ダウンロード Japanese Girls and Women: Original Illustrated Edition fb2 本

Japanese Girls and Women (1891) is based upon Bacon's many years of living in Japan. She felt the book was needed because, "While Japan as a whole has been closely studied, and while much and varied information has been gathered about the country and its people, one half of the population has been left entirely unnoticed, passed over with brief mention, or altogether misunderstood." The information she gathered and the observations she made were not those of a casual superficial traveler, but are based upon the intimate friendships she developed with many native Japanese women. Bacon became acquainted with people of all classes and carefully noted the similarities and differences in their ideas and customs. Her first chapter deals with childhood and tells of the various ceremonies and traditions connected with infancy and child rearing. The author tells how children are dressed and treated, and particularly emphasizes their training in "good manners." In another chapter, Bacon discusses the formal education of a Japanese girl. The reader learns of the high value placed upon education in general, as well as the details of the instruction which virtually all girls receive. In later chapters Bacon treats such topics as marriage, divorce, motherhood, old age, court life, "samurai" and "peasant" women, city life, and domestic service. The reader learns the details of arranged marriages and the standards of "a beautiful and accomplished maiden." One also learns how after marriage, a young upper-class woman becomes almost a servant to her mother-in-law. The life of a countryman's wife offers an interesting contrast to the life of the upper-class woman. Although the peasant woman undoubtedly works harder and grows older earlier, she is freer and more independent than her city sister.