Buddhism instructed wives that " . . . even if (your husband) seems more lowly than you are, man is the personification of the Buddha . . . (and) you must bear in mind that you have married a Buddhist saint."
There were many hurdles to the founding and development of the feminist movement in Japan, just one of which was established religion and its perception of women as naturally and spiritually inferior to men. The historical legacy of feudal society also left its indelible mark on social and family structures, and the idea that women could never be men's equals was deeply entrenched.
In short, women were perceived as incompetent and rightfully lacking autonomy. The exclusion of Japanese women from political life meant that even alerting them to the injustice and inequality of their position was no easy task.
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