The Problem of Gender Bias in Japanese High School Textbooks

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to point out the problem of gender bias in Japanese high school textbooks and suggest some solutions. I have examined the contemporary literature sections in “Kokugo-I”, a basic high school text, and “Kokugo-Sogo”, which will be used starting next year.
I initially researched the male-to-female ratio of authors and editors of Japanese textbooks over the past ten years. Then later I examined the percentage of literature written by women that is presently being used in the Japanese school system. According to what I found, the percentage of female authors included in the textbooks still does not reach 20% and only 12.9% of the editors are female. These results clearly show us two problems that we are dealing with today: the mostly male editors are not including literature written by women, nor are females being chosen as editors.
Another problem I found with the textbooks has to do with the questions following each work. The questions lead students to understand the material in a traditional way, directing them to prepare their answers according to the writer's intention. The questions do not allow for differences in opinion or critical thinking.
I chose the short story titled Harunohino-Kageri by Shimao Toshio to illustrate the big difference in opinion between editors and female high school students. In this story, the character “I” recalls his school days, when he always had a sense of inferiority because of his lack of strength and bravery. Due to his inferiority complex, he once chased an unknown girl with the goal of impressing his fellows. Upon reaching the girl, he had no idea what he should do next. This novel perfectly shows the distress of “I” in adolescence. It is valued as a youth novel because readers can relate to the character “I”, and as a result it has become a widely used text in Japanese high schools. However, not all readers relate in the same way.
Why does this difference in understanding arise? In my experience, some female high school students today have an intuitive understanding of the writer's sexism and feel that the character “I” looks down on women. This alternative interpretation shows quite a difference in opinion between predominantly male editors, who think that this story is about timeless youth distress and is applicable to everyone today, and actual adolescents who are required to read it.
As educators, what can we do about the difference in understanding? Now that we know about the alternative ways of interpreting literature, we need to ensure the development of all high school students' minds. In order to do this, we need to have a “revision of ideas” represented by Feminist Criticism. Editors should be required to engage in text editing from this new point of view. High school students should be exposed to literature written by women as well as that written by men. The questions following the works should encourage students to critically interpret the meaning and to consider many points of view. Only through an overhaul of the current system can we achieve the goal of eliminating gender bias in Japanese high school textbooks.