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Masako Miwada

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Masako Miwada
三輪田 真佐子
An older Japanese woman, wearing a kimono, greying hair dressed back to the nape
Born30 January 1843
Kyoto, Japan
Died3 May 1927 (age 84)
Other namesMiwata Masako
OccupationEducator

Masako Miwada (Japanese: 三輪田 真佐子, 30 January 1843 – 3 May 1927), sometimes written as Miwata Masako, was a Japanese educator and writer who promoted girls' schooling in the Meiji era.

Early life and education

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Miwada was born in Kyoto, the daughter of a Confucian scholar.[1] "I resolved that so long as I studied there was no reason why I should not become a superior scholar even though I was a woman," she recalled of her early training.[2]

Career

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Miwada was an advocate for girls' secondary education in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Japan.[3][4] She taught in the household of a court noble, Iwakura Tomomi.[2] In 1880, as a widow with a young son, she opened a school in her late husband's hometown, Matsuyama, where both boys and girls were admitted as students.[5][6] She also taught at a teacher-training program, where most of her students were men.[7]

Miwada moved to Tokyo with her son in 1887, and opened a new co-educational school there, this time focused on teaching English and mathematics as well as Chinese learning (kangaku). This school closed in 1890, when she began teaching at government schools. in 1901, she became a professor at Japan Women's College.[7] She was a member of the Women's Association for the Relief of Mine-Polluted Areas, and visited Tochigi Prefecture after it was badly affected by pollution from the Ashio Copper Mine.[5]

Miwada founded the Miwada Girls' High School in Tokyo in 1902. By 1925, the school had 970 students.[7] The school still exists as of 2024.[8]

Publications

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  • Joshi no honbun (1894, A Woman's Place)[9]
  • Joshi shosei ron (1897, A Discourse on Woman's Conduct of Life)
  • Joshi kyoiku yogen (1897, An Outline of Women's Education)[9]
  • Jokun no shiori (1901, A Guidebook of Lessons for Women)
  • Joshi no tsutome (1905, A Woman's Duty)
  • Shin katei kun (1907, New Lessons for the Family)
  • Oshiegusa (1917, Essays on Teaching)[10]

Personal life

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She married Miwada Mototsuna, a shrine priest and bureaucrat, in 1869. They had a son. Her husband became ill in 1875, and he died in 1879. Her son died in 1890. In 1893, she adopted one of her male students, Yamashita Tomogoro (1870–1965, also known as Miwada Motomichi).[7]

Miwada died in 1927, at the age of 84.[7] Her descendants lived in the United States before and after World War II.[11][12][13] Her grandson Motonari Miwada was detailed at Ellis Island in 1942, before being repatriated to Japan that year.[14] Her great-granddaughter Patricia Yamada married physicist Taiji Yamanouchi [ja] in 1961.[12][15]

References

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  1. ^ Mehl, Margaret (2005). Private Academies of Chinese Learning in Meiji Japan: The Decline and Transformation of the Kangaku Juku. NIAS Press. pp. 82–89. ISBN 978-87-91114-94-6.
  2. ^ a b Walthall, Anne (1998-11-15). The Weak Body of a Useless Woman: Matsuo Taseko and the Meiji Restoration. University of Chicago Press. pp. 274–278. ISBN 978-0-226-87237-7.
  3. ^ Isobe, Kaori (2008). "The Adoption of Discourses on 'Home' by Masako Miwada, A Pioneer in Girls' Education : From an Analysis of Women's Magazine Jyokan in the Meiji Era". 日本家政学会誌 = Journal of Home Economics of Japan / 日本家政学会 編 (in Japanese). 59 (10): 793–803.
  4. ^ Thwing, Charles F. (October 6, 1907). "The Leaders of Modern Japan--Some of their Characteristics". The Plain Dealer. p. 60 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Patessio, Mara (2011). Women and Public Life in Early Meiji Japan: The Development of the Feminist Movement. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan. pp. 50, 184–185.
  6. ^ Walthall, Anne (2010-01-08). "Women and Literacy from Edo to Meiji". In Kornicki, P. F.; Patessio, Mara; Rowley, G. (eds.). The Female as Subject: Reading and Writing in Early Modern Japan. University of Michigan Press. pp. 227–228. ISBN 978-1-929280-65-0.
  7. ^ a b c d e Mehl, Margaret (December 2001). "Women educators and the confucian tradition in Meiji Japan (1868–1912): Miwada Masako and Atomi Kakei [1]". Women's History Review. 10 (4): 579–602. doi:10.1080/09612020100200302. ISSN 0961-2025.
  8. ^ "A valuable interaction where local Japanese students meet international exchange students". Hosei University Global Education Center. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  9. ^ a b Miwata, Masako. "Joshi no honbun; Joshi kyōiku yōgen". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  10. ^ Miwata, Masako. "Oshiegusa, hoka". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  11. ^ "Miwadas Quite Port Home for Tokio". Newsday (Nassau Edition). May 21, 1941. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Clune, Henry W. (May 20, 1961). "Seen and Heard: Tradition of Scholarship". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Griffin, Anne (November 3, 1956). "Sachiko Miwada is Enjoying Life in Larchmont and MHS". The Daily Times. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Department of Justice. Claims Division (1942). Japanese Internee Card for Motonare Mitada – via Digital Public Library of America.
  15. ^ "Tokyo Natives, U. of R. Graduates, Say Vows". Democrat and Chronicle. August 27, 1961. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
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