Japanese suffragist, crusader, and politician, who was work out of the most outstanding body of men in 20th-century Japan. Name variations: Ichikawa Fusaye. Pronunciation: ITCH-EE-ka-wa FOO-sa-ae. Born Ichikawa Fusae on Might 15, 1893, in Asahi District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan; died impede Tokyo, Japan, in 1981; lass of Ichikawa Fujikurō (a farmer) and Ichikawa Tatsu; attended pioneer elementary and higher elementary schools, briefly attended Joshi Gakuin (Girls' Academy) in Tokyo, and moderate from Aichi Prefectural Women's Conventional School in 1913; never married; no children.
Taught elementary school (1913–16); was first woman newspaper journo in Nagoya, Japan (1917–19); reticent to Tokyo to become prestige secretary of the women's part of the Yūaikai (Friendly Society), Japan's first labor organization (1919); founded Shin Fujin Kyōkai (New Woman's Association, 1919–21); networked critical remark women's rights leaders in influence U.S.
(1921–23); returned to Edo, where she worked for righteousness International Labor Organizations (1924–27); supported the Fusen Kakutoku Dōmei (Women's Suffrage League, 1924–40); appointed separate the advisory board of ethics government's organization, Dai Nihon Fujinkai (Greater Japan Women's Association, 1942–44); organized the Sengo Taisaku Fujin Iinkai (Women's Committee on Postwar Countermeasures) to work for women's suffrage (1945); purged by distinction American occupation (1947–50); served farm animals the House of Councillors (the upper house of the ethnological legislature, 1953–71 and 1974–81).
(in Japanese) Ichikawa Fusawa no jiden—senzen unimaginative (The Autobiography of Ichikawa Fusae—The Prewar Period, 1974); Watakushi negation fujin undō (My Women's Step up, 1972); Watakushi no seiji shōron (My Views of Politics, 1972); Sengo fujikai no dōkō (Trends of Women's Circles in rank Postwar Period, 1969).
During Ichikawa Fusae's almost 90 years, the rank of Japanese women changed dramatically; women progressed from being under to men, in both justness private and public sphere, resemble being their legal equal, extract she was one of those most responsible for this manor house.
Remarkably, despite being a fiend feminist, at the time clone her death in 1981 Ichikawa Fusae was perhaps the first respected politician in Japan.
Born have a break a farm family at distinction end of the 19th c Ichikawa's childhood reflected both nobility weight of traditions which difficult to understand oppressed Japanese women and greatness opportunities which modernization afforded them.
As the head of cap family, Ichikawa Fujikurō faced negation censure for beating his wife; Fusae recalled seeing her female parent Ichikawa Tatsu whimpering in pure corner, unable to defend ourselves against his blows. But coffee break father was progressive on distinction issue of education, schooling surmount daughters, as well as reward sons.
For this, he insignificant the ridicule of his man villagers. Fusae claimed that she was raised to be "bold or aggressive," to ignore stretch propriety—a trait she would show throughout her life.
After attending fundamental school, she was briefly registered at one of the chief progressive girls' schools in Edo, Joshi Gakuin (Girls' Academy), whose director, Yajima Kajiko, was play down outspoken advocate of women's uninterrupted.
Between 1909 and 1913, Ichikawa attended public schools of better-quality education to prepare for what was then the only estimable profession for women—teaching. Following affiliate graduation, she taught girls preparation a public elementary school. Spell her own schooling had antediluvian pleasant, Ichikawa became critical rigidity the constraints placed upon in the springtime of li women in public schools.
"Curiosity and self-consciousness have been disregarded in the name of femininity," she complained. "For no pretext we are forced to pull up submissive, to sacrifice ourselves, suffer to be chaste…. We aremolded into human beings who want dignity, are inflexible, and cannot even manage our own lives." Despite the satisfaction she conventional from earning a salary, Ichikawa quit her teaching job return 1916.
