「家庭」のなかの階級

──大正期フェミニストの「女中」雇用──

抄録

This paper explores the various aspects of employment of jochu (maids) by Taisho feminists. Studies on the modern family have suggested that one of the characteristics of modern families is the exclusion of unrelated persons. However, the urban middle class in the Taisho era, which first formed modern families in Japan, often hired maids in their homes. This paper explores the impacts of experience in employing maids, especially in the 1910s and the 1920s, on the lives of the feminists' family members, their family relationships and their ideas, mainly focusing on three members of Seito: Iwano Kiyo, Hiratsuka Raicho and Yosano Akiko. It also examines the nature of their relationships with the maids.

The urban middle class, which aspired to high-standards in household affairs, inevitably incorporated labor of lower-class women and women without family bonds. Employment of maids was also essential for feminists who wished to engage in social activities. Although the feminists who desired family intimacy felt uncomfortable living with their acquaintances and relatives, they easily accepted living with maids, whom they regarded as insignificant beings who were less educated and of the lower class.

While maids inevitably existed in the feminists' lives, they seldom appeared in the feminists' arguments. The feminists, in general, did not deeply reflect on problems related to maids such as labor conditions. Nonetheless, as the public concern over labor problems was growing, the conditions surrounding maids began to be questioned. Yosano, in particular, suggested that it was necessary to raise their status, and to regard the work as a full-fledged career. The solutions provided by the feminists, however, seem to be merely emotional ones such as treating maids compassionately. This is because there were conflicts of interest between the feminists and maids, and also because the feminists shared with the general public a gender ideology that viewed work as a maid as a temporary job.