Changes

==Heian Period==

==Heian Period==

In the [[Heian period]] in particular, "marriage" seems to have been a relatively fluid thing, at least among the [[kuge|court nobility]]. In analyses of the ''[[Tale of Genji]]'', [[Ivan Morris]] discusses how "courting" was to a certain extent undistinguished from marriage, and noblemen often lived apart from their paramours, who either maintained their own separate residences (being able to inherit, own, and pass down property at that time, a privilege less enjoyed by women in later eras) or were given residences by their nobleman suitor. As evidenced in the ''Genji'', it may have been typical for a nobleman to visit his paramours only at night, spending the night with them and departing before dawn; also as evidenced in the ''Genji'', it was not unusual for noblemen to maintain multiple consorts, though perhaps only one at a time could be the primary "wife." Divorces and remarriages were also relatively casual affairs - a man or a woman could simply cut things off with their lover, and terminate the relationship, and the remarriage of a widow or divorcee was no looked down upon. The ''[[Tales of Ise]]'' also show numerous examples of how men and women courted one another, and began and ended relationships. In one of the many vignettes in the ''Tales'', a man is appointed to an official position out in the countryside for three years, and upon his return, his (former) wife says she is now engaged to marry another man; he tells her to love her new husband as he has always loved her.<ref>[[Helen Craig McCullough]], ''Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-century Japan'', Stanford University Press (1968), 90.</ref>

In the [[Heian period]] in particular, "marriage" seems to have been a relatively fluid thing, at least among the [[kuge|court nobility]]. In analyses of the ''[[Tale of Genji]]'', [[Ivan Morris]] discusses how "courting" was to a certain extent undistinguished from marriage, and noblemen often lived apart from their paramours, who either maintained their own separate residences (being able to inherit, own, and pass down property at that time, a privilege less enjoyed by women in later eras) or were given residences by their nobleman suitor. As evidenced in the ''Genji'', it may have been typical for a nobleman to visit his paramours only at night, spending the night with them and departing before dawn; also as evidenced in the ''Genji'', it was not unusual for noblemen to maintain multiple consorts, though perhaps only one at a time could be the primary "wife." Divorces and remarriages were also relatively casual affairs - a man or a woman could simply cut things off with their lover, and terminate the relationship, and the remarriage of a widow or divorcee was no looked down upon.<ref>Ivan Morris, "Women of Ancient Japan: Heian Ladies," ''History Today'' 13:3 (Mar 1963), 160-168.</ref> The ''[[Tales of Ise]]'' also show numerous examples of how men and women courted one another, and began and ended relationships. In one of the many vignettes in the ''Tales'', a man is appointed to an official position out in the countryside for three years, and upon his return, his (former) wife says she is now engaged to marry another man; he tells her to love her new husband as he has always loved her.<ref>[[Helen Craig McCullough]], ''Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-century Japan'', Stanford University Press (1968), 90.</ref>

==Medieval Period==

==Medieval Period==