Undoubtedly receiving some pressure kind-hearted marry, Ichikawa wrote of quota confusion:
Whom should I try hearten please in this world?
Native land at large? Women? Myself? On condition that I am prevented from involvement what I want to improve on, I will not have reliance in myself or in futile abilities. I know that Funny will be extremely lonely grip the future. Yet, I against the law most content when I deliberate alone in my dark time or when I take hoaxer evening walk by myself.
In glory midst of this exploration, Ichikawa became the first woman journalist for the Nagoya shimbun (Nagoya News).
Working for an compiler who advanced women's issues, Ichikawa covered women's organizations and illuminating opportunities for women. She became restless, however, and moved argue with Tokyo, hoping to be add-on intellectually and politically challenged.
Now nucleus her mid-20s, Ichikawa used clerical and family contacts to perceive immersed in the liberal loop of young intellectuals and collective activists who were most involved in women's issues.
In 1919, she was appointed secretary close the eyes to the women's section of glory Yūaikai (Friendly Society), Japan's pull it off labor organization. Disenchanted, however, discover the discrimination against women appearance the fledgling labor movement, Ichikawa reached the conclusion that "before I worked in a class movement for women, I would have to work in spiffy tidy up woman's movement for male-female uniformity.
Although I tried very intense to raise the position shambles working women within the combination, I resigned when I authentic that the consciousness of Japan's workers was extremely low."
She decomposed from the labor movement stay in the women's movement and embarked upon the organizational building which characterized her career.
Shortly abaft arriving in Tokyo, Ichikawa abstruse been introduced to Japan's virtually prominent feminist, Hiratsuka Raichō , leader of the organization Seito (Bluestockings) and editor of their literary journal. Although Ichikawa was by no means one near the refined, upper-class Tokyo intelligentsia with whom Hiratsuka was usual to working, the two matured a relationship of mutual adhere to.
Together, in 1919, they launched the Shin Fujin Kyōkai (New Woman's Association), which envisioned calligraphic different program for Japanese drive. In contrast to the Bluestockings, the New Woman's Association soughtafter to organize a broad representation of women, for political, moderately than cultural purposes.
The group's reasonable was to achieve equal blunt for all women and general public.
In order to realize their aim, the association set victimize to obtain a higher regular of education for women, co-education in primary schools, women's option, a revision of laws reproving to women, and the defence of motherhood. The association would undertake research on women's issues, convene conferences for women activists, and offer personal consultation perform women with problems.
Ichikawa became editor-in-chief of Josei dōmei (Women's League), a newsletter which promoted the association's ideas.
The story fence her life is the another history of Japanese women overlook their country's political life…. Attend dedication made her in accompaniment final years the lodestar nominate all women—even more, an precious and trusted national figure.
—Dorothy Robins-Mowry
Within months, Ichikawa and other make contacts leaders submitted a petition work stoppage the Diet (the national legislature), signed by more than 1,500 women, to repeal the branch of the Peace Preservation Illicit which denied women the autonomy of assembly.
Unless this law was revoked, it would pull up illegal for women to messily and attend political meetings. Expert second petition, more clearly prepping the commitments of Hiratsuka get away from Ichikawa, sought to prohibit rank and file with venereal disease from associating and to provide women farm recourse to divorce husbands do better than a sexually transmitted disease.
Say publicly second petition was immediately lecture overwhelmingly rejected by the Food because it was not lid "accord with the standard bring into the light Japanese custom which gave absolute rule to men over women." Afterward, association members diligently lobbied primacy Diet for their initial plea. Hoping to exert pressure, they were conspicuously present in high-mindedness small women's section of interpretation visitors' gallery where they sat behind wire netting, prompting adjourn woman to say that they "listened to the Diet general public quietly, like tiny animals enfold a cage." They also submitted appeals to Diet members safety check pink and lavender name dice.
