Japan's Industrial Revolution

When women started working in factories, they faced hardships in working conditions. There were dangerous fumes and explosive dangers. There was always the risk of accidental explosions. It was even harder for mothers because there were not any child care policies offered by many companies. Women soon began making unions, such as the National Women’s Trade Union League, where women met and found ways to help raise women wage and have better work

For one, since women were seen as the property of men and as dependent beings, working was not something they would usually do. Thus, working in mills was already something different. However, working in the textile mills were tough. They worked in harsh conditions, in which they worked long hours and had low pay. According to Vera Shlackman, “all the learning I now have gained without instruction, having obtained alone and that too I have labored twelve hours a day”(59), this shows how long they worked for in the mills each day, twelve hours a day. This also shows how despite the fact the mills state that “women working in Lowell’s mills, moreover, could avail themselves of certain education services”(Schug et al. 147), they kept the mill girl’s education at a certain level, in which Vera Shlakman had to resort in teaching herself. To add on, the mill girls had low pay. According to Mark C. Schug, Jean Caldwell, and Tawni Hunt, “the weekly wage for young women in Lowell’s mills was $2.50, of which $1.25 was deducted to pay for room and board. This amounted to pay of less than four cents per hour”(147), showing how low their pay was and how little choices they had, to the point they stayed in these mills. This brings us to the second change. According to the text, these working women were starting to lead industrial strikes. “They walked off their jobs in the the textile

The experiences of female mill workers in Japan had different experiences from female mill workers in England. The industrial revolution happened in England around the 1800’s while in Japan, the industrial revolution happened around the 1900’s. There are multiple examples of difference between the different female mill workers. These can be categorized into four different groupings. These groups are Background, Salary/Wage, Gender/Age, and Working Conditions. The groups Salary/Wage, Gender/Age, and Working Conditions all show their differences. While the group of Background shows the resemblance of the two groups.

However, not only did women work in the fields they also produce goods, and services; such as clothing, personal hygiene items, and food to be sold in order to build -up their coffer’s through that of their overabundance of supplies. This impact took place during the 1700’s and beyond, when women from all aspects of life filled these domestic jobs while working for very little pay; getting absolutely nothing at all for their work. During the 1800’s, however, this all changed for women and soon these women we’re categorized as being unskilled workers this causing tremendous consequences for these women; especially when the men return for war and once again took on the gender roles to which women were now a custom too.

“...which was why the machines were speeded up and why the girls hardly dared take time off even when they were feverish…” pg.100. The girls became ill while working in the factory but didn’t take time off because they needed the money and when the machines speeded up they could make more pieces which made more money.

Women working men’s jobs were not as welcomed in society as they were in factories. People held on to the belief that women should be house wives and not have to do much in the way of work. The man should provide for the family, and the women should take care of the family. Many of the women who worked were lower class and had to help provide for their families, or were the only providers for their families. Women who worked men’s jobs were looked down upon and thought to be no better than dirt. Although women working in factories were still women, men did not show them the same respect as they did a woman working as a secretary or teacher.

They seeked to work with men in various different trades, professions. and commerce [Document 7]. In addition to women changing the American industrial landscape, manufacturing revolutionized it. At the beginning of the time period, artisanship was mainly how people manufactured goods. They would use their skill from the comfort of their home, with their family [Document 5]. Rising out of innovation, however, was the birth of large manufacturing plants [Document 5]. This produced a cheaper, and faster way to manufacture products; at the expense of weaker, more limited and dependent workers [Document 2]. With this new work class coming to lead the American industrial system, it increased inequality between the worker, and the

Have you ever thought about how much labor the female workers in Japanese factories have done? Well, it’s a lot but it all pays off! Female workers in Japan worked long hours. One regular working day could be as long as 13-14 hours (Document B)! Luckily the girls got paid! It may have taken about 16 long hours of working, just to be able to buy one- pound of sugar (Document C). The girls spent a lot of the time working in factories but the lifelong relationships they made were priceless! Female workers in Japanese Silk Factories: Did the costs outweigh the benefits? For the female silk factory workers the benefits outweighed the costs for two reasons: My first reason is how the bonding relationships outweighed the costs because they were life

Working at the factory was not very enjoyable for the laborers for it involved a repetitive amount of work in an extremely hot environment. Factories were dirty and rarely cleaned, which caused the workers to get extremely sick. Sickness spread easily especially with everyone working in the same closed space.  Machines were unsafe and could potentially provoke life-threatening injuries. Children got involved for they were naive, cheap, and easier to control. Child labor continued to grow and many died or got sick because of this. The laborers were exploited, taken advantage of, and oppressed. Even if it harms other people, entrepreneurs and business owners would do whatever it takes to get their hands on the pot of gold. After all, money means

