Note 125 — Chapter XIII · THE NEW WOMAN IN JAPAN119

“A Japanese judge has ruled in a certain case that the wife is not obliged ‘to obey the unreasonable demands of her husband.’ In this particular instance the man of the house had told the wife to perform some disagreeable manual labor for him; she refused, and he promptly divorced her. The wife appealed, and her plea was upheld by the court. A very important precedent has been established, and this decision may lead to a revolution in Japanese domestic life, in which, thanks to the courage of one woman and the enlightening effect of American ideals, the Japanese wife need no longer be her husband’s slave.”—Congregational Work.