For the first time, many of the world s leading scholars in the field of Japanese women s history met in Edinburgh in 2003 and presented papers addressing the themes of Pioneering Women in Japan and General Issues in Japanese Women s History . This volume, containing most of the papers, which have been specially edited and revised for publication, together with an in-depth contextual Introduction by Dr Hiroko Tomida and Dr Gordon Daniels, is the outcome. By definition, therefore, the volume contains some of the most recent findings in this field in Japan, Australia, the United States and the UK, and introduces new approaches to studying Japanese women s history. In addition, it contains a special contribution on Ichikawa Fusae by Professor Barbara Molony.