In this article, I profile the activism of 18-year-old Sakai Magara (1903-1985). I focus in particular on her role in the Sekirankai (Red Wave Society), which was a short-lived women's political organization formed in April 1921 and aligned directly with socialist and anti-capitalist worker issues. My discussion draws on three principal sources: contemporaneous accounts of the Society; writings by women with whom Magara collaborated; and the words of Magara herself. I pay attention to Magara's contribution to Sekirankai, the influences on the development of her activism, and the barriers to political participation by girls and women in Japan.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	feminist history, May day, political organization, radicalism, Red Wave Society ,Sakai Toshihiko Shojo Socialism
Research Division:	Language, Communication and Culture
Research Group:	Literary studies
Research Field:	Literature in Japanese
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Understanding past societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Asia's past
UTAS Author:	Hartley, B (Dr Barbara Hartley)
ID Code:	155378
Year Published:	2020
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Humanities
Deposited On:	2023-02-17
Last Modified:	2023-02-17
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