Exploring the Status of Women in East Asia During the 1500s: A Study

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the status of women in Japan, Korea, and China during the 1500s, examining the diverse experiences shaped by cultural, religious, and political factors. It explores the impact of Confucianism, shamanism, and patriarchal systems on women's roles and opportunities. The essay highlights the varying degrees of influence and power women held in each society, discussing their involvement in religious practices, family structures, and societal expectations. It analyzes the historical context of colonialism and its impact on women, specifically addressing the victimization of women during wartime. Through a comparative analysis, the essay reveals the complexities and nuances of women's lives in East Asia during this period, emphasizing the need to understand their stories within their specific cultural contexts. The essay also references the role of Western scholarship and its growing influence on the study of East Asian women's history, as well as the challenges of using chronology to understand women's experiences. The conclusion emphasizes the fluctuating and often challenging conditions faced by women due to patriarchal dominance, while also acknowledging instances of women's power within shamanistic traditions.

EAST ASIAN HISTORY FROM 1500
EAST ASIAN HISTORY FROM 1500
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

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This paper focuses on the topic of status of women in Japan, Korea and China in fifteenth
century, for which the content is extracted from three of the crucial. The scholarship of fifteenth
century has wrecked the allegory of a colossal Asia, the only thing that can be seen clearly in this
place is the supremely diverse and complex gathering of civilisations, and all of these are
extremely different from each other just like, West is from East which will never meet. A far less
to disassemble stereotypic expectations regarding the Asian women, however, their history
enhances the importantly to the understanding of the dissimilarity and specifically of life in
countries like, Korea, China and Japan. The history of women underscores the senses of Japan
and Korea as discrete and different cultures, in spite of the exceptionally rigid influence of
China. As per the historians views are concerned, there is no monolithic women experience
rather there are some intense histories of Asian women. Imperialism in this particular period of
time is a case in point. Japan and China, both the countries are occupied by colonialism and they
can be considered as having status of semi-colonialist at the modern period of time; however, on
the other hand, Korea was colonialized by Japan; and later Japan attacked China, in the Year
1937, which implemented the notion in China as well1.
The status of women in the Japanese society were that they are the part of the military
colonisation in the Asian region; however, many women were also victimized by it. The point of
victimization of women is validated by the evidence or information, which states that, at that
time the Korean women along with the Japanese women were sent to the Japanese military
service as comfort women, which means prostitutes, without their willingness, where the
Japanese women carry a little status than the Korean women in this field2. Also, as the result of
1 Ramusack, Barbara N., Sharon Sievers, and Sharon L. Sievers. Women in Asia: restoring
women to history. Indiana University Press,
2 Jansen, Marius B. The making of modern Japan. Harvard University Press,

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the Pacific war, the women of Japan has suffered a lot of in several sections of Asia, which are
being testified and established by many books and films which came up in the year 1945. In a
setting of less contemporary, it has been cleared by historians, that the Confucian ideas and
family system are not been translated among these three cultural societies, but it has been
translated from region to region later3. The challenges of history of women is to problematize
instead of normalise, in order to converse with the Asian women in ways which describes that
how significant and influencing these women’s stories are, whether altogether or separately.
Through the help of historical research it is possible to find out many hidden truth regarding the
condition of women in the societies of these three cultures, for people who speak languages of
Western culture situation have improved on an extreme manner within these ten years, and all
these things has made possible by the contribution of historians of women in the Asian women
and also the translators and editors efforts in building up the bridges between the language gaps.
The scholarship of western culture has been taken place in the culture of Asia and its women are
influenced by it and therefore this notion is moving forward, which has resulted in the
enormously publication that has taken place using the Western languages and their ideas, which
has influenced their life of the women and their thinking and altogether their condition in their
own society. However, in comparison to Japan and China, the Western language scholarship is
still rare to find in the Korean culture, although that is also eventually changing over time4.
In terms of women history it often demonstrates different significant priorities and given
choices, and develop chronologies that could adequately define experience of women5.
3 Woodside, Alexander. Lost modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the hazards of world
history. Vol. 9. Harvard University Press,
4 Ramusack, Barbara N., Sharon Sievers, and Sharon L. Sievers. Women in Asia: restoring
women to history. Indiana University Press,
5 Woodside, Alexander. Lost modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the hazards of world
history. Vol. 9. Harvard University Press,

