Mori Nao Divorces Her Samurai Husband and His Family Puts Him in a Cage
In 1824 a young newlywed samurai woman of Kōchi castle town in southwestern Japan named Mori Nao wanted to divorce her samurai husband because she did not like him. Nao’s husband adamantly refused to give her a divorce and the legal system said that only a man had the right and privilege to do so. After overcoming some resistance from her own family, she was able to get them on her side, and then her husband’s family on her side and finally even the government of her domain allied with her and pressured him to divorce her. His relatives forced the divorce and put him in a cage in his back yard for some months, even though he had been defending his legal prerogative.

Professor Roberts’s talk examines gender and the legal system by focusing on its functioning rather than the letter of the law, and also examines gender relations of a samurai family in its social context based on the rich sources that exist for this incident.
Date: 21 February 2025, 17:00
Venue: St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road OX2 6JF
Venue Details: Pavilion Room, 4th Floor, Gateway Building, St Antony's College
Speaker: Professor Luke Roberts (UC Santa Barbara)
Organising department: Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies
Organiser: Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies
Organiser contact email address: administrator@nissan.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Nissan Institute Seminar in Japanese Studies
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Robin Nicholson