Women of Pre-Historic thru Sengoku Period Japan: A HERstory

Japan continues to fascinate travelers and scholars alike. However, most HIStorical accounts of Japan have focused on its male rulers, military leaders, scholars, and artists. This course will explore Japan, starting from its prehistoric origins, whose women pioneered agriculture and textile making, onto the nation-building empress regnants of the Asuka/Nara Periods, the women authors responsible for the Heian Period's brilliance, the female entrepreneurs and artisans who enriched the Muromachi Period, and the fearless women leaders, spies, fighters, and rebels of the Sengoku Period, who went head to head with daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa. It draws on recent archaeological and feminist-inspired sociological and literary research which overturns stereotypes of Asian women as drudges and playthings. From how our heroines achieved their goals we will draw lessons that remain relevant in modern societies to this day.