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EAST ASIAN HISTORY FROM 1500
Significance continues to ascribe to general public who conquer; but not specifically women who
can be responsible enough in building the cultures and communities of a particular society.
Chronology is a problem not only in Asia but in all the Western regions; as the augmented social
mobility of the dynasty of Sung in China or Muromachi in Japan involved women which used to
caused them a lot of difficulties. According to Tsunoda’s statement, regarding the Japan’s last
early female rulers named Himiko is that, when she died, “A great mound was raised, more than
a hundred paces in diameter…..Then a king was placed on the throne, but the people would not
obey him….Finally a relative of Himiko named Iyo, a girl of thirteen, was made queen and order
was restored” (Tsunoda : 1951:10). Scientists who lies into the field of social culture, still grip on
different viewpoints of the geographic area of Japan, which has actually been visited by the
people of China, however, there is an universal gratitude of the linking among the Japanese
myths regarding the power of the women of shamanic culture, and the superlative deity in the
Shinto pantheon, who is Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun; such incidents does provide women
the kind of importance they deserve in the society. However, on one side where if it is true that a
ritually pure women in the shamanic arctic tradition might decipher their power to the historic
realm, then on the other side it is also true that the folk tradition often turned a completely
different situation to the women, where in all the three cultures of Japan, China, and Korea has
stigmatized women for their connotation with several elements which they consider to be
polluting; such as, postpartum discharge, menstrual blood and sexual commotion are seen as
palpable indication for the power of the evil or good in women6.
Under this complex light of the society the women’s demolishment of religious and
political power are over time are evident in all the three cultures. As it is considered that their
6 Ramusack, Barbara N., Sharon Sievers, and Sharon L. Sievers. Women in Asia: restoring
women to history. Indiana University Press,

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EAST ASIAN HISTORY FROM 1500
impureness can disrupt lineage and religious system, which has caused women their loss of
public as well as private authority. Although, this became more severe in case of China in
comparison to Japan and Korea, where women have enjoyed the celebration of power under
shamanism; it is simply because Chinese families are strictly advised and guided by their
ancestors who accept only the sanctified sacrifice done a male descendant from the father’s side.
In addition, the Chinese families are highly patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal, where women
are supposed to be on their limits and follow the rules made by the males of the society7. As far
as Korean society is concerned, the condition of women in this society is not at all marginalised
in any way possible, and the section of this power has been derived their major roles in the
shamanic tradition. The statement of Martina Deuchler in the year 1983, over women on the
period of Koryo, designates that, inheritance rules, Residence patterns, and social and traditional
ritual gratitude has given women the independent and firm positioning and standing in the Koryo
society. In addition, the high and up surged status which belongs to the women of Koryo society
indicates the uniqueness and modernism of the Korean society, that is structurally different from
other societies during that period of time when almost all the society were demolishing the
rights of women and their lives and they are getting controlled in all aspects of the society and
also dissimilar than the later developed society of Yi dynasty8. In both Korea and China, where
so many subordinates states of women seems knotted to agnatic custom, women history
practitioners are also engrossed in ways in which the women of the society are involved in the
religious practices which confirmed the solidification of the ancestry of the community9. Kendall
in the 1985 points out that the significance of women of China and Korea in the daily life ritual
7 Jansen, Marius B. The making of modern Japan. Harvard University Press,
8 Ramusack, Barbara N., Sharon Sievers, and Sharon L. Sievers. Women in Asia: restoring
women to history. Indiana University Press,
9 Woodside, Alexander. Lost modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the hazards of world
history. Vol. 9. Harvard University Press,

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EAST ASIAN HISTORY FROM 1500
and their role in preservation of the religious traditions within the confines of the worship of their
ancestors. Women are responsible for remembering all their ancestor’s dates of death and birth
and according they lighten up incenses and perform other religious activities10. On the other hand
in Japan, the system deified, necessarily not consanguineous descendants; instead they worship
the local gods. Altogether, establishes the fact that the condition of women in all the three
societies was inconsistent, however it was mostly negative and full of struggle.
Hence, in conclusion, it can be considered that the condition of women in all the three
East Asian cultures of Japan, Korea and China during the fifteenth century was quite fluctuating
because of the society’s rules and regulations; however, in most cases it is evident that the status
of women is a matter of concern because of the domination of the patriarchal situation which was
commonly present in all three of the societies. In addition, despite of the male domination still
the women power celebration can be seen in the cultures of Japan and Korea but when it comes
to the situation of China, the women’s struggle much higher than other two culture because of
their rigid and strict tradition which believes that women carries pollutant elements, thus they are
impure for any practices. Also, the women of China lacked the power availability which the
other two nation cultures women have availed under shamanism.
10 Woodside, Alexander. Lost modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the hazards of world
history. Vol. 9. Harvard University Press,

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References:
Jansen, Marius B. The making of modern Japan. Harvard University Press,
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hl=en&lr=&id=7oquxOWHOKMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP17&dq=books+and+articles+on+chine
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