"A very graceful, erudite job . . . extraordinarily revealing."—The New York Times

Thirty years after its first publication, Womansword remains a timely, provocative work on how words reflect female stereotypes in modern Japan. Short, lively essays offer linguistic, sociological, and historical insight into issues central to the lives of women everywhere: identity, girlhood, marriage, motherhood, work, sexuality, and aging. A new introduction shows how things have—and haven't—changed.

Kittredge Cherry studied in Japan and has written about the country for Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. She has a journalism degree from University of Iowa.