Book excerpt: Surprisingly little is known in the West about Japanese women. Exploring themes of gender and class, this book traces the changing position of women through history and into the present. Repudiating the cliche of the submissive Japanese woman, the authors show women as active agents in both family and public life. The women's liberation movement of recent years resonates with echoes of struggle and resistance from earlier times. The broader movements of history and culture are brought into focus within the experiences of individual women.