The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Musui 's Story is a samurai 's autobiography that portrays the Tokugawa society as it was lived during Katsu Kokichi 's life (1802 - 1850). Katsu Kokichi (or Musui) was a man born into a family with hereditary privilege of audience with the shogun, yet he lived a life unworthy of a samurai 's way, running protection racket, cheating, stealing, and lying. Before we discuss how Musui 's lifestyle was against the codes that regulated the behavior of the samurai, it is essential that the role of the samurai in Japanese society be understood.

Throughout history women have often played a significant role. Although women haven’t usually been a position of power, they have nonetheless often contributed in significant ways. Two women who impacted their societies were Empress Theodora-of the Byzantine empire-and Queen Elizabeth I-of England. Empress Theodora-of the Byzantine Empire-impacted her Empire in many ways. Some of the ways she impacted her Empire was by delivering a powerful speech, by promoting women's rights, helping Justinian recover things after the Nika Revolt.

Jeanne Wakatsuki started off as a seven year old in her story in 1942. She is a very shy Japanese-American girl with many siblings in her relatively poor fishing family in Long Beach, California. The main conflict in Part 1 Jeanne’s memoirs is her family being whisked away to an internment camp in Manzanar, California by the FBI because they are Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They try to continue to live normal lives in these hard conditions. In Part 2, after their release from the camp, it is Jeanne trying to reintegrate into society and lead a more “American” lifestyle, as oppose to the views of her father. Some events that change Jeanne is being approached by other Japanese-American children at school and being bullied.

The women were given the much authority since the last female child of the ruling priestess-queen will inherit the throne since the last child usually was the last to die therefore insuring that fertility will continue. The ruling of the women in the society, religious rituals and social events reflected the matriarchal way of thinking of the people (Rosenburg, 1984).

The Heian court of medieval Japan was a progressive and dynamic society where women commanded a fair amount of power and respect. In many ways it seemed to be the basis of the "rank n file", material culture of today’s society. The social structure of society throughout the court was set up in three different ranks. In chapter two, Genji’s friend, To no Chujo explained the three roles and how they determined the role of women in court. Women of high rank would be the wife of a high ranking elite, thus responsible for raising the future heirs, women of lower rank were concubines and often had better relationships with the man than his wife. did It was this complicated ranking system that led to the abundance of accepted promiscuity, however the two roles kept a bit of stability and normalcy throughout the court.

Women were always excluded from decisions, public decisions, especially in politics and the choosing of leaders. When people did not have the right to vote, and kings were chosen by divine right, women in the nobility

As a woman in Roman society, Theodora would have been married and her life controlled by her husband. As a woman in the imperial court, Theodora’s power and influence over the general public would have been restricted. Even with the limited public influence, there were ways for women to demonstrate authority. One of the most common and traditional ways that women demonstrated power in the sixth century was imperial patronage. Imperial patronage could include ‘building a home for the poor or a lavish church, having a cross

As Mary Wollstonecraft once said, “I do not wish them to have power over men, but over themselves.” In this quote, “themselves” is referred to as women of course. It is somewhat customary to pick up a paper in today’s light and perhaps see read about Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, or First Lady, Michelle Obama, even media specialist, Oprah Winfrey. The list could go on and on, but the point remains the same. If King Hammurabi of Babylon were living in today’s world and saw how dramatic the power of women has transformed over the years, he would perhaps declare himself Queen of Babylon. Kevin Reilly accurately depicts the struggling role of women from this early period of civilization through Assyrian

In the essentially dual religious system in Japan, ideologies and traditions play a heavy role in the everyday life of the Japanese people. Shintoism and Buddhism intertwine and complement themselves in Japanese culture, despite Buddhism coming in from mainland Asia. A particularly powerful idea from Buddhism is mono no aware, the realization and acknowledgment of the impermanence and its place in the world. This idea that nothing stays the same forever manifests itself heavily in Japanese literature, whether in personal writings or fictional works. Despite spanning hundreds of years, each work was shaped by and include manifestations of mono no aware. I intend to underline and pinpoint instances that mono no aware is influencing these works, and discuss similarities and differences between them. In this paper, I have three works that I will explore, each one corresponding to a different time period before the pre-industrial revolution; The Diary of Lady Murasaki comes from the classical period, Essays in Idleness from the medieval, and the immensely popular play Chushingura from the pre-modern era.

Women throughout time have experienced position changes more times than can be counted. Not just in modern times, gender roles began in the B.C.E era. In Egypt and India, gender roles were a huge part of society. In both locations, male’s word was law. What they said was the final answer and a woman could not change that. The gender distinctions were similar in ways that women had minimal power in familiar locations, like their homes. They had a small opinion about certain subjects, but they never ventured out of the comfort zone of subjects they were allowed to discuss. Men were treated better than women, yes, but the power women held was used for some of the most important topics.

History reports that though there were many women in leadership positions (Queens, empresses, etc.), they appeared to be second-class citizens. It seemed as though the only relationship they were prompted to have was with their husbands. However, they endured. They came to the realization that if this is how life would be, this is the life they would have to get used to. Due to multiple different influences, there are many inconsistencies when it comes to the role of women in ancient Japan.

During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the

They are the ritualization in Japanese culture, women’s implicit expression of love, women’s hierarchy in 18th Japan, and how the landscape of Japan influences the prosperity of Geisha culture.

Lady Murasaki wanted to compare and contrast between these characters since Genji seems the one sharing his opinions on fictional novels to nonfictional novels that affects their society as Tamakatsura read her fictional novel. The rehetorical effect of the novel’s main male character making these arguments while she is reading a novel.

It is time for me to come home, I am very said to be leaving such a beautiful and historical place. But I did get to meet with some relatives to a woman who was one f the first women to write a novel in Japan. Her name was Lady Murasaki Shikibu, and she wrote the novel 'Tale of the Genji'. After I meet the relatives I just had to read her book, it was magnificent she is a truly inspiring woman and her writing was just wonderful. The intellectual style here in Japan is unquestionably different from ours in Florida. They have even created a new style of poetry called Tanka it is like Haiku but in my opinion more compelling. I am sad that my trip has come to an end, I will be heading home soon, I will miss this new and beautiful place I have