| ||
| Japan says it has learned from Fukushima, vows 'high safety' levels for ... Washington Post (blog) A powerful earthquake and tsunami off Japan's northeastern coast knocked out vital cooling systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in 2011, causing multiple meltdowns and setting off the worst nuclear catastrophe since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Japan Seeks to Boost Financial Ties With Asean Amid China Row Bloomberg Japan said it will boost financial cooperation with Southeast Asian nations, support their bond markets and make it easier for Japanese companies to raise funds in local currencies. Asia's second-largest economy will also consider reviving emergency ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| ||
| China: Japan, Allies Risk 'Long-Term Damage' Over Islands - VOA Voice of America Washington wants better relations with Beijing, but the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, said he has told Chinese officials that does not mean weakening ties with Japan. "Would we trade off our relationship with Japan ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| ||
| Japan Strengthens Cooperation With Southeast Asia Wall Street Journal Finance Minister Taro Aso detailed the planned steps at a press conference Friday following a gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the sidelines of the Asian Development ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Japan to Phase-down HFCs: Important Step to Combat Climate Change, But Not ... Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON, May 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Investigation Agency, On April 19, 2013, the Japanese Cabinet approved the revision of its fluorocarbon regulations that will fundamentally change the way high global warming ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Japan, ASEAN to shore up financial ties to drive emerging Asia Reuters GREATER NOIDA, India May 3 (Reuters) - Japan has tapped its reserves to invest in bonds issued by major economies in Southeast Asia, Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday, part of a strategy aimed at strengthening regional bond markets. See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Dreamliner test flight lands at Tokyo airport Hindu Business Line It could still be at least a month before ANA and Japan Airlines can complete all the battery fixes and get their planes in the air. Tokyo, April 28: A Dreamliner test flight with top Boeing and All Nippon Airways' executives aboard landed at a Tokyo ... See all stories on this topic » 石塀小路 Nene no MichiNene and Kodaiji Temple, KyotoNene saw her husband's Kingdom burnt to ashes from here Nene, later called 'Kita-no-mandocoro' or 'Kodai-in', was the official wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the man who dominated Japan (1590 - 1598) before Tokugawa Shogunate seized total control of the country (1603 - 1867). I call her an 'official wife' because at the time, many daimyos (lords) had multiple wives, including mistresses. The brave are susceptible to female charms, aren't they? In her case, her husband Hideyoshi was a well-known womanizer, who had more than 100 mistresses. But she reigned supreme among them, since she was a very intelligent, reliable, lovable woman and Hideyoshi trusted her more than anyone. After Hideyoshi's death, she entered nunhood, had Kodaiji Temple built in Kyoto to retire to, and lived there till her death, praying for her demised husband's soul. What I wrote above, is nothing but ordinary...a widowed wife becomes a nun and prays for her husband's soul; many women in high positions did that in those days, didn't they? But this temple has more to it than just being an ordinary retreat for a high-ranking woman. Because, Tokugawa Ieyasu, her husband's ex-colleague, later loyal subject, and enemy after his death, built it for her! Does it sound like an ordinary temple now? Nene's DecisionTo make a long story short, when her husband passed away, she knew his kingdom had come to an end, as there was no way his young child (Toyotomi Hideyori, the son of a mistress, age 5 when Hideyoshi died) could rule Japan, so she decided to support Tokugawa Ieyasu, the most powerful samurai after her husband's death, in hope that he'd preserve the Toyotomi Clan (family) as one of his subjects. That's how her husband Hideyoshi had taken over the Oda Clan's power when Nobunaga died in the first place, wasn't it? What Nene didWhen Hideyoshi, her husband, died, she was living in the large, magnificent Osaka Castle. As soon as he passed away, she handed over her spacious living quarters to Ieyasu and told him, "I'd like to retire to Kyoto to pray for my husband's soul. I'd like to have a temple there". She didn't have to ask her husband's