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The Heian Period: Social Status, Economy, And Feminism

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Introduction
In the history of Japan, the Heian period is thought by many critics and literally experts an important age of art and culture. During this time period, Japan was able to develop a strong and very important sense of native visuals. The period was so developed that even merchants and warriors had started in becoming important political and social figures within the Heian period. The period had also witnessed a substantial rise in liberty of women and importance of feminism but it also had seen the dominance of the elite over the labour and working class. Our study will focus on the three key issues during the period and the impact they had on the Heian citizens: Social status, Economy and Feminism.
Social Status
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As the total number of ranked candidates used to be more than the total number of vacant offices, therefore, either those who could afford to offer gifts to the appointing authority or those who had strong political connections were used to get the opportunity to hold the vacant offices more easily than those who either could not afford to offer gifts or those who didn’t have strong political connections. As by securing the vacant offices, individuals not only get the opportunity to earn money on regular intervals but they also get the opportunity to further progress in their respective careers, hence securing the vacant offices was the most important thing for them to do. On the other hand, although women were also used to be assigned with ranks but they were not made eligible to hold the offices of ministers or governors. But some women used to hold key positions in the courts and influenced the decisions involving the appointments of various men to various offices. But this made some women considering themselves highly superior to another. “Those who think of themselves as being superior to everyone else in this way will suffer and come to a bad end and people who have become so precious that they go out of their way to try and be sensitive in most unpromising situations, trying to capture every moment of interest and are bound to look ridiculous and superficial.” It does provide evidence that, even so many years back, a strong sense of dominance had existed in women to such a great extent that they considered people below them as non-existent and they had even used their goodwill to exert substantial influence at crucial

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