Medical Women in the Japanese Empire : Sources and Critique

Fujimoto, Homei, and Nakamura bring together the perspectives of women engaging in professional medical work across the expanse of the modern Japanese Empire (1868–1945).

Through translations of primary source documents in three East Asian languages, this collection provides a window into the experiences of women working in a variety of medical professions, including doctors, nurses, midwives, and nutritionists.

The voices of these women, collected from books, magazines, diaries, roundtable discussions, and oral histories, speak of the challenges, hopes, triumphs, and at times despair that women faced in their medical studies and workplaces. While the women represent a kaleidoscope of political views both critical and supportive of the Japanese empire, this book demonstrates the significance of the Japanese nation and empire for many of these women.

Their stories show how they pushed boundaries, traversed national or regional borders in search of medical opportunities, or attempted to carve out new spaces for women through their service as medical professionals. This work, which includes little studied sources never before accessible in English, will appeal to scholars and students of history, Asian studies, gender history/studies, and the history of science, technology, and medicine.