Yamakawa Futaba

Yamakawa Futaba (山川 二葉) (c. 1844 – November 14, 1909) was a Japanese educator of the early Meiji era.^[1] Born in Aizu, she was the sister of the karō, Yamakawa Hiroshi; her other siblings included physicist Yamakawa Kenjirō and Meiji-era social figure Ōyama Sutematsu. Futaba took part in the defense of Tsuruga Castle in the Boshin War (1868-9). She was also briefly married to Kajiwara Heima, another Aizu karō.

Yamakawa Futaba

In this Japanese name, the surname is Yamakawa.

In the Meiji era, from 1875-1905, Futaba worked at the Tokyo Women's Normal School (東京女子高等師範学校, Tōkyō Joshi Kōtō Shihan Gakkō),^[1] the forerunner of Ochanomizu University, during the tenure of fellow Aizu native Takamine Hideo as principal.^[2] For her work in education, she was awarded with junior 5th court rank (従五位, ju go i).

References

1. Nimura, Janice P. (2015-05-04). Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-24824-1.
2. Tocco, Martha Caroline (1994). School Bound: Women's Higher Education in Nineteenth-century Japan. Stanford University.

• 山川二葉 | 近代日本人の肖像 National Diet Library, Japan
• Yamakawa Kenjiro (1931). Aizu Boshin senshi.