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THE NEW WOMAN IN JAPAN
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as a last resource. In modern times a thoroughly enlightened mind will be her best protection against the dangers to which she is exposed. With the tendency to conceit which is said to be engendered by the kind of education recommended, Mr. Fukuzawa deals in his treatise, arguing that this tendency can be rendered harmless by instruction in the kind of demeanor that best becomes a woman. . . . Marriage according to the old methods Mr. Fukuzawa condemns, and the practice of having the father-in-law or mother-in-law living with the married couple should, he thinks, be discontinued. Marriage should be regarded in a serious light, and the duties and responsibilities it involves should be duly considered. Mothers should take pleasure in instructing their children, and should know enough to gain their respect. The whole system recommended is based on Western life and thought. This new Gospel for woman preached by a man who has spent his whole life in advocating reform, as one of his last messages to the nation, is, says the 'Sekai-no-Nihon,' very striking and likely to effect great good."[1]

Within the past decade or so the educational advantages for Japanese girls have very largely increased; and the number of girls and young women availing themselves of these advantages has grown encouragingly. There has been a marked increase in the number of female pupils in public and private, including mission, schools of all grades; and there have been new institutions organized especially for

  1. It is interesting to note that after a marriage ceremony at one of the shrines at Nikkō, the bridegroom and the bride were presented with a copy of Mr. Fukuzawa's work.