Nyohitsu: the construction of femininities through writing

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During the publishing boom of early modern Japan, printed manuals were produced for teaching women nyohitsu, the skill of feminine writing. But more than just calligraphy, nyohitsu encompassed visual and linguistic practices that together produced a manner of writing that was understood to be feminine. As a female accomplishment similar to tea, poetry or music, nyohitsu was available for those with the literacy and resources to devote to the accrual of cultural capital. In the first instance, I propose to examine a selection of the materials that come under the umbrella term nyohitsu to illuminate the discourses on femininity contained therein. However, I also propose the consideration of nyohitsu as a broader phenomenon: its materiality encompasses calligraphy, script and page architecture, while its specific vocabulary and syntax position it as a language apart from other kinds of writing, as well as from speech. By reconceptualising nyohitsu as a 'mode', this study will undertake a multidisciplinary approach to examining how nyohitsu operated to create meaning, and how gendered identities were constructed through writing. Crucially, the femininity apparently proposed by nyohitsu is complicated by its use by men: this serves as a reminder that much remains unclear concerning gender during the early modern period.