Last week we have learned about the history of妻(つま), 嫁(よめ). Do you still remember the difference? 妻(つま) is the female who is permitted by parents to live with a male. 嫁(よめ) is “son’s wife”. Today I will introduce女房(にょうぼう) and 奥さん(おくさん).
女房(にょうぼう)
In 平安時代(へいあんじだい, 794 – 1192), there had always been several mates working in the high nobility houses. That is the group of people who take care of cooking, cleaning the house and other chores. They usually live their bosses’ house. In particular, the room in which female mates live has a special name called “房(ぼう)”. Interestingly, somehow those females live in “房(ぼう)” turned out to be “女房(にょうぼう)”. Therefore, 女房(にょうぼう) means the female assistant. So it is not appropriate to call you wife as女房(にょうぼう).
奥さん(おくさん)
The very first奥さん(おくさん) was recorded in北条幻庵覚書(ほうじょうげんあんおぼえがき) in 1562. It actually came from the word of 奥方(おくがた). 奥方(おくがた) means the inner room of a house. In the past, the partner of highly aristocratic male usually lives in the奥方(おくがた). People call those female奥方(おくがた) to show their respect. However, the name has gradually changed from奥方(おくがた) to 奥さん as time flies by. Therefore, 奥方(おくがた) means other people’s partner who lives in the inner room. So it is not appropriate to call your wife奥方(おくがた).
I hope you like it. See you next week!