Tsuneko Akamatsu
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Tsuneko Akamatsu | |
|---|---|
赤松 常子 | |
 Tsuneko Akamatsu in 1930 | |
| Member of the House of Councillors | |
| In office 3 May 1947 – 1 June 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Constituency | National district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 August 1897 |
| Died | 21 July 1965 (aged 67) Nirayama, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Party | Democratic Socialist (1960–1965) |
| Other political affiliations | JSP (1947–1951; 1955–1960) RSP (1951–1955) |
| Relatives | Katsumaro Akamatsu (brother) Renjō Akamatsu (grandfather) |
| Alma mater | Kyoto Women's University |
Tsuneko Akamatsu (11 August 1897 – 21 July 1965) was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Councillors.
Tsuneko Akamatsu was born in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi,[1] on 11 August 1897,[2] to Yasuko (died 1914) and Shōtō Akamatsu (died 1921), the high priest at Nishi Hongan-ji. Her grandfather, Renjō Akamatsu (1841–1919), also held the position of high priest at Nishi Hongan-ji. Three of her brothers became university professors.[3][4] Her brother Katsumaro Akamatsu was elected to the House of Representatives in 1937, but purged from politics after World War II.[5]
Akamatsu entered the Kyoto Women's University in 1913, and met Toyohiko Kagawa while attending it. She ended her education in order to focus on the socialist movement. In 1923, she moved to Tokyo and worked with Kagawa's relief efforts after the Great Kantō earthquake.[1]
Activism
The Japan General Federation of Labour (Sōdōmei) invited her to join its women's division in 1925,[1] and was chief of the organization's Women's Department from 1934 to 1940.[6] Ichikawa Fusae, Akamatsu, and Natsu Kawasaki formed the Women's Postwar Counter-Measures Committee on 25 August 1945, to push for women's suffrage.[7] Akamatsu was a founding member of the Women's Democratic Club, an organization meant to promote female political participation, alongside Yoko Matsuoka, Setsuko Hani, Shidzue Katō, Miyamoto Yuriko, and others.[8] Tanino Setsu and Akamatsu convinced Golda Stander, an American occupation officer, to require menstrual leave in Japanese law.[9]
