I am writing a novel that takes place at the end of the Sengoku Jidai and struggling with accurate references to the culture of the time.
In particular, I am interested in how sex was leveraged for allegiances and other political reasons, as well as the the general attitudes towards sex in any configurations (same sex, hetero, out of wedlock, in poetry...basically a history of all sex in the Sengoku period). I am not entirely ignorant on the topic, however I want to be able to set the scene in the most period appropriate way since it plays a prominent role in the novel and I especially want to avoid Western-centric moralistic attitudes.
Texts in Japanese are also ok.
Thanks so much for the help.
The best introduction/ primary text on women in Sengoku Japan is probably Chapter 2 of Europa e esta provincia de Japão (1585) by Louis Flois, S. J. This work is translated both in English and in Japanese, and the latter's kindle edition is in fact very affordable (costs less than 10 USD):
This linked text (apparently old teaching material by Prof. Gerald Figal) in English might also be useful for making Flois' text into context. It is written based on various Japanese historical and anthropological works up to the end of the 20th century, though I'm afraid the author might overemphasize the significance of some anthropological classics like those by Akamatsu and Miyamoto a bit.
As for women in Edo Period (in Japanese), this Lectures in Early Modern (Japanese) History(『近世史講義』） from Chikuma Shobo (also in form of e-publication) provides an balanced collection of essays on various women's role in society (so also recommended if you can read Japanese).
The just published handbook for Japanese undergraduates in Japanese history, Issues in Japanese History (『論点・日本史学』) also recommends TSUJI, Hirokazu, Courtesans in thje Middle Ages: Livelihood and Class(『中世の遊女』). Kyoto: Kyoto UP, 2017. as one of the seminal books on the topic, and it illustrates the transformation (decline) of the courtesans in Sengoku Period (15th and 16th centuries).
+++
......Well, as for the sex life in Sengoku Period (from medical point of view), the most famous text is probably Dosan MANASE's Koso Myoron (『黄素妙論』）. This work, partly (?) based on the sex treatise from Ming China, is also said to have been told to the notorious war lord, Hisahide MATSUNAGA (d. 1577). While handwriting edition is freely available online, not so much academic research has apparently paid attention to this work (Cf. Katafuchi 2003), at least until recently (Senjuro MACHI, eastern medical historian (linked to the summary of the international conference paper) seems to be an exception, though). A popular history book, Mitsuo YAMAZAKI, Health Treatise of Sengoku War Lords (『戦国武将の養生訓』), Tokyo: Shincho Publishing, 2004, certainly summarizes this work's content (and sometimes cites also even by a researcher in SNS), but I cannot comment the academic standard of this book in details since I haven't checked it in details. Sorry.
References:
+++