Born: July 29 1887, Japan
Died: 10 July 1980
Country most active: Japan
Also known as: 木村 駒子, Komaku Kimura or Komago Kimura (misspellings in American newspapers)
Komako Kimura was a Japanese suffragist, actress, dancer, theater manager, and magazine editor before World War II. Her work, both literary and theatrical, shaped the women’s rights and women’s suffrage movement in Japan. She famously marched in the October 27, 1917 suffrage march in New York. She was managed two theaters in Tokyo, the Kimura Komako theater, and the Tokiwaza; as an actor, she performed in 500 plays throughout her lifetime, including performing on Broadway and at Carnegie Hall. As a feminist, Komako Kimura created the movement “The True New Women’s Association” (Shin-shinfujinkai) in 1912 with two other women, Nishikawa Fumiko and Miyazaki Mitsuko. They created a lecture series and magazine, entitled “The New True Women” (Shinshinfujin). Komako gave her first speech, “Love and Self-Realization for Women”, in 1913. Her goal was to educate women to be strong-willed and thoughtful feminists, with an education and decision-making power equal to men’s. “The New True Woman” magazine was published until January 1918, when it was suppressed by the Japanese government. The magazine was known for radical topics for the time, such as criticizing marriage; it was the first Japanese publication to candidly discuss the use of birth control.
This suppression also extended to her public lectures, and she was no longer permitted to hold meetings in public spaces. In response, Komako wrote and performed a play entitled “Ignorance.” The Japanese government told her to return to playing meek women, or risk censure and the closing of her theaters. She defied its cease and desist order and made all of the performances free to the public, resulting in her arrest. When she was put on trial, she acted in her own defense, doing this so well that instead of hindering her cause, the government inadvertently promoted it – the highly publicized trial spread her message and made her fight for women’s rights and suffrage known throughout the country.
She also wrote several books about meditation and breathing techniques, including A Textbook on the Art of Dancing and The Art of Kannon.