http://www.1to5.net/saito/iroiro.html
translate with any one of the free translators listed here
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/links.htm
(nifty/babelfish sometimes will not translate the bottom of the page
so you may have to highlight copy and paste the 2nd to last box from
the bottom (and text beneath)
set browser to view Japanese font...
""�さまと私の`c母幾"Tは、'�良しでして�Aよくお遊びにおいでになりました。i'
略） "ö³Üは、その頃、たしかおつむはこう切り下げにあそばしておられたと記憶し
ております。
高嶺敬qさん 'k
HHH･･･�B赤間倭q' より
この頃の時"öさんÌwAX^Cルですが、ようするに結い上げたり、`ｩねたりせずにと
いうことなのでしょうね。{uとか、ワ�"レ�"Æ©･･･�Aまあその辺はご`z`怩ﾉお"Cせし
ます。"
****again even the webmaster at 1to5.net is a bit unsure of the
account but if you think about it the haircut may have been
perfectly acceptable for an upper middleclass woman who worked at a
prestigious woman's school...and a woman who was LITERATE and could
appreciate all the popular magazines for women at the time
period...what is pretty clear was that Tokio's hair was different
enough for this person to REMEMBER
We have discussed in the past all the interesting laws passed during
the Meiji era, namely why it was ILLEGAL for women to cut their hair
short? why? why? why?
I have seen photos of all the famous women's rights activists during
the Meiji Era, perhaps the photos were taken when they were young
but even they had long hair restrained in a bun. I have also seen
dozens of pics of girls in schools, with long hair, and factory
workers all with long hair in a bun too.
Tokio may have harbored a mild interest [or] simply adopted the
fashion of progressive women. As soon as I can find a really really
good quote on women and bank accounts (the amount in the bank accout
is *insignificant)...the opening of bank accounts in their name was
also considered to be RADICAL. Keep in mind that Aizu women in
general were pretty active in various societies e.g. mentored by
Yamakawa Sutematsu (who was very much restrained by her marriage to
Iwao Oyama). Literate women wrote poems and discussed literature
(specifically in the Bunkyo area, residential areas near Tokyo
University from my readings on Higuchi Ichiyo). Keep in mind that
Tokio, from a samurai family, shared the harsh experience of many
Aizu people in the north...she worked until her hands became rough
and callous so she may have agreed with the progressive movement.
see pic of mentioned *radical* hair cut (^_^)
http://1happyturtle.com/makoto/Meijihaircut.jpg
Sievers, Sharon L. Flowers in Salt
Stanford:Stanford University Press, 1983. ISBN 0804711658
***read this book if you want to learn about the female anarchist
Kanno Suga who planned to assasinate the Meiji Emperor...she was
hanged
page 14-15
"But as more and more Japanese men adopted short hairstyles,
indicating their desire to join the country's march to progress,
some women decided to join them, by bobbing their hair. An
association advocating shorter and more practical hairstyles for
women was organized in 1871, in support of the kinds of changes in
the government was advocating for the male population. The
government's response to this uninvited and spontaneous development
was immediate. At first it merely called for an end to the new
custom of bobbed hair among women, but in 1872 it made short hair
for women illegal. Even older women who for health reasons had to
wear a shorter hairstyle were required under the 1872 order to
obtain a license from the Meiji government before they could have
their hair cut. Informally, the government explained that it
favored an end to the blackened teeth and shaved eyebrows married
women had adopted from an earlier age, but that hairstyles should
not be changed. The Meiji Empress made a public appearance in 1873,
deomonstrating the correct "look": long hair, with natural-looking
eyebrows and teeth. Still, the government's effort to keep Meiji
women from abandoning the elaborate hairstyles symbolic of the
geisha could not be enforced. Women could always cut their hair at
home, and a number of women active in the struggle for women's
rights did just that....women cutting their hair can be viewed as a
real, if spontaneous, attempt to join the progressive forces trying
to create a new Japan, the government's denial of their right to do
so was also a denial of their right to participate and contribute
actively to that change."
----------------------
*imagining* + with some exaggeration
Fujita Goro and Tokio (head covered by a wrap/hood) stop by the
Bunkyo Ward police station. Mr. Fujita looking pretty serious.
Koga Tanji (F.G.'s friend of many years) ::GASP:: "Hey, Goro, I know
you two fight sometimes but throwing Tokio in jail is a bit harsh
don't you think?"
Fujita Goro "Nope, she needs a license for ---this"
Tokio ::smiling:: dramatically removes the hood showing off her
short hair
Koga Tanji "I'll start on the paper work right away!"
----------------------
Rokumeikan's Scandal Exposed!
http://p076.ezboard.com/fshinsengumiheadquartersfrm21.showMessage?
topicID=7.topic