Five Women of Japanese Society

Birnbaume presented Matsui Sumako, who was famous for being "Japan's first Western-style actress" (p. 2), and was described as "hypnotic and seductive" causing a sensation that "brought the house down" (p. 2). Sumako portrayed Nora in A Doll's House, a heroine who went from a coddled wife to one who slammed the door shut on her husband and children to find her independence. Sumako portrayed the liberation of woman and critics responded with "this actress's Nora won't be soon forgotten as a first in Japan . . . for showing the liberation of a woman" (p. 27). However, she was also described as lacking femininity, mistreating her lover, and having "te

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an's lower middle class. For example, while there was a Japanese tradition of feminine grace, Hideko played a role where she stuck out her tongue. Hideko complained about her face (p. 209) and did not take herself seriously and stated that "acting is no different from being taught to do tricks, like a cat or a dog" (p. 213). She stated that her family destroyed her childhood and turned her into a "money-making machine" (p. 213). The actress is remembered for Oishi-sensei, a schoolteacher in Kinoshita's Twenty-four Eyes. This film portrayed "Japanese sentimentality undiluted and unafraid" (p. 243). For the portrayal of Hideko, Birnbaume presented multiple quotes extracted from her time spent with the actress, which provided a personal account rather than the usual drawing of unsupported conclusions. For the most part the author simply presented a chronicle of events as described by others, to support the notion that these women influenced others. While possibly biased, the book did provide an interesting sketch of the women presented. However, a more personalized account, based on time spent with the women, would have provided new information that may have been even more interesting and would have provided support for the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Doll's House, War II, Takamine Hideko, Takamura Kotaro, Hideko Birnbaume, Barbara Sato, II Sato, According Japanese, Uno Chiyo, Shimamura Hogetsu, world war, modern female, modern woman, japanese women, world war ii, war ii, uno chiyo writer, liberation woman, husband children, provided information, slammed door, doll's house, consumerism led changes,
Approximate Word count = 1968
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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