was a Japanese educator and politician who served as a member of the
House of Councillors
The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...
. She is believed to be the first woman to become the principal of a Japanese school.
Name
Her maiden surname was , and her pen name was .
Biography
Kiuchi Kyō was born on 14 February 1884 in the Asakusa Morishita town in the
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the .
History
The ...
ward of Tokyo, the first-born child of artist . The Awashima family business was a well-known
honeycomb toffee
Honeycomb toffee, honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, seafoam, or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar (or corn syrup, molasses or golden syrup) and ba ...
shop, but they made a living by charging rent for the remaining estate and selling it, such as giving up the store with her grandparents.
Even when she was nine years old, her father did not allow her to enter elementary school. Worried after her graduation from high school, she attended a
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...
, and she graduated from Tokyo Women's Normal School in March 1903 and was assigned to Minamikatsushika Ordinary Primary School. In March 1909, she married , a teacher at Urawa Junior High School, and she chose to maintain her
work–life balance
Work may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
** Manual labour, physical work done by humans
** House work, housework, or homemaking
** Working animal, an animal tr ...
. In April 1910, she was transferred to Nihonbashi-no-Jōtō Ordinary Elementary School. She entered the Tokyo Women's Normal School's advanced courses in April 1926, and after completing the course, she was transferred to Jūon Ordinary Primary School. In October 1931, she became the principal of Itabashi no Shimura First Ordinary Primary School of Itabashi, and she remained in that position until July 1941. She also founded Kiuchi Academy in Takinogawa and served as the head of a pigeon garden.
She was also vice-president of the National Primary School Union's Female Teachers Association, director of the Tokyo Education Association's Women's Training Department, a member of the Japan International Association's Women's Committee, director of the Tokyo Women's Patriotic Association, and a councillor of the Dai Nippon Women's Association. She was a representative of the 1928 Pan-Pacific Women's Conference in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, she became a member of the
Imperial Rule Assistance Association
The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved i ...
's Central Cooperation Council.
After an unsuccessful attempt in the
1946 Japanese general election
General elections were held in Japan on 10 April 1946, the first after World War II. Voters had one, two or three votes, depending on how many MPs were elected from their constituency. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 14 ...
1947 Japanese House of Councillors election
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 20 April 1947.Minshu Club and dedicated herself to issues involving education and female teachers.''教育一路'', p. 145
Kiuchi Kyō died on 7 November 1964 at the age of 80.