The blog thus revives at least for a time, as many a thing does. Learning new talents gets in the way of the old acquired ones, doesn't it? They recede, yet softly at reach, to make space for the newcoming and, if all things turn fortunately enough, then they all merge together, and build on each other something not possible at first. Recently, learning coding and stepping up my video editing skills have eaten up a lot my writing (as I can't really call kanji practising a writing exercise). Yet, I've been saving up some time for translating, slowly making my way through Itō Noe [伊藤 野枝] (1895 – 1923)'s repository of short essays, novellas and correspondence, a work long overdue as most of it remains exclusively in Japanese as far as I know.
The young anarchist, a dynamic and extraordinary force in the rich tapestry of Taishō intellectualism, became a renowed polemist that soon enough took over one among Japan's first women's literary magazines, Seitō or Bluestocking. Of humble origins but with determination and and a broad educational background, Noe tried to embody and experience on her practical life each and every of her convictions. The editor of the Japanese volume of her complete works, Mori, describes her succinctly:
２８年の短い生涯、まさに嵐のようであった。夢見たものは自らの安寧、逸楽ではない。『幸福はたしかに人間を馬鹿にしてしまいます』。野枝が願ったものは、人びとに幸福を許さない社会との徹底的な闘争、そこに生まれる人間の愛情と成長であった。
For a short 28-year life, it was just like a storm. She payed no mind to her own well-being nor comfort. She herself wrote: "Happiness certainly makes humans foolish." What Noe hoped for was a thorough struggle with a society that did not allow for people's happiness, love and the self-development of all human beings born there.
The present short essay/poem is a historic document in Japan and this is my personal translation, perhaps far from perfect as it stands; but hey, you'll get at least the geist of it. As a translator's note, Japanese usually does not specify gender, but a 彼 instead of 彼女 along the text points to the switch to neutral half way through, to generalize her point. The "New Woman" was a sociopolitical theme of Modern Japan, as new behaviours exhibited by young girls born amidst the vanishing of feudal Japanese institutions and the Rokumeikan era of imported goods, ideas and arts created an incredibly plastic urban society. The Imperial Edict of Education had already established an universal right to education that set apart the women of the late Meiji period from all their predecessors: these were times of change, and opportunity. Yet this isn't the only angle of the text: it is very much a reflection on politics and leadership, and on what constitutes the intellectual journey to begin with. For Noe, being politically revolutionary and being a freethinker were integral parts to any project of women liberation. On this short space, Noe indeed managed to make some quite strong declarations, and it's that same fiery demeanor that sets her apart from most her contemporaries, be men or women. These are her words as of January of 1913:
The way of the new womanItō Noe
The new woman does not walk by following the old footsteps of those who preceded her. The new woman gets a path for herself. The new woman, rather than remaining in the same dead end as the rest, advances as a pioneer and opens up a new path.
The new path is one of which those who still follow the old one, or those who were unwillingly trapped by it, know nothing about. It is a path still unknown, fresh even for the pioneers themselves.
Of the new road it is not known with certainty where it comes from, or where it leads. And for that very reason, it is plagued by the fears and dangers associated with the things unknown.
The pioneer of this yet unknown path has to cut the brambles that infest the path along which he or she must continue, and march forward. He has to crack huge rocks and, walking, get lost and wander through the mountainous depths. Harassed by poisonous insects, has to face hunger and thirst, border the cliffs, cross the valleys, clinging to the roots of the vegetation. Thus, the pioneer will implore with loud voices, and shed bitter tears due to such suffering.
The unknown road of such wasteland goes on and on forever, in eternal silence. And yet the pioneer cannot live forever. He collapses, broken by the pain and the cost of the struggle, and cannot go on any further. And so followers appear and recognize the great power of that leader, and so they begin to take new steps. And for the first time, they praise the pioneer.
However, this provisional path that leads to the pioneer, on which his footprints are still visible, was new only for himself. Paradoxically, for the follower, this is already a path traveled, which no longer holds any meaning for himself.
This new pioneer, who replaces the one who collapsed, experiences that same suffering again, and continues forward, opening a new path for himself.
The use of this term "new" is such that it should apply exclusively to just a handful of these pioneers.
It is a term that should only be said of those who live in pain and die in it, those who know themselves, those who believe in themselves, those who continue to take paths open by themselves. Its use, applied to those dissolute followers who cling to any nonsense, should not be forgiven.
A pioneer, a leader, is above all someone endowed with great steadiness. Next, someone strong. Also, someone brave. Consequently, someone who takes personal responsibility for his life. No matter the situation, a leader does not allow others to get in the way of his work. In addition, he pays no mind to his followers. Followers are also not qualified to be critical of leaders. They don't have the right. They simply thank the leader and have no choice but to follow his footsteps. Left to their own devices, they don't know how to proceed. In the end, they always end up following the leader, they return to look at the tracks.
Leaders need above all to enrich their own interior. Apart from this, the courage and power to cultivate themselves, without losing their firmness and self-confidence, nor their self-responsibility.
Also, while the leader continues marching down his path, there is rarely any consensus or support among the rest. He's always alone. And there is suffering in it. There is agony in it. There is uncertainty in it. And sometimes, he is gripped by a deep despair. The only thing that comes out of his mouth is a feverish prayer for himself, spoken out lout. For all these reasons, a person who seeks happiness, consolation, and sympathy cannot be a leader. Only someone capable of being strong and faithful to the best version of himself should be a leader.
After all, will the path of a new woman, who has to become a pioneer, be anything other than a series of painful efforts?
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