Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(24) The Shogun attended by ladies-in-waiting (wax models). Behind the tasseled doors in
this private apartment in the Nijo Castle an armed guard was always on duty.
(25) The Shogun's ladies exercising with the halberd.
Kaempfer was a trained observer and one can accept his description as accurate. It is
possible that the mats were removed in the area of floor in which the Dutchmen appeared
because they wore shoes. The Japanese always left their outdoor footwear at the entrance,
andfromthenonwenteitherbarefootorwearing
tabi,
thedividedsocks—unlesstheywere
on urgent official business, such as making an arrest, in which case they would go straight
in, thus increasing, incidentally, the psychological shock of the irruption.
ItsoundsasifKaempferinthisunofficialaudiencepenetratedasfarasthesemi-private
domestic quarters, one of the three main divisions of the Edo Castle: the “front,” where
business was conducted, the “middle interior,” referred to above, and the “great interior,”
which was the women's quarters (
24
)
.
The organization of the latter is believed to have
been modeled on that of the Chinese court. In the Edo “great interior” only very few men
were allowed in—the Shogun himself, some senior counselors, doctors, and priests. The
women had ranks reminiscent of those of the government, with a jealously preserved hier-
