The Critics Respond

Abstract

In the 1950s, the term shojo (girl) conjured up overwhelmingly positive qualities. Judging from the media’s use of the word, it suggested not only teenage girls, but young ladies who were sweet, pure, and pretty. From the perspective of the press, members of Ichikawa Girls’ Kabuki perfectly embodied all of the shojo’s ideals. The actresses, a Mainichi gurafu writer pronounced, were “old-fashioned” in the best sense, due to their kabuki training on and off the stage.1 They were innocent, cute, and virginal; in short, the ultimate role models for how to be good girls.