“Maidens in Boxes”

[takanimegumi]

Kishida Toshiko (1863-1901) used snappy phrases such as this to attack the view that men by nature were superior to women. Once a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, she left that life saying that the court was "far from the real world" and a symbol of the concubine system which was an outrage to women. She became a talented and exciting public speaker

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Excerpts from Toshiko's Speeches:

[takanimegumi]

“In ancient times there were various evil teachings and customs in our country, things that would make the people of any free, civilized nation be terribly ashamed. Of these, the most reprehensible was the practice of ‘respecting men and despising women.’…We are trying, through a cooperative effort, to build a new society. That is why I speak of equality and equal rights. Yet in this country, as in the past, men continue to be respected as masters and husbands while women are held in contempt as maids or serving women. There can be no equality in such an environment