Umeko Tsuda: a Pioneer in Higher Education for Women in Japan

Authors

  • Mari Kunieda Tsuda University, Tokyo. Japan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14516/ete.313

Keywords:

Umeko Tsuda, higher education for women, returnee, Japan

Abstract

This article explores the life and achievements of Umeko Tsuda, who played a pioneering role in higher education for women in Japan in the early twentieth century. In 1871, the Japanese government sent five girls to the United States to study. They were expected to become models for Japanese women when they returned. Six-year-old Umeko Tsuda was the youngest among them, and she remained in the United States for eleven years until she had graduated from high school. We trace her steps historically in order to highlight the experiences which drove her to work to raise women’s status in Japan. The first biography of her, by Toshikazu Yoshikawa, was reviewed by Umeko herself, and in the years since other researchers have analysed Umeko’s life from various viewpoints. Umeko’s writings, speeches, and correspondence with her American host family and friends also reveal her thoughts. As an early female returnee, Umeko developed her ideas of what schools for women should be like. With the moral and financial support of close American and Japanese friends, Umeko started her ideal school in 1900 with only ten students. This Tokyo school was the first private institution for higher education for women in Japan. Thus, Umeko’s determination to help Japanese women become more educated and happier was the foundation of Tsuda University, now offering BAs, MAs, and PhDs in a variety of programmes in Tokyo.

References

Furuki, Y. (1991). The White Plum, a Biography of Ume Tsuda: Pioneer in the Higher Education of Japanese Women. New York: Weatherhill.

Furuki, Y. (1992). Tsuda Umeko. Tokyo: Shimizu Shoin.

Kameda, K. (2005). Tsuda Umeko to Anna C. Hartshorne [Umeko Tsuda and Anna C. Hartshorne]. Tokyo: Sobunsha Shuppan.

Kameda, K. (2005). Tsuda Umeko: Hitori no Mei-kyoshi no Kiseki [Umeko Tsuda: the path of a great professor]. Tokyo: Sobunsha Shuppan.

Kuno, A. (1993). Unexpected Destinations: The Poignant Story of Japan’s First Vassar Graduate. New York & London: Kodansha International. [Translated by Kirsten Mclvor].

Minoura, Y. (1984). Kodomo no Ibunka Taiken [Children’s experiences in different cultures]. Tokyo: Shisakusha.

Morgan, T.H., & Tsuda, U. (1894). Orientation of the Frog’s Egg. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 35.

Nimura, J. P. (2015). Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.

Oba, M. (1993). Tsuda Umeko. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha.

Rose, B. (1992). Tsuda Umeko and Women’s Education in Japan. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Sakuma, A. (2017). Amerika Kyoshikyouiku-shi: Kyoushoku no Joseika to Senmonshokuka no Sokoku [History of American teacher education: feminization and specialization of the teaching profession]. Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai.

Shibuya, R., Uchida, M., & Yamamoto, Y. (2015). A Record of the Japanese Scholarship 1893-1976: The First Study Abroad Program for Japanese Women. Tokyo: Bunshin Shuppan.

Takahashi, Y. (2002). Tsuda Umeko no Shakaishi [A Social history of Umeko Tsuda]. Tokyo: Tamagawa Daigaku Shuppanbu.

Tsuda-juku Daigaku. (1960). Tsuda-juku 60 nenshi [60 year history of Tsuda College]. Tokyo: Tsuda-juku Daigaku.

Tsuda-juku Daigaku. (1984). Tsuda Umeko Monjo [The writings of Umeko Tsuda]. Tokyo: Tsuda-juku Daigaku.

Tsuda-juku Daigaku. (2003). Tsuda-juku Daigaku 100 nenshi [100 year history of Tsuda College]. Tokyo: Tsuda-juku Daigaku.

Tsuda, U. (1893). Obei Joshi Kotokyouiku no Kinkyo [Situation of women’s higher education in the West]. Jogakuzasshi.

Tsuda, U. (1984). The Writings of Ume Tsuda. In Yoshiko Furuki et al. (Ed.). Tokyo: Tsuda College.

Tsuda, U. (1991). The Attic Letters: Ume Tsuda’s Correspondence to Her American Mother. In Yoshiko Furuki et al. (Ed.). New York: Weatherhill.

Yamazaki, T. (1972). Tsuda Umeko. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan.

Yoshikawa, T. (1956). Tsuda Umeko Den [Biography of Umeko Tsuda]. Tokyo: Tsuda-juku Dosokai.

Yoshikawa, T. (1990). Tsuda Umeko. Tokyo: Chuokoronsha.

Downloads

Published

2020-07-01