Thicker than Blood: The Social and Political Significance of Wet Nurses in Japan, 950-1330

In his study of wet nurses (menoto), Thomas D. Conlan explores the transformation of an informal role into an established institution that affected politics from 950 to 1330. From the eleventh century, nurses and their families became retainers to their lords, and these allegiances often superseded...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Harvard journal of Asiatic studies 2005-06, Vol.65 (1), p.159-205
Main Author: Conlan, Thomas D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breast-feeding
Children
Daughters
Emperors
Empires
Families & family life
Fathers
Governors
Heirs
History
Japan
Kinship
Mothers
Nurses
Nursing
Political life
Politics
Social history
Social organization
Sons
Wet nurses
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Summary:In his study of wet nurses (menoto), Thomas D. Conlan explores the transformation of an informal role into an established institution that affected politics from 950 to 1330. From the eleventh century, nurses and their families became retainers to their lords, and these allegiances often superseded kinship ties. Retired emperors drew their retainers from the ranks of their menoto kin, who replaced Fujiwara regents in raising princes. Provincial warriors also relied on menoto to establish a core of loyal retainers. After 1230, the court institutionalized the office of wet nurse, and then that of wet-nurse "father," an office shared by several nobles of mid- to high rank. The personal wet-nurse bond was thus replaced by formal and impersonal ties.
ISSN:0073-0548
1944-6454
DOI:10.2307/25066766