Changing ideal of ryosai kenbo through cultural analysis of Japanese women in Japan and in the United States: Reexamining the experience of Japanese immigrant women until 1945

Scope and Method of Study: Becoming a ryosai kenbo, "good wife, wise mother," had been the lifetime goal of Japanese women, since the Meiji government created the ideal image of womanhood under this term. Even the first generation of Japanese immigrant women, or Issei women, have been described as ryosai kenbo and portrayed as traditional Japanese women of the Meiji period. Focusing on the changing ideal image of womanhood for Japanese women from the Meiji period to the end of World War II, this study analyzes the gender roles and characteristics of Japanese women in Japan and in the United States until 1945. In addition to the Japanese and U.S. census records, this study probes primary sources such as the oral interviews conducted by the Issei Oral History Project (IOHP), newspapers, and various government documents to highlight the similarities and differences between Japanese women in the two countries.;Findings and Conclusions: Tracing the meaning of ryosai kenbo, this study finds out that the term ryosai kenbo was the myth that the Japanese government had carefully devised to maintain Ie seido (family system) and eventually it became the tool for mobilizing women into the nation's war effort. The elements of western influence in the girls' education were replaced with the curricula emphasizing nationalism, thus the meaning of ryosai kenbo transformed to gunshin no haha, or mother of war god. On the other hand, the influence of Ie seido and the culture of danson-johi (subjection of women) carried from Japanese society gradually diminished among the Japanese immigrant families. Contrary to the Japanese women in Japan, Issei women managed themselves to obtain measurable independence. The decline of ryosai kenbo among Issei women was apparent because of the financial contribution by their works, the absence of in-laws in the same household, the suppressed social status of the Japanese immigrants as a whole within American society, and the dysfunction of Ie seido during the relation years. The distinctive characteristics of Issei women allowed them to develop their own image of womanhood and motherhood that was suitable for their condition in the United States.