Through an examination of writings about t ea practice for women I excavate a neglected history of one group of tea pr actitioners and the reasons why they participated in tea culture. These wri tings include both privately circulated manuscripts and commercially publis hed texts. I argue that there were two ways in which tea practice for women was framed prior to the modern period: for elite women studying tea was pr esented as a way of developing morals\, ethics\, and control over the mind\ ; for commoner women\, the touted benefits were cultivating genteel feminin ity by learning comportment\, etiquette\, and manners associated with the e lite. Both ways of framing women’s tea practice played a role in shaping wr itings on women’s tea practice during the Meiji period. Women were now enco uraged to study tea to cultivate the mind\, develop morals and ethics\, and to acquire gracefulness. They were also encouraged to study tea for a new reason: to develop or preserve the essence of a Japanese genteel femininity .
Speaker Bio
Rebecca Corbett is a Postdoctora l Fellow in Japanese Studies at the Center for East Asian Studies\, Stanfor d University (2013-2015). She received a Ph.D. in Japanese Studies from the University of Sydney in 2009 for a dissertation on the history of women’s participation in Japanese tea culture during the Edo (1600-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods. She has previously been a Visiting Assistant Professor in East Asian History at the University of California\, Santa Cruz\, and h eld visiting teaching positions at the University of Sydney and University of Western Sydney.
Sponsor: Centre for Japanese Rese
arch\, Department of Asian Studies\, SABI Tea Arts
By: Dr. Rebecca Corbett\, Stanford Center for East Asian Studies
Type: Event
Dates: Thursday\, Mar 19\, 2015
to Thursday\, Mar 19\, 2015
Time: 3pm Lecture / 5pm
Matcha Tea Demonstration
