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The Only Woman in the Room
The Only Woman in the Room is a vivid and very personal account of one woman's life in Europe, prewar Japan, and the United States. As the daughter of renowned Russian pianist Leo Sirota, Beate Gordon grew up in the cosmopolitan world of the concert tour, then settled in Japan in the 1930s.
During World War II, while her parents remained in Japan under secret service surveillance Gordon lived alone in the United States, monitoring Tokyo Radio in five languages for the government and later writing radio propaganda.
She recounts her dramatic reunion with her parents in Tokyo, where she worked in General MacArthur's headquarters, and evokes the postwar suffering in defeated Japan. Her intimate description of helping draft the women's rights section of Japan's new constitution is an astonishing record of history in the making.
On returning to the States in 1947, Mrs. Gordon became a cultural impresario, bringing artists, dancers, writers, and musicians from all over to the United States. Her adventures in search of performing artists in such remote and exotic places as Mongolia, Tibet, India, and Indonesia make for hilarious and sometimes hair-raising anecdotes.
The Only Woman in the Room can be appreciated on many levels -- armchair travelers, feminists, history buffs, and readers who appreciate a well-written memoir will all find Beate Gordon's extraordinary life a riveting read.
During World War II, while her parents remained in Japan under secret service surveillance Gordon lived alone in the United States, monitoring Tokyo Radio in five languages for the government and later writing radio propaganda.
She recounts her dramatic reunion with her parents in Tokyo, where she worked in General MacArthur's headquarters, and evokes the postwar suffering in defeated Japan. Her intimate description of helping draft the women's rights section of Japan's new constitution is an astonishing record of history in the making.
On returning to the States in 1947, Mrs. Gordon became a cultural impresario, bringing artists, dancers, writers, and musicians from all over to the United States. Her adventures in search of performing artists in such remote and exotic places as Mongolia, Tibet, India, and Indonesia make for hilarious and sometimes hair-raising anecdotes.
The Only Woman in the Room can be appreciated on many levels -- armchair travelers, feminists, history buffs, and readers who appreciate a well-written memoir will all find Beate Gordon's extraordinary life a riveting read.
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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About the author
Beate Sirota Gordon
6 books2 followersBeate Sirota Gordon (bay-AH-tay; October 25, 1923 – December 30, 2012) was an Austrian-born American performing arts presenter and women's rights advocate. She was the former Performing Arts Director of the Japan Society and the Asia Society, and was one of the last surviving members of the team that worked under Douglas MacArthur to write the Constitution of Japan after World War II.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
September 8, 2021
What an amazing life Beate Sirota Gordon lived. This book caught my attention because it dealt with her part in helping write a new constitution for post-war Japan. It also gives a good account of conditions in Japan before, during, and just after the war. Over half the book deals with Beate's life in various countries with a large amount of her growing years spent in Japan. This helps understand where her passion came from in fighting to include articles in the new constitution about protections for women and children. Her deep understanding of Japanese culture was key to why she knew these would be essential for the future of Japan. Fascinating family history and a great read for anyone and especially those interested in WWII history.
January 4, 2020
In Oct. 2007 I had the privilege of hearing Ms.Gordon speak at a renowned women's college in Tokyo. Now in her 80s, Ms. Gordon traveled from her home in the US to visit again the country of her youth, Japan. She spoke in Japanese for over an hour, giving a summary of her life, but most importantly, stressing the importance of the Equal Rights Clause of Japan's constitution, which by quirk of fate she had written.
The Only Woman in the Room, a brief memoir, which includes her contribution to the history of post-war Japan, is refreshingly modest. For some 50 years after the Pacific War, the details of the drafting of Japan's constitution by the 'allied powers' (General MacArthur) had been kept quiet, much of it classified secret documents. To the world, appearances were kept as if the Japanese had drafted their own constitution, but in reality it was strictly managed by MacArthur.
Given the prevailing gender chauvinism of Japan (and even the west) at that time, if Ms. Gordon and another woman (economist Eleanor Hadley) had not been present, articulate, and assertive, there would possibly have been no 'equal rights clause' set forth in Japan's constitution. Had Ms. Gordon not had experience growing up in Japan, fluency in the language and knowledge of the plight of women, equal rights in Japan might have taken many more years to arrive.
