Japan’s support of the US war in Vietnam became the catalyst for the emergence of leftist movements. Thousands took to the streets to protest the government’s pro-war stance. Women in their twenties and thirties, armed with college educations and childhoods spent in the shadow of postwar Japan, sought to stake their claim in New Left movements unhindered by patriarchal values or systems. Out of this desire came Japan’s “second-wave” feminist movement, the ūman
These women redefined the word
Enter the persistent and tenacious Tanaka Mitsu (田中美津). Born in 1943 just two years before Japan’s surrender in WWII, Tanaka would become inseparable from the
Tanaka’s Exposure to the Left
Tanaka grew up in a typical working-class family. As a result, she didn’t subscribe to the elitism underscoring the feminist movement. In fact, Tanaka would go on to use her socioeconomic background to critique said elitism. The majority of women surrounding her had college educations. Tanaka’s schooling, however, ended with her graduation from Toshima Metropolitan High School.
During her mid-twenties, Tanaka lived near the University of Tokyo, ground zero for student movements, most notably the Zenkyoto takeover. Tanaka’s first participation in activism was her formation of the anti-Vietnam War movement “Sending Love to the Injured Orphans of the Vietnam War”. She witnessed firsthand the overbearing masculinity present at leftist gatherings and sought spaces dominated by women. Soon enough, she began attending
Tanaka as “Feminist Philoso pher”
What Tanaka lacked in a college education she more than made up for through reading. She gravitated towards and devoured the literature of Marx, Sartre, Engels, and others. These influences and more would culminate in her first and most well-known manifesto, “Liberation from the Toilet” (便所からの解放; Benjo kara no
Tanaka wasn’t afraid to delve into taboo, even morally grey subjects in her writing. She called for “the revival of the womb” through political action. Her poetic flair in describing the intersections between body and leftist thought elevated her to shamanistic status.
Tanaka writes in “Liberation from the Toilet”:
As far as men are concerned, a woman is split into two images – either the expression of maternal love: a “mother”, or a vessel for the management of lust: a “toilet”.
Part of Tanaka’s discourse focused on the intersection of women and violence. Mothers who killed their children (子殺しの女; kogoroshi no onna) were prime targets for abuse and criticism by the media. Ribu actively voiced their support for these women. While Tanaka called these women murderers, she said they were merely victims of patriarchal and capitalist systems. She avoided coloring the issue in moralistic terms, instead choosing to focus on the inherent violence in women’s sex.
Tanaka’s stance on abortion followed in the same vein. It was a violent act, but unavoidable because women had no control over their bodies. At the time, abortion was illegal. In 1948 the government passed the Eugenic Protection Law allowing abortion under defined circumstances. Ribu women took to the streets to protest the perception of the government trying to control their bodies.
Tanaka and the Japanese Red Army
The media often mistakenly lumped the
Being a leftist, feminist activist, it was inevitable for Tanaka to come face to face with other New Left groups, including the Japanese Red Army. Nagata Hiroko, leader of the sect 京浜安保共闘 (Keihin Ampo Kyoto), was Tanaka’s main point of contact. She even visited the group at their mountain encampment. Right away Tanaka knew she could never ally herself with a group so entrenched in violence. Tanaka was absolutely shocked when she learned of the purge that killed 12 people. One of the victims was a woman who was eight months pregnant. It was the memory this woman, Kaneko Michiyo, that would go on to haunt Tanaka. Nagata’s actions and participation in the purge particularly stiffened Tanaka’s belief that women were forced to violence and overcompensate for their biological sex.
Tensions at the Ribu Shinjuku Center
Ribu thought focused on the takedown of hierarchical structures members believed impeded both men and women. Tanaka’s self-insertion in the inner workings of the
Tanaka’s overbearing presence strained relations among the already exhausted activists running the center. Tanaka encouraged the women to write, but also took it upon herself to edit their work. In some cases, the original writer’s voice was lost underneath Tanaka’s ideals, upsetting many women. It was also difficult to understand what Tanaka was or wasn’t responsible for.
It would be Tanaka’s overseas hiatus in 1975 that led to a shift in power dynamics. Tanaka wrote numerous letters to Tokyo with her ideas on how the center should function. Tanaka’s distance from the heart of the feminist ribu movement did not, as some scholars claim, herald the end of ribu. Tanaka herself, however, has stated in a conversation with famed feminist Ueno Chizuko that she believes ribu declined in 1975, partly due to her absence. The Center remained open until 1977. Tanaka herself wouldn’t return to Japan until 1979.
Life After Ribu Activism
Tanaka remained in Mexico and gave birth to a son. She ended up parting ways with the father. After returning to Japan, she lived the single-mother lifestyle as many
Tanaka may have moved on to more personal activism, but she still remained in touch with ongoing issues. During the 2007 elections for Tokyo governorship, she threw her vote in for politician Asano Shiro as part of the campaign “Women Winning for Asano!” (アサノと勝とう
Tanaka’s life is getting renewed attention thanks to a documentary coming out next month titled「この星は、私の星じゃない」(“This Star is Not My Star”) based on her book with the same name.
At the age of 76, Tanaka shows no signs of slowing down. She continues working as an acupuncturist at a rehabilitation clinic in Hachioji. She’s also grown interested in Okinawa and the issues between civilians and the US military presence.
While Tanaka certainly shouldn’t be credited as the sole face of 1970s
Sources
Shigematsu, Setsu. Scream from the Shadows: The Women’s Liberation Movement in Japan. (Minnesota, University of Minnesota Press). 2012.
