University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of East Asian Languages and School of Arts and Sciences Civilizations 8-1-2012 Gift Exchanges in Edo Castle Cecilia S. Seigle Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc Part of the East Asian Languages and Societies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Seigle, Cecilia S. Ph.D., "Gift Exchanges in Edo Castle" (2012). Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. 6. https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/6 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/6 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Gift Exchanges in Edo Castle Abstract The aJ panese love of gift-giving was firmly established during the Edo period, specifically under the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi. This study was done as part of inquiry into the institution of Ooku, and I remark on the significance of gift exchanges as substitute social activities for the women of Ooku. Keywords Gifts, hoS gun, Ooku ladies Disciplines East Asian Languages and Societies | Gender and Sexuality | Social and Cultural Anthropology This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/ealc/6 Gift Exchanges in Edo Castle Ôoku - Seigle 1 This is an old essay that has never been published. It was Chapter VIII of my Ooku ms, but I have decided to take it out of it and post it as a separate essay. It is very unfinished and I shall appeciate someone’s help. Gift-Giving and Gift Exchanges in the Ôoku Cecilia Segawa Seigle University of Pennsylvania emeritus Gift giving as Ritual Gift giving was a deep-rooted cultural component in Japan and an indispensable element in Edo period social relationships, but nowhere was it as vital and visible as in Edo castle and the Ôoku.