Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
to his right to precedence, he had no false modesty about asserting it, especially if he was
a
samurai
among commoners. In the fairly unusual event of a married couple going some-
where together in public, the wife walked a pace behind her husband and deferred to him
in every way.
When a woman became pregnant, the first decision that had to be taken was whether
or not the pregnancy should be allowed to go to term. In towns as well as in the country,
poverty and the existence of many children in the family might lead the parents to be un-
willing to have another mouth to feed. In the country, perhaps because the parents were
inclined to wait to see if the baby were a boy, the normal practice was smothering after
birth. In towns it was more usual to practice abortion, which was a considerable danger to
the mother at a time when the mechanism of infection was not understood. As with many
other things that flourished then, abortion was forbidden.
If the pregnancy proceeded unchecked to the fifth month, the custom was to tie a strip
of cloth (called the
Iwata-obi
) round the prospective mother's waist. This was done by the
midwife who was to look after the birth. There were different superstitions relating to this
in various parts of Japan. In some places one of the husband's loincloths (they were often
made ofonestripofmaterial) wasrecommended, inothersshewasgivenitbyherparents,
in yet others it was possible to hire one from a shrine whose god helped with childbirth.
No medical reason is given for this custom, which seems rather to be magical in nature.
The months went by with prayers to the appropriate gods and Buddhist powers; care was
taken to avoid fatty, spicy, and vinegary food. In former times, and still, at this period, in
the superior classes, there was a strong feeling that birth in the house brought defilement,
sothatwherepossible womenweresenttoaspecial buildingawayfromthehouse,erected
for the purpose, to have their child, but most town-dwellers had neither the space nor the
resourcesforsuchaprovision,andbirthstookplaceinthenormalsleepingquarters,except
that in the case of a first child the mother by tradition returned to her parents' home for the
birth. Women were delivered in the squatting position, but in the Tokugawa period a bed
with support for the back was devised. The umbilical cord, according to old ritual, was cut
with a knife of bamboo, but this had been replaced by one of steel. The midwife's duties
were not restricted to attendance at the time of birth; it was she who organized the celebra-
tion when, onthe seventh day,the relatives and friends came to congratulate the parents on
the new arrival. On this occasion presents were brought for the mother and child, who was
then given a name.
It was not uncommon to put a child to a foster-mother or wet-nurse, if the mother died
or for some reason was unable to feed her baby. The wife of a merchant with responsibilit-
ies in her husband's business would be likely to resort to this practice. The child developed
loyalties to the foster-mother, and also strong ties with foster-brother or sister inferior only
to those with his real brothers and sisters.
