"In the beginning, woman was truly the sun. An authentic person. Now she
is the moon, a wan and sickly moon, dependent on another, reflecting
another's brilliance."-Hiratsuku Raicho
Raicho Hiratsuka (1886-1971) was the most influential figure in the
early women's movement in Japan. In 1911, she founded Bluestocking
(Seito), Japan's first literary journal run by women. In 1920, she
founded the New Women's Association, Japan's first nationwide women's
organization to campaign for female suffrage, and soon after World War
II, the Japan Federation of Women's Organizations.
Available for the first time in English, In the Beginning, Woman Was
the Sun is Raicho Hiratsuka's autobiography of her childhood, early
youth, and subsequent rebellion against the strict social codes of the
time. Hiratsuka came from an upper-middle class Tokyo family, and her
restless quest for truth led her to read widely in philosophy and
undertake Zen training at Japan Woman's College. After graduation, she
gained brief notoriety for her affair with a married writer, but quickly
established herself as a brilliant and articulate leader of feminist
causes with the launch of the journal Seito. Her richly detailed
account presents a woman who was at once idealistic and elitist,
fearless and vain, and a perceptive observer of society.
Teruko Craig's translation captures Hiratsuka's strong personality and
distinct voice. At a time when interest in Japanese feminism is growing
in the West, there is no finer introduction to Japanese women's history
than this intimate, candid, and compelling memoir.
