Osaragi Jiro Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (1975) award
Kikue Yamakawa
やまかわ きくえ
Yamakawa Kikue
Aliases:
森田菊栄 / 青山菊栄 / 山川菊榮
Pen Names:
Kikue Morita（Birth family name (maiden name)）,
Kikue Aoyama（Used the Aoyama surname after inheriting household headship）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1890-11-03 （Yobancho, Kojimachi Ward, Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture (now Kudan-kita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), Japan）
- Died
- 1980-11-02 （Tokyo, Japan） age 89
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Tokyo (Kojimachi / Kudan-kita)
Career
- Occupations
- Women's issues critic, Researcher, Socialist, Labor activist, Women's rights activist, Author
- Active Years
- 1915-1980
- Affiliations
- Ministry of Labor (Women and Children Bureau), Sekirankai (Socialist Women's Association)
- Memberships
- Japan Socialist Party, Democratic Women's Association, Japan Women's Issues Council (founding member), Sekirankai (founder)
- Influenced By
- August Bebel, Sakai Toshihiko, Ossugi Sakae, Kōtoku Shūsui
- Influenced
- Postwar women's movement and women's history researchers (e.g., Yūko Suzuki and others), Scholars supported through the Yamakawa Kikue Memorial Association
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Prefectural Second Girls' Higher School (Takehaya High School) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Joshi Eigakujuku (now Tsuda University) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
Tokyo Prefectural Second Girls' Higher School (Takehaya High School)
Country:
Japan
Graduated from the former girls' higher school
Joshi Eigakujuku (now Tsuda University)
Year of Graduation:
1912
Country:
Japan
Graduated in 1912
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Osaragi Jiro Prize | Memoranda: The Mito Domain in the Bakumatsu Period | — | Osaragi Jiro Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
Osaragi Jiro Prize
1974
Work:
Memoranda: The Mito Domain in the Bakumatsu Period
Organization:
Osaragi Jiro Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Memoranda: The Mito Domain in the Bakumatsu Period
1974 Social historyA social-historical study of the Mito Domain during the Bakumatsu period, written in a clear style based on family records and archival materials.
Bakumatsu (late Tokugawa period)Local historyWomen's history
Women of the Samurai Household / Women of the Mito Domain
1943 Folklore / Social historyBased on oral histories, this work describes everyday life of samurai women as a piece of local/social history.
FolkloreWomen's historyFamily
Translations
- Kate Nakai (trans.), 'Women of the Mito Domain: Recollections of Samurai Family Life' (University of Tokyo Press, 1992) — English translation of parts and related material.
Two Generations of Women / My Two Generations: A Semi-autobiography
1956 Autobiography / Women's historyA semi-autobiographical account weaving her own life with her mother's, presenting personal and social history from a women's-history perspective.
AutobiographyWomen's historySocial history
Bibliography
- From a Woman's Standpoint (1919)
- Contemporary Life and Women (1919)
- Women of the Samurai Household (1943)
- Memoranda: The Mito Domain in the Bakumatsu Period (1974)
Adaptations
- Documentary 'Sisters, First Learn to Doubt: The Thought and Activities of Kikue Yamakawa' (dir. Chieko Yamagami, 2011)
- Stage play 'Let the Day the Mountain Moves Come' (written/directed by Kiyoko Agasa, premiered 2007)
Translations by Author
- August Bebel, 'Woman and Socialism' (translated by Kikue Yamakawa, 1923)
- Richard Grelling, 'The Judgment of the War' (translated by Kikue Yamakawa, 1917)
Translations of Works
- 'Women of the Samurai Household' — English translation: 'Women of the Mito Domain' (Kate Nakai, 1992)
- Selected works translated into French and included in 'Japon colonial 1880-1930' (2014)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- AnalyticalLogical and clear prosePlainly written based on historical sources
- Recurring Motifs
- Women's liberationLabor and wagesCritique of family systemsLocal history and folklore
Legacy
Kikue Yamakawa introduced a critical, scholarly perspective to Japan's women's movement, contributed to theorizing socialist feminism and strengthening women's labor activism. After her death, memorial prizes and collections were established; her work continues to influence women's history and feminist scholarship.
Museums
- Yamakawa Kikue Collection Kanagawa Prefectural Women's Center (Enoshima), later transferred to Kanagawa Prefectural Library Opened in 1988
Academic Societies
- Yamakawa Kikue Memorial Association
- Japan Women's Issues Council
Archives
- Yamakawa Kikue Collection (held at Kanagawa Prefectural Library)
In Popular Culture
- Documentary 'Sisters, First Learn to Doubt' (2011)
- Stage play 'Let the Day the Mountain Moves Come' (2007)
- Appears as a character in Asako Yuzuki's 'Rantan' (2021)
Trivia
- She produced the first complete Japanese translation of August Bebel's 'Woman and Socialism'.
- In 1947 she became the first director of the Women and Children Bureau at the Ministry of Labor (served until 1951).
- In 1974 she won the Osaragi Jiro Prize for 'Memoranda: The Mito Domain in the Bakumatsu Period'.
- In 1981 the Yamakawa Kikue Prize (a research grant for women's issues) was established by a fund from her family to honor her legacy.
- The Yamakawa Kikue Collection opened in 1988 at the Kanagawa Prefectural Women's Center and was transferred to the Kanagawa Prefectural Library in 2015.