because it delineated certain roles and expectations for different status groups. For women in particular, this role was often complex, contradictory, and open-ended. Two normative characteristics of Tokugawa-era families were filial piety and collective possession. These two values particularly shaped the roles and expectations of household women. Using Noriko Sugano’s research on the Official Records of Filial Piety (1801) and Amy Stanley’s Fashioning the Family: A Temple, a Daughter and a Wardrobe (2019), this paper asserts that women were encouraged to think about their identity in terms of membership within a larger group.