Celebrating International Women’s Day: Japanese feminists to admire

Feminism started expanding around the 1870s in Japan. Since then, many feminists have fought for equal rights for all genders. Here are three notable Japanese feminists that you should know about.

Toshiko Kishida is the first person who advocated for gender equality in Japan

Toshiko Kishida is widely credited with beginning the effort for women’s equality in Japan. In her short life of 38 years, she influenced many people through her energetic speeches to support gender equality in the liberty and civil rights movement. In 1884, Kishida serialized articles resisting the male-dominated society and discrimination against women. Her efforts also influenced Hideko Fukuda, who later became a well-known women’s activist.

Mitsu Tanaka represents the women’s liberation movement in Japan

Mitsu Tanaka has been a leader of the women’s liberation movement in Japan since the early 1970s. She published a statement, “Liberation from the Toilet,” pointing out that women had often been considered as a tool to deliver children and had been sexually objectified. She established a base in Tokyo, where many women gathered for consultations on abortion, contraception and legal matters. Tanaka has been an advocate for women’s rights, but she has not forgotten that there are also situations where men are oppressed. Tanaka currently works as an acupuncturist to treat people’s bodies and minds for the better.

Rokudenashiko (Megumi Igarashi) promotes gender equality through creative expression

A Japanese manga artist, Rokudenashiko, whose real name is Megumi Igarashi, has been fighting for freedom of expression and gender equality with vagina-shaped artwork. She has been challenging Japanese society, where female genitals are considered taboo and obscene. That is why she creates humorous vagina-themed pieces that are far from obscenity.

In 2014, she was arrested for sending 3D data of her genitals as a return to the investors of her successful crowdfunding that she used to build a vagina-shaped kayak. She was convicted for this crime, however, the Japanese branch of the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art and many other people from all over the world protested this sentence. Her book about her arrest experience, “What is obscenity?,” has been translated into English, French and Spanish and read globally.

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Feminism in Japan is often misunderstood as misandry. Some even avoid calling themselves feminists because they sense the risk of being targeted for hate if they do. In such a society, it is crucial to learn more about the activities and ideas of past generations of feminists, as well as today’s leaders, who approach the issue from various perspectives.