Tomi Kōra | |
---|---|
高良 とみ (Kōra Tomi) | |
![]() Tomi Kōra in 1953 | |
Born | Tomi Wada (和田 とみ, Wada Tomi) July 1, 1896 |
Died | January 17, 1993 | (aged 96)
Resting place | Tama Cemetery [1] |
Other names | Tomiko Kōra |
Occupations | |
Known for | Peace and women's rights activism, second Japanese woman to attain a PhD in psychology |
Children | Rumiko Kōra |
Academic background | |
Education |
|
Thesis | An Experimental Study of Hunger in its Relation to Activity (1922) |
Doctoral advisor | Edward Thorndike |
Other advisors | |
Influences | |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Psychology |
Institutions |
|
Councillor in the Japanese House of Councillors | |
In office 1947–1959 | |
Parliamentary group |
|
Tomi Kōra ( Japanese: 高良 とみ, Hepburn: Kōra Tomi, July 1, 1896 – January 17, 1993) [3] was a Japanese psychologist, peace activist, and politician. She published under the name Tomiko Kōra (高良 とみ, Kōra Tomiko).
Kōra was born Tomi Wada [a] on July 1, 1896, in Toyama Prefecture. [4] [5] [3] She graduated from the Japan Women's University in 1917. [4] [3] While a student, she attended the funeral of Tsuriko Haraguchi, held at the university. Haraguchi was a psychologist and the first Japanese woman to obtain a PhD; Kōra was reportedly inspired by Haraguchi to continue her advanced studies in psychology. [3]
Like Haraguchi, she attended Columbia University, earning her master's degree in 1920 and her PhD in 1922. [4] At Columbia, she collaborated with Curt Richter to conduct her experiments on the effects of hunger. [5] [3] Kōra's doctoral dissertation, completed under the supervision of Edward L. Thorndike, was titled An Experimental Study of Hunger in its Relation to Activity. [5] [3] [6] She was the second Japanese woman to obtain a PhD in psychology, after Haraguchi. [5]
After returning to Japan, Kōra worked as an assistant in a clinical psychiatry laboratory and taught at Kyushu Imperial University. She was promoted to associate professor, but was met with resistance because she was unmarried at the time. [3] She resigned from the institution in 1927 and took a post at Japan Women's University, where she became a professor. [3]
Kōra was a member of the Japanese Christian Women's Peace Movement, and travelled to China. There, in January 1932, she met the Chinese writers Lu Xun and Xu Guangping at a bookstore owned by the Japanese Kanzō Uchiyama; shortly after, Lu Xun wrote a poem for her. [7]
Kōra was elected as a Councillor in the 1947 Japanese House of Councillors election, as a member of the Democratic Party. She switched to the Ryokufūkai party in 1949, and served in the House of Councillors for 12 years. [6]
In April 1952, Kōra attended the International Economic Conference in Moscow. [6] [8] Per a request from the US embassy, the Japanese Foreign Ministry had refused to issue passports to those who wished to travel to the Soviet Union; Kōra got around this restriction by travelling to Moscow through Paris, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. They met with vice-minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade Lei Rei-min and were invited to Beijing. At the time, the Japanese government did not recognize the legitimacy of the PRC government. [9] That May, she visited Beijing as a member of the House of Councillors Special Committee for the Repatriation of Overseas Japanese. The visit was a diplomatic breakthrough, resulting in the first PRC–Japan private-sector trade agreement (signed June 1, 1952 [9]) and the resumption of the repatriation of Japanese left in China following the end of World War II. [10] Both praise and opposition greeted the trade agreement from Japanese legislators. [9]
Kōra spent four days as a guest at the Women's International Zionist Organization in Israel in April 1960. [11]
In 1929, Kōra married psychiatrist Takehisa Kōra. [b] [3] [12] They had three daughters, including the poet Rumiko Kōra. [c] [12] Kōra was a practising Quaker. [7]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Tomi Kōra | |
---|---|
高良 とみ (Kōra Tomi) | |
![]() Tomi Kōra in 1953 | |
Born | Tomi Wada (和田 とみ, Wada Tomi) July 1, 1896 |
Died | January 17, 1993 | (aged 96)
Resting place | Tama Cemetery [1] |
Other names | Tomiko Kōra |
Occupations | |
Known for | Peace and women's rights activism, second Japanese woman to attain a PhD in psychology |
Children | Rumiko Kōra |
Academic background | |
Education |
|
Thesis | An Experimental Study of Hunger in its Relation to Activity (1922) |
Doctoral advisor | Edward Thorndike |
Other advisors | |
Influences | |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Psychology |
Institutions |
|
Councillor in the Japanese House of Councillors | |
In office 1947–1959 | |
Parliamentary group |
|
Tomi Kōra ( Japanese: 高良 とみ, Hepburn: Kōra Tomi, July 1, 1896 – January 17, 1993) [3] was a Japanese psychologist, peace activist, and politician. She published under the name Tomiko Kōra (高良 とみ, Kōra Tomiko).
