Introduction

[nnozomi]

Thank you for coming to visit. The purpose of this site is, as the title suggests, to present a series of pocket histories of women in and around Japan during the pivotal period between 1868, the date of the Meiji Restoration when Japan took its first steps into modernity, and 1945, the end of the Second World War and with it the demise of the Japanese Empire. While excellent academic work has been done on the women of this period, there is little wide-ranging, easily accessible information in English to be found, and by introducing these women here I hope to make both the stories of their lives and the connections among them and their times more easily available.

The list at present contains over 150 women, to be presented roughly once a week in (roughly) chronological order (the earliest and latest were active within the prewar period only in strictly literal terms, but have been chosen for their interest regardless; birthdates range from 1817 to 1928). They include doctors, religious leaders, political wives, poets, educators, translators, activists, novelists, actresses, businesswomen, dancers, artists, historians, sex workers, athletes, princesses, and more. Women hailing from Japan’s various colonies have been included when they were active within present-day Japan to some extent; I am particularly interested in including more of these women and would welcome recommendations. As well, please don’t hesitate to ask about specific people, occupations, et cetera in accordance with interest.

I am not a professional historian or women’s studies scholar, I just have an MA in a related field; with some exceptions where I am personally well-informed, the information provided is gleaned mainly from the sources listed below (cited by last name and, where necessary, publication date in each entry) as well as from online information, linked as used. It is accurate to the best of my awareness, but has not been exhaustively verified.

It should go without saying, but description of the policies and practices of the Japanese Empire is not intended as endorsement in any sense (site style name included). Likewise, links to any given online site (including Wikipedia) should not be taken as a guarantee of the site’s reliability.

Thank you again for visiting.

Works Cited
Ishii Taeko, Kindai onna retsuden, Bungei Shunju: 2023
Mori Mayumi, Meiji kaijoden, Rodo Shunposha: 1996
--, Danpatsu no modan girl, Bungei Shunju: 2008
--, Onna no kippu, Iwanami Shoten: 2014
Nakae Katsumi, Meiji/Taisho wo ikita josei itsuwa jiten, Daisan Bunmeisha: 2015
Shimamoto Hisae, Meiji no josei-tachi, Misuzu Shobo: 1966
Tanaka Jun, Onna no tatakai, Shinchosha: 1957

Takasu Hisako (1817-1904)

[nnozomi]

Takasu Hisako was born in 1817 in the Choshu domain (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture in the south of Japan), the daughter and later the wife of samurai. Widowed young, she lived with her mother and two daughters in a household of women. Hisako, notably a cheerful and outgoing personality, was exceptionally fond of poetry of all kinds as well as music; she became friendly with various young (male) players of the three-stringed shamisen and invited them to perform at her home, followed by drinks, dinner, and perhaps staying the night. They may have belonged to the “untouchable” caste now called hisabetsu burakumin, the leatherworkers and butchers who were not permitted to associate freely with the upper classes from which Hisako came. Her relatives objected. Hisako argued against class distinctions, claiming her right to associate freely with whom she pleased—“I had an ordinary relationship with an ordinary person, that’s all”—but the standards of the time prevailed and in 1853 she was put into Noyama Prison.

This jail contained just eleven prisoners, among whom was to be the young educator and radical Yoshida Shoin. Whether he and Hisako fell in love is a matter of interpretation, but they certainly became close during Shoin’s poetry sessions with the other inmates. Hisako’s daughter Ito may have visited her in prison in the company of Shoin’s younger sister Sugi Fumi (also known as Katori Miwako). Hisako and Shoin wrote each other poems when he was released and upon his later travels; she gave him a handkerchief which he treasured. In 1868, when the systems changed under the Meiji Restoration, she was released from prison (Shoin was already almost ten years dead, having been executed at age 29 for attempting to overturn the shogunate); she led a quiet life, away from her family, and lived to be an old woman, dying in 1904.


Works cited
Ishii
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/pdf/pioneers0309.pdf English site with a thoughtful history of Yoshida Shoin, touching on Hisako in detail. CW tiresomely ableist with regard to Shoin’s brother.
https://note.com/jin2186/n/n69eeabb57ae6 This Japanese site includes a lot of detail, a photo of Hisako, and a floor plan of Noyama Prison; it is also highly gossipy and sexist and I don’t trust it above half.
http://rekisifan.blog134.fc2.com/blog-entry-200.html Japanese site with an easily readable description of Hisako and Shoin’s poems to each other.
https://jpreki.com/takasu/ Fairly straightforward Japanese account of Hisako’s life.