Movement to Reform Old Customs

The Movement to Reform Old Customs was an effort by local authorities in Okinawa prefecture in the 1890s to "modernize" Okinawa by bringing its social and economic practices more into line with those of mainland Japanese notions of the "modern." In part, this movement aimed to combat Japanese discrimination against Okinawans by eliminating those customs or other social/cultural aspects which such discriminatory attitudes regarded as "barbaric," "primitive," or "backwards." Through modernization, it was believed, Okinawa could no longer be accused of such things.

One of many aspects of this movement was an effort to "rationalize" labor and commerce - that is, to bring workers and trade under regulations and recognized businesses, drawing a clearer line between personal and work lives, or between (non-commercial) work at home, and the kind of work that could be reported, taxed, and regulated. Many women who made their livings (chiefly, or in part) through weaving or other textile work, and/or as peddlers selling such textiles or other goods, opposed these efforts, and organized a variety of protests. Many women simply refused to comply. Some complained directly to the Naha Chamber of Commerce, and to the local textile dealers' association.

References

• Mire Koikari, “Rethinking Okinawa and Okinawan Studies: Three Perspectives. 40 Years since Reversion: Negotiating the Okinawan Difference in Japan Today," The Journal of Asian Studies 76:3 (August 2017): 798.