Essay japan modern girl militant discussing modern japanese

Understand transformations in the roles of women and Japanese society generally during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Discuss what it meant to be a “modern” woman in the Japan of this period. Recognize the diversity and complexity of the roles of women in late 19th- and early 20th-century Japan.

As reform and modernization moved through society, women’s roles, particularly, were sometimes co-opted by the government to further the growth and strength of the state, while at the same time the images of the modan gaaru or moga (“modern girl”) were popularized to show Japan’s entry into the modern world.

The stigma of being single is fading for both genders, most of all for women. There are a few key ideas about gender that persist (Yamaguchi, 2000): Women are more suited to household work and child rearing than men. Full time housewives are valuable to society because of their family raising role.

In particular, the hugely popular Japanese narrative of industrial growth in the late 19 th century came at the cost of a huge workforce of women who were the spearheads of the Japanese industrial working class. Massive growth came at the cost of Japanese society's underclass, particuarly women.