Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
gun'ssexualdomain,andtheinvolvementofmembersofthe
samurai
classwithmerchants
and the power of their money.
(26) The Shogun's ladies at their toilet.
The disparity of status between men and women among the
samurai
was far greater
than in the lower classes. The official wife was always chosen for reasons of policy, never
ofaffection,andinfactitisclearlystatedinthevarious
samurai
codesthatsuchanimport-
ant thing as marriage should not be undertaken lightly, but only after serious consideration
of all the factors involved. The humbler the
samurai
the better the treatment he gave his
wife, while those of the
daimyō,
who had to spend their whole time in Edo, were particu-
larly unfortunate, though they were not lacking in material comfort. The moral standards
requiredofeachsidewerevastlydifferent:the
samurai
demandedthestrictestfidelityfrom
their womenfolk, but, of course, were completely free from such restrictions themselves.
A mistress or concubine could not, by edict, become an official spouse, although the fre-
quencywithwhichsuchedictswerepublishedsuggeststhatperhapssome
samurai
became
sentimentally attached to the extent of wishing to marry a mistress.
Theeducationofawomanwasdirectedtowardsmakingherofusetothementowhom
she owed her loyalty—her father, her husband, her eldest son—and then to women such as
the lord's wife and daughters, and her own mother-in-law. There were no schools for the
daughters of
samurai;
they learned in their homes, from the women round them, the prac-
tical skills of housekeeping and being a good wife, and from visiting teachers the social