subject, Ieyasu, of course. But it was a sophisticated way to show her intention to 'support' him. Ieyasu was at the time one of five Tairos (directors) in Toyotomi administration, so as the most powerful Tairo, he executed her request. Also, he decided to give her an annual allowance of 5,000 Goku (3.75 million dollars in modern currency), a life-long guarantee! But all of this came not from his own pocket, but from her husband's kingdom's assets and revenue...Ieyasu was frugal, indeed. What Ieyasu didIeyasu knew how important it was to grab Nene's heart, because some of Hideyoshi's former subjects would follow her orders (There were mainly two groups of subjects, Nene's side and those of Hideyoshi's No. 1 mistress, the mother of his heir, Yodo's side). So, he treated her with utmost care, ordered some of his subjects to build Kodaiji Temple as she desired, and after it was built, often visited her there with lavish gifts in hand. As he visited so frequently there was even a rumor that the two of them were having an 'affair' at the time! Even after he completely destroyed Toyotomi Clan by burning Osaka Castle to ashes in 1615, he preserved the Asano Clan, her maiden family, which lasted as long as the samurai era continued, until the Meiji Restoration (1868). Nene's retirement lifeShe instructed her former husband's subjects to 'follow Ieyasu's orders', and so thanks to her instructions, they fought in the Battle of Sekigahara on Ieyasu's side and contributed in his winning the battle. After the battle, she suggested Yodo, her husband's mistress and his son's mother, many times to compromise and leave Osaka Castle, but Yodo didn't listen. Different from Nene, Yodo, the mistress, was not so wise and believed that Ieyasu would let her child rule Japan in the future. How naive! In the end, Ieyasu made an irrational, but calculated accusation that part of the inscription on the bell of the Hokoji Temple which Yodo's child, Hideyori, was having built, was an intentional curse upon him, used it as an excuse to attack Osaka Castle, and destroyed the Toyotomi Clan once and for all. When Ieyasu tried to destroy Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto, in which Nene's husband Hideyoshi was enshrined as God, Nene begged him not to do it. Upon her request, instead of destroying the shrine to the ground, he let it stand, but took away Hideyoshi's God's status and forbade anyone's entrance to the place. Nene died in 1624, at the age of 76 or 77, outliving Ieyasu by eight years. He died in 1616. She might have seen the pride of her husband's kingdom, which she built with him together, Osaka Castle, burnt to ashes from here in Kodaiji Temple. She also had to see his shrine rot to ground, abandoned. She saw everything...and I just can't help wondering what she thought and felt living in this beautiful place, Kodaiji... All photos, except for the portrait of Nene, which is a public domain photo, are courtesy of Larry Knipfing. |
2025年7月12日 星期六
禊，流觴曲水，「禊の儀」/ NewsToyotomi Hideyoshi, Nene Entokuin, 高台寺 Kodaiji
2025年7月7日 星期一
Joel來談日本：日本的「近代化」並未自動帶來性別平權，反而在現代國家建構的進程中，有意識地強化了家父長制與女性的從屬地位。
查了資料發現，江戶時代無論在武士家庭、商家還是農村社會中，女性都肩負實質管理職責與生產任務。例如，武士家中的「奥方」管理家務與僕人，擁有類似現代家政總監的權限；而商家女主人則被視為能興家或敗家的關鍵，甚至能獨立經營事業。農村女性不但分擔農務，也主導家中經濟，構成家計的重要支柱。
江戶女性享有獨立財產權與相對靈活的婚姻制度。女性可保有嫁妝與個人收入，並在離婚方面擁有一定主動性，例如藉由「縁切寺」尋求公正離異。此外，儒教教條如《女大學》雖然存在，但影響多限於武士階層，庶民社會依然保留地方慣例與生活彈性。這些女性在經濟角色中所累積的權力與尊嚴，構成一種非正式但強韌的自主基礎。
日本走向男尊女卑的社會，反而是明治維新之後，雖以近代化為口號，實際卻在性別制度上進行了回溯與壓制。明治政府以「富國強兵」與「殖產興業」為核心政策，同時構築出一種全新意識形態「家族國家」。在這套政治設計中，天皇被定位為國民的「家長」，每戶家庭則模仿這一垂直結構，由「戶主」全面掌控家庭成員。女性於此被重新定義為「國家之母」，其價值不再來自個體，而是透過育兒與奉獻家庭來服務國家。
這一意識形態經由1898年施行的《明治民法》被具體化。法律不僅以戶主為權力中心，更將妻子定位為「無能力者」，等同於未成年人或精神障礙者，使其在財產、契約與法律行為上必須完全依附於丈夫。這與江戶時代女性所享有的個人財產權形成鮮明對比。民法起草者如梅謙次郎就說過「一國無二王，一家無二主」，反映出對絕對家父長制的明確企圖。
明治政府透過教育與媒體，大規模推行「賢妻良母」的理想。女子高等學校課程以裁縫、家政與修身為主，培養女性順從與犧牲精神。同時，修身教科書與婦人雜誌強化家庭與天皇為中心的女性角色，形成一套既傳統又被包裝為「現代」的國家性別政策。
雖然國家理想強調女性留守家庭，但在經濟發展需求下，女性卻被大量動員至產業現場。日本初期工業化倚賴的紡織產業，主要由來自農村的年輕女性「女工」支撐。她們工作條件惡劣，生活受限，成為殖產興業的犧牲品。細井和喜藏的《女工哀史》便揭示了工廠內的壓迫與剝削。
儘管如此，也有研究指出，這些工廠工作對部分女性而言代表某種自主與機會。工廠提供現金收入，有助於家庭經濟，且讓她們接觸都市文化與消費生活，打破村落中僵化的性別角色。都市化進一步催生出「電話接線員」與「女給」等新職業，吸引教育程度較高的女性投入。女給甚至可獲得遠高於男性初任薪資的報酬，成為新女性形象的象徵，雖然同時也被物化與污名化。
國家在性別政策上展現出明顯的雙軌制：中產以上女性被納入「賢妻良母」系統，而下層未婚女性則成為低工資勞動力的來源。這套機制維繫了經濟效率與社會控制的雙重目標，使國家得以在性別壓制中持續推進工業與國民統合。
在明治男尊女卑體制全面鋪陳的同時，仍有女性挺身而出，挑戰現狀。1880年代的自由民權運動中，岸田俊子與福田英子等女性領袖發聲批判父權制度，開啟日本女性主義的先聲。然而，國家迅速以《集會及政社法》（1890）與《治安警察法》（1900）全面封殺女性的政治活動權利，甚至連聽演講也被禁止。
這些壓制措施並非偶然，而是維護「家族國家」秩序的必要手段。政治上的女性如果能夠合法組織行動，便可能要求法律改革、挑戰戶主制度與主張經濟自主，從而動搖整個男尊女卑體系的根基。國家藉由壓制異議者與塑造「正確女性形象」並進操作，使賢妻良母與政治禁聲成為一體兩面。
整個看起來，近代日本的男尊女卑並非舊有習俗的自然延續，而是國家主導下的結果。明治政府透過法律、教育、經濟動員與政治鎮壓等手段，系統性重塑女性地位，並將性別不平等納入現代國家建設的核心機制之中。
這樣的發展趨勢顯示，日本的「近代化」並未自動帶來性別平權，反而在現代國家建構的進程中，有意識地強化了家父長制與女性的從屬地位。明治時期所建構的性別秩序深深植入社會文化結構之中，影響至今仍可見於日本政治代表性失衡與職場性別不平等等議題。這也是在討論日本男尊女卑的議題上，很容易不小心踏入的誤區。
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)