The Japanese Woman (1992 book)
 | |
| Author | Sumiko Iwao |
|---|---|
| Published | 28 December 1992 |
| Publisher | Free Press |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-0-02-932315-1 |
The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality is a non-fiction book by Japanese psychologist and academic Sumiko Iwao. It was translated to English by Lynn E. Riggs was published in 1992 by Free Press. The book is about feminism in Japan and the role of Japanese woman in society after World War II.
The Japanese Woman was praised by reviewers for offering a non-Western perspective on feminism and women's issues. Several reviewers felt, however, that Iwao had overgeneralized and simplified the Japanese womens' perspectives and lives. Susan Long, in Journal of Japanese Studies, was "frustrat[ed]" with the book from an academic perspective, but recommended it to a more general audience. She felt that Iwao's writing could be imprecise, critisiced her for not presenting data to back up some of her ideas, and asserted that Iwao had overgeneralized groups of people.[1] A review in Publishers Weekly also stated that Iwao's claims could be "ambiguous",[2] and in Signs (journal), reviewer Gordon Andrew noted how Iwao had not discussed events such as the women-led 1954 Omi Silk Dispute and the 1960-1961 Nurses' strike, using that to back up his claim that she has oversimplified the subject. However, he also described many of Iwao's observations as "insightful" and praised her writing.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Long, Susan O. (994). "The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality". Journal of Japanese Studies. 20 (2): 493. doi:10.2307/133203.
- ^ "The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality by Iwao Sumiko, Sumiko Iwao". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
- ^ Gordon, Andrew (1995). "Review of Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar Japan; The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality; Women and Japanese Management: Discrimination and Reform". Signs. 20 (3): 742–746. ISSN 0097-9740.
Further reading
[edit]- Roberts, Glenda S. (January 1994). "The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality. Sumiko Iwao". American Journal of Sociology. 99 (4): 1122–1123. doi:10.1086/230393. ISSN 0002-9602.