WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
good education and training we will take care that our girls shall be able to fill in the right manner the post as companions of their husbands and as mothers of their children."[1]
Professor Jinzo Naruse, who founded the first college for Japanese women, writes:—
"The part women played in old Japan was very remarkable, especially before the arrival of Buddhism and Confucianism. Men and women were almost equal in their social position. There was then no shadow of the barbarous idea that men were everything and women nothing. Women's power even in politics was great, and history tells us that there were nine women who ascended the throne in olden times. Women in general were not inferior to men physically, mentally, or morally. They were noted for their bravery, and distinguished themselves on the field of battle. . . . . . . . The introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism, however, began to create great changes in the position of women. And yet so powerful were women in society when these two religions came to Japan that their rapid spread in our country was due to the earnest endeavours of the women."[2]
- ↑ Okakura Kakuzo.
- ↑ "Japan by the Japanese," Alfred Stead.
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