Childbirth in Japan circa 1700: Gleanings from the Diary of Yamamoto Heizaemon

Research on childbirth in Tokugawa Japan has so far relied on findings of early twentieth-century ethnographic surveys in addition to documents relating to late Tokugawa population policies outlawing abortions and infanticide. Direct accounts of normal childbirth in times preceding such policy intervention by territorial lords have been difficult to come by. This article offers one case study of childbirths recorded between 1676 and 1720 in the diary of Yamamoto Heizaemon, a member of the village elite in Yamato Province. Through an analysis of the childbirth-related entries in this diary, the article demonstrates that birthing and the events surrounding it involved cooperation among women in various roles.