About the author
Yamakawa Kikue (1890-1980) was a prominent socialist and feminist who published widely in these fields. The present volume was written in 1943 and is supplemented by excerpts from her later writings.
"The book is a treasure house of immensely informative material. . . . An important addition to the small body of English-language works on the conditions of late Tokugawa society, told at a very human level."
—Comparative Studies in Society and History