Womansword
What Japanese Words Say About Women
Thirty years after its first publication, Womansword remains a timely, provocative work on how words reflect female stereotypes in modern Japan.
Short, lively essays offer linguistic, sociological, and historical insight into issues central to the lives of women everywhere: identity, girlhood, marriage, motherhood, work, sexuality, and aging. Cherry uses Japanese society, from folklore to pop culture, to illuminate female identity, simultaneously teaching us about both.
A new introduction shows how things have—and haven't—changed.
Kittredge Cherry studied in Japan on a Rotary International Journalism scholarship at Kobe College and International Christian University in Tokyo. She has written about Japan for such publications as Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. Her popular “Cool Words” column was a regular feature at the Asahi Weekly from 2006-09. A native of Iowa, Cherry has degrees in journalism and art history from the University of Iowa, and a master of divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.
Kitt's specialties include women’s issues, language, culture, and communication.The New York Times Book Review praised her "very graceful, erudite" writing style and her poetry has won several awards. Her books have been translated into Chinese, German, Japanese, and Polish.
