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Housewife Movement

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on March 12, 2006 at 6:20:56 pm
 

Grassroots politics and the Housewife Movement in Japan


Introduction

From the moment of their liberation from the traditional ie (household) system under the American occupation in 1945, Japanese women began to form their own political organizations on the grassroots level. The focus of these movements was promoting peace and opposing rearmament of Japan. The end result was a movement of mothers of Japan that petitioned and rallied for peace. Issues ranged from the American occupation and the Korean War to atomic and hydrogen bomb testing. This movement was at first relatively non-partisan, with women of both conservative and liberal persuasions cooperating to achieve common goals of peace. Depending on whom you ask cooperation failed for any number of reasons. According to the Leftists, conservative women were too averse to politicizing the issues out of a reluctance to directly challenge the government. Conservatives cited anger at liberals for allegedly forcing the theory of class struggle into the women’s peace movement.

 

 

Chronology

 

  • 1945- Japan is occupied by American forces, SCAP abolishes the traditional ie system. Women now have the legal right to inheritance and choice of marriage/divorce. Women are also granted equal rights as parents. SCAP also abolishes laws which prevented women and minors from engagement in public protests and political parties. Women’s political groups such as the League of Women Voters of Japan and the Women’s Democratic Club were formed late 1945 and early 1946. These organizations were the main tools for the mobilization of women in the immediate post-War years. The groups had the initial support of SCAP and were counted on to spread democratic and pacifist ideals. SCAP’s support waned with the onset of the Cold War.

 

  • 1948- As the possibility of a new war looms on the horizon, Japanese women begin to organize grassroots campaigns promoting peace and the rejection of all war. Public fears are reflected in feature pieces on the consequences of WWII in the magazines Fujin and Fujin Minshu Shimbun. Write Miyamoto Yuriko states:

“Mothers of Japan, be strong. Aspire to become a member of world motherhood. If each woman possesses the qualities of a mother, she will follow her instincts to nurture her child and protest from the bottom of her heart the forces that destroy peace.” (Fujin Minshu Shimbun, 12 August 1948)
In August conservatives and liberals plan to hold a joint peace rally, but a conflict over leadershop leads to the withdrawal of the left-wing activists. The two camps subsequently hold separate rallies.

 

  • 1949- In an attempt at reconciliation, left and right-wing activists form a joint organization called Fudankyo (the Association of Women's Organizations). Forty-four groups enters into the umbrella organization and participates in a large peace rally in August. A statement issued by Fudankyo takes the militant stance that "We must act in solidarity to oppose those who try to destroy peace." (Nihon Fujin Shimbun, 19 August, 1948)

 

  • 1950- Fudankyo organizes a large demonstration in celebration of Women's Day on April 10. There is disagreement over slogans, with Leftists seeking to protest American bases and worker layoffs. After leftist hoist red flags and radical slogans during the demonstration in violation of a compromise agreement, the two camps split. With the breakout of the Korean War in June, conservatives and liberals give up on any further collaboration. The day after the start of the war, Hiratsuka raicho and others send a request to John Foster Dulles that the US create a system wherein Japan could remain a pacisfist nation after the return of sovereignty.

 

  • 1954- The testing of a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll inspires the rapid growth of women's anti-bomb and other peace movements. Groups of housewives around Japan initiate petitions against atomic arms. One group in Umegaoka collect 1,500 signatures within a matter of days. By the end of 1954 almost 20 million anti-nuclear signatures have been collected. The national government is forced by public opinion to back off from its previous stance in support of the nuclear tests by the US.

 

  • 1955- The first Mothers' Congress is held in Japan as a precursor to the world Mothers' Congress in Switzerland. This could be taken to signal the official beginning of the mothers' movement, whose slogan was "It is the earnest desire of all mothers that the life they have created be nurtured and protected." (Yamamoto 168)

 

Relevant Links

 

Books and Articles

Leblanc, Robin. Bicycle Citizens: The political world of the Japanese housewife.University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1999.

 

Peng-er, Lam. Green Politics in Japan. Routledge, New York, 1999.

 

Yamamoto, Mari. Grassroots Pacifism in Post-war Japan: The rebirth of a nation. Routledge Curzon, New York 2004.

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