a biography of the day - Shidzue Kato

Shidzue Katō, March 2, 1897 – December 22, 2001) was a 20th Century Japanese feminist and one of the first women elected to the Diet of Japan. Katō was best known as a pioneer in the birth control movement and a strong supporter of labour reform.


Katō Shidzue was born on March 2, 1897 in Japan to an elite family and was married to the progressive Baron Ishimoto Keikichi at age 17. Shortly after their marriage, Shidzue and her husband moved to the Miike coalfield in Kyūshū. For three years, they witnessed the horrendous conditions under which the men and women there worked. In 1919, the couple moved to the United States, where Shidzue studied in a secretarial program in New York. Afterwards the couple returned to Japan, the Baron began working for the expanding Japanese empire, and the couple grew apart. She became involved with labor organizer Katō Kanju (who was also married). Only after many years was she given permission by the Imperial Household Agency to end her marriage to the Baron and to marry Katō Kanju. In 1946 Katō Shidzue joined the Japan Socialist Party, and was elected to the Diet of Japan. She continued her involvement in Japanese politics even after leaving the Diet, until her death at age 104 on December 22, 2001.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shidzue_Kato