Abstract
This paper aims to cast fresh new light upon Izayoi nikki (The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon, c. 1280), the most representative work of Nun Abutsu. After considering why it has long been undervalued by Japanese scholars, this study takes a close look at the long and complicated legal dispute described in the diary. In this legal dispute, Nun Abutsu played a central role as loyal mother and widowed nun in struggling to ensure a future for her children, the natural descendants of a famous dynasty of poets. To fully understand the strength of the reasons behind her actions, it would seem to be of fundamental importance to read Izayoi nikki from a different perspective, taking into account not only the personal story of the author but also the socio-historical framework of the Kamakura period, focusing in particular on inheritance practices and the kinds of responsibilities women were expected to bear in relation to the family.
Highlights
This paper aims to cast fresh new light upon Izayoi nikki (The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon, c. 1280), the most representative work of Nun Abutsu
The Izayoi nikki 十六夜日記 (The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon, c. 1280) proves to have an intrinsic composite structure that prevents us from classifying it within one specific genre
It might prove much more interesting to examine it carefully within the sociohistorical context in which it was produced to understand why Nun Abutsu felt the need to write it and why she decided to present herself as a devoted wife and mother sincerely concerned with the fate of her children. Starting from this vein of critical studies that consider the Izayoi nikki as a literary document with an interesting cross-section of its time, we will try to analyze the story of the disputed inheritance described in this work in order to reconstruct the role of women within the family and society in the Kamakura period through this complicated legal controversy
Summary
The Izayoi nikki 十六夜日記 (The Diary of the Sixteenth Night Moon, c. 1280) proves to have an intrinsic composite structure that prevents us from classifying it within one specific genre. It might prove much more interesting to examine it carefully within the sociohistorical context in which it was produced to understand why Nun Abutsu felt the need to write it and why she decided to present herself as a devoted wife and mother sincerely concerned with the fate of her children Starting from this vein of critical studies that consider the Izayoi nikki as a literary document with an interesting cross-section of its time, we will try to analyze the story of the disputed inheritance described in this work in order to reconstruct the role of women within the family and society in the Kamakura period through this complicated legal controversy. At a time of great change, when women’s rights would gradually erode, Nun Abutsu’s decision to fight so doggedly to obtain such an important legacy appears to acquire a special meaning, becoming a stubborn act of feminist resistance against an unjust and oppressive system, one in which we can recognize a multiplicity of women from every age and every part of the world, all engaged in the same struggle
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