NOTA |
(★)(Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901), the prominent educator and propagator of Western civilization, was also an influential social critic whose writings inspired the earliest leaders of the women´s liberation movement in Japan. Fukuzawa had visions of an egalitarian society, where men and women would stand as equals. To him, Western society, where women were respected, were educated, and enjoyed a higher status than in Japan, was a model to be emulated. He wished to see Japanese women freed from the shackles of Confucian family order, and he spoke out strongly for the legal and economic independence of women. /This translation includes eleven representative works from Fukuzawa´s writings on women. His criticism of Meiji society and the position and treatment of women in it serves as a mirror of his times and provides a wealth of information on not only contemporary Japanese women but also men, marriage, family, and social mores. ◆Eiichi Kiyooka, a specialist in the English language, is professor emeritus of Keioo University. Keiko Fujiwara, a specialist in women´s studies, lectures at Yokohama National University. ▼CONTENTS/ ●INTRODUCTION : In Search of an Ideal Image of Womanhood/ ●1.A Fable of a Deformed Girl/ ●2.On Japanese Women/ ●3.On Japanese Women, Part Two/ ●4.On Morality/ ●5.On the Association of Men and Women/ ●6.The Causes of Divorce/ ●7.Early Marriage or Late Marriage/ ●8.Fukuzawa Sensei´s Random Talks/ ●9.On the Criminal Act of Makita Nobu/ ●10.A Critique of ´The Greater Learning for Women´/ ●11.The New Greater Learning for Women/ ●Fukuzawa Yukichi´s Works on Women/ Index/) |