MIMOZA WAYS
Introduction

Mimoza Ways is a theatrical production that blends historical and educational value, depicting 100 years of struggles and achievements of women in Japan in their pursuit of gender equality. From the founding of "SEITO" Bluestocking Japan’s first women’s magazine written by and for women in 1911 - to the women’s suffrage movement, the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1970s, and nowadays. The play highlights the challenges women have faced and their paths to overcoming them. The Comité exécutif de la Passerelle franco-japonaise pour les droits de femmes Mimoza, together with playwright, director, and actress Trinidad, spent four years conducting interviews with 70 women and working under the supervision of experts to create this new production.
Mimoza Committee for Women's Rights
Produce: Namino HORII-RIVOAL
Script and Theatrical direction: Trinidad GARCIA
Premiere: Kyoto, 2022
Re-run: Tokyo & Fukuoka, 2023
Film Screenings, Workshops, and Lectures events have held across Japan
This project was selected for the 2020 and 2023 Akamatsu Ryoko Gender Equality Fund.
Act 1: Present Day
At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, many people are waiting for disrupted return flights to Japan. Among them are Keiko, Yumi, and Mari, who are waiting for their flight back to Japan.

The setting is 2020. The coronavirus has swept across the world, and a lockdown has been declared in France.
In the midst of the pandemic and the forced return to their home country, the three women begin to share their individual circumstances. Their past experiences with love, abortion, and their perspectives on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) in Japan, which have made little progress, are discussed.
From the play Mimoza Ways:
"In Japan, you know, contraception, especially options for women, is not well-known! It seems like condoms are the only choice! The pill is said to be harmful to the body, and it’s expensive.
The 'morning-after pill,' as it’s called in French, requires a prescription from the hospital.
What about abortion pills? They cost the same as an abortion procedure—100,000 yen!
What about abortion procedures? You need the partner’s (spouse’s) consent. If a woman abandons a newborn, she can be arrested and treated as a criminal.
What about the person who got her pregnant? They have no responsibility!!"

She is able to travel through time. She is the collective of all the women who have ever lived. They watch over us.
Ryoko directly knows the great-grandmothers (the grandmothers of their grandmothers) of Yumi, Keiko, and Mari, who live in the present day. She invites them to the era of 100 years ago.
Ryoko
Reference Materials
These materials include references used in the creation of "Mimoza Ways," as well as new information acquired after the production. These materials will be updated in the future to deepen the understanding of the work.









