Leiden University Student Repository

Litjens, Sophie (2026)

Reassessing Edo Gender Restrictions: Limitations and Opportunities in the Lives and Art of Ike Gyokuran and Katsushika Ōi

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

This thesis reassesses Edo’s patriarchal oppression and gender constraints in the lives and oeuvres of women artists Ike Gyokuran and Katsushika Ōi. It examines how they overcame Edo restrictions, nuances Tokugawa’s limiting impact on their artistic opportunities, while acknowledging gender constraints. This study cautions against universalised notions of oppressed women artists, highlighting the multilateral cultural exchange between men and women. Through applying theories by Pierre Bourdieu and Linda Nochlin, re-examining oppressive institutions, and analysing Gyokuran and Ōi’s individual socio-cultural circumstances, it reveals that Edo society was less limiting for their artistry than anticipated. Ultimately, cultural capital, favourable circumstances, eccentricity and the malleable, dual nature of Edo institutions helped these artists to circumvent gender restrictions.

Edo women artists

Ike Gyokuran

Katsushika Ōi

gender restrictions

Pierre Bourdieu

cultural capital

Linda Nochlin

Author

Litjens, Sophie

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

History, Arts and Culture of Asia

Supervisors

Smits, I.B.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en