Japanese Women Research Paper

Gender hierarchy was a paramount cause of Korean women suffering in comfort system. After the Meiji restoration in 1868 Japan made tremendous moves toward the colonialization of Korea and suppressing women’s rights. Japanese leaders indoctrinated the ideology of national submission to the Emperor began to be revitalized in the Japanese society. This society was characterized as a family-state system, also know as the ie system. This system incorporated all Japanese citizens as a members of a family and the emperor as its head. The Meiji constitution was introduced in 1889 and later the Civil Code suppressed women’s rights significantly. These documents reestablished the subordination of women in the ie (household) resulting in the limitation of women’s legal rights. The …show more content…
Therefore, obedience of women under the patriarchal system became the ideological significance in the establishment of military brothels. Ordinary Japanese women were prevented from becoming military prostitutes because of gender ideological such as paternalism and Confucian ethics of the “good wife, wise mother”. Their significance to the war machine was to produce future soldiers. Furthermore, according to John Lee, the patriotic ideology was also patriarchal in which not only were men protecting women and children but doing it in the glorification of Japan. An editorial essay from a Korean newspaper, called Tongnip sinmun, is an example of how Korean’s were viewed “the most pitiful being in this world is the Korean woman” and continued to describe the treatment of Korean women as “Barbaric”. Granted this was article was trying to combat the patriarchal society however it offers a look to how the patriarchal society’s outlook on women. Gender hierarchy is a fundamental reason for why Korean women were targeted by the