Japan as Seen by American Women in Christian Missions, 1913-1934 (ES 5-vol. set)

Published by Edition Synapse in Japan and distributed by Routledge outside Japan.

This is the third set of the series which collects publications by Christian missionary women, both missionary wives and female missionaries, who worked in Japan from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.

Many Christian missionaries came to Japan after the Meiji restoration in 1868. Although they were not able to convert many Japanese, they played a significant role in the rapid Westernization of Japan. In particular, women missionaries took leading roles in activities relating to local women and children in Japan, and they left an important and indelible mark in the history of the education of Japanese women and children.

This third and the last collection in the series includes fourteen works on Japan by American women in the missions who lived in the country in early twentieth century while Japan more or less completed the early modernization and tried to be a member of the western society. Authors of those books observed rapid changes in the society and not only reported the facts, but also gave detailed analyses of the background to them. Their observations illustrate these women’s great curiosity, genuine concern for the local society, and their positive attitude in trying to comprehend a very different culture. The contents covered by each book are broad, most of them refer not only to the missionary activities, but try to introduce Japan in general, as well as the historical and religious background, and the daily life of ordinary people and the situation of Japanese women.