Honcho Jokan - The Women's Mirror of Japan

Japanese: 本朝女鑑 - ほんちょうじょかん

A kana zoshi (book of Japanese characters). Possibly written by Azai Ryōi. Published in 1661 (Kanbun 1). 12 volumes. A collection of biographies of famous and wise women from ancient times to the Edo period, listing 16 who were wise, 15 who were benevolent, 20 who were righteous, 15 who were chaste, and 19 who were eloquent. Competing with China's Liu Xiang's Biographies of Women, this is the largest collection of stories that features only Japanese women, and is a textbook on women's morals. At the end, it contains a section on women's behavior. Although it has a strong Confucian flavor, it influenced later stories about wise women. [Noda Hisao]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

仮名草子。浅井了意の作か。1661年(寛文1)刊。12巻。日本の古代から江戸時代に至る名女･賢女の列伝で，〈賢明〉16名，〈仁智〉15名，〈節義〉20名，〈貞行〉15名，〈弁通〉19名を挙げる。中国の劉向《列女伝》に対抗して，日本の女性のみを並べたもので，女性教訓書として最大の説話集である。最後に〈女式〉として女性の心得を書いている。儒教的な色彩が強いが，後の賢女説話に影響を与えた。【野田寿雄】

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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