WORKING FOR EQUALITY: ACTIVISM AND ADVOCACY BY BLIND INTELLECTUALS IN JAPAN, 1912-1995

Abstract

This dissertation examines advocacy by blind activists as the primary catalysts in fighting for equal access to education and employment for blind people in Japan from 1912-1995. Highlighting profiles of prominent blind activists, the chapters describe how they used successful Western models of education and legal rights for the blind to fight for reforms in Japan. Chapter 1 explains how the influence of Christianity and the invention of Japanese braille by Ishikawa Kuraji led blind activists to examine and adapt these western models to Japan. Chapter 2 describes Iwahashi Takeo's advocacy for greater access to education and employment and the founding of the Nippon Lighthouse Welfare Center for the Blind in 1922. He invited Helen Keller to Japan in 1937 to help promote the importance to society of active participation by blind people.The third chapter examines the career of Honma Kazuo who founded the National Library for the Blind in 1940. Losing his eyesight in childhood, he experienced first-hand the scarcity of books in braille, which drove him to establish a library for blind people with broader offerings. The fourth chapter depicts government attempts in 1950 to improve welfare services for blind people by enacting welfare laws for the disabled. Although these laws guaranteed in principle all legal rights of people with disabilities, , accessing higher education and equal employment opportunities remained challenging hurdles. Chapter 5 focuses on Matsui Shinjiro, a blind war veteran. The advocacy work of Matsui and supporters in the mid-1980s resulted in opening all governmental employment exams to blind people. Blind activists continue working for equal access to education and employment in Japan, and this dissertation emphasizes the essential role played by blind advocates in leading these reforms.