Rethinking Japanese Feminism and the Lessons of Ūman Ribu

This essay reflects on the lessons of the 1970s Japanese women’s liberation movement (Ūman ribu) and Japanese feminism in relation to transnational feminism. The author discusses the need for a praxis of critical transnational feminism (CTF) in order to maintain the critique inherent to transnational feminism. Specifically, the chapter revisits Ūman ribu‘s approach to women and violence to contribute to a praxis of CTF. The second half of the chapter discusses Japanese feminism more broadly in relation to race, nationalism and imperialism and interrogates the status of Japanese feminists in relation to non-Japanese feminists within Japan. In the final part of the chapter, the author discusses the limits of Ūman ribu‘s anti-imperialist feminism and suggests that decolonial feminism can offer renewed direction for feminism in Japan and beyond.