The changes in the rights of women of the warrior class during the Kamakura Shogunate (1180-1333) in medieval Japan

This presentation explores the changes that occur under the Kamakura Shogunate (1180-1333) regarding the rights of women, focused on a set of laws named the Goseibai-Sikimoku established in 1232, central for this warrior government in Kamakura. In the Goseibai-Sikimoku,there are three articles that show how the warrior government established their own ways of handling legal matters, departing from the laws set by the existing imperial government in Kyoto, staffed by court aristocrats. All of these articles are concerned about gender; that is, they have to do with inheritance, adoption and the owning and managing servants (slaves). The shogunate needed support from women to survive, and thus, it was important to protect women’s domains (fiefs) and their position.

In the second half of the 13^th century, the situation changed. In the shogunal court’s decision in 1264, the government decided to restrict women’s rights to own and rule over their domains. In 1286, the shogunate issued the law to their vassal samurai in Kyūshū prohibiting women from owning domains, because the shogunate assumed this was crucial to reinforce the defense of the coastline against the incursion by the Mongol Empire. The larger context for this shift was the coming of the age of crisis where both the power of the shogunate and its vassals was in decline. They began to restrict women’s rights in their attempts to combat such crisis.