(also shortened to ) were

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the period after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. were Japan's equivalent of America's

flappers Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

, Germany's , France's , or China's (). By viewing through a Japanese versus Western lens, the nationalist press could use the modern girl archetype to blame such failings as

frivolity Silliness is defined as engaging in "a ludicrous folly", showing a "lack of good sense or judgment", or "the condition of being frivolous, trivial, or superficial". In television, film, and the circus, portrayals of silliness such as exaggerated, ...

sexual promiscuity Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by ma ...

, and

selfishness Selfishness is being concerned excessively or exclusively, for oneself or one's own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness; and has also been contrasted (as by C. S. Lewis) w ...

on foreign influence.''The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy'', edited by Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela Di Leonardo, pp. 493-494 The period was characterized by the emergence of

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

young women with access to money and consumer goods. Using aristocratic culture as their standard of Japaneseness, the critics of the modern girl condemned her working class traits as "unnatural" for Japanese. Modern girls were depicted as living in the cities, being financially and emotionally independent, choosing their own suitors, and apathetic towards politics.The 'Modern' Japanese Woman
''The Chronicle'' 5/21/2004: The woman's magazine was a novelty at this time, and the modern girl was the model consumer, someone more often found in advertisements for cosmetics and fashion than in real life. The all-female

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japa ...

, established in 1914, and the novel ''

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bor ...

'' (1924) are outstanding examples of modern girl culture.

Origins and etymology

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...

's 1924 novel ''Naomi'' is credited as creating the term "modern girl". The novel was such a hit that it caused considerable outrage among elders in Japan. However, younger women embraced the story and celebrated the values displayed by several of the main characters. The character became a feature of many

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s produced in Japan at the time by directors like

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

. Actresses such as Tatsuta Shizue became known for their depiction of modern girls in contrast to the more traditional values depicted by other characters in films. The modern girl archetype was further bolstered by magazines such as , founded in 1917, and , founded in 1922; both magazines ran articles, fashion tips, and advice on the modern girl lifestyle,''The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy'', edited by Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela Di Leonardo. with described as "the bible of the modern girl."Sex in the City: Chastity vs Free Love in Interwar Japan

Behavior

The values of modern girls emphasised complete financial and emotional independence. Modern girls would work service industry-style jobs and live on their own, not dependent on their family. They smoked, watched movies, and hung out at the cafes; they were sexually liberated, choosing their own suitors. Many of them participated in

casual sex Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night ...

. In a 1928 short story by Kataoka Teppei, a young typist dates three "modern boys" at the same time.The New Japanese Woman: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan
/ref> She is described as decadent, hedonistic, and superficial. However, the ideals of modern girls were not considered to be politically-driven, nor did young women adopt modern girl values and behaviours as a direct form of protest. Instead, modern girls sought change via themselves, with consumerism the first and foremost consideration and driving factor. Modern girls constantly shopped at the new

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

and listened to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

Appearance

A modern girl's appearance was completely Western. Modern girls wore

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

s and short dresses, discarding the

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

and traditional hairstyles for Western-style "garçonne" looks; similar to flappers, the

bob cut A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, but no longer than shoulder-length, often with fringe or bangs at the front. The standa ...

was immensely popular among modern girls, who also openly wore

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back t ...

. Much of their dress and appearance resembled Western film stars such as

Olive Thomas Olive Thomas (born Oliva R. Duffy; October 20, 1894 – September 10, 1920) was an American silent-film actress, art model, and photo model. Thomas began her career as an illustrator's model in 1914, and moved on to the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' th ...

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

, and

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

. Pickford is used as a symbol of modernism in ''Naomi.''

End of era

The modern girl was a symbol of

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, econo ...

, and a symbol of extravagance and self-centred choices. However, following military coups in the mid- to late 1930s, extreme

Japanese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture, and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. Over the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range of ideas ...

, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, the popularity of Western fashion, ideals and entertainment declined sharply. The decline of the modern girl, previously driven by the use of disposable income on consumerism and shopping, was only exacerbated further by the severe rationing of

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 opposin ...

. Following World War II, the developments of post-war Japan prompted a return to the 19th century ideal of "

good wife, wise mother "Good Wife, Wise Mother" is a phrase representing a traditional ideal for womanhood in East Asia, including Japan, China and Korea. First appearing in the late 1800s, the four-character phrase "Good Wife, Wise Mother" (also ) was coined by Nakamu ...

References

External links

{{1920s media culture Slang terms for women 1920s fashion Japanese culture 1920s in Japan Flappers Stereotypes of working-class women