Speaking before a group of future women leaders of Japan, Ms. Gordon was living testimony to the fact that today's Japanese women have rights of marriage, divorce, voting, owning property, etc., which was not true prior to 1946. [return:][return:]It seems she has always been the type of person so involved in living life that to stop and record all of it in detail would have gotten in the way of living it. Certainly her biography would be a sweeping epic, from her parents' roots in Russia, her father's respected talent as a musician and teacher, through the chaos of the war in Europe, loss of family in Hitler's holocaust, her parents' surviving the war as "non-persons" in Japan, her US college education, her linguistic contributions to the war effort, and so on. Despite all this, I believe perhaps Ms. Gordon does not view herself as being that different from thousands of others who lived through those years, but she did have extraordinary talent and the luck to be in the right place at the right time.
The Only Woman in the Room, a brief memoir, which includes her contribution to the history of post-war Japan, is refreshingly modest. For some 50 years after the Pacific War, the details of the drafting of Japan's constitution by the 'allied powers' (General MacArthur) had been kept quiet, much of it classified secret documents. To the world, appearances were kept as if the Japanese had drafted their own constitution, but in reality it was strictly managed by MacArthur.
Given the prevailing gender chauvinism of Japan (and even the west) at that time, if Ms. Gordon and another woman (economist Eleanor Hadley) had not been present, articulate, and assertive, there would possibly have been no 'equal rights clause' set forth in Japan's constitution. Had Ms. Gordon not had experience growing up in Japan, fluency in the language and knowledge of the plight of women, equal rights in Japan might have taken many more years to arrive.
Speaking before a group of future women leaders of Japan, Ms. Gordon was living testimony to the fact that today's Japanese women have rights of marriage, divorce, voting, owning property, etc., which was not true prior to 1946. [return:][return:]It seems she has always been the type of person so involved in living life that to stop and record all of it in detail would have gotten in the way of living it. Certainly her biography would be a sweeping epic, from her parents' roots in Russia, her father's respected talent as a musician and teacher, through the chaos of the war in Europe, loss of family in Hitler's holocaust, her parents' surviving the war as "non-persons" in Japan, her US college education, her linguistic contributions to the war effort, and so on. Despite all this, I believe perhaps Ms. Gordon does not view herself as being that different from thousands of others who lived through those years, but she did have extraordinary talent and the luck to be in the right place at the right time.
June 9, 2012
I was surprised to read in the forward that this was the English version of her Japanese autobiography, which I had read a few years ago. Somehow this version seems less detailed, but that could just be because it takes me a lot longer to read Japanese than English. In any case, I find it a bit ironic that 66 years ago an American woman wrote an equal rights clause in the Japanese constitution, while just the other day my female senator voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. Why should it be that my rights as a female employee are better protected in my adoptive country than my native one?
Nevertheless, I remain a Beate Sirota Gordon fan, and appreciate the fact that while she was the only woman in the room, at least she was in the room, and that made a huge difference for all women in Japan thereafter.
Nevertheless, I remain a Beate Sirota Gordon fan, and appreciate the fact that while she was the only woman in the room, at least she was in the room, and that made a huge difference for all women in Japan thereafter.
May 24, 2013
I put this book on my library list after reading the author's obituary when she passed away a few months ago. It seemed like she had a pretty fascinating life, and that was borne out in the book. It's short and not elegantly written, but that just adds to my fascination. There's so much you can imagine happening between the lines, so many thoughts and emotions that must have been left out. The author was involved in writing the Japanese Constitution after WWII, and drafted the parts regarding women's civil rights and academic freedom. She also seems to have done a great deal to bring traditional Asian arts to the US after the war. I just loved everything about her, and I'm glad she wrote this book.
July 26, 2021
Loved the first two thirds of this book as the author talked about her family living in Japan and her returning to Japan as soon as WWII ended looking for her parents. She was able to get a job working for the US government in part because her Japanese was excellent and she had already been working for the US government translating Japanese to English/English to Japanese.
Her record of what Japan was like at the time she was there was fascinating. She was part of the team that was tasked with coming up with a new Constitution for Japan right with a pretty tight deadline. She wrote a number of proposed elements for their Constitution and the American team edited some of them and decided not to use a few as well. While the writing and proposal time period was short, the arguments with Japanese leadership were fierce. Ultimately, the Japanese acquiesced to most of the proposed language including the author's section giving men and women equal rights under the law in Japan which changed their status quo. The author's section on equality between men and women didn't get nearly the fierce disagreement with the Japanese as some other sections. This was at least in part because the head to the American team noted she had written it and used her popularity with the Japanese in the room to leverage it's acceptance.
