In the cultural landscape of Eastern Buddhism—primarily encompassing China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan—Confucianism has long been the dominant force shaping social ethics, particularly regarding gender roles. Within this framework, women were seen as socially subordinate, expected to obey their father, then their husband, and, if widowed, their adult son. Their primary source of influence came through motherhood, particularly the bearing of sons, who alone could perform crucial ancestral rites .
Marriage further institutionalized female subordination. A woman would enter her husband’s extended family as its most junior member. Divorce laws were starkly unequal: a man had seven grounds for divorcing his wife, but a woman had none on which she could initiate divorce herself .
Mahayāna Buddhism, while carrying strong egalitarian ideals in its doctrine—such as universal Buddha-nature—often accommodated these Confucian norms. Nevertheless, the Buddhist principle of spiritual equality subtly softened some of these inequalities. The Bodhisattva ideal, particularly embodied in figures like Guānyīn (Avalokiteśvara in feminine form), offered a spiritually empowered image of the feminine, and became a patron for women seeking refuge from social expectations .
A striking example of Buddhist-inspired social reform occurred in 19th-century rural Canton. There, a movement of financially independent women formed communities modeled after nuns. Inspired by Guānyīn, they refused to marry, lived celibately, and often stayed within their natal families. Their decision was driven not only by a desire for religious life but also by a resistance to the hardships of marriage, childbirth, and dependency. This movement reflects how Buddhist symbols and values could support forms of quiet resistance to patriarchal expectations .
In Japan, the intermingling of Confucian and Shintō values also reinforced sex-role divisions. During the Heian period (794–1185 CE), Buddhism was especially influential, and women found space for creative and intellectual expression—most famously in literature. The world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji, was written by Murasaki Shikibu, a woman of the court. But as time passed, particularly during the Ashikaga period (1333–1573), warrior codes (bushidō), influenced by Confucianism, demanded extreme forms of loyalty from women, including ritual suicide if chastity was compromised, or to uphold their husband’s honor .
Thus, while Mahāyāna Buddhism promoted spiritual ideals of equality, the reality in Eastern Buddhist cultures was shaped by deep-seated social traditions. Nevertheless, the Buddhist framework enabled some women to assert agency—through religious commitment, artistic achievement, or collective independence—amid otherwise restrictive cultural settings.