Abstract
J.S.Mill's works were widely read in early Meiji Japan, and his main books includingOn Liberty, Representative Government and Utilitarianismwere successively translated into Japanese. This article examines two translations : “Subjection of Women” (1878) and “Mill on Education” (1885). The first is translation of first two chapters ofSubjection of Womenby Motoi Fukamauchi, who also translated Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. The second is translation ofPrinciples of Political Economy, BkV, Chap 11, § 9, by Ko Matsushima who was famous for his translation of Spencer'sSocial Statics. These two translations aimed to enlighten the readers about sexual equality and freedom of education. Mill was famous for his claim of sexual equality, and he tried to defend free education from state interference. In these translations, we can point out enormous impact of Mill's thought upon early Meiji Japan.
