Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration
The Tokugawa period of Japanese history was a time of rigid classstratification. The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and theMeiji Restoration by Anne Walthall deals with the transformation from theage of the samurai to the modern; from the Shogunate to Empirical rule andthe beginning transition from an agrarian to technological society. Thisbook is about change, specifically, social and political change, but. also,about changes that occurred within the life of an individual, a woman and a Matsuo Taseko was born into the peasant class. Her family werefarmers living and working in the Ina Valley in what is now the NaganoProvince. The samurai system was based on a feudal and agrarian societywhere the workers paid 'homage' or taxes to the local ruling samurai.Taseko was the daughter of the local headman, which brought responsibilityas well as greater contact with others, including political leaders. Italso made her part of the 'rural elite', a part of the local politicalstructure. Her family were involved in an extensive system of ruralentrepenurism, or self-employment, that bridged the agricultural andmerchant classes. They were involved in making an
Taseko's activities included harboring nativists within hervillage against the Tokugawa regime (known as the bakufu). The traffic along these roadsincluded many politically important and powerful people as well asmerchants, entertainers and minor bureaucrats. In her later years she filled the role of matriarchto her family. Shewas a devout subject of the Emperor. She was also revered as an instigator of great change, anational hero and poet of renown. She exchangedpoetry with She exchanged poetry with a political leader of the bakufu (adaimyo) as well as an empress. Regardless, she was able to maintain a separate identity andfollow the dictates of her own conscience. Shewas able to form a power base unusual for a woman or for a peasant thatincreased her influence and prestige. Taseko remained within the ruralelite by marrying a headman of another village. Nativist thoughtincluded Imperial rule, an expulsion of foreigners and the exclusion ofBuddhism. Matsuo Taseko lived to be eighty-three years old. Her missionwas to become more involved with nativist activities, leading to therestoration of the Emperor. She birthed ten children,although three died in infancy. Although she did not participate in the vandalism of the statues, Tasekowas forced into hiding in the compound of the Choshu domain.
Common topics in this essay:
Nagano Province,
Kyoto Mecca,
Matsuo Taseko,
Emperor Taseko,
Kyoto Imperial,
Valley Returning,
Ina Valley,
Shogunate Empirical,
Buddhism Taseko's,
Taseko's Kyoto,
ina valley,
matsuo taseko,
tokugawa regime,
exchanged poetry,
political activist,
political activists,
patriarchal society,
imperial court,
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Acceptance Essays