Kōra was born Tomi Wada [a] on July 1, 1896, in Toyama Prefecture. [4] [5] [3] She graduated from the Japan Women's University in 1917. [4] [3] While a student, she attended the funeral of Tsuriko Haraguchi, held at the university. Haraguchi was a psychologist and the first Japanese woman to obtain a PhD; Kōra was reportedly inspired by Haraguchi to continue her advanced studies in psychology. [3]
Like Haraguchi, she attended Columbia University, earning her master's degree in 1920 and her PhD in 1922. [4] At Columbia, she collaborated with Curt Richter to conduct her experiments on the effects of hunger. [5] [3] Kōra's doctoral dissertation, completed under the supervision of Edward L. Thorndike, was titled An Experimental Study of Hunger in its Relation to Activity. [5] [3] [6] She was the second Japanese woman to obtain a PhD in psychology, after Haraguchi. [5]
After returning to Japan, Kōra worked as an assistant in a clinical psychiatry laboratory and taught at Kyushu Imperial University. She was promoted to associate professor, but was met with resistance because she was unmarried at the time. [3] She resigned from the institution in 1927 and took a post at Japan Women's University, where she became a professor. [3]
Kōra was a member of the Japanese Christian Women's Peace Movement, and travelled to China. There, in January 1932, she met the Chinese writers Lu Xun and Xu Guangping at a bookstore owned by the Japanese Kanzō Uchiyama; shortly after, Lu Xun wrote a poem for her. [7]
Kōra was elected as a Councillor in the 1947 Japanese House of Councillors election, as a member of the Democratic Party. She switched to the Ryokufūkai party in 1949, and served in the House of Councillors for 12 years. [6]
In April 1952, Kōra attended the International Economic Conference in Moscow. [6] [8] Per a request from the US embassy, the Japanese Foreign Ministry had refused to issue passports to those who wished to travel to the Soviet Union; Kōra got around this restriction by travelling to Moscow through Paris, Copenhagen, and Helsinki. They met with vice-minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade Lei Rei-min and were invited to Beijing. At the time, the Japanese government did not recognize the legitimacy of the PRC government. [9] That May, she visited Beijing as a member of the House of Councillors Special Committee for the Repatriation of Overseas Japanese. The visit was a diplomatic breakthrough, resulting in the first PRC–Japan private-sector trade agreement (signed June 1, 1952 [9]) and the resumption of the repatriation of Japanese left in China following the end of World War II. [10] Both praise and opposition greeted the trade agreement from Japanese legislators. [9]
Kōra spent four days as a guest at the Women's International Zionist Organization in Israel in April 1960. [11]
In 1929, Kōra married psychiatrist Takehisa Kōra. [b] [3] [12] They had three daughters, including the poet Rumiko Kōra. [c] [12] Kōra was a practising Quaker. [7]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)