Japanese Feminist Shidzue Ishimoto Autobiography, Facing Two Ways, 1935 First Edition

Shidzue Ishimoto

First Edition

Ishimoto, Baroness Shidzue. Facing Two Ways: The Story of My Life. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1935. First edition. Illustrated with photographic plates. 8vo. Original tan cloth with printed paper label featuring photographic portrait affixed to front board. No dust jacket. 347 pages.

One of the first autobiographies by a Japanese feminist, Facing Two Ways is the remarkable life story of Baroness Shidzue Ishimoto (later Katō Shidzue), a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, labor reform, and birth control in early 20th-century Japan. Born into a samurai family and later married into the aristocracy, Ishimoto became radicalized after exposure to Western feminist movements, particularly during a sojourn in the United States. Her autobiography chronicles her transformation from traditional Japanese wife to one of the leading voices for gender equity in Japan. She writes, "It was not easy to break away from the security of a woman's role in Japanese society... but the war and industrialization left little room for hesitation" (p. 217).

Illustrated with a series of photographic plates, the book provides a rare visual documentation of Ishimoto’s life and activism. One image, captioned "Addressing the miners at a country theater at Ashio," shows her speaking before a crowd beneath banners reading "Birth Control for the Working Women!" and "Prepare for May Day!" Another shows the author in traditional kimono during her visit to New York in 1924, exemplifying the cross-cultural identity she embraced. Part Eleven, titled "The Feminist Front in Japan," directly links Ishimoto's political activity to the international women's movement, offering a comparative critique of gender hierarchies: "The social manners here were tradition of another kind preserved unchanged for centuries... I had to study as well as to dance" (p. 313). The narrative details her meetings with figures like Margaret Sanger and recounts her involvement with socialist circles, labor unions, and anti-imperialist groups. Mild sunning to spine, rubbing to paper label with some surface loss, and minor discoloration to cloth; interior clean with firm binding. Overall very good condition. A foundational feminist text and scarce first-person account from a woman who navigated both feudal legacies and modern liberation movements, offering unique insight into gender, class, and national identity in prewar and interwar Japan.

Item #21872

Price: $225.00