This 1997 book tells the inspiring story of a group of women who challenged the expectations of their society in their writings and in their actions. Vera Mackie surveys the developments of socialist women's activism in Japan from the 1900s to the 1930s, in the broader context of the industrial and political development of modern Japan. She outlines the major socialist women's organisations and their debates with their liberal and anarchist sisters. The book also offers close analysis of the political and creative writings of socialist women.

‘The focus of the study is women involved in urban-based organisations in the Tokyo region (the legal left) who defined themselves as socialist … This book depicts an heroic struggle, and in recounting it, as Mackie acknowledges, she has constructed her own narrative of resistance and liberation. The book will have substantial appeal, both for its strong empirical base, and for its textual analysis.’

Source: Labour History Review