Sakai Magara

Activist Girl of Early Twentieth Century Japan

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Barbara Hartley b.hartley@uq.edu.au

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9880-5485
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2020.130209
Keywords:
feminist history; May Day; political organization; radicalism; Red Wave Society; Sakai Toshihiko; shōjo; socialism
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Abstract

In this article, I profile the activism of 18-year-old Sakai Magara (1903–1985). I focus in particular on her role in the Sekirankai (Red Wave Society), which was a short-lived women's political organization formed in April 1921 and aligned directly with socialist and anti-capitalist worker issues. My discussion draws on three principal sources: contemporaneous accounts of the Society; writings by women with whom Magara collaborated; and the words of Magara herself. I pay attention to Magara's contribution to Sekirankai, the influences on the development of her activism, and the barriers to political participation by girls and women in Japan.

Contributor Notes

Barbara Hartley (ORCID: 0000-0002-9880-5485) has written extensively on issues related to girls and women in modern Japan, particularly in the area of literary studies. She also researches visual representations of these women and girls, and representations of Asia and Asian women in modern Japanese narrative and visual material. Email: b.hartley@uq.edu.au

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
16
Keywords:
feminist history; May Day; political organization; radicalism; Red Wave Society; Sakai Toshihiko; shōjo; socialism
Print Publication Date:
01 Jun 2020
Online Publication Date:
01 Jun 2020
Copyright:
© Berghahn Books 2020

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