Date of Submission
Spring 2012
Academic Program
Political Studies
Project Advisor 1
Ken Haig
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This thesis delves into the evolution of women’s political power in Japan over the course of a century. Inspired by the blame placed on women today for the depopulation rate, I trace back the roots of female empowerment in order to understand how women in the past have approached political activism. As women abandon prevailing expectations of marriage, I question whether this is an escape or a political act in which they are resisting old traditions. This project is divided into three sections: the women’s suffrage movement in the pre-WWII period; the politics of housewives in the post-WWII period; and the political acts of resistance employed by women in this day and age. Japanese women wield power in unorthodox ways, but they are always making a statement and defending their position in a society that does not defend them.
Distribution Options
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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Iwasaki, Saya, "The Land of the Rising Women: The Evolution of Women’s Political Power in Japan" (2012). Senior Projects Spring 2012. 109.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2012/109
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