Daily life of women in Japan (1870-1910s)

The forcible opening of Japan to Western trade and the Meiji Restoration led to the considerable changes of the Japanese patriarchal world under the influence of modernization processes. Gender-specific approach to the historical process points out that the traditional society has two different worlds into it - the male and female. Industrialization causes the paradigm shift of socio-economic and labor relations which leads to the merging of these worlds. In Japan, the beginning of this process falls on the Meiji era and pre-war period. Daily life of women is a mirror of this process, as it is the female world in the first place that expanding its borders. It is women who had to master the scope of activities that were previously considered masculine. In the first Japanese Constitution (1889) the state had tried to fortify patriarchal family foundations of the Tokugawa period. By law, women’s status had almost no improvements. Women still remained at the disposal of men. However, the law is often at odds with the real situation (it is especially true for periods of active changes). Frequently the expansion of women’s activities was beneficial for men who had traditionally viewed women to be more successful in the trade. In medieval Japan trade was not considered as the most prestigious occupation, but after opening of Japan it had started to bring a significant income. Housekeeping, trade, work on textile manufactures (activates that men approved for women) demanded to widespread at least the elementary level of education. Thus, women became at liberty to get the secondary (and, later, higher) education. Coming out from the internal to the external, the "male" world had increased communication with the opposite sex. The new specific forms of communication, such as group dating ("gokon") appeared. Women’s participation in various public organizations has led to situation when some women’s names became well known across the prefecture or even Japan. Most inert spheres were everyday practices and female etiquette. This can be seen in photo documents and literature, revealing differences between the rapid change and Europeanization of masculine image comparing to the traditional image of a woman. The fact that the novel “Woman” by Arisima Takeo (issued in 1913-1919) could not became popular, because people showed a negative reaction to the figure of westernized woman. It is clear that gender hierarchy persisted in Japanese life and slows the European influence. As a result, we can note a range of specific changes in the female world, reflected in the daily life. At that time the new forms and levels of perception of women had been created, and lasted out to the present.

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