Home > Catalogue > Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale > 56 | 2020 > Izayoi nikki. The History of a Disputed Heritage in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333)

Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale | Vol. 56 | June 2020

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Research Article

Izayoi nikki. The History of a Disputed Heritage in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333)

Carolina Negri    Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia    

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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.

Published
June 30, 2020
Accepted
April 17, 2020
Submitted
Feb. 6, 2020
Language
EN

Keywords: Mikohidari poetry • Fujiwara no Tameie • Medieval Japan • Nun Abutsu • Izayoi Nikki • Marriage and women’s rights

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2020/56/020

Copyright: © 2020 Carolina Negri. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.