Recent years have seen a surge of interest in Japanese feminism and gender history. This volume brings to light Japan's feminist public sphere, a discursive space in which academic, journalistic, and political voices have long met and sparred over issues that remain controversial, including prostitution, pornography, reproductive rights, and the relationships between individual, family, and state.

Ayako Kano is associate professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania.