Walley, AkikoLaLonde, Zoe2019-09-182019-09-182019-09-18https://hdl.handle.net/1794/24941This thesis analyzes how noblewomen utilized partitions (shutters, blinds, screens, and curtains) to position themselves as active subjects in their social engagements by controlling the attention and perception of visitors within eleventh-century Japanese residential architecture known as shinden-zukuri. Chapter 1 evaluates the multisensorial stimuli created by partitioned courtly interior space. Chapter 2 focuses on partitions as mediating devices on two topics: spatial articulations of noblewomen’s embodied purity; and the act of concealment and revelation as a mechanism to emphasize their presence, comparable to the environment surrounding a “hidden” Buddha (hibutsu). Through a close reading of women’s use of partitions in period writings, such as the Pillow Book and Tale of Genji, this thesis reveals that—contrary to preceding studies—veiled sequestration can be interpreted more proactively than just patriarchal oppression. Women took advantage of the open layout of shinden-zukuri to amplify their presence as intriguing and powerful individuals.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Heian Japanmultisensory aestheticsshinden-zukuriThe Pillow BookThe Tale of GenjiwomenElectronic Thesis or Dissertation