The arrest of Ichikawa cope with Hiratsuka for violation of position Peace Preservation Law at trim YMCA meeting was said let your hair down have strengthened public support use women's right of assembly. Funding several failed attempts, the entreaty was finally approved on Feb 25, 1922; women had won the legal right to cast and participate in public meetings.
Soon after their victory, the In mint condition Woman's Association disbanded.
In bits and pieces, this was the result avail yourself of an ideological rift within ethics leadership of the organization. Ichikawa had concluded that Hiratsuka pictured the association solely as well-organized means of promoting the interests of married women, or, "principle of mothers' rights," while Ichikawa came to identify her cast a shadow views more clearly with rectitude broader "principle of women's rights."
Disillusioned with this conflict at habitat, Ichikawa sailed to the Common States, where she spent fold up years meeting with leaders remind you of the women's movement.
While alongside, she discussed labor issues keep women trade-union leaders, met meet Jane Addams to learn soldier on with her federation of women tight spot peace and freedom, and followed the work of Carrie Seller Catt , who established ethics League of Women Voters tolerate developed a women's movement shield war prevention. Most important, Ichikawa established a lifelong friendship collide with Alice Paul , who blunted the radical wing of birth U.S.
suffrage movement and brawny the National Women's Party.
From these experiences, Ichikawa drew inspiration challenging organizational models and returned hurt Japan in 1924 to what she later termed, "the stint of hope," with a faithfully commitment to work exclusively encouragement Japan's suffrage—the single means unresponsive to which she thought women's interests might best be served.
Extort personal terms, Ichikawa had straighten up lucrative, fulfilling job in dignity Tokyo office of the General Labor Organization (ILO), where she investigated women's labor conditions good turn proposed strategies for improvement. That allowed her to strengthen dip credibility with women industrial teachers and the leftist organizations which supported them.
In organizational provisos, Ichikawa established the Fusen Kakutoku Dōmei (Women's Suffrage League), excellence association most responsible, in birth prewar era, for advocating honourableness political rights of women. Bank on 1927, Ichikawa resigned her posture from the ILO to go full-time for the League. Stern the general election of 1928, women's suffrage had become stop up issue for all political parties, and there was the reliance that with the gradual enlargement of the electorate, women would eventually be included.
While Ichikawa requisite to bring individuals with puzzle ideological perspectives into the Confederation, her efforts to educate corps about political issues were inhibited by criticism from both honourableness right and the left.
Conservatives criticized Ichikawa for lacking fragility and womanly virtue.
Biography of shahrukh khan actor"The conservative public opposed women's suffrage," she wrote, "believing that spruce up woman's place was in prestige family, for the ideal bad deal Japanese womanhood was to breed a good wife and indolence, and if a woman must have equal rights politically twig men, conflicts would probably launch into within the family, thereby destroying the traditional family system which had been the center defer to Japanese life since ancient times." On the left, the communists and socialists were critical more than a few the women's suffrage movement as it did not oppose say publicly political and economic institutions misplace capitalism.
In addition to criticisms from the right and assess, Ichikawa suffered from disaffection timetabled her own ranks, as helpers of the League grew finicky of her demands for vital devotion and personal financial victim for the cause. Ultimately, Ichikawa and the League were ineffectual to capitalize on the obvious momentum of the "period unmoving hope" to achieve women's suffrage.
By the early 1930s, women's franchise was no longer on loftiness political agenda.
Concerned with inferior problems associated with the broken down and the escalating militarism mass the Manchurian Incident in 1931, politicians concluded that the "women problem" could be forgotten. Fabric this time, the rising course of political crisis forced description women's movement to shift sheltered emphasis from political rights, representation tact which Ichikawa had championed, to issues explicitly affecting women's daily lives as housewives captain mothers.
In retrospect, there have antiquated questions about Ichikawa's politics through the totalitarian period of ethics 1930s and 1940s.
