Buddhism and Confucianism as practiced in Japan, China, and Korea during Song, Joseon, and Heian dynasties created different levels of possibilities for women. As practiced in Japan as well as China, Buddhism offered women multiple areas of empowerment. On the contrary, Confucianism was very pervasive and promoted the idea that women had a natural place. As a result, they were placed at the lower levels of the patriarchal system in families. Perception of women and the roles accorded to them were highly stratified under Confucianism. The differences in the way women were perceived and the roles they were given in Song, Joseon, and Heian dynasties is linked the differences in Buddhism and Confucianism as discussed in the subsequent parts of this essay.
Before Confucianism became prevalent in China and Japan, women had several areas of empowerment. At the beginning of the Song dynasty, when Buddhism was prevalent, women were accorded legal, property, and inheritance rights. For example, according to Ebrey, widows could manage the financial affairs of their own families. 1 Some widows effectively managed their family businesses, educated their sons, and maintained affection with relatives. Although it was advisable that widows entrust the financial affairs such as businesses belonging to their late husbands to their kinsmen, it was recognized that not all relatives were honorable. Therefore, a widow could choose between managing her family’s financial affairs or entrust them with relatives from the husband’s side. In rich families, women had a right to receive their share of property. They were not to be considered as outsiders. 2
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In families where sons were not capable, daughters were entrusted with the affairs of their families including performance of death rituals such as burials. They had a right to receive inheritance. Therefore, daughters were considered as good as sons. In regard to marriage, a woman could be married off or sold as a concubine based on her circumstance. Marriage was planned by relatives and for orphaned girls, marriage was arranged early. For a girl to be bought as a concubine, there were legal terms that had to be fulfilled. The fact that women were not allowed to take part in matters outside their families was influenced by Confucianism beliefs. Under Confucianism, women were not allowed to participate in matters beyond their homes/families. In addition, they did not have any formal roles outside homes.
The tale of Genji presents insights into the roles and perceptions of women during the Heian dynasty in Japan. In Buddhist societies, women were given more freedom although the society remained patriarchal. As demonstrated in the tale of Genji, women could own property, inherit, and also pass property. However, men were more privileged as they had more rights. The story, “heart to heart”, demonstrates how women entered into romantic relationships with powerful men such as Genji in order to become very powerful because the society did not accord them opportunities for power. For example, Kokiden’s power increased because she had a son with the emperor. 3 She intended to use the position of her son with the emperor to her own advantage. Genji’s romantic involvement with his step-mother gave her an opportunity to exercise control over him because he feared that his father, the emperor, would come to know about the affair. The decision by the Rakujo lady to use her daughter to control the emperor and Genji also shows how women in Heian dynasty gained and exerted power. When the Rakujo lady became displeased with the Genji, she decided to have her daughter become the high priestess of a shrine because Genji had failed to show her dependable affection. 4 When the emperor learned that Genji had neglected Akikonomu, he reprimanded him and instructed him to stop making women angry towards him.
The memoirs of Lady Hyegyong provide important insights into the role of women during the Joseon dynasty, in Korea. Their roles were within their families. Women risked their lives for their husbands as was the case with Lady Hyegyong. 5 Confucian beliefs influenced how women behaved. They did not have the freedom to implement or exercise their own will. In the Choson dynasty, for example, elite women were rarely involved in activities outside their families. 6 Their lives revolved around the domestic sphere despite the fact that most women had acquired education hence literate. For example, Lady Hyegyong could not intervene to prevent the killing of some of her family members including her brothers and her husband. 7 This is because according to Confucian system, the rights of women were very limited and they could not exercise their will. Lady Hyegyong had a conflict within herself caused by the demands forced on her by her marriage roles. As stated in the veritable records of King Sejong, “The wife rules inside of the home, and the husband rules outside of the home”. 8
In conclusion, different from China where changes in dynasties caused few changes in rules affecting women, Choson dynasty had a major impact on the lives of elite women in Korea. Neo-Confucianism’s implementation as the state ideology changed the social position of women as well as their place within families and kinsmen. 9 In addition, their relationship with non-domestic issues outside their families was significantly affected. In China’s Song dynasty, Buddhism still had a major influence despite introduction of Confucianism. As a result, women in Song dynasty still maintained most of their rights. The impact of Confucianism was least in Japan hence women were still involved in activities outside the family unit. For example, the high priestess in the tale of Genji exercised power outside the family through unit while others had romantic relationships with powerful men which allowed them to exercise power beyond the family unit.
Bibliography
Ebrey, Patricia B. "The Shrew." In Chinese Civilization and Society: A Sourcebook . New York: Free Press, 1981.
Ko, Dorothy, JaHyun K. Haboush, and Joan R. Piggott. "Chapter Six Propagating Female Virtues in Choson Korea." In Women and Confucian Cultures in Premodern China, Korea, and Japan . Oakland: University of California Press, 2003.
Shikibu, Murasaki, and Royall Tyler. "Chapter 9 AOI Heart-to-Heart." In The Tale of Genji . Penguin Classics Deluxe, 2002.
Ssi, Hyegyŏnggung H., and JaHyun K. Haboush. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-century Korea . Oakland: University of California Press, 1996.
"Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty." Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. Accessed October 26, 2020. https://esillok.history.go.kr/front/index/classificatio/ClassificatioList.do?menuNo=5000000&leftMenuNo=5010000.
