History
Moga: Japan’s “Modern Girl” of the Taisho Era
She was a symbol of prewar prosperity – and controversy. How the “modern girl” of Japan’s roaring 1920s defined a new path for women.
June 12, 2023
She was a symbol of prewar prosperity – and controversy. How the “modern girl” of Japan’s roaring 1920s defined a new path for women.
In Taisho era Japan, Tamura Toshiko emerged as one of the preeminent writers of the “New Woman” movement. Her legacy extends farther still, beyond Japan’s borders.
“Mama” and “papa” are such ubiquitous parental terms in Japan that it’s easy to forget they’re foreign words – words the government once tried to ban.
In Japan, the recent past is often obscured beneath endless concrete. Meiji Mura is one of the few places to discover the atmosphere of modernizing, turn-of-the-century Japan.
In Tokyo, the recent past is often obscured beneath endless concrete. Take a journey through the city’s history to discover why.
Mass strikes, the creation of the 8-hour workday, and an early 20th-century vogue for foreign words – all led to the most popular Japanese word many don’t even realize is foreign in origin.
As the era of the samurai ended and Japan rushed towards modernization, a rough-scrabble fashion movement called the Bankara rose in opposition.
Once, professional live narrators for silent films in Japan were bigger stars than the actual actors onscreen. This is the story of a lost cinema art form.
The Taisho Era may have been short, but it was anything but uneventful. Learn more about this short but tumultuous era in Japanese history.
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