Marriage
The society ruled by the Samurai was patriarchal. Previously, during the Heian period,
women were allowed to keep their possessions after marriage, a man only visiting his wife at her house.
During the Kamakura period, the warrior family unit, the Soryo, was based on a system whereby
the man was head of the entire family and the wife lived in her husband's house.
Women’s status deteriorated in the 14th century, as they gradually came to be viewed as mere childbearers,
wives chosen from the lower classes being officially adopted by warrior families as slaves and,
in practice, the lower a Samurai was ranked, the better he treated his wife.
The wives of the daimio were the most unfortunate: during the Edo era,
these women lived out their entire lives as hostages.A Woman's Working Day Wives had to obey their husbands, mothers-in-law and sons, and young wives had to avoid close contact with relatives of their husbands. Women were responsible for looking after the household and children. During the day, they busied themselves with their household chores, managing the household finances and servants and taking care of in-laws' clothing and food.
