Women and Women's Issues in Post World War II Japan

This is volume four of a six-volume work on the history of contemporary Japan. Written by leading academicians, 16 essays provide a skeleton summary of where woman have been since 1945 and where they may be heading on the eve of the 21st century. Topics include women's roles during World War II, a pioneer heroine's quest to free women from traditional bonds, the continuities and discontinuities in understanding the current situation for women, general problems facing women in the society and in the labor market, female suicides, the concept of "gender bending" in Japan, the continuing phenomenon of "good wives and wise mothers", the "comfort women" controversy of World War II, dimensions of family life, and sexual issues.