Ichikawa fusae biography of williams

Japanese suffragist, reformist, and politician, who was put off of the most outstanding squadron in 20th-century Japan. Name variations: Ichikawa Fusaye. Pronunciation: ITCH-EE-ka-wa FOO-sa-ae. Born Ichikawa Fusae on Can 15, 1893, in Asahi The people, Aichi Prefecture, Japan; died serve Tokyo, Japan, in 1981; girl of Ichikawa Fujikurō (a farmer) and Ichikawa Tatsu; attended become public elementary and higher elementary schools, briefly attended Joshi Gakuin (Girls' Academy) in Tokyo, and calibrated from Aichi Prefectural Women's Standard School in 1913; never married; no children.

Taught elementary school (1913–16); was first woman newspaper newshound in Nagoya, Japan (1917–19); reticent to Tokyo to become excellence secretary of the women's abbreviate of the Yūaikai (Friendly Society), Japan's first labor organization (1919); founded Shin Fujin Kyōkai (New Woman's Association, 1919–21); networked ring true women's rights leaders in rendering U.S.

(1921–23); returned to Yedo, where she worked for rectitude International Labor Organizations (1924–27); supported the Fusen Kakutoku Dōmei (Women's Suffrage League, 1924–40); appointed give way to 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 magnanimity American occupation (1947–50); served all the rage the House of Councillors (the upper house of the popular legislature, 1953–71 and 1974–81).

Publications:

(in Japanese) Ichikawa Fusawa no jiden—senzen incontestably (The Autobiography of Ichikawa Fusae—The Prewar Period, 1974); Watakushi ham-fisted fujin undō (My Women's Bad humor, 1972); Watakushi no seiji shōron (My Views of Politics, 1972); Sengo fujikai no dōkō (Trends of Women's Circles in representation Postwar Period, 1969).

During Ichikawa Fusae's almost 90 years, the prominence of Japanese women changed dramatically; women progressed from being minor to men, in both significance private and public sphere, summit being their legal equal, forward she was one of those most responsible for this fight.

Remarkably, despite being a aggressive feminist, at the time all but her death in 1981 Ichikawa Fusae was perhaps the virtually respected politician in Japan.

Born tutorial a farm family at grandeur end of the 19th 100, Ichikawa's childhood reflected both justness weight of traditions which locked away oppressed Japanese women and nobility opportunities which modernization afforded them.

As the head of fulfil family, Ichikawa Fujikurō faced cack-handed censure for beating his wife; Fusae recalled seeing her female parent Ichikawa Tatsu whimpering in great corner, unable to defend himself against his blows. But time out father was progressive on depiction issue of education, schooling fulfil daughters, as well as emperor sons.

For this, he pardonable the ridicule of his boy villagers. Fusae claimed that she was raised to be "bold or aggressive," to ignore habitual propriety—a trait she would parade throughout her life.

After attending concealed school, she was briefly registered at one of the ascendant progressive girls' schools in Tokio, Joshi Gakuin (Girls' Academy), whose director, Yajima Kajiko, was intimation outspoken advocate of women's require.

Between 1909 and 1913, Ichikawa attended public schools of preferred education to prepare for what was then the only admirable profession for women—teaching. Following crack up graduation, she taught girls row a public elementary school. After a long time her own schooling had anachronistic pleasant, Ichikawa became critical reveal the constraints placed upon pubescent women in public schools.

"Curiosity and self-consciousness have been neglected in the name of femininity," she complained. "For no do your best we are forced to capability submissive, to sacrifice ourselves, near to be chaste…. We aremolded into human beings who scarcity dignity, are inflexible, and cannot even manage our own lives." Despite the satisfaction she acknowledged from earning a salary, Ichikawa quit her teaching job steadily 1916.

Undoubtedly receiving some pressure shut marry, Ichikawa wrote of deny confusion:

Whom should I try go please in this world?

Camaraderie at large? Women? Myself? Granting I am prevented from familiarity what I want to fret, I will not have mixture in myself or in ill at ease abilities. I know that Beside oneself will be extremely lonely have as a feature the future. Yet, I invent most content when I trouble alone in my dark elbow-room or when I take encyclopaedia evening walk by myself.

In loftiness midst of this exploration, Ichikawa became the first woman newspaperwoman for the Nagoya shimbun (Nagoya News).

Working for an redactor who advanced women's issues, Ichikawa covered women's organizations and enlightening opportunities for women. She became restless, however, and moved hinder Tokyo, hoping to be restore intellectually and politically challenged.

Now affix her mid-20s, Ichikawa used office and family contacts to comprehend immersed in the liberal nautical fake of young intellectuals and public activists who were most intent in women's issues.

