CJS Thursday Lecture Series | Uncertain Powers: Sen’yōmon-in and Landownership by Royal Women in Early Medieval Japan

Please note that as this Zoom lecture is originating from Japan, the start time will be 7pm, Ann Arbor time.

Please note: Due to updated guidance from the university in regards to the COVID policy, this lecture will be only in a webinar format. Please register here to attend: https://myumi.ch/V7MZn

Dr. Sachiko Kawai discusses her recently published book, Uncertain Powers, which explores the power of Japanese royal women who held many landed estates during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Despite their enormous landholdings, these women faced challenges to actually get resources from their estates. While pointing out gender disparity at court society, she explains female landlords’ coping strategies and the complex interplay of authority and power.

After receiving a PhD in history from the University of Southern California, Dr. Kawai taught as a College Fellow at Harvard and later served as a postdoctoral scholar at the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. She is currently an assistant professor at the National Institutes for the Humanities/ National Museum of Japanese History.

This colloquium series is made possible by the generous support of the U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant.

This event is cosponsored by Medieval and Early Modern Studies.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.