www.tsuda.ac.jp jaumekocd100

1
In the United States and many other various
places around the world women have been treated
as though they were lower than men. Still today
in many history classes women and their
contributions to society are skipped right over
unless you are discussing womens suffrage. This
not only seems to occur in the United States but
also in various places around the world. In the
past and not so often present women in Japan seem
to go much unnoticed. Their role in society was
to bear children and be subservient to men.
Progress has been made though in the roles of
women today by the help of individuals such as
Umeko Tsuda. Tsuda saw the need for change in
the roles of women in Japan and decided the best
way of improvement was education. Therefore she
became the founder of The Womens Institute for
English Studies.

• www.tsuda.ac.jp/ ja/umeko/cd100/

2
Umeko (born Ume) Tsuda was born when the age of
the samurai was drawing to a close. Japan was in
a transition point from the Edo era to the Meiji
era. Umekos father was a low ranking samurai
that was upset by her birth because of his want
for a boy. Therefore it seems evident that he
wouldnt be that upset in letting her travel to
the United States to study.

• www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ ymasaki/youkoso.htm

3
http//brynmawer.edu/alumae/bulletin/tsuda.htm

• In 1871, at the age of seven Tsuda was the
  youngest of seven chosen my the Meiji government
  to study abroad in the United States. One
  purpose of the Iwakura mission was to cultivate
  girls in Western ways they were to become models
  of ideal womanhood and thus help to usher in a
  new and modernized Japanese nation (Nakajima
  1). Japan, being in this transition period was
  trying to westernize its ways from the old
  feudalistic system and what better way to
  understand a new culture than total emersion.
  Umeko and the other girls now had the
  responsibility to relay the new ways of the west
  and somehow put it in practice in Japan.

4
While studying in the United States Tsuda lived
with Charles Lanman and his wife, in or near
Washington D.C. Umeko was treated just like one
of the Lanmans own children since they had none.
She started to belong in the western culture, she
was fully immersed as an American (Hahn-Koenig
3). The process of westernization was even taken
as far as Umeko converting to Christianity.
5
While in the United States Tsuda studied first at
Georgetown Collegiate Institute for eleven years.
With the pressure knowing that Japan was
depending on her to achieve great things she did
quite well. Many individuals were amazed at the
work she was doing and how well she was doing it.
After graduating from Georgetown Collegiate
Institute Umeko entered the Archer Institute
where many of the students were more fortunate
therefore seemed more prestigious than the one
before. Again, like at Georgetown Collegiate
Institute Umeko excelled and seemed to immerse
herself into the U.S. culture.

• http//brynmawer.edu/alumae/bulletin/tsuda.htm

6
In 1882 at age nineteen Tsuda returned to Japan
after living in with the Lanmans in the United
States for ten years. On her return home from
the U.S Umeko experienced a large dose culture
shock. She not only had to reeducate herself in
the ways of the Japanese but also the language.
The biggest culture shock though that she felt
though was from seeing the position of women in
the Japanese culture. Granted, progress was
definitely made from the old feudal system but
many individuals still clung to the old ways and
traditions. Women were still dependent on the
men and their role was still seen to be in the
home. Though the Meiji government had promoted
girls education during the decade she was in the
United States, the curricula did not emphasize
the development of womens intelligence and
personality, but rather trained women to support
their husbands and children obediently
(Nakajima 2). This ideology did not set well
with Umeko. She new from her experience that
women could have different roles than the ones
they had. She also knew that the way to improve
womens positions in Japan wad through education.

• http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/umeko/umekosir.html

7
After realizing this true state of women in the
Japanese culture, Umeko returned to the United
States to again study. She realized that she was
destined to improve the status of women and to
accomplish she must develop and polish skill. In
1889 Umeko started her journey to educate women,
starting with herself, and enrolled at Bryn Mawr.
While at Bryn Mawr, Ume also developed her
skills in public speaking and fundraising. With
Mrs. Morris help, she established an American
support network for Japanese womens education,
starting with a scholarship fund for Japanese
women to study abroad (Hahn-Koenig 4)

• www.kanko.chuo.chiba.jp/ e/chiba/out_ijin-e.html

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http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/umeko/umekosir.html
In 1900 Umeko Tsuda founded The Womens Institute
for English (Joshi Eigaku Juku). She introduced
western-style education, which included class
discussion about current topics, and taught
liberal arts subjects. She also emphasized
building students personalities and encouraging
students creativity (Nakajima 3). At Umekos
school women got the freedom to explore a world
never know to them before. It transformed would
be housewives into professional women.
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http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/umeko/umekosir.html
Opening The Womens Institute for English Studies
didnt come without its short comings. Whether
or not the school would have enough funds was
also a big question Tsuda faced. Tsuda worked
hard fund raising performing odd jobs here and
there trying to support the school and herself!
10
http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/umeko/umekosir.html
In 1903 the school was approved as a vocational
school by the Ministry of Education and, in 1905,
graduates of the school were no longer required
to take the government examination in order to
teach (Nakajima 3). These two events
contributed to the success of the school greatly.
It now was seen as a prestigious establishment.

11
http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/index.html
Today, The Wens Institute for English Studies is
now called Tsuda College (Tsuda Juku Diagaku).
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http//www.tsuda.ac.jp/ja/index.html
The size of Tsuda College has grown drastically
in the past 100 years. It has grown time and
still maintains its great educational standards.
Since Umeko spent much of her life studying
abroad, it is quite evident that the overseas
program would remain quite strong.
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In the year 2000 Tsuda College celebrated it 100
year anniversary. It is still one of the most
prestigious women's institutes of higher
education in Japan. (Nakajima 3)
http//brynmawer.edu/alumae/bulletin/tsuda.htm
14
The President Naoko Shimura of Tsuda College has
high hopes for its future. He was quoted during
the centennial saying In the twenty-first
centuary our global community will face many
grave, multinational issues In such an era,
women will need to transcend the past objective
of gender equality and participate more
positively in society and make their own unique
contributions (Hahn-Koenig 4). The fact that
such high hopes are being placed on women proves
that Umekos work was a success and also that it
will have a last effect on generations to come
all around the world.
www.tsuda.ac.jp/ ja/umeko/B5.html
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Umekos hard work and dedication has idealized
her as a true revolutionary figure for women. In
2000, the year of her centennial, she was placed
on a postage stamp along with two other
individuals, that pioneered the way for higher
education.

• http//brynmawer.edu/alumae/bulletin/tsuda.htm

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www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ ymasaki/youkoso.htm
Tsuda has also been immortalized in the words of
authors recapping her dedication to womens
higher education in Japan. The Seed of Light and
The White Plum are only two of a fair share of
books written about Umeko. Her memory will live
on through the words, and thoughts that
immortalize her life. She remains living through
her students.
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Works Cited

• Hahn-Koenig, Monica Anke . BMC honors Tsuda
  centennial. Bryn Mawr College. 2000.
  http//brynmawer.edu/alumae/bulletin/tsuda.htm
• Nakajima, Atsuko. Umeko Tsuda. Indiana
  University. 2003. http//learningtogive.org/pape
  rs/people/umekotsuda.htm