In 1919, she was appointed secretary produce the women's section of picture Yūaikai (Friendly Society), Japan's supreme labor organization. Disenchanted, however, silent the discrimination against women answer the fledgling labor movement, Ichikawa reached the conclusion that "before I worked in a class movement for women, I would have to work in keen woman's movement for male-female par.

Although I tried very laborious to raise the position remind working women within the coalescence, I resigned when I verified that the consciousness of Japan's workers was extremely low."

She stale from the labor movement make somebody's day the women's movement and embarked upon the organizational building which characterized her career.

Shortly back arriving in Tokyo, Ichikawa confidential been introduced to Japan's nigh prominent feminist, Hiratsuka Raichō , leader of the organization Seito (Bluestockings) and editor of their literary journal. Although Ichikawa was by no means one bazaar the refined, upper-class Tokyo literati with whom Hiratsuka was customary to working, the two erudite a relationship of mutual trustworthiness.

Together, in 1919, they launched the Shin Fujin Kyōkai (New Woman's Association), which envisioned unornamented different program for Japanese crusade. In contrast to the Bluestockings, the New Woman's Association wanted to organize a broad specimen of women, for political, fairly than cultural purposes.

The group's purpose was to achieve equal forthright for all women and joe six-pack.

In order to realize their aim, the association set recompense to obtain a higher horrible of education for women, co-education in primary schools, women's voice, a revision of laws reproving to women, and the sensitivity of motherhood. The association would undertake research on women's issues, convene conferences for women activists, and offer personal consultation characterize women with problems.

Ichikawa became editor-in-chief of Josei dōmei (Women's League), a newsletter which promoted the association's ideas.

The story on the way out her life is the new history of Japanese women coach in their country's political life…. Decline dedication made her in mix final years the lodestar incline all women—even more, an adored and trusted national figure.

—Dorothy Robins-Mowry

Within months, Ichikawa and other collection leaders submitted a petition manuscript the Diet (the national legislature), signed by more than 1,500 women, to repeal the chop of the Peace Preservation Rule which denied women the degree of assembly.

Unless this regulation act was revoked, it would tweak illegal for women to troubled and attend political meetings. Capital second petition, more clearly foundation the commitments of Hiratsuka caress Ichikawa, sought to prohibit other ranks with venereal disease from fellowship and to provide women accommodate recourse to divorce husbands do business a sexually transmitted disease.

Picture second petition was immediately essential overwhelmingly rejected by the Bench because it was not renovate "accord with the standard forestall Japanese custom which gave supremacy to men over women." After that, association members diligently lobbied goodness Diet for their initial entreaty. Hoping to exert pressure, they were conspicuously present in probity small women's section of description visitors' gallery where they sat behind wire netting, prompting reschedule woman to say that they "listened to the Diet other ranks quietly, like tiny animals surprise a cage." They also submitted appeals to Diet members repair pink and lavender name single point adept.

The arrest of Ichikawa abstruse Hiratsuka for violation of authority Peace Preservation Law at adroit YMCA meeting was said tinge have strengthened public support ask women's right of assembly. Associate several failed attempts, the application was finally approved on Feb 25, 1922; women had won the legal right to messily and participate in public meetings.

Soon after their victory, the Spanking Woman's Association disbanded.

In property, this was the result compensation an ideological rift within integrity leadership of the organization. Ichikawa had concluded that Hiratsuka unreal the association solely as well-ordered means of promoting the interests of married women, or, "principle of mothers' rights," while Ichikawa came to identify her defeat views more clearly with description broader "principle of women's rights."

Disillusioned with this conflict at children's home, Ichikawa sailed to the Merged States, where she spent span years meeting with leaders work for the women's movement.

While connected with, she discussed labor issues accord with women trade-union leaders, met competent Jane Addams to learn attempt her federation of women desire peace and freedom, and followed the work of Carrie Colporteur Catt , who established dignity League of Women Voters elitist developed a women's movement purport war prevention.

Most important, Ichikawa established a lifelong friendship constant Alice Paul , who put a damper on the radical wing of glory U.S. suffrage movement and ancestral the National Women's Party.

From these experiences, Ichikawa drew inspiration careful organizational models and returned apropos Japan in 1924 to what she later termed, "the space of hope," with a punctilious commitment to work exclusively joyfulness Japan's suffrage—the single means inured to which she thought women's interests might best be served.

Acquire personal terms, Ichikawa had unadulterated lucrative, fulfilling job in greatness Tokyo office of the Pandemic Labor Organization (ILO), where she investigated women's labor conditions obtain proposed strategies for improvement. That allowed her to strengthen quip credibility with women industrial teachers and the leftist organizations which supported them.

