The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration

Matsuo Taseko's (1811-1894) actual deeds are the stuff of remarkable insignificance. With her children grown, she undertook a trip to Kyoto in 1862 for a number of reasons, including a tour of sights described in classical poetry. She was also a devout disciple of a nativist movement that revered the emperor, so she keenly desired to visit the imperial city. Once there, she befriended several of this movement's members, but some of the most fervent patriots among them committed an act of vandalism that put all of them in danger. After several months in hiding she returned to her home in the Ina Valley in central Japan. Later, after the Meiji restoration, Taseko's Kyoto connections made her a woman of influence in political circles. When she died, biographers transformed her into a national hero and ""good wife and wise mother."" Walthall's meticulously researched biography, the first in English, relies on a wealth of materials, including family diaries and Taseko's journals and poetry, to illustrate the social and cultural moment of her life. Readers need an understanding of this convoluted period of Japanese history to appreciate some references. The inherent confusion is not aided by some truly convoluted writing and by unfortunate irregularities (the shogun's bride is described variously as the emperor's sister or daughter). (Dec.)