Occupied Japan - Japanese Women and The Occupation

Japanese Women and The Occupation

It has been argued that the granting of rights to women played an important role in the radical shift Japan underwent from a war nation to a democratized and demilitarized country. In the first postwar general elections of 1946, the unexpectedly high female voter turnout led to the election of 39 female candidates, and the increasing presence of women in politics was viewed by Americans as evidence of an improvement of Japanese women's condition. However, many scholars talk of the emphasis put at the time by Americans on Japanese women's enfranchisement as a way to disguise the imperialism endeavors behind the occupation. Some scholars also argue that Japanese feminists already had a history of seeking equal rights and that women would have gained suffrage without the occupation. Since the 1920s, the appearance of the "modern girl" (moga) and "modern boy" (mobo) saw an increase in the number of women taking on the role of industrial and white-collar workers and consumers. During the 1930s, women had also started filling in for men away from home for military service, and during the war, women did not hesitate to take up arms when needed.

However, Japanese women were perceived as helpless victims of feudalistic and chauvinistic traditions who needed the guidance of the United States. American women assumed a central role in the reforms that affected the lives of Japanese women: they educated Japanese about Western ideals of democracy, and it was an American woman who wrote the Japanese Equal Rights Amendment for the new constitution. Although their efforts were genuine for the most part and did bring benefits to Japanese women, the attitude of American women took roots into imperialist and orientalist perceptions of Japan. The American women perceived themselves as "feminist agents endowed with progressive and modern ideology and practice" who had been appointed the mission of liberating Japanese women. General Douglas MacArthur did not mean for Japanese women to give up their central role in the home as wives and mothers, but rather that they could now assume other roles simultaneously, such as that of worker.

In 1953, journalist Ichirō Narumigi commented that Japan had received "liberation of sex" along with the "four presents" that it had been granted by the occupation (respect for human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech, and women’s enfranchisement). Indeed, the occupation also had a great impact on relationships between man and woman in Japan. The "modern girl" phenomenon of the 1920s and early 1930s had been characterized by greater sexual freedom, but despite this, sex was usually not perceived as a source of pleasure in Japan. Westerners, as a result, were thought to be promiscuous and sexually deviant. The sexual liberation of European and North American women during World War II was unthinkable in Japan, especially during wartime where rejection of Western ways of life was encouraged.

The Japanese public was thus astounded by the sight of some 45,000 so-called "pan pan girls" (prostitutes) fraternizing with American soldiers during the occupation. In 1946, the 200 wives of U.S. officers landing in Japan to visit their husbands also had a similar impact when many of these reunited couples were seen walking hand in hand and kissing in public. Both prostitution and marks of affection had been hidden from the public until then, and this "democratization of eroticism" was a source of surprise, curiosity, and even envy. The occupation set new relationships models for Japanese men and women: the practice of modern "dating" spread, and activities such as dancing, movies and coffee were not limited to "pan pan girls" and American troops anymore, and became popular among young Japanese couples.