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In the introduction part of this paper, one will find definitions of terms Orient and Orientalism. Two conflicting views exist in Orientalism’s description – Edward Wadie Said (1935–2003) and George Paul Landow’s (1940) perspectives. An American movie intorduced to the public in 2013 47 Ronin is supposed to be an excellent example of Orientalism. It presents one of the most famous stories in Japanese history. In this film, we will find several orientalising elements, which are marked and subsequently analysed. One type of features offers a glimpse into the lives of samurai. An integral part of the movie are the Japanese martial arts and the fate of the ronin. It also points to the religious background of Japan. Despite all American filmmakers’ efforts to bring Japanese culture and historical events closer to the Westerners, there are moments in the movie that do not correspond to reality. The content and design are adapted to the eyes of the Occidental audience. This article therefore discusses the inspiration of Japanese culture and customs that used to be commonplace in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book, The History of the Ouinkai, was published in 1940 as a commemorative project for the 60th anniversary of the Tokyo Higher Normal School for Women (THNSW). The purpose of this article is to illustrate the type of data collected in the surveys and their findings, to explore some of the activities of the association, and to discuss how the Ouinkai alumni association, in collaboration with THNSW, worked with female teachers nationwide. The paper traces some of the multi-norms and multi-roles for female teachers that THNSW promoted and their relation to norms thought to characterise 'ideal' Japanese women. The publication of The History of the Ouinkai was a milestone in Japanese women's education because it demonstrated the Ouinkai's successes in respect of Japanese educational policy for women as well as the leadership that the Ouinkai provided to female graduate teachers, whom it organised with skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low number of female politicians in Japan is testament to the difficulties that women face in entering the political sphere. This paper analyses the life of Japanese actress, journalist, politician and activist Yoshiko Yamaguchi (1920–2014), in terms of her political career, to contribute to a deeper understanding of the way personal choices and characteristics, socioeconomic factors, macrosocial contexts and chance events shape life paths and possibilities. As a Japanese woman in Japan-occupied Manchuria, Yoshiko developed a unique cross-cultural identity and understanding which facilitated her movement through transnational spaces and her adaptability as she renegotiated her identity within different contexts. Yoshiko is a distinctive example as she successfully drew on these experiences to achieve her political goals of raising awareness about human rights issues and the harms of conflict. This paper suggests that women can enact agency within the political sphere but that few are able to do so effectively because they lack access to resources and opportunities through which to realise their political goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the activities of the Japanese chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU, also known as Reform Society, est. 1886) in the late Meiji period (1868-1912) have primarily focused on its reformist agenda associated with the ongoing imperial nation-state building such as abolition of licensed prostitution, promotion of monogamy, and women's education. With its strong connections to Japanese elites, Western missionaries, and female sympathizers, however, the WCTU in the early twentieth century provided its ambitious members with useful opportunities to learn necessary skills and broaden their networks. By scrutinizing three individual members with different interests as case studies, including charity for victims of industrial pollution, publication of a household magazine, and anti-war socialism, this paper demonstrates the malleability of the WCTU that extended beyond its renowned agenda and various ways in which individual members benefited from the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]