In her book, Factory Girls: Women in the Thread Mills of Meiji Japan, E. Patricia Tsurumi details the working conditions of women employed in the textile factories of Japan during the Meiji Era of Japanese history. Tsurumi attempts to give a comprehensive description of the women’s stories and struggles, detailing the reasons for which women worked in the industry, as well as the working conditions they faced. Tsurumi begins her text by describing the importance of the women’s work to the nation of Japan, and ends it by discussing the sacrifices many women made for the good of their country, effectively painting them as heroes. However, she spends the vast majority of her text detailing the poor working and living conditions faced by the women

A boost in economic benefits wasn’t the only effect of the industrial revolution, it also brought about social changes. Before factories and machines, women weren’t viewed as being able to do the same job as men. They were seen as housewives and this assumption remained the same until the rise of factories and industry. For the first time, women were able to work in the same factories as men. However, women were paid less than men because society at that time still viewed them as inferior to men. Although you could still see this policy in some societies today, women are now able to work in the same positions as men because of the circumstances that were brought by the rise of industrialization and factories. Also, thanks to mass production in factories, the rule of supply and demand allowed people to afford new things as stated before. Such an effect is shown in Document 7 in an excerpt from The Working Man’s Companion published in 1831. It states how people are surrounded with an infinite number of comforts and

As industrialization spread in Western Europe, the production of products and goods moved from the household to factories which drastically changed family life. Married women were unable to work unless they left their children and home in someone else’s care. Moreover, middle-class women generally did not leave their homes in order to work. In contrast, the women of Eastern Asia rapidly joined the work force after the introduction of industrialization and made up a gigantic portion of the labor force. This difference is probably due to the fact that the rural women of Eastern Asia were always laborers, and they make up the majority of the female population. Additionally, European women generally preferred domestic labor to laborious tasks. Rural women were offered independence by leaving their homes in order to perform domestic work; they generally sent their earnings to their families or saved it for themselves. Moreover, the European women that participated in the work force were forced to travel long distances and were separated from their families from long hours. Additionally, their wages were significantly lower than that of their male counterparts. Furthermore, women worked under poor conditions and were constantly susceptible to disease. Similarly, the poor women of Eastern Asia sought employment in the cotton and silk industry.

The pay would be about 10 cents per necklace or about $62 per month The factor employed about 400 people. 90% women sitting elbow to elbow. The factory owner, explained that he employed mainly women aged fourteen and nineteen, because they were easier to control than the men. He employed men only for the jobs that required heavy lifting. These workers lived in the factory provided housing and were feed meals. They generally worked between 10-14 hours workdays everyday with the exception of the two-week Chinese New Year celebration, a time when all employees, including the factory owner, went home to be with their families.. There would not be any talk amongst themselves while they were working and the employees must wear red hat so that he could keep track of the employees whereabouts. The owner states that if they felt the need to socialize they could do it on their breaks or on their day off. Workers’ official day off was Sunday, but they were often assigned to work in order to meet production goals. Failure to meet production quotas, resulted in a ten percent pay cut. One worker even stressed that her quote was to paint 200 pieces however could only finish 100 at the most. It was repeatedly stressed that punishment was very important for keeping the workers focused on their tasks. Attempting to organize labor could result in punishment, too.

What parts of the process of making silk should be considered “skilled labor”? The parts of the process of making silk that should be considered “skilled labor” would be when Sunia is testing the leaves of the mulberry tree, when the women made the baskets to collect the frozen eggs, when the women pushed the silkworms into the baskets, when the women had to prepare “twirls of straw rice”(Silk), when the spinners began to work, when the women had to remove the chrysalid skins from the cocoons, and when the cocoons where made into mats of silk. All of these should be considered “skilled labor” because a person has to know what they are doing and how to do it in order to make the silk

In 1868, provincial rebels overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan and the new leaders called the regime the “Meiji Restoration.” This was just the beginning for soon-to-be modernized Japan. A stronger military, new ideas, technology, and laws would be all used to transform Japan into a modern industrial nation. Because of these, modernization had a great effects on Japan’s society and the nation as a whole from 1850 to 1950. One effect modernization had was strengthening international presence and relations for Japan as a whole. This helped to keep them active on global terms and impacted them in a positive manner. Another effect modernization resulted in was the transformation of the internal society of Japan. The changes in the society all provided great benefits for Japan.