Life of country people before WW2

Before WW2, Japan was unequal society. The urban people had convenience life, but the country people’s life was not easy. Most of the country people had no running water and gas, and water drawing was daily hard work. The half of population was engaged in agriculture, but the lands suited to agriculture were limited in Japan. The half of farmers had their own lands, but another half rent the lands. It was quite hard to rent the lands because they could not harvest well due to unseasonable weather and natural disaster. In 1930’, some of country people sold their daughter into prostitution to rend the lands, and it was social problem.

Before WW2, women could not get same chance for education as men. After graduating elementary school, most of women had no chance for further education and only wealthy women could go to an upper secondary school, but it was school to learn sewing etc. to dutiful wife and devoted mother. Up to WW2 was over, a good wife and wise mother was the ideal image of a woman in Japan. In 1913, 3 women joined Tohoku university for the first time. I would like to thank various innovative step and hard challenge which people in Japan before WW2 took to improve life and chance for education.