The Day Women’s Voices Filled the Streets: 1970–1972

Mitsu Tanaka was a leading activist and writer in Japan’s women’s liberation movement of the early 1970s. In August 1970, she established the Preparatory Committee for the Women’s Liberation Liaison Council, and in October of that same year, she drew widespread public attention through demonstrations composed entirely of women. In 1971, the first “Lib Retreat” was held, bringing together women from across the country and bringing into the public sphere topics such as women’s own bodies, sexuality, marriage, childbirth, family, and labor—issues that had previously tended to be treated as private matters. The fact that Mitsu Tanaka’s name appears in documents from 1971 demonstrates that youth culture at the time was deeply intertwined not only with music and literature but also with the women’s liberation movement and self-expression through the body. Tanaka’s ideas went beyond simply demanding equal rights for men and women; they delved into the internal issues of how women perceive themselves and how they choose to live their lives. In 1972, her book *To the Women of Life* was published, becoming a seminal work that conveyed the ideals of the Japanese women’s liberation movement. The period around 1971 was also a time when the term “Women’s Liberation” itself was rapidly spreading throughout society. A medical journal from that same year reported on the emergence of a uniquely Japanese women’s liberation movement, centered primarily on the younger generation. Mitsu Tanaka’s presence symbolizes the early 1970s as a moment when society began to reexamine established views on the family, gender relations, and ways of life themselves.