An international group of historians, economists, anthropologists and management specialists examine policy towards women workers and their experinces over the course of this century in Japan.

"Japanese Women Working" provides a wide range of perspectives on the study of working women in Japan in the twentieth century. The contributors--including historians, economists, anthropologists and management specialists from both Japan and the Western world--address issues of state policy toward and management of working women, and at the same time also provides accounts of the experiences of particular groups of workers: domestic staff, hospital workers, textile workers, miners, homeworkers and professional housewives.
The essays in this volume span a period of rapid economic change in Japan and examine the country in its developing and its industrialized state, demonstrating the importance of the overall economic environment as well as cultural factors in determining women's positions in the labor market.

'Dr Hunter's introduction to this fascinating collection of papers provides an excellent overview of the history and development of women's issues since the Meiji Restoration, and also puts them in an international context...This book is not the result of a conference or symposium but is part of the response in the West to the need for material in the English to be available so that Japan can be included in comparative studies of history, economics, gender studies, etc. ' - Lydia Gomersall, Proceedings of the Japan Society'Richly detailed and fascinating to read... Japanese Women Working is a significant addition to the growing body of research in this field, and one that deserves a wide audience.' - Louella Matsunaga, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies