The Study Of The Education For The Japanese Female And The Change Of Their Social Status

With the development of society, education is increasingly taken as the key role in the management and development of a country. At present, Japanese educators believe that the competition in twenty-first century among countries is in fact the competition of talented people, which shows that a country's development is inseparable with talented people. And cultivating talented people depends on the development of education. Under this circumstance, women education has become the focus of public attention. The development of women education in modern society has an immeasurable influence on the improvement of Japanese women's social status. The author displays a concern with the following issues, that is, what the history and the current situation of Japanese women education are and how they influence Japanese women's social status in corresponding ages separately. This paper aims to discuss the change of Japanese women's social status in terms of the development of women education.In reality, compared with men, women make the same contribution to society, but very often they can not get the same status they deserve. It is well known that "the inequality between men and women" has existed since ancient times, and what's more, this phenomenon still exists in majority of countries in the world. There are quite a number of considerations concerning the improvement of this phenomenon and its various factors, among which the author believes education is the most important one, for the education one has received directly affects his / her social status. Because of their gender, women have been discriminated and regarded as men's subordinates, which affects them receiving education and deteriorates their social status further. As Japan is one country deeply influenced by Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, the phenomenon is more obvious.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history of Japanese women education before and after World War II and the change of Japanese women's social status. In ancient times, under the influence of the Confucian idea, "men should handle external matters, while women look after the home," Japanese aristocracy treat women as men's subordinates, so women's rights are neglected. Then Women's fate is in the control of men. They hardly received any education, not to mention any social status. After the Meiji Restoration, modern education is popularized, which improves the level of Japanese women education. The education during that period mainly train women to be " good wives and devoted mothers ". because of the education they receive, Japanese women's educational level, status at home are enhanced to a degree. That is a kind of progress, but there are limitations, which emphasize mothers' role for the sake of educating their children and locate women's activities at the home. Thus, the roles women exert as social beings in society are neglected.After World War II, the conception gradually began to take shape that the priority of development should be given to education. Under such circumstance, women education enter a new stage of development. During this period, women's enrolment rate increases significantly and their social status improves greatly. Japanese women begin to go out to work. "The inequality between men and women" is improved to some extent accordingly.This paper discusses Japanese women education and the change brought about by the education in Japanese women's social status. The author hopes it will provide useful reference for those who are engaged in similar research work.