Dr. Sachiko Kawai, Research Associate, Project for Premodern Japan Studies, University of Southern California. “Adoptions, Landholdings, and Military Power: Cases of Royal Women in Early-Medieval Japan (1000-1300)” 「中世王家女性の軍事力--養子関係の構築と土地所有の考察を通して」
In medieval Japan, both biological and non-biological kinship ties played important roles in consolidating power. In this study, I explore how royal women, despite lacking their own military units in their households, gained military influence and survived through political and military conflicts. Hachijō-in (1137-1211), for example, assisted her adopted prince in his battle against the leading Ise Taira military clan. Warriors who fought for the prince included men summoned from her estates. Kaya-no-in (1095-1156) and Senyōmon-in (1181-1252) likewise gathered guards from their estates to tighten security at their residences. I argue that these women often broadened their human networks through the adoption of offspring from other powerful households. Obtaining military power, however, was not easy for these royal ladies; they faced significant institutional challenges in organizing and maintaining military units. In comparison with their male counterparts such as monarchs and retired monarchs, who were allowed to have military bureaus within their household offices, female royals lacked such. This disparity encouraged royal women to develop alternate methods to gain military support.
中世日本社会において、血縁関係だけでなく、血の繋がりを超えた連携を築くことは、政治的・軍事的能力を培う上で重要な意味を持っていた。今回の報告では、平安末期から鎌倉期の王家の女性（特に天皇の妃やその娘達）が有力な一族と猶子関係を結んでネットワークを拡大するとともに、荘園から兵士を調達したりしながら警備・軍力を維持していた点について述べる予定である。例えば、八条院(1137-1211)の荘園が猶子である以仁王の挙兵を支える際に果たした役割や、高陽院(1095-1156)及び宣陽門院(1181-1252)の荘園から集められた軍力・労働力について考察したい。それとともに、これら摂関家や皇族の女性達は、自身の家政機関に軍事的機関を設立する権利を欠いており、軍事力を維持することは容易いことではなかったことも指摘したい。そして、そういったジェンダー差を克服するためにも、土地所有権を利用した資源の獲得と幅広い人脈の構築が必要であったことを説明したい。