I received this book in the mail today. To make a long story short, this book was written by one of my female ancestor. I'm so excited. In the Meiji period, Tsukamoto (or Emoto or Enomoto) Hideko had taught home economics at Oita Girls High School in Kyushu, and in 1918, she published this book titled "Home Economics: Practical Application and Techniques."
In the book, she stresses to young women not just to follow our tradition blindly, but consider scientific studies and apply the result on their housework. I'm quite surprised to find the author's progressive idea. Wait, no. Actually, it makes sense why the way my mother was. She was also in some way progressive. The author lists some recipes of western dishes and shows how to make them. And the first one is the Worcestershier sauce. Wow. I didn't know the sauce until I went to the U.S. for the first time in 1970, and it took many years for me to pronounce it correctly.
The photo showing a Japanese woman washing laundry standing was quite progressive advice in 1910s.
Even in 1950s, women were washing laundry with their knees on the floor.
