Ichikawa Fusae (cropped)
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was a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, politician and a leader of the
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
movement. Ichikawa was a key supporter of women's suffrage in Japan, and her activism was partially responsible for the extension of the franchise to women in 1945.


Early life and education

Born in Bisai,
Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...
in 1893, Ichikawa was raised with an emphasis on education but also as a witness to her mother's
physical abuse Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...
from her father. She attended the Aichi Women's Teacher Academy with the intention of becoming a primary school teacher. Upon her relocation to
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in the 1910s, however, she became exposed to the women's movement. Returning to Aichi in 1917, she became the first woman reporter with the '' Nagoya Newspaper''. In 1920 she co-founded the
New Women's Association The New Women's Association (NWA, also known as New Women's Society 新婦人協会, ''Shin-fujin kyōkai'') was a Japanese women's rights organization founded in 1919. The organization strove to enhance women's rights in the areas of education, em ...
(新婦人協会, ''Shin-fujin kyokai'') together with pioneering Japanese feminist
Hiratsuka Raicho 260px, Hiratsuka City Hall is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hiratsuka is located in the Sh ...
.


Women's suffrage

The New Women's Association was the first Japanese organization formed expressly for the improvement of the status and welfare of women. The organization, under Ichikawa's leadership, campaigned for changes in Japanese laws prohibiting the participation of women in politics. As women were barred from this sort of campaign (by the same law the organization sought to overturn), the organization held events known as "lecture meetings" to further their campaign. The law was eventually overturned by the Imperial Diet in 1922, after which the association disbanded. Two years later, Ichikawa traveled to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, intent on making contact with
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
women's suffrage leader
Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragette, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the foremost leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the Unit ...
. Returning to Japan in 1924 to work for the Tokyo branch office of the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
, she founded Japan's first women's suffrage organization, the Women's Suffrage League of Japan (日本婦人有権者同盟, ''Nippon fujin yûkensha dômei''), which in 1930 held the country's first ever national convention on the enfranchisement of women in Japan. Ichikawa worked closely with
Shigeri Yamataka (also Kaneko Shigeri and later Yamataka Shigeri, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Shigeri Takayama) was a Japanese feminist and founder of the League for the Defense of Women's Rights. In 1952 she also took part in Chifuren, when it was forme ...
, who went on to be elected to the
House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...
. The postwar occupation period saw Ichikawa play an important role in ensuring that women's suffrage was enshrined in Japan's postwar constitution, arguing that the political empowerment of women might have prevented Japan's entry into such a destructive war. The
New Japan Women's League The New Japan Women's League (NJWL or ''Shin Nihon Fujin Dōmei'') was a non-partisan women's organization in Japan formed by Fusae Ichikawa on November 3, 1945, after WWII. The NJWL was established to improve women's legal status in Japan, gain wo ...
began its operation as an organization dedicated to winning suffrage for women, and Ichikawa was named the organization's first president. Ichikawa's efforts, coupled with the requirements of the
Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, ...
, resulted in full suffrage for women in November 1945.


Other activism

Other campaigns included efforts to curb the corruption of elections, which led to the 1933 Women's Association to Clean Tokyo Politics and the creation of an official government office, the Central Association to Clean Up Elections, to which Ichikawa was appointed as one of five female trustees. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Ichikawa was appointed secretary of the Central Association for National Spiritual Mobilization, an organization formed by the Japanese government for the purpose of increasing popular support for the Japanese war effort. She also served as trustee of the Great Japan Women's Association, which coordinated the efforts of private support organizations. A tireless champion of women's issues, she would organize and participate in women's conferences in Japan and internationally, and in 1980 emerged as the leading voice in urging the Japanese government to ratify the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...
.


Political career

After World War II, Ichikawa was initially
purged In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...
and excluded from political or governmental offices by the occupation. She returned to politics after the occupation ended, and was elected to the Diet in 1953 as a representative of
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. She continued to focus on issues important to women, as well as electoral reforms. She was re-elected twice, but failed in her next re-election bid, and left office in 1971. In 1974, however, the then 81-year-old Ichikawa was asked to run again, and earned a fourth term in the Diet. She was re-elected to the House of Councillors in 1980, with the highest number of votes from the national constituency.


Awards

Ichikawa was awarded the
Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...
for Community Leadership in 1974 for her efforts in support of social equality.


See also

*
List of suffragists and suffragettes This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the publi ...
*
Timeline of women's suffrage Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, in which cases women and men from certain Social ...
*
Timeline of women's rights (other than voting) The timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. The changes include actual law reforms, as well as other formal changes (e.g., reforms through new interpretations of laws b ...
*
Women's suffrage in Japan Women's suffrage in Japan can trace its beginnings to democratization brought about by the Meiji Restoration, with the suffrage movement rising to prominence during the Taisho period. The prohibition of women from political meetings had been abo ...


References


Further reading

* - Interview of Ichikawa by Yoko Nuita * * *


External links


ICHIKAWA Fusae Center for Women and Governance
(公益財団法人市川房枝記念会女性と政治センター) - Previously known as the Fusae Ichikawa Memorial Association (FIMA, 市川房枝記念会) * in English {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Fusae Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Women members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Japanese feminists Japanese women's rights activists People from Ichinomiya, Aichi 1893 births 1981 deaths Ramon Magsaysay Award winners 20th-century Japanese women politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians Japanese suffragists Chunichi Shimbun people Politicians from Aichi Prefecture Activists from Aichi Prefecture