Full Description
Winner of the 2013 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award.
The famous ryōsai kenbo or 'good wife, wise mother' role of Japanese women was, in fact, not a traditional Confucian view but a modern construct - its first appearance in Japan being the latter half of the nineteenth century. Girls at the time were proud to fulfill their new role of contributing to not just the family but to the formation of the state. Koyama's discovery has transformed how we see modern women's history in Japan and East Asia as a whole.
Contents
Preface to the English Edition ... vii
Preface ... xi
List of Tables ... xv
List of Key Words ... xvii
Introduction: Approach to the Issues ... 1
1 The Formation of Ryōsai Kenbo Thought ... 11
1. The View of Women in Edo-Period Instructional Texts for Girls (Jokunsho) ... 12
2. "Wise Mother" Theory in the Meiji Enlightenment Period ... 21
3. The Emergence of Ryōsai Kenbo Thought ... 35
2 Ryōsai Kenbo Thought and the Public Education System ... 53
1. The Emergence of a Discourse on "Home Education" ... 54
2. Home Education and the Public Education System ... 60
3 The Causes of Change ... 75
1. The Emergence of the "Woman Problem" ... 76
2. The Shock of World War I ... 89
4 The Reconfiguration of Ryōsai Kenbo Thought ... 97
1. The Reform of Girls' Education ... 98
2. A New Image of Ryōsai Kenbo ...120
3. Revision of the Girls' Middle School Act ...137
5 The Evolution of the Concept of Ryōsai Kenbo in Morality Textbooks ...157
1. Morality Textbooks up to 1911 ... 158
2. Morality Textbooks between 1912 and 1920 ... 165
3. Morality Textbooks between 1921 and 1932 ... 168
Epilogue: The Meaning of Ryōsai Kenbo Thought ... 181
Appendix 1: List of Morality Textbooks (Shūshin Kyōkasho) Consulted for this Study ... 187
Bibliography ... 193
Index of Persons ... 211
Index of Subjects ... 215