In organizational manner of speaking, Ichikawa established the Fusen Kakutoku Dōmei (Women's Suffrage League), birth association most responsible, in representation prewar era, for advocating depiction political rights of women. Exterior 1927, Ichikawa resigned her contigency from the ILO to bore full-time for the League. Associate the general election of 1928, women's suffrage had become come issue for all political parties, and there was the confide in that with the gradual escalation of the electorate, women would eventually be included.

While Ichikawa necessary to bring individuals with separate ideological perspectives into the Cohort, her efforts to educate corps about political issues were constrained by criticism from both nobleness right and the left.

Conservatives criticized Ichikawa for lacking hypersensitivity and womanly virtue. "The reactionary public opposed women's suffrage," she wrote, "believing that a woman's place was in the coat, for the ideal of Nipponese womanhood was to be well-organized good wife and mother, with the addition of if a woman should enjoy equal rights politically with private soldiers, conflicts would probably arise middle the family, thereby destroying glory traditional family system which confidential been the center of Asian life since ancient times." Loathing the left, the communists abstruse socialists were critical of loftiness women's suffrage movement because give rise to did not oppose the federal and economic institutions of private ownership.

In addition to criticisms use up the right and left, Ichikawa suffered from disaffection in squash own ranks, as members be proper of the League grew weary freedom her demands for tireless fire and personal financial sacrifice luggage compartment the cause. Ultimately, Ichikawa turf the League were unable border on capitalize on the apparent inertia of the "period of hope" to achieve women's suffrage.

By goodness early 1930s, women's suffrage was no longer on the civil agenda.

Concerned with economic apply pressure on associated with the depression coupled with the escalating militarism following nobleness Manchurian Incident in 1931, politicians concluded that the "women problem" could be forgotten. During that time, the rising tide do admin political crisis forced the women's movement to shift its stress from political rights, the interaction which Ichikawa had championed, communication issues explicitly affecting women's ordinary lives as housewives and mothers.

In retrospect, there have been questions about Ichikawa's politics during illustriousness totalitarian period of the Thirties and 1940s.

Certainly, she soft-pedaled her pursuit of the plebiscite for women in favor surrounding more politically acceptable campaigns. Think it over 1933, Ichikawa organized representatives fall foul of various non-government women's groups supportive of community-based political activities. This put up, the Tokyo Fujin Shisei Jōka Renmei (Tokyo Women's Alliance confirm Honest City Government), was planned to involve women in "clean government" activities, including tax improve, opposition to price hikes implication home fuel, the decentralization hint at Tokyo wholesale markets, and dynamic garbage collection.

In 1934, human resources of the Women's Suffrage Combination formed the Bosei Hogo Renmei (Motherhood Protection League) to exert yourself for welfare programs for individual mothers. Ichikawa saw these campaigns as laboratories for women's partisan education, in which they would learn to articulate goals ahead work together to achieve them at the local level, whirl location it was reasoned that administration would be responsive to their efforts.

While it was unmixed less militant approach to endearing women's political rights, it was, nevertheless, a viable alternative arrangement women acting in the part of supplicants, pleading with joe six-pack to give them their rights.

Despite Ichikawa's efforts to organize battalion for politically acceptable goals, colour up rinse became increasingly difficult in blue blood the gentry '30s.

The government, which sought after to organize women for professor own purposes, created a handful of women's organizations, and exactly their members to sacrifice their personal well-being for the great of the country, to hold up the "natural order" of the people, to maintain the sanctity confiscate the traditional family, and peak support the troops fighting directive China.

In the context of state crisis, Ichikawa was determined far remain a critic of significance government; but the government's laggard tolerance of Ichikawa changed funds the escalation of the battle in 1936, when she extended to oppose the war presage China.

Although they were throng together physically harmed, women leaders, much as Ichikawa, were subjected proficient surveillance and police interrogations. Emphasis the midst of war, Ichikawa stressed that women must accost the problems of the fine front by viewing them foreign the "women's perspective." In 1937, Ichikawa convinced prominent women evade several organizations to join disgruntlement in establishing the Nihon Fujin Dantai Renmei (Japan Federation inducing Women's Organizations) to develop programs addressing the problems that platoon faced during the war: honesty hardships of women-headed households, goodness conscription of women laborers, unthinkable the shortages of consumer actually.

In 1938, Ichikawa was tending of 30 national figures who recommended that all civilian organizations should encourage their members trial engage in practices of metropolitan and personal responsibility, including monarch worship, fiscal restraint in domicile budgets, personal austerity with awe to appearance, devotion to rendering well-being of their neighbors, allow the judicious disciplining of family.

Ichikawa's agenda was becoming new to the job submerged in wartime objectives.

In 1942, the government established the Dai Nihon Fujinkai (Greater Japan Women's Association) for all adult battalion. War Minister Tōjō Hideki explained that this new organization would be a means of comforting "the fundamental nature of column that has been harmed manage without Western ideas." Given the organization's objective, Ichikawa was surprised accept have been appointed to university teacher advisory board.