Her time in Japan both before and after the war was the high point of the book for me. I appreciated her telling the rest of what her life was like coming to America and working as a producer bringing art from around the world to America. However, the latter section didn't read nearly as interesting for me as the author didn't flesh things out with nearly the same emotion interest.
Her record of what Japan was like at the time she was there was fascinating. She was part of the team that was tasked with coming up with a new Constitution for Japan right with a pretty tight deadline. She wrote a number of proposed elements for their Constitution and the American team edited some of them and decided not to use a few as well. While the writing and proposal time period was short, the arguments with Japanese leadership were fierce. Ultimately, the Japanese acquiesced to most of the proposed language including the author's section giving men and women equal rights under the law in Japan which changed their status quo. The author's section on equality between men and women didn't get nearly the fierce disagreement with the Japanese as some other sections. This was at least in part because the head to the American team noted she had written it and used her popularity with the Japanese in the room to leverage it's acceptance.
Her time in Japan both before and after the war was the high point of the book for me. I appreciated her telling the rest of what her life was like coming to America and working as a producer bringing art from around the world to America. However, the latter section didn't read nearly as interesting for me as the author didn't flesh things out with nearly the same emotion interest.
April 14, 2007
The memoirs of the only woman on the American occupation team to write Japan's post-World War Two constitution, I picked this up not quite sure what to expect. I found it very well-written and easy to read. It was fascinating to read Gordon's thoughts of writing the section on women's rights in Japan's constitution and the process 'behind the scenes' of SCAP, the occupying force. That was the section I was most interested in but after the occupation of Japan, Gordon went on tell of how she became a cultural ambassador, bringing over Asian arts and performers to the United States. It was quite an interesting read and I recommend it to anyone interested in modern Japan.
September 16, 2012
A self-indulgent story about how she was the best person at everything and everything she did was really important and noone was as good at or understood as much as her. Had to read this for a Japanese History class even though only a tiny part of the book was really relevant to Japanese History and hated every minute I spent reading this ego trip.
April 8, 2024
This might be the best book I read all year. What an incredible story, an inspiring woman. A must read!!!
August 29, 2020
I would only recommend this book for those who were either friends of the Shirotas and thus in their inner circle, or for those who are into the classical music scene in Japan. Most of the book is about this subject.
I had heard so many good things about Beate Sirota Gordon that the last thing I expected was a memoir that was so completely egotistical. Perhaps I was thrown off by the cover that shows Beate as a demure young woman rather than one who gushes about her own accomplishments the way parents indulge in the successes of their children. Only in the second to last page—in the Elegy by her son Paul—do we find out that she actually wasn't good at something: numbers! (Although I think I'd add memoir-writing also).
A memoir should speak to the reader and make them feel the emotions of the author at their highs and lows, and it should allow the reader that privilege. But this book, with no lows and all super -highs, quickly degenerates into a wholesale listing of Beate's accomplishments, complete with name-dropping and the careless tossing about of privilege. She is a self-professed super-human.
The idea that a 22-year-old could write equal rights into the new Japanese constitution is an ambitious one, since no matter how precocious or worldly a woman may be at 22, she still lacks the experience needed to decide the fate of an entire race of women. The author had been in the US for five years at college and a short stint at Time magazine, before returning to Japan to work for the Foreign Economic Administration, so hadn't spent much time in Japan as an adult. Her unique circumstances growing up in Japan as the child of Western parents (one an exulted pianist) means that her status would have prevented her from experiencing anything close to the true living conditions of ninety nine percent of the Japanese people, male or female. I suspect this inexperience is the real reason only two of her articles on women's rights (17 & 18) made it into the final version of the constitution while the other seven were shot down, although she chalks it up to being "the only woman in the room."
Even so, despite how much she must have known and understood about Japanese culture, when she writes sentences like, "The Japanese had taken a liking to me, probably because I was a fast interpreter" I feel like she really doesn't understand the culture at all (um, the only woman in the room...) And her overly assertive personality (even by American standards) just doesn't gel with the Japanese Way.
Chapter 5, The Equal Rights Clause, pages 103-125, is definitely worth reading, and for that reason I'd recommend borrowing the book, but not buying it.
