The Female in the Japanese Literature

In the 21st century, the study on feminism and gender is prevalent. The social status of the Japanese women has gradually improved. However, half a century ago, Japan was still a country of extreme inequality between the male and the female. When did the Japanese women start to be so suppressed and why did they have lower social status than the Japanese men? In this paper, I intend to study the female image in the Japanese literature and focus on the works of the ancient and classical ages, Kojiki, Nihon shoki, Ise monogatari, and Genji monogatari, to have a better understanding of the female images in the Japanese classic literature.