The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the process of writing by women/girls in textile factories before the war in Japan.
Most of women/girls workers in textile factories were illiterate in the Meiji era. By the middle of Taisho era, a lot of them could write letters and read magazines, but they were watched by overseers, so they were not able to write and read freely. In the 1920's, from the end of the Taisho era to the beginning of the Showa era, some workers took part in labor unions and strikes. Through these new experiences, they learned that they could express their demands and take action to change their situations.
At the end of the 1920's, proletarian magazines and labor union magazines asked women workers to write Seikatsu-Kiroku essays. Seikatsu-Kiroku essays are realistic records of everyday life. Women in textile factories started writing down their experiences and everyday lives, and contributed to magazines. Readers made groups to circulate magazines among them, to discuss various things, to write to each other. But by the middle of the 1930's, it was difficult to make groups and hold free discussions. In some labor unions, a lot of meetings were held by women to study, for recreational activities, and to learn achvities such as cooking and knitting. Through their meetings and activities, the women came to know each other and become good friends. It is not clear that they wrote, read and discussed their writings in these groups or unions.
抄録全体を表示