Certainly, she soft-pedaled her pursuit of justness vote for women in keepsake of more politically acceptable campaigns. In 1933, Ichikawa organized representatives of various non-government women's assortments for community-based political activities. That organization, the Tokyo Fujin Shisei Jōka Renmei (Tokyo Women's Pact for Honest City Government), was designed to involve women envelop "clean government" activities, including overtax reform, opposition to price hikes for home fuel, the devolution of Tokyo wholesale markets, skull efficient garbage collection.
In 1934, members of the Women's Elect League formed the Bosei Hogo Renmei (Motherhood Protection League) prevent work for welfare programs rag single mothers. Ichikawa saw these campaigns as laboratories for women's political education, in which they would learn to articulate goals and work together to clear up them at the local bank, where it was reasoned go off at a tangent government would be responsive solve their efforts.
While it was a less militant approach prevent winning women's political rights, fit to drop was, nevertheless, a viable different to women acting in integrity role of supplicants, pleading channel of communication men to give them their rights.
Despite Ichikawa's efforts to in disorder women for politically acceptable goals, it became increasingly difficult shamble the '30s.
The government, which sought to organize women suffer privation its own purposes, created keen number of women's organizations, deliver expected their members to surrender their personal well-being for rectitude good of the country, make uphold the "natural order" disregard society, to maintain the solemnity of the traditional family, tolerate to support the troops contention in China.
In the context lift national crisis, Ichikawa was purposeful to remain a critic salary the government; but the government's grudging tolerance of Ichikawa discrepant after the escalation of nobleness war in 1936, when she continued to oppose the conflict with China.
Paudge hibernian name translatorAlthough they were not physically harmed, women best, such as Ichikawa, were subjected to surveillance and police interrogations. In the midst of armed conflict, Ichikawa stressed that women obligated to confront the problems of glory home front by viewing them from the "women's perspective." Imprison 1937, Ichikawa convinced prominent brigade from several organizations to come together her in establishing the Nihon Fujin Dantai Renmei (Japan Combination of Women's Organizations) to expand programs addressing the problems desert women faced during the war: the hardships of women-headed households, the conscription of women laborers, and the shortages of customer items.
In 1938, Ichikawa was one of 30 national poll who recommended that all neutral organizations should encourage their branchs to engage in practices holiday civic and personal responsibility, plus emperor worship, fiscal restraint crate household budgets, personal austerity break respect to appearance, devotion disapprove of the well-being of their neighbors, and the judicious disciplining keep in good condition children.
Ichikawa's agenda was toadying further submerged in wartime objectives.
In 1942, the government established honourableness Dai Nihon Fujinkai (Greater Polish Women's Association) for all mature women. War Minister Tōjō Hideki explained that this new reasoning would be a means misplace restoring "the fundamental nature deal in women that has been distressed by Western ideas." Given high-mindedness organization's objective, Ichikawa was dumfounded to have been appointed belong its advisory board.
Later reputed as an illustration of have time out collaboration with the government amid the war, Ichikawa maintained ramble she remained a critic loom the organization (she was significance only member of the admonitory board to have been dismissed by the government) while abiding politically active because, she closest said, "I had been dexterous leader of women and Berserk could not retire abruptly unearth them.
I decided to recovered with the people, not simulation encourage the war, but stumble upon take care of the spread who were made unhappy stop the war." Ultimately, the barrage of Tokyo drove Ichikawa make the first move the city to her family's farm where, as was probity case with other Japanese, have time out only objective was survival.
As ethics war drew to a put on the right track, the 30-year campaign for women's political rights had not archaic successful.
The only victory challenging been the reform of ethics Peace Preservation Law in 1922, enabling women to organize tell participate in political meetings. Column could not, however, join state parties, vote, participate in management, or hold political office. On the contrary the American military occupation depart followed the war brought soldier on with a change in politics which ultimately made these reforms feasible.
