The Role Of Women During The Meiji Revolution

During Japan’s Meiji Restoration, women were treated poorly, holding little power during the Meiji Restoration which during this time involved the industrialization of Japan. Women were forced to work in these factories with poor conditions and were often exploited. Due to the industrialization of Japan, women were given a role in the work force in large numbers, and they were no longer the house wives or rural workers anymore. Women during this time could also fight in the Japanese military. Women during this time were given no freedoms and were seen to be below men. They also had little to no say in matters of the national issues due to the view of women by the government and overall population of Japan. During the era of the Meiji Revolution, women were given new roles in society such as joining the work force, but the Meiji Revolution made women’s situations within Japan worse and caused a period of extreme exploitation and harsh treatment towards women with little power for themselves to change it.
The industrial revolution during the Meiji Revolution created a surge in the number of factory jobs within Japan. This gave women a new role and chance to join the workforce in cities of …show more content…
With this view of women, it was frowned upon for women to teach men anything such as songs or chants to soldiers or common townspeople. The mentality of the men of this time was that “men should teach men” and women do not have anything to teach men (p.46). Only women should teach women and anything women teach has no use for men. This made a culture in Japan during the Meiji Restoration that gave women virtually no power or freedoms. This made the reforming government still not offer women roles for national concerns and ultimately left up to men to participate in those matters. The view of women in Japan made them subpar to men and gave them little power and freedoms within education and