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Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future
Kumiko Fujimura - Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda, eds. New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1995; 422 pp.
Reviewed by Yoko Ueda Center for Japanese Studies Department of Sociology Spelman College Atlanta, Georgia
Contemporary issues concerning women in Japan undoubtedly command a broad interest among women in the West. Yet the English language literature, including translated works, about and by Japanese women is very thin. This book edited by Kumiko Fujimura - Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda is, therefore, a most welcome contribution.
Western readers will be surprised by and fascinated with the wealth and abundance of Japanese feminist scholarship, which has never been introduced in the way which this book does. In 26 essays, women(f.1) from such a wide spectrum of discipline, interests and ages describe for a Western audience their firsthand experiences and challenges as Japanese women living, working and teaching in Japan. Except for one male author, contributors all grew up in Japan, and majority of them have spent part of their lives in the United States and other countries studying and working. Therefore, as the editors contend, the authors are able to bring a comparative perspective to this book.
The book is divided into five parts, with an excellent introductory chapter by Fujimura - Fanselow, covering a wide range of contemporary issues concerning women in Japan. In her introduction, Fujimura - Fanselow challenges the western perceptions of Japanese women and claims that this volume demonstrates the recent changes and gains made by women in all spheres of their lives. The issues presented in the book are all familiar to and shared by women in the West. It deals with basic questions which have been generated by feminist debates.
Part 1 focusses on the cultural and historical contexts in which...