Yamakawa Kikue

Feminist and critic. Maiden name Morita, surname Aoyama at one time. Born November 3, 1890 in Tokyo. Graduated from Joshi Eigaku Juku (now Tsuda University) in 1912 (Meiji 45). In 1915 (Taisho 4), at the invitation of Kamichika Ichiko, she attended a lecture by Osugi Sakae and Arahata Kanson on commoners, and developed an interest in socialism. In 1916, she contributed an article to Seito criticizing Ito Noe's criticism of the anti-prostitution movement, and entered the public opinion scene. In the same year, she married socialist Yamakawa Hitoshi, and gave birth to her eldest son, Shinsaku, the following year in 1917. She participated in the debate on maternity protection that began in 1918, and with her clear-cut logical development based on socialist feminist theory, she quickly became a leading figure in the women's opinion scene. She lent a hand in founding the Sekirankai in 1921 and the Hachikakai in 1922, and devoted herself to nurturing socialist women's organizations and groups. In 1923, she translated the first complete version of Bebel's On Women, a classic Marxist theory of feminism, and popularized it. She participated in the debates over the Proletarian Party Women's Platform and the Council Women's Division that took place from 1925 to 1926 and 1927 (Showa 1 and 2), and contributed to deepening the theory of the proletarian women's movement. While she continued to write during World War II, she maintained a non-cooperation stance in the war. After Japan was defeated, during the Socialist Party cabinet, she became the first Director of the Women's and Young Workers' Bureau of the Ministry of Labor (now the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), a position she held from 1947 (Showa 22) to 1951, during which she established the foundations for the administration of protection for women and young workers. Even after she retired, she continued to work on research and enlightenment of women's issues, organizing the publication of Voices of Women and the Women's Issues Forum. She passed away on November 2, 1980. She is buried in a shared grave with her husband in the Yamakawa Cemetery in Kurashiki.

[Yuko Suzuki]

"The Collection of Yamakawa Kikue, 10 volumes and 1 supplementary volume (1981-1982, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Collection of Yamakawa Kikue's Essays on Women's Liberation, edited by Suzuki Yuko, 3 volumes (1984, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Collection of Yamakawa Kikue's Essays, edited by Suzuki Yuko (1990, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Newly Revised and Expanded Collection of Yamakawa Kikue: Essays, 9 volumes (2011-, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Chronicles of Two Generations of Women, by Yamakawa Kikue (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)" ▽ "Contemporary Feminism and Yamakawa Kikue: Records of the Lecture Series 'Yamakawa Kikue and the Modern Age', edited by the Committee Commemorating the Centennial of Yamakawa Kikue's Birth (1990, Yamato Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

女性運動家、評論家。旧姓森田、一時青山姓。明治23年11月3日東京に出生。1912年（明治45）女子英学塾（現津田塾大学）を卒業。1915年（大正4）神近市子の誘いで大杉栄、荒畑寒村の平民講演会に出席、社会主義への関心を深めた。1916年『青鞜(せいとう)』に伊藤野枝(のえ)の廃娼(はいしょう)運動批判を批判する論稿を寄せ、論壇に登場。同年、社会主義者の山川均(ひとし)と結婚、翌1917年長男振作を出産。1918年から始まった母性保護論争に参加、社会主義女性論に基づく明快な論理の展開で、一躍、女性論壇の第一人者となった。1921年赤瀾(せきらん)会、1922年八日会の創立に手を貸し、社会主義女性団体・グループの養成に尽くした。1923年マルクス主義女性論の古典であるベーベル『婦人論』を初完訳し、普及させた。1925年から1926、1927年（昭和1、2）にかけ展開された無産政党婦人綱領・評議会婦人部論争に加わり、無産女性運動の理論の深化に貢献した。第二次世界大戦中は執筆を続ける一方、戦争非協力の姿勢を保った。敗戦後の社会党首班内閣のとき、初代の労働省（現厚生労働省）婦人少年局長になり、1947年（昭和22）から1951年まで在任、女性・年少労働者の保護行政の基礎固めをした。退任後も、『婦人のこえ』や婦人問題懇話会を組織し、女性問題の研究・啓蒙(けいもう)に尽くした。昭和55年11月2日死去。倉敷の山川墓地の、夫との合葬墓に眠る。

［鈴木裕子］

『『山川菊栄集』10巻・別巻1巻（1981～1982・岩波書店）』▽『鈴木裕子編『山川菊栄女性解放論集』全3巻（1984・岩波書店）』▽『鈴木裕子編『山川菊栄評論集』（1990・岩波書店）』▽『鈴木裕子編『新装増補　山川菊栄集　評論篇』全9巻（2011～　・岩波書店）』▽『山川菊栄著『女二代の記』（平凡社・東洋文庫）』▽『山川菊栄生誕百年を記念する会編『現代フェミニズムと山川菊栄――連続講座「山川菊栄と現代」の記録』（1990・大和書房）』

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