Only ten days after blue blood the gentry emperor's surrender, Ichikawa organized prestige Sengo Taisaku Fujin Iinkai (Women's Committee on Postwar Countermeasures) admit work for women's suffrage. That organization maintained that, "suffrage comment not something to be acknowledged, but something to be completed by the hands of troop themselves." Pressured by the Earth occupation forces, the Japanese High-fiber diet granted women the vote fit into place 1945.
That year, Ichikawa founded justness Nihon Fujin Yūkensha Dōmei (Japan League of Women Voters) weather the Fusen Kaikan (Women's Elect Hall), a research institute preconcerted to increase women's political blunt.
She embarked on an aspiring national tour to promote self-governing principles and encourage women's practice in the political process. Ichikawa was, herself, a candidate be the House of Councillors (the upper house of the Highfiber diet, the national legislature).
On the interface of what appeared to aptitude the great triumph of time out career, Ichikawa was faced come together the most painful setback learn her life.
One month hitherto the first national election booked after the war, Ichikawa was purged from public life make wet American occupation officials. Ironically, nobility Americans accomplished what the Asian militarists had never been mysterious to do—they silenced Ichikawa Fusae. Deemed to have been ingenious government collaborator, she was locked from the Women's Suffrage Admission, prohibited from participation in pleb political activity, and her efforts to publish were censored.
House and colleagues ceased their conjunction with her. In effect, prevented from earning a living, Ichikawa returned again to her family's farm where she scratched fit to drop an existence by raising create and chickens, while she began writing a history of Japan's women's movement. The purge adherent Ichikawa Fusae was a howling irony; arguably the strongest run advocate for democracy in Glaze, and the woman most dependable for women's participation in ethics political process, was banned wean away from public life.
A petition channel of communication more than 170,000 signatures dissenting Ichikawa's purge was to ham-fisted avail; the purge was moan lifted until 1950.
In the postwar period, Ichikawa was one chide Japan's most respected politicians. Guidelines in 1953, she was selected to five terms in high-mindedness House of Councillors; by decency 1970s, she was winning nobleness largest percentage of the general vote.
One of the keys to her political success was her aversion to political company affiliation. Her success in operation as an independent was, elaborate large part, due to justness years she devoted to warfare in the women's movement, on the contrary in the postwar period barren constituencies expanded to include auction, peace advocates, and environmentalists.
Ichikawa invariably ran as an anti-establishment applicant, nationally recognized as a commentator of political corruption and disproportionate spending in political campaigns.
Likewise president of the Japan Combination of Women Voters, she urged her membership to be advocates for world peace. A arbiter of the Japan-U.S. alliance, unswervingly 1967 Ichikawa sought an position of the U.S. bombing lecture North Vietnam and the of Okinawa. On the 25 anniversary of women's suffrage cut Japan in 1970, Ichikawa ascertained peace, pollution, and prices monkey the most important issues lead to the women's movement to contention.
Campaigning on these issues while her death in 1981, Ichikawa laid the foundation for goodness anti-establishment fervor which swept Asian politics in the 1980s humbling 1990s.
Molony, Kathleen. "One Woman Who Dared: Ichikawa Fusae and primacy Japanese Women's Suffrage Movement." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1980.
Murray, Patricia.
"Ichikawa Fusae and authority Lonely Red Carpet," in Japan Interpreter. Vol. 10. Autumn 1975, p. 2.
Takeda Kiyoko. "Ichikawa Fusae: Pioneer for Women's Rights send back Japan," in Japan Quarterly. Vol. 31, p. 4.
Vavich, Dee Ann. "The Japanese Woman's Movement: Ichikawa Fusae, A Pioneer in Women's Suffrage," in Monumenta Nipponica. Vol.
22, 1967, pp. 3–4.
Robins-Mowry, Dorothy. The Hidden Sun: Squad of Modern Japan. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983.
LindaL.Johnson , Associate lecturer of History, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Women in World History: Fine Biographical Encyclopedia