September 11, 2023
Sept. 16 will mark 100 years since the brutal killing of Noe Ito, a Japanese anarchist, author and social critic of the Meiji and Taisho eras, who was targeted and killed in the massacres that followed the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Although opinions vary in her hometown of Fukuoka about her reputation and liberal approach to matters of sex and politics, in recent years people have become more aware of her due to newly published works as well as a biographical dramatization on public broadcaster NHK that detailed a life that was never bound by moralistic norms.
A library in the southwestern city of Fukuoka has opened an exhibition about Ito, who raised her voice for oppressed women of the time throughout her often turbulent life. A group of volunteers last year launched a project to educate people about her, and a festival to celebrate her life is scheduled for Sept. 15-16.
