there is this saying that "Behind every great man there's a great woman " well I m curious to check this out under a japanese angle.
I would be interested in everyone sharing knowledge of (relatively known )japanese women having been one of the key factor of their man success (or reversely his downfall because he didn t take care of her , abuse her and she either spinned out of control causing collateral damage or got back at him .In both case she did prove that she was of a paramount importance to him and he was too much of a fool to get that ).


I m especially interested into daimyo wives . I kind of remember reading about one who ruled during her husband incapacity/absence/death(the detail are foggy in my head), almost led his army ,etc.... . I thought it was hideyoshi concubine but it turned out to be wrong. In the other hand his wife nene would be a good example (even though she never acted as a substitute to her spouse).


no fictive character (too easy for art to build an idea out of nowhere and without any concrete ground.)
limit AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE personal example : for one part one can always distort personal reality to match his allegations . For an other part even if it s true and this woman you know is one those unknown gems that is worth to be known , there are obvious privacy problem .....
.If you REALLY must include your wife/brother's wife/friend's wife ,etc... then explain thoroughly why she is great and makes her spouse stronger/better.(an explanation of how what you perceive as her japanese upbringing plays a part in what makes her great as a wife would be extremely relevant)


Non married women are not the prime object of my researches but can be interesting .

Hmm... interesting topic.
Sadly I have no information to add.
ところで、タイポが過ぎますね。添削したほうがいいと思います。
すみませんね。＾＿＾；

Quote:A class that commonly goes unnoticed, onna-bugeisha (女武芸者?) or female samurai, were a small representation of the Japanese upper class. Many wives, widows, daughters, and rebels answered the call of duty by engaging in battle, commonly alongside samurai men. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war. They also represented a divergence from the traditional "housewife" role of the Japanese woman.

Consisting of the female word onna (woman) and the masculine bugeisha (warrior), the term creates a misnomer, which can be quite controversial. Nevertheless, onna bugeisha were very important people in ancient Japan. Significant icons such as Empress Jingu, Tomoe Gozen, Nakano Takeko, and Hojo Masako were all onna bugeisha who impacted Japan, shaping it into the country it is today.

I think this article, quoted above, will lead you to some of the information you want: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna_bugeisha

what do you mean excessive ? you mean that my explanation is too long ? I ve read some entries/topic here much more long (especially when it comes to personal progress) that had a lot of answers....

very interesting kendo99!

Quote:After the Heike were thwarted towards the western provinces of Japan, the Kamakura bakufu (shogunate) (1185 – 1333) was soon established under the rule of Minamoto no Yoritomo. After he passed, his wife, Hojo Masako, was the first onna bugeisha to become a prominent player of politics – in the early years of the Hojo regency. Masako became a Buddhist nun, a traditional fate of samurai widows, becoming known as "The General in Nun’s Habit”. She bullied the samurai class into supporting her son, Minamoto no Yoriie, as the first Hojo Shikken (regent) in Kamakura.[5]

From that wikipedia article, is this the same woman you were asking about?

@ghinzdra -- I don't see anyone calling your post 'excessive' or 'too long.' The only thing I see is gyuujuice telling you that you have typos.

As for why there's not many replies -- I personally have no knowledge on the subject. You could try looking into Murasaki Shikibu (wrote Tale of Genji) vs. Sei Shonagon (wrote the Pillow Book). Apparently they were on opposite sides of who was going to be the next emperor, and used their books to help their side.
This was a mandatory literature class from years ago, so I have no idea anymore, but it was something like that.

hummm..... not sure... your article is really of great interest and I need to read extensively about the half dozen of name dropped here and there .

Asriel Wrote:@ghinzdra -- I don't see anyone calling your post 'excessive' or 'too long.' The only thing I see is gyuujuice telling you that you have typos.

As for why there's not many replies -- I personally have no knowledge on the subject. You could try looking into Murasaki Shikibu (wrote Tale of Genji) vs. Sei Shonagon (wrote the Pillow Book). Apparently they were on opposite sides of who was going to be the next emperor, and used their books to help their side.
This was a mandatory literature class from years ago, so I have no idea anymore, but it was something like that.

- you re totally right . I read quickly the katakana .
-I think it s a bit early (less than an hour?)to already say there are not many replies ....It would be pretty egoistic to think that everyone is waiting for me to appear and answer my questions . Just give this topic some time . Besides I don t expect many answers : those topic are either flamewar-conversial material /frequent update subject (like personal progress report)/ . My question is a bit special and a couple of quality answer like kendo is all what I expect .

ghinzdra Wrote:I ve read some entries/topic here much more long (especially when it comes to personal progress) that had a lot of answers....

This sounded to me like you were complaining that nobody was responding, until I read:

ghinzdra Wrote:I think it s a bit early (less than an hour?)to already say there are not many repliesI think it s a bit early (less than an hour?)to already say there are not many replies

And noticed that yes, this post is very new. I just got on and am reading what got posted overnight. Hadn't noticed that this was just posted.
Carry on, and good luck

How about Hatoyama and his wife? Don't know a lot but she seems like a cool chick.

thistime Wrote:How about Hatoyama and his wife? Don't know a lot but she seems like a cool chick.

Albeit bat-shit insane.

as they say even Lincoln had his Mary.....
well in any case both mary and miyuki are rather in the "liabilities" column than in the "assets" column ....they don t even t qualify as "made their man and destroyed him on a whim " type as both men seemed to endure that.

ghinzdra Wrote:I would be interested in everyone sharing knowledge of (relatively known )japanese women having been one of the key factor of their man ... downfall
Non married women are not the prime object of my researches but can be interesting .

How about Sada Abe?