Daughter group - Musumegumi

An age group of unmarried adult women. It is equivalent to the youth group for men. It is also called the daughter group, onago group, or onago young woman group. Girls from the age of 13, when they hold their coming-of-age ceremony, until marriage joined. Unlike the youth group, it did not have a ceremony for joining or leaving, and it was customary for it to have no officers or rules. In other words, while the youth group was a fixed organization, the daughter group was not fixed, and in this respect it was closer to the children's group, and in reality it was a daughter group. They had daughter lodges, sleeping lodges, and lodgings for meetings, joint work, and lodging. Close friends gathered at the lodges to do things like spinning hemp, spinning thread, needlework, and straw work. The lodges were often not dedicated buildings, but were rented rooms in private homes. There were sometimes several daughter groups within one village. Therefore, it was not uncommon for several daughter lodges to be established. While staying up late at the inn, young men would visit, help with work, sing songs together, and there was lively interaction between men and women. Romance blossomed at the girls' inn, and many of these relationships led to marriage. These relationships between men and women were by no means licentious; there was mutual regulation among the group, and the innkeepers also gave their children guidance and advice on relationships with the opposite sex. Through these interactions, the girls were able to develop an eye for men. The girls' inns remained widespread in western Japan, especially along the coast, even after the Meiji period. However, the newly established Virgin Associations and Women's Youth Groups did little to continue the girls' traditions.

[Takeda Dan]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

未婚成年女子による年齢集団。男子の若者組にあたる。娘仲間、おなご組、おなご若衆などともいう。成女式をあげる13歳ごろから結婚までの娘が加わった。若者組と違い、加入・脱退の儀礼を欠き、役員や規約なども備えられないのが通例であった。つまり、若者組が定型的な組織なのに対して、娘組は不定型で、この点子供組に近く、実質的には娘仲間というべきものであった。集会や共同作業、さらに寝泊りのために娘宿や寝宿、泊り宿などをもっていた。宿に親しい友達同士が集まり、苧績(おう)み、糸繰り、針仕事、藁(わら)仕事などをした。宿は専用の建物ではなくて、民家の一室を借りる場合が多かった。一村内に娘組がいくつか存在することもあった。したがって、娘宿が数か所設けられることも珍しくなかった。宿で夜なべをしているところに若者たちが訪れてきて、仕事を手伝ったり、いっしょに歌を歌ったりして男女の交流が活発に行われた。そして娘宿を場に恋愛が生まれ、結婚へと進む者が多かった。この男女の交際は決して放縦なものではなく、それぞれ仲間同士内の相互規制が働き、また宿親も宿子に対して異性との交際に指導、助言を与えた。そして娘たちは、この交流を通じて男性をみる目を養うことができた。娘組は西日本、とくに沿海部に明治以後も濃く分布していた。しかし、その後新しく成立した処女会や女子青年団などは娘組の伝統をほとんど引き継がなかった。

［竹田　旦］

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