The Impact of Women on Japanese History

Japanese history is not all shoguns and samurai: women played a prominent role. In the early centuries Chinese envoys called the part of Japan they knew ‘Queen Country’ because there were so many female rulers. In this talk Lesley Downer will tell the story of Himiko, the shaman queen, and of some of the early empresses, along with brilliant and powerful figures such as Nene-dono, Hideyoshi’s wife, who continued to wield power from behind the throne, and women writers and artists who helped shape Japanese history. By discussing the many roles women have played throughout Japanese history, Lesley will provide a new and refreshing perspective on that history, while putting paid once and for all to the egregious stereotype of the ‘submissive geisha’.

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