Japanese Girls and Women

by Alice Mabel Bacon

"Japanese Girls and Women" from Alice Mabel Bacon. American writer, women's educator and a foreign advisor to the Japanese government in Meiji period Japan (1858 – 1918).

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, History, Historical, Asia

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1891

About the author

Alice Mabel Bacon (1858-1918)

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading historical non-fiction is always fascinating, because you get to see how collective knowledge has shifted with time. With anthropological writing the gap between past and present is even larger.

This is not a neutral or unbiased account of women in Japan in the 1800’s, it is a direct reflection of the author’s views as a woman, Christian, and American. She compares and contrasts Japan to her country, and freely admits her own judgments and perspectives on Japanese society. On one hand, this is really interesting, because we get to hear directly what these two cultures thought of one another, and what surprised them about each other.

But it can also be incredibly frustrating when Bacon takes pages preaching just how improved Japanese society would be by the spread of Christianity. She explicitly has an agenda with her writing, which is to pull in more Western, Christian missionaries to Japan.

Still, she does not demonize their culture as a whole. She is even-handed in acknowledging struggles, and problems she notices, but also in strengths. I especially appreciated learning about differing practices in familial succession, divorce, and class structure.

It’s strange to think of something as biased but accurate, but I don’t think there’s any way else to describe this book. I’d definitely recommend other modern sources for objective analysis, but this is definitely valuable for seeing cross-cultural conversations around education, religion, and industrialization from this time period.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book not only systematically covers typical lives of Japanese women of all ages, social classes, and occupations, but also gives very much information on general Japanese social traditions and the on-going reformation as of 1880's. All these reports are accompanied with analyses and comparisons with their counterparts in the West, especially in the USA. Also interestingly inserted are portraiture and stories of some particular women. The author lived in Japan for multiple years and this book of hers is pleasingly observant, serious, and well-organized to me.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting look at what Japanese culture was like in the Meiji Era, the late 1800s, with an emphasis on the lives of women. I learned a lot from this book! It's organized first by topic and then by class (ex: Childhood, Marriage and Divorce, Samurai Women, Peasant Women, etc.) The information is based on the personal observations of the author, and American, while she lived in Japan and from her interviews with Japanese women. The author is not an anthropologist and she has her own biases, but I'd still hold this up as an important historical document. It can be dry in places, but overall I'm glad that I read it.

[Mauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great glimpse at turn of the 20th century Japan, seen through the eyes of a white Christian American woman from a middle-class New England family. And yes, pretty much every single part of that description influences her views on Japanese culture and the Japanese, with the added layer of favoring samurai families above all, after her family hosted the daughter of a samurai during her youth. The result is generally favorable to the Japanese, with a generous lashing of "hopefully Christianity will take hold" and patronizing takes.

[Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and very thorough description of Japanese society in the late 19 century as seen by an American woman (who clearly took great pains to observe without judgement as much as she was able to).

Many thanks to LibriVox volunteers for recording it in audio format.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the more open and honest books about the Japanese I've read. The author tries very hard to put her own prejudices away and just illustrate what Japanese life was like for women at the end of the 19th century. I very much enjoyed this book

[Lorin Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A study written in 1892. It was a great picture of Japanese Society.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an intriguing book! Japanese culture was just beginning to transition during the author's years in Japan, and this book takes a sweet and respectful look at numerous small daily and large seasonal happenings in the lives of its women. She often compares the details with how Americans respond in similar situations. Many stories from individual families with whom she was acquainted. Truly an education to see the strength and character of these graceful, sedate girls and women. Alice Mabel Bacon, an American, served for many years in Japan as an educator and advisor to the Japanese government, and wrote several books about her impressions. Published in 1892. I listened to this book as a free download from LibriVox.org.

[Danielle]

Well-written observations from a Western lady traveling in Japan.