Factory Girls: Women in the Thread Mills of Meiji Japan

236 Pages·1990·34.451 MB·English

by  E. Patricia Tsurumi

FACTORY
GIRLS
Women
in
Thread
the Mills
of Meiji Japan
PATRICIA TSURUMI
E.
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY

Digitized by the Internet Archive
2014
in
http://archive.org/details/factorygirlswomeOOtsur

FACTORY GIRLS
WOMEN IN THE THREAD MILLS
OF MEIJI JAPAN
E. Patricia Tsurumi
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
— —
Copyright© 1990byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41 WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom: PrincetonUniversityPress,Oxford
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Tsurumi,E. Patricia, 1938-
Factorygirls : womeninthethreadmillsofMeijiJapan/
E. PatriciaTsurumi.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
I1.SWBoNm0e-n69—t1e-xt0i3l1e3w8o-rXke(raslk—. pJaappearn)—Histo—ry. 2. Si—lkindustry—Japan
Employees History. 3.Cottonindustry Japan Employees
— —
History. 4.Japan Industries History. I.Tide.
HD6073.T42J38 1990
331.4'877'00952—dc20 89-24325 CIP
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinLinotronSabon
PrincetonUniversityPressbooksareprintedonacid-freepaper,
andmeettheguidelinesforpermanenceanddurabilityofthe
CommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityofthe
CouncilonLibraryResources
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyPrincetonUniversityPress,
Princ9eto8n,N7e6wJersey 4321
10 5'
ForMaia
AND IN MEMORY OF HIGASHI KIKUE

Contents
ListofTables IX
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
1. The Background 9
2. Modern Beginnings: Reeling and Spinning 25
3. Silk: Poor but Independent Reelers 47
4. Silk: Tightening the Screws 59
5. Silk: Working forthe Nation? 92
6. Cotton: The Reserve Army 103
7. Cotton: Recruiting in the Hinterland 121
8. Cotton: Inside the Hateful Company Gates 132
9. Comparative Perspectives: Factory and Countryside 161
10.Alternatives: The Loom and the Brothel 174
Conclusion 191
SourcesCited 199
Index 209