Seitō

The day the mountains move has come.

I speak, but no one believes me.

For a time the mountains have been asleep.

But long ago they all danced with fire. 

It doesn't matter if you don't believe this,

My friends, as long as you believe:

All the sleeping women

Are now awake and moving

Yosano Akiko, Seitō, Vol. 1. No. 1, September 1911

A new publication appeared in Japan in 1911, written, edited, and published by women of a group called Seitō -sha.  Named “Seitō” (blue stocking), it was both a tribute to and named after the eighteenth century women’s group of England known as the Bluestockings. Its first issue of 1,000 copies sold out the first month, with 3,000 requests for subscriptions and membership.

Naganuma Chieko's cover for the
inaugural issue  

The authors wrote in all conceivable genres of the day – from traditional haiku and waka, to modern poetry, stories, essays, and criticism.  They included translations of works by Western dramatists, essayists, and feminists.  Most importantly, they addressed “The Woman Question” – examining the whys of a society where suing for divorce was acceptable, but divorce itself was dishonorable; where adultery was sanctioned for men, but illegal and punishable by a two-year prison term for women; where abortion was criminalized, and many other inequities existed. 

The popularity of the journal proved that many literate Japanese women were not happy with their lot of being “good wives and wise mothers.”  But the government and the press soon retaliated by banning the journal (on three separate occasions whole runs of an issue were removed from bookstores after being censored as “injurious to public morals”), and representing the women as dangerous influences and over-educated, self-indulgent corrupters of family values (hmmm…so that’s where that phrase came from).  Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House was first staged in Japan the same month that Seitō was launched.  The press raged about it as the audience was sympathetic toward the character of Nora, a home wrecker.  A special issue of Seitō was dedicated to essays condemning Nora and other female characters of contemporary Western plays for being selfish and impulsive.  Despite this, the press compared the Seitō-sha with these characters.

Yosano Akiko

Although the Seitō-sha had not intended to use the journal to fight a feminist war (they had only intended to allow women to express themselves), the reactions against them caused them to reconsider.  By 1913, the writings became more defiant.  There were debates published among the members and other women on very controversial subjects.  One of their famous debates focused on the issue of chastity.  Author Ikuta Hanayo had published an essay in a different magazine stating that chastity was a saleable commodity in a time of economic hardship, and a woman should be able to sell hers without censure.  Yasuda Satsuki writing for Seitō opined that a woman should keep her chastity no matter what. Ito Noe and Raicho, writing in Seitō, entered into the debate stating that chastity was a male-generated concept, and female chastity should not be an issue when male chastity wasn’t.

While it is easy to sympathize with the hopes and vexations of the Seitō-sha, it is important to remember that as much as they suffered from their roles in their society and their government, theirs was a concern of gender and not class.  There were so many more women who were impoverished, illiterate, and who suffered a lack of both creature comforts and opportunities.

Seitō barely lasted five years.  Original issues are rare and hard to find, and were published, of course, in Japanese.  The complete set of Seitō spans fifty-two issues.  An amazing output for women fighting to express themselves.

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The Bluestockings of Japan

“In the beginning, woman was the sun, the true human being.  Now she is the moon!  She lives in the light of another star.  She is the moon, with a pale face like that of a sickly person….This is the first cry of the Bluestockings!....We are the mind and hand of the woman of new Japan.  We expose ourselves to men’s laughter, but know that which is hidden under that mockery.  Let us reveal our hidden sun, our unrecognized genius!  Let it come from behind the cloud!  That is the cry of our faith, of our personality, of our instinct, which is the master of all instinct.  At that moment we will see the shining throne of our divinity.”

 The Manifesto of Seitō, Vol. 1. No. 1, September 1911

Ito Noe

During Japan's Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), efforts were made to become more competitive with the West’s superior military and industrial powers.  The government instituted a civil code that positioned the patriarchal family in place with the household head given power over the family members. Legislation was reinstated in the Civil Codes of 1898 where women were equated with minors and the mentally challenged.  (Women haven’t come much farther today if you consider that the Catholic Church earlier this year stated women priests ranked lower than pedophiles!)  Birth control was prohibited, adultery was a crime for women, but not men (interesting, since men would need – in most cases – to have a female partner), and women weren’t allowed to vote or even attend a political function.  Schools were segregated, and women were taught classes applicable to their future as good wives and mothers.  Choices for all but the most elite women at the time were an arranged marriage or being a mistress or geisha.  There was little employment to be had, and abortions were illegal, which was problematic if a woman could not garner some sort of financial support or wasn’t in some kind of relationship.  In this light there was a desire for independence from both men and a restrictive society.

Out of this emerged “Atarashii Onna” – the “New Woman” – women who were modern and sought self-expression.  They were depicted by the popular press as rather wonton spirits, interested only in sex and fashion (the early Japanese version of Paris Hilton, if you will, in a culture where that behavior would be most unacceptable).  But a group of well-to-do women started a new group – Seitō -sha – which in 1911 published the first issue of a literary publication Seitō, literally “blue stocking”, both named after the British Bluestocking salon.  (More on Seitō tomorrow.)  Besides writing in contemporary literary styles about chastity, abortion, and other issues seemingly without fear of censure, they also translated works by Western authors (i.e., Anton Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Emma Goldman, Olive Schreiner, Havelock Ellis.)  They discussed the latest plays, such as "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll’s House".  The ones who lived near each other developed close friendships.

Yosano Akiko

Members of this group included Hiratsuka Haru (known as Raicho, founder of the publication), Asahi Shimbun, Yosano Akiko (one of the most famous female poets in the Meiji era), Okamoto Kanoko (who brought a Buddhist slant and spirituality), Ito Noe (who along with her husband, anarchist Osugi Sakae, were captured as political prisoners, then murdered by military police in 1923), and Hayashi Fumika (as a counter to Kanoko, she explored the economic survival of women without men).

These intelligent, literate women were troubled by their legal and cultural inferiority as women.  Through their publication, they endeavored to awaken other women by displaying their literary skills and talent with not only artful pieces, but critical and thoughtful ones as well.  However they were never portrayed as such in the press.  Instead the press, as today, focused on their sex lives (several of the women were lesbian), divorces, and misrepresented many of their actions.  Censors banned their magazine and removed copies from bookstores.  Police and government authorities caused so much negative attention that many members and their families succumbed to fears of losing their jobs and marriage prospects, which eventually lead to attrition in membership.  It is a testament to their spirit and endeavors that they aroused such intense interest and focus of the media and the government. That most of them were graduates of the new Japan Women’s College may have reflected well on women’s higher education for some, but provided a reason against it for others.

Raicho and Yamada Waka

Unfortunately the New Women of Japan did not have the political leverage that made other suffrage movements more successful.  Perhaps they never had the chance to really observe and learn enough about the system to develop political savvy.  But even more interesting, and proof that history is decidedly not linear, is to consider that what is considered the first novel was written by a Japanese woman, Murasaki Shikibu, in the early eleventh century – The Tale of Genji – albeit in a different era, the Heian where a lady of the court was allowed and encouraged to write, but most likely under a male sponsor and on prescribed subjects.

Seitō-sha, during its limited existence, made an impact in pre-war Japan, and its legacy is worth studying and honoring.

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