Ioko Okumura

Japanese: 奥村五百子 - おくむら・いおこ

Year of death: February 5, 1907
Year of birth: 1845.6.7
A social activist and founder of women's groups during the Meiji period. Daughter of Ryokan and Asako, the head priest of Kotokuji Temple of the Higashi Honganji sect in Karatsu, Hizen (Saga Prefecture). Influenced by her father and older brother Enshin, she supported the Sonno Joi movement. Her two marriages ended in death and divorce. In 1897, she traveled to Korea, where her brother was preaching, and established a vocational school in Gwangju, after which she became interested in the continent. When the Boxer Rebellion broke out in 1890, she joined Higashi Honganji's Otani Katsunobu's tour group for the Boxer Rebellion, touring the battlefields. During this time, she felt the need for a women's group to provide care for wounded soldiers and support for the families of soldiers who had been sent to war, and after returning to Japan, with the support and assistance of Konoe Atsumaro, Ogasawara Chosei, and other wives of the nobility, she formed the Patriotic Women's Association (chaired by Duchess Hisako Iwakura) in February 1901. At first, the group was mainly made up of upper-class women, but through Ioko's nationwide campaigns encouraging people to save up the equivalent of "one half-collar sash" to join, the group spread and played a role in promoting women's participation in society. By the end of 1963, membership had reached 460,000, building the foundation for the group's expansion. After Ioko's death, her activities were included in the national moral education textbook for female students at higher elementary schools in 1931 (Showa 6), and were also made into a film, playing a part in the spread of militarist ideology. <References> Okubo Takaaki, Biography of Okumura Ioko

(Takahashi Tomiko)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治40.2.5(1907)
生年：弘化2.5.3(1845.6.7)
明治期の社会活動家,婦人団体創始者。肥前唐津(佐賀県)東本願寺派高徳寺の住職了寛と浅子の娘。父,兄円心の影響を受け尊王攘夷運動を助けた。2度の結婚は死別,離婚に終わる。明治30(1897)年兄の布教先の朝鮮に渡り,光州に実業学校を設立,以後大陸へ関心を寄せる。33年北清事変が起こると,東本願寺の大谷勝信の北清派遣軍慰問団に加わって戦地を巡歴。このとき傷病兵の救護,出征兵士遺家族の援護を目的とする婦人団体の必要を痛感し,帰国後近衛篤麿,小笠原長生,その他華族の夫人などの賛成,援助を得て,34年2月愛国婦人会(会長岩倉公爵夫人久子)を結成した。最初は上流婦人を中心としたが「半襟一掛け」分を倹約して入会することを勧める五百子の全国遊説により広がり,女性の社会参加を促進する役目を果たした。38年末会員数46万に達し,同会発展の基礎を築いた。なお,五百子の没後,その活動が昭和6(1931)年には高等小学校の女生徒用国定修身教科書に採り上げられ,また映画化されるなど,軍国主義思想普及に一役買った。<参考文献>大久保高明『奥村五百子評伝』

(高橋富子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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