著者

磯辺 香

出版者

奈良女子大学

雑誌

奈良女子大学社会学論集 (ISSN:13404032)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.21, pp.35-51, 2014

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Taiwan was Japan's first colony and was held under its control for 51 years until the end of World War II in 1945(20th year of Showa Era)At the early stages of Japan's possession of Taiwan, the administration was not without its critics and as a result much discussion on the issue was provoked among experts within Japan. By analyzing propaganda written about Taiwan and coloniescommunicated via media for women in the period extending from the mid to late Meiji Era, it is theintention of this essay to elucidate the significance that the possession of Taiwan as a colony had onthe female Japanese population of the main islands of Japan at that time.The messages that were observed in the analysis can be divided into the following three categories:(i) there would be a possibility that Taiwanese women could be assimilated into Japanese societythrough an emphasis on their similarity with Japanese women; (ii) Japanese women would beexpected to exercise an influence on the women form less well-developed Asian nations includingTaiwan; and (iii) for successful colonial management, Japanese women would be expected tomigrate to Taiwan accompanying their husbands and to establish a happy family life there. From the above-stated findings, it can be concluded that Japanese women bore the responsibility ofrepresenting the idea of home and roles of the good wife and wise mother of a contemporary familyin order to enlighten Taiwanese women and maintain colonial management in a stable andsustainable state as a national project.