Toshiko Kishida

A feminist during the Freedom and People's Rights period. She went by the pen name Shoen (Xiang Smoke). She was born on December 5, 1863, to a family of kimono merchants in Kyoto. After dropping out of Women's Normal School due to illness, she was selected as a court lady in 1879 (Meiji 12), where she served for a little over a year and lectured to the Empress, but was dissatisfied with life at court and resigned due to illness. In 1881, she took the opportunity to join the Freedom and People's Rights Movement after a trip to Tosa. A gifted speaker, she gained popularity by campaigning around the country for the expansion of women's rights. In 1884, she married Liberal Party Deputy Prime Minister Nakajima Nobuyuki, and was also known as Nakajima Toshiko. Nakajima Kumakichi, a businessman and politician, was her eldest son. Even after her marriage, she continued to write a series of 10 articles entitled "A Message to My Compatriots and Sisters" in the Liberal Party newspaper Jiyuto, in which she advocated for gender equality, and many essays for publications such as Jogaku Zasshi. She was also a passionate educator, teaching at Shin-Ei Girls' School and Ferris Japanese-English Girls' School. As her husband Nobuyuki rose to prominence, becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, a member of the House of Peers, and Ambassador to Italy, Toshiko is said to have followed the path of an upper-class woman, but she is noted for her lifelong pursuit of the truth and her continued call for women's independence. She died of illness on May 12, 1901 (Meiji 34), two years after her husband's death, at the age of 38. She published a posthumous collection of her writings, Xiangyan Nikki (1903).

[Yoneda Sayoko]

"Oki Motoko and Nishikawa Yuko eds., 'Xiangyan Diary' (1985, Fuji Publishing)" ▽ "Suzuki Yuko ed., 'Kishida Toshiko Essay Collection' (1985, Fuji Publishing)" ▽ "Nishikawa Yuko, 'Flower's Sister - A Biography of Kishida Toshiko' (1986, Shinchosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

自由民権期の女性運動家。湘烟(しょうえん)（湘煙）と号す。文久(ぶんきゅう)3年12月5日、京都の呉服商の家に生まれる。女子師範学校を病気退学ののち、1879年（明治12）宮中女官に抜擢(ばってき)され1年余り出仕し皇后に進講したが、宮廷生活に満足できず病気を理由に辞任。1881年土佐旅行を契機に自由民権運動に参加した。弁舌に優れ、全国を遊説して女権拡張を説き人気を集めた。1884年自由党副総理中島信行(のぶゆき)と結婚、中島俊子の名でも知られる。実業家・政治家の中島久万吉(くまきち)は長男。結婚後も、自由党系の新聞『自由燈(とう)』に10回にわたって「同胞姉妹に告ぐ」を連載、男女平等を訴えたのをはじめ、『女学雑誌』などに多くの評論を書いた。また新栄女学校、フェリス和英女学校などで教壇に立ち、教育にも熱心であった。夫信行が衆議院議長や貴族院議員、イタリア大使と栄進したため、俊子も上流婦人の道を歩んだとされるが、生涯真実を追求し、女性の自立を求め続けた点は注目される。夫の死から2年後の1901年（明治34）5月12日、38歳で病没した。遺稿集『湘烟日記』（1903）がある。

［米田佐代子］

『大木基子・西川祐子編『湘煙日記』（1985・不二出版）』▽『鈴木裕子編『岸田俊子評論集』（1985・不二出版）』▽『西川祐子著『花の妹――岸田俊子伝』（1986・新潮社）』

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