Reexamination of the iconography of Empress Jingu:

In earlier scholarship the Empress Jingu was presented in conflicting ways: on the one hand, her image was used in the interests of the Japanese empire and its overseas expansion as a “symbol of nationalistic politics and plans,” and on the other hand used in beliefs associated with safe childbirth as “a female symbol reflecting modern female norms.” Scholars have noted that the medieval/early modern images of the Empress Jingu are at odds with modern norms for women. In the medieval and early modern historical view, Empress Jingu, who ascended the imperial throne and led military forces despite being a woman, is presented as a woman who wished to break away from the view of women as incompetent. This paper analyses the changing images of Empress Jingu held by individuals involved in the Meiji-era struggle for improvement of womenʼ s rights as presented in Jogaku Zasshi (Journal of Womenʼ s Studies) and Jogaku Shinshi (New Journal of Women's Studies). The analysis shows that while the first issue of Jogaku Zasshi, which had the Empress on its cover, seemed to present the Empress as a woman who had matched the accomplishments of men, presentation in later issues slowly changed the Empressʼ s image to one that matched with Meiji government ideas about good wives and wise mothers. Although the first issue of Jogaku Zasshi and the 24^th issue of Jogaku Shinshi presented images of the Empress Jingu, in the end images of Empress Jingu lost their appeal as a model of womanhood, and these journals increasingly featured Empress Komyo and Princess Shoken.