IN THE BEGINNING, WOMAN WAS THE SUN: The Autobiography of a Japanese Feminist

IN THE BEGINNING, WOMAN WAS THE SUN: The Autobiography of a Japanese Feminist. By Hiratsuka Raicho; translated, with an introduction and notes, by Tenuto Craig. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. xiii, 335 pp. US$35.00, cloth. ISBN 0-231-13812-1.

Publication of this fine translation of the autobiography of Hiratsuka Raicho (1886-1971), one of Japan's most influential leaders in the struggle for women's rights, marks a significant contribution to Japanese Studies and to the study of feminist thought as a transnational phenomenon. It is also a pleasure to read.

Originally published by Otsuki Shoten in four volumes between 1971 and 1973, Genshi, josei wa taiyo de atta (In the Beginning, Woman Was the Sun) is one of Japan's best-selling autobiographies. Although referred to as autobiography, Genshi was in fact a collaborative project authored by Hiratsuka with considerable assistance from journalist Kobayashi Tomie (1917-2004). Indeed, the last two Genshi volumes were written by Kobayashi after Hiratsuka's death. Teruko Craig's book offers a translation of...