Accession No. RARE.2019.0155: Purchased, 2019 December
[identification of item], "Inshu no Nariyuki" Woodblock Print Leaves Illustrated by Sasaki Toyoju, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0127, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Beth Crowner, 2019 December; Finding Aid written by: Beth Crowner, 2019 December
Sasaki Toyoju (1853-1901), also known as Hoshi En, was a member of the Tokyo Fujin Kyofu Kai, or Tokyo Woman's Reform Society. In 1871, she began studying with Mary Kidder, a Christian missionary, and by the 1880s she joined the Tokyo Woman's Reform Society, where she spoke out against against the practice of concubinage, polygamy, and other women's issues such as alcoholism. In addition to publishing "Inshu no Nariyuki", she also published "Fujin Genron no Jiyu" in 1888, which was a translation of a pamphlet published by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union dealing with free speech for women.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is an international organization founded in Hillsboro, Ohio in 1873, to promote the Christian religion, reform, missionary work, and women's suffrage. A local chapter, the Tokyo Woman's Reform Society, was founded in 1886, and in 1893 organized into the Japanese Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The "Inshu no Nariyuki" Woodblock Print Leaves Illustrated by Sasaki Toyoju are a series of six leaves with 12 different color woodblock prints depicting the effect of alcoholism on families and individuals. The illustrations are captioned "The Drunkard's Progress" in English, with descriptions for each illustration in Japanese with accompanying furigana to assist readers with kanji readings. The prints were produced for the Tokyo Woman's Reform Society as part of an early temperance and women's rights movement, and are first editions dated 1888.