• DOI:10.1080/12259276.2015.1029230
• Corpus ID: 143301950

The Great Kantō Earthquake and “Life-rationalization” by modern Japanese women

@article{Lee2015TheGK,
  title={The Great Kantō Earthquake and “Life-rationalization” by modern Japanese women},
  author={Eun-gyong Lee},
  journal={Asian Journal of Women's Studies},
  year={2015},
  volume={21},
  pages={18 - 2}
}

• Eun-gyong Lee
• Published 2 January 2015
• Economics
• Asian Journal of Women's Studies

This paper discusses the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 from women's perspectives, focusing especially on its relations to the matter of “life” (seikatsu) by analyzing articles published in women's magazines following the earthquake. The first objective is to understand how women faced the great earthquake and unravel the reality of their experiences, and the other is to shed light on how experience of the great earthquake in modern Japan led to changes in household lifestyles for which women were in charge. The analysis shows that many women incorporated practical and future-oriented approaches, because of the great disaster as well as in the reconstruction processes that followed. In addition, the experience of the great disaster worked as a catalyst for the movement for “life-rationalization,” namely the simplification and westernization of food, clothing, and shelter that had shown little progress previously. These changes gained gradual recognition within society.