『ジョセフィン・バットラー夫人』：矢島楫子とジョセフィン・バトラーをつなぐ翻訳書

Abstract

"This essay clarifies the ambiguous status of Josefin Battor? fujin (Mrs. Josephine Butler) (1913), a Japanese translation of Josephine Butler: An Autobiographical Memoir (1909), and sheds light on a crucial part of the life of Kajiko Yajima, the president of the Japan Women’s Christian Temperance Union established in 1886, who led the campaign against the state-regulated prostitution system in modern Japan. The essay elucidates conditions surrounding the 1913 publication of Josefin Battor? fujin by identifying the likely translator and the intended readership. To do this, it examines articles in Kakusei of Kakusei-kai (Licensed District Reform Association) and Fujin Shimp? of the JWCTU; related individuals; a possible schedule for the publication; and the social background of 1911-14 Japan. Focusing on Maurice Gregory, a British abolitionist whom Butler’s organization sent to Japan in October 1911 as a designated advisor for Kakusei-kai, provided following aspects; the publication had been planned and completed by men sympathetic to women’s rights and dedicated to Yajima; the fact that Gregory saw similarities between Yajima and Butler could fortify Yajima’s leadership. This essay draws overdue attention to Josefin Battor? fujin as a primary source that may offer new perspectives from which to consider Yajima and the Christian abolitionist campaign in modern Japan. "