Analysis

The experience in the US that Umeko went through granted her with a reformist, progressive vision in terms of education for women, the social role of women, and the societal structure as a whole. It is worth complementing even today that she made bold actions such as founding a new educational institution or advocating for female rights in society.11 However, it is unfortunate at the same time that only a bit of progress has been made in terms of gender equality in Japan from that time and even after women became well-educated. A week ago in 2022, the World Economic Forum reported that Japan ranked 116th among 146 countries in the gender gap index, which indicates the lowest place among the G7 nations including Korea and China (The Japan Times, 2022, n.p.g).12 One of the prominent aspects of this report is that it shows the four different dimensions of gender gap; educational attainment, economic participation, health and survival, and political empowerment).13 From the time when Umeko and the other majority of women were struggling with the patriarchal pressure around Meiji era, educational reforms took place, leading to nearly 100% of female participation in education. However, even though they are as well-educated and intelligent as men are, the top positions in organizations, companies, or political institutions are significantly dominated by men. This has prevented women and other minority groups to benefit from more inclusive, innovative policies in today’s society. Thus, perhaps there needs to be some outstanding female figures like Umeko who advocate for the empowerment of women from a different perspective than education in current Japan. Moreover, Umeko was successfully establishing the cross-national relationship with intellectuals and elites who were professional in diverse fields of study during her stay abroad, which made her available to raise funds and knowledges about educational and cultural reforms.14 In recent decades, lots of people become indifferent to the equality of opportunities and rights because these seem to have been achieved in Japan while they are apparently not as the reports and studies have shown. Transnational networks and perspectives on the issues like gender equality in politics are necessary, so what Umeko has experienced and achieved is an important legacy that can be contributory to even today.

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