The Edo Period in Japan seems pretty much a feminist's nightmare. Samurai rule and strict societal boundaries confined women within the neo-Confucianistic bonds of a deeply patriarchal society. Although women's rights and power took a gigantic step backward during this time of military rule, women's voices were not completely silenced. Edo women did enjoy some measure of freedom.
Historian Keiko Shiba's work gathers travel diaries from women throughout the Tokugawa shogunate and further reveals the liberties of thought still present in the feminine mind. Motoko Ezaki, coordinator of the Japanese program at Occidental College in Los Angeles, offers a comprehensive English translation to Shiba's collection, with additional notes to further explain the historical and cultural significance of the many travel diaries.