The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration
In 1862, 51-year-old Matsuo Taseko left her old life behind by traveling to Kyoto, the old imperial capital. Peasant, poet, and local political activist, Taseko had come to Kyoto to support the nativist campaign to restore the Japanese emperor and expel Western "barbarians." Although she played a minor role in the events that led to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, her actions were nonetheless astonishing for a woman of her day. Honored as a hero even before her death, Taseko has since been...
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In 1862, fifty-one-year-old Matsuo Taseko left her old life behind by traveling to Kyoto, the old imperial capital. Peasant, poet, and local political activist, Taseko had come to Kyoto to support the nativist campaign to restore the Japanese emperor and expel Western "barbarians." Although she played a minor role in the events that led to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, her actions were nonetheless astonishing for a woman of her day. Honored as a hero even before her death, Taseko has since been adopted as a patron saint by rightist nationalists.In telling Taseko's story, Anne Walthall gives us not just the first full biography in English of a peasant woman of the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), but also fresh perspectives on the practices and intellectual concerns of rural entrepreneurs and their role in the Meiji Restoration. Writing about Taseko with a depth and complexity that has thus far been accorded only to men of that time, Walthall has uncovered a tale that will captivate anyone concerned with women's lives and with Japan's dramatic transition to modernity. Booknews A biography of the poet, mother, silkworm farmer and revolutionary Matsuo Taseko (1811-1894). Walthall (history, U. of California at Irvine) offers the first full biography in English of a peasant woman of the Tokugawa period, providing perspective on the practices and intellectual concerns of rural entrepreneurs and their role in the Meiji Restoration. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
List of IllustrationsForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1Pt. ILife in the Ina Valley1The Making of a Poet192Taseko's Political Heritage383Married Life584The Farm Family Economy815The Nativist Encounter1006Nativist Texts and the Female Reader121Pt. IIKyoto, 1862-18637Autumn in Arashiyama1438A Peasant Woman at the Emperor's Court1659Beheading Statues18310Going Home203Pt. IIITaseko and the Meiji Restoration11On the Sidelines22512Kyoto, 186824413Famous Friends26114Political Intrigues and Conflicting Visions284Pt. IVTaseko in Modern Japan15Taseko in Old Age30716Remembering Taseko329Epilogue349Notes355Index403
\ BooknewsA biography of the poet, mother, silkworm farmer and revolutionary Matsuo Taseko (1811-1894). Walthall (history, U. of California at Irvine) offers the first full biography in English of a peasant woman of the Tokugawa period, providing perspective on the practices and intellectual concerns of rural entrepreneurs and their role in the Meiji Restoration. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.\ \
