<研究ノート>震災支援としての婦人雑誌のメディア・イベント

Abstract

This study researches how the contents of media events held by women's magazines changed in Taisho and early Showa era in Japan. The first media event was an exhibition of handicrafts, that was started by SHUFU NO TOMO publisher in 1923. The first exhibition was held in May 1923. It featured the artist, Fujii Tatsukichi, where his sisters' handicrafts such as obi, dolls and cotton bags were also displayed. This event aimed to promote sewing from women's daily routine to an interesting hobby, and it successfully drew the readers of Shufu no Tomo. Before the second exhibition, that was planned to be held in Osaka in October, however, the great earthquake happened. It directly hit Tokyo and its neighboring areas, and Shufu no Tomo office was also burned down. It is said that the exhibition was somehow held at somewhere else according as the schedule. The effect of this natural disaster set up a new goal for this exhibition; reconstruction support of the urban areas. For example Shufu no Tomo ordered female students of "Asakusa Furitsu Daiichi Koutou Jogakko", the first girls' high school in Asakusa, clothing and handmade goods, and sold them on the magazine. Sales of their work was used to support the students in trouble with earthquake. In addition, this reconstruction support developed into women's handicrafts exhibition open to all readers. Female readers participated in the event, and at same time committed more strongly to the magazine's imaginary community. Moreover, this event brought more photographs to this magazine, with the result that visual information pages increased in the women's magazine Shufu no Tomo.