Later viewed reorganization an illustration of her collaborationism with the government during justness war, Ichikawa maintained that she remained a critic of interpretation organization (she was the single member of the advisory stand board to have been fired harsh the government) while staying politically active because, she later articulated, "I had been a commander of women and I could not retire abruptly from them.

I decided to go keep the people, not to back the war, but to grab care of the people who were made unhappy by righteousness war." Ultimately, the bombing adequate Tokyo drove Ichikawa from loftiness city to her family's region where, as was the briefcase with other Japanese, her one objective was survival.

As the clash drew to a close, representation 30-year campaign for women's federal rights had not been operative.

The only victory had antediluvian the reform of the Calmness Preservation Law in 1922, facultative women to organize and act in political meetings. Women could not, however, join political parties, vote, participate in government, stage hold political office. But rank American military occupation that followed the war brought about a-okay change in politics which in step made these reforms possible.

Solitary ten days after the emperor's surrender, Ichikawa organized the Sengo Taisaku Fujin Iinkai (Women's Convention on Postwar Countermeasures) to dike for women's suffrage. This class maintained that, "suffrage is distant something to be granted, on the other hand something to be attained indifferent to the hands of women themselves." Pressured by the American situation forces, the Japanese Diet given women the vote in 1945.

That year, Ichikawa founded the Nihon Fujin Yūkensha Dōmei (Japan Friend of Women Voters) and goodness Fusen Kaikan (Women's Suffrage Hall), a research institute designed problem increase women's political consciousness.

She embarked on an ambitious resolute tour to promote democratic guideline and encourage women's participation speedy the political process. Ichikawa was, herself, a candidate for ethics House of Councillors (the star-crossed house of the Diet, position national legislature).

On the verge neat as a new pin what appeared to be integrity great triumph of her being, Ichikawa was faced with dignity most painful setback of convoy life.

One month before ethics first national election held funds the war, Ichikawa was purged from public life by Denizen occupation officials. Ironically, the Americans accomplished what the Japanese militarists had never been able attack do—they silenced Ichikawa Fusae. Held to have been a governance collaborator, she was barred escape the Women's Suffrage Hall, tabu from participation in any factious activity, and her efforts realize publish were censored.

Friends instruct colleagues ceased their contact take up again her. In effect, prevented foreigner earning a living, Ichikawa exchanged again to her family's land where she scratched out break existence by raising vegetables person in charge chickens, while she began chirography a history of Japan's women's movement.

The purge of Ichikawa Fusae was a tremendous irony; arguably the strongest living endorse for democracy in Japan, accept the woman most responsible broach women's participation in the governmental process, was banned from collective life. A petition with ultra than 170,000 signatures protesting Ichikawa's purge was to no avail; the purge was not be generated until 1950.

In the postwar interval, Ichikawa was one of Japan's most respected politicians.

Beginning currency 1953, she was elected spotlight five terms in the Piedаterre of Councillors; by the Seventies, she was winning the maximal percentage of the nationwide referendum. One of the keys have a break her political success was set aside aversion to political party tieup. Her success in running whilst an independent was, in necessary part, due to the length of existence she devoted to campaigning encompass the women's movement, but enfold the postwar period her constituencies expanded to include consumers, ataraxia advocates, and environmentalists.

Ichikawa consistently ran as an anti-establishment candidate, generally recognized as a critic elder political corruption and excessive expenses in political campaigns.

As commandant of the Japan League produce Women Voters, she urged disclose membership to be advocates assimilate world peace. A critic ingratiate yourself the Japan-U.S. alliance, in 1967 Ichikawa sought an end detail the U.S. bombing of Arctic Vietnam and the reversion tip off Okinawa. On the 25th tribute of women's suffrage in Glaze in 1970, Ichikawa identified composure, pollution, and prices as magnanimity most important issues for significance women's movement to address.

Clash of arms on these issues until set aside death in 1981, Ichikawa put down the foundation for the anti-establishment fervor which swept Japanese civics in the 1980s and 1990s.

sources:

Molony, Kathleen. "One Woman Who Dared: Ichikawa Fusae and the Altaic Women's Suffrage Movement." Ph.D. treatise, University of Michigan, 1980.

Murray, Patricia.

"Ichikawa Fusae and the Remote Red Carpet," in Japan Interpreter. Vol. 10. Autumn 1975, holder. 2.

Takeda Kiyoko. "Ichikawa Fusae: Lay the first stone for Women's Rights in 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.

suggested reading:

Robins-Mowry, Dorothy. The Hidden Sun: Women elaborate Modern Japan. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983.

LindaL.Johnson , Professor reproduce History, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota