Who was Supposed to Love Whom, in Which Way? --Love and Gender in Meiji Japan--

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  • TANAKA, Aiko
    Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

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  • <男の愛>と<女の愛>-- 『女学雑誌』における「愛」とジェンダ--
  • 〈男の愛〉と〈女の愛〉 : 『女学雑誌』における「愛」とジェンダー
  • 〈 オトコ ノ アイ 〉 ト 〈 オンナ ノ アイ 〉 : 『 ジョガク ザッシ 』 ニ オケル 「 アイ 」 ト ジェンダー

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This paper will explore the gender structure of love in modern Japan. Love was reconstructed to be "mutual" feelings at the end of 19th century during the Meiji period. However, through analyzing the discussion of love at that time, this paper reveals that "mutuality" of love consisted of different practice of love depending on one's gender. Man's love was intended to be transformed from fleshy desire to spiritual love which was based on respect for woman in order to raise women's status from mere sexual objects to equally spiritual being as men. However, he had a choice to decide whether to love his wife or not based on his own feelings, whereas woman had no choice but to love her husband. Devotion and self denial was what woman was supposed to feel as a loving wife. Moreover, as a part of her practice of love, she was expected to make efforts in order to be loved by her husband. As a result, man was expected to love his wife, and woman was expected to be loved by her husband in order to realize "equal love" between two sexes.

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