Another Feminist Story: Atomi Kakei's Theory and Practice of Art Education for Girls in Modern Japan

Mariko Kaname

《The Journal of Asian Arts & Aesthetics》 7期 (2021/10) Pp. 35-46

https://doi.org/10.6280/JAAA.202110_(7).0003

摘要

Atomi School, established in 1875, is one of the oldest girls' school in Tokyo, and its founder, Atomi Kakei (跡見花蹊, 1840-1926), is a well-known conservative educator who upheld the philosophies of ＂dutiful wife and devoted mother＂ (良妻賢母) and ＂rich nation and encouragement of production＂ (富国殖産), and aimed to produce students able to live according to these ideas. However, the details of her unique education, which leveraged her talent as an artist, have yet to be explored. Although most male intellectuals advocated open education and equality between the sexes, they aspired only for the imitation of the Western way, which they perceived to equate civilization, thus illuminative of Westernization. Meanwhile, the conservative education of those days was based on the principle of ＂dutiful wife and devoted mother,＂ of which, within housework training, sewing was the center. Nonetheless, Kakei did not see the acquisition of domestic labour as the purpose of education at the girls' school. First, in this paper, we reconsider what was expected of women during the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1926) in the social context of the turning point in Japanese modern history, by retracing Kakei's career. Second, we focus on the fact that the originality of her education lies in painting and calligraphy courses. Consequently, the paper reveals that her art education is closely related to the independence of women. It will suggest a potential direction for Japanese feminist art to be different from Western art, focusing on Kakei's art education in the time that is thought of as the early developmental stage of feminism.

關鍵字

Atomi Kakei ； girls' education ； art education ； painting ； calligraphy ； Japan

參考文獻

Atomi, K. (1915). Oriorigusa [Essays on a lifestyle for women]. Tokyo, Japan: Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. doi:10.11501/954953。

Atomi, K. (1941). Onna no michi [Good principles for women]. Tokyo, Japan: Naigai. doi:10.11501/1057489。

Atomi, K.(2005)。Atomi Kakei nikki 4。Tokyo, Japan:Atomi Gakuen。

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Fujii, M.Ed.(1990)。Hana no shitamichi。Tokyo, Japan:Atomi Gakuen。