I had heard so many good things about Beate Sirota Gordon that the last thing I expected was a memoir that was so completely egotistical. Perhaps I was thrown off by the cover that shows Beate as a demure young woman rather than one who gushes about her own accomplishments the way parents indulge in the successes of their children. Only in the second to last page—in the Elegy by her son Paul—do we find out that she actually wasn't good at something: numbers! (Although I think I'd add memoir-writing also).
A memoir should speak to the reader and make them feel the emotions of the author at their highs and lows, and it should allow the reader that privilege. But this book, with no lows and all super -highs, quickly degenerates into a wholesale listing of Beate's accomplishments, complete with name-dropping and the careless tossing about of privilege. She is a self-professed super-human.
The idea that a 22-year-old could write equal rights into the new Japanese constitution is an ambitious one, since no matter how precocious or worldly a woman may be at 22, she still lacks the experience needed to decide the fate of an entire race of women. The author had been in the US for five years at college and a short stint at Time magazine, before returning to Japan to work for the Foreign Economic Administration, so hadn't spent much time in Japan as an adult. Her unique circumstances growing up in Japan as the child of Western parents (one an exulted pianist) means that her status would have prevented her from experiencing anything close to the true living conditions of ninety nine percent of the Japanese people, male or female. I suspect this inexperience is the real reason only two of her articles on women's rights (17 & 18) made it into the final version of the constitution while the other seven were shot down, although she chalks it up to being "the only woman in the room."
Even so, despite how much she must have known and understood about Japanese culture, when she writes sentences like, "The Japanese had taken a liking to me, probably because I was a fast interpreter" I feel like she really doesn't understand the culture at all (um, the only woman in the room...) And her overly assertive personality (even by American standards) just doesn't gel with the Japanese Way.
Chapter 5, The Equal Rights Clause, pages 103-125, is definitely worth reading, and for that reason I'd recommend borrowing the book, but not buying it.
July 14, 2013
A fascinating life! Gordon was born in Vienna to Russian Jewish parents, grew up in Japan, went to college in the US and graduated while working for the FCC translating Japanese radio broadcasts and not knowing what had happened to her parents in Japan during WWII. She went back to Japan during Occupation as a translator and to look for her parents. She ended up helping write the new Japanese Constitution particularly the sections on women's rights and academic freedom and participated as a translator in the negotiations between Japanese and Occupation officials as they hammered out the final version. The constitution made massive changes in Japanese society. She then went on to have a career in bringing Asian artists and performers to the US for many years.
The writing isn't the most elegant. The book felt like a good amateur writer putting down her life story for her grandchildren and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The writing isn't the most elegant. The book felt like a good amateur writer putting down her life story for her grandchildren and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
November 5, 2017
This memoir is the fascinating life story of a woman who was born in Vienna, the daughter of Russian Jews, who lived in Japan between the ages of 5-15 to escape Hitler in the 1930's, and then went to the USA to escape the Japanese during WWII.
The best part of the story is how she was chosen as a 22 year old (yes, only age 22) to go to Japan as a US government worker in the years right after the war to help write the new Japanese constitution. Since she spoke Japanese and was familiar with Japanese life and customs, particularly Japanese women, she was chosen to clarify and specify women's rights in the new constitution.
The only problem I have with this book is that there was not enough detail on that part of her story. An entire book could be written on that alone. It would probably take a biographer to do research on all the aspects of it. I could see a film being done on this part of her life. Amazing episode in history.
The best part of the story is how she was chosen as a 22 year old (yes, only age 22) to go to Japan as a US government worker in the years right after the war to help write the new Japanese constitution. Since she spoke Japanese and was familiar with Japanese life and customs, particularly Japanese women, she was chosen to clarify and specify women's rights in the new constitution.
The only problem I have with this book is that there was not enough detail on that part of her story. An entire book could be written on that alone. It would probably take a biographer to do research on all the aspects of it. I could see a film being done on this part of her life. Amazing episode in history.
June 8, 2016
Beata Sirota Gordon had truly interesting and important life that makes reading this short book worthwhile. Some of the twists and turns in her life, such as growing up in Japan, were not of her own making. But what Ms. Sirota Gordon did with her knowledge of the country and language and culture are extraordinary! She had a major impact on the place of women's rights in the new Japanese constitution after World War II. And she brought many of the performing arts of Japan and other parts of Asia to the attention of the Western world thru her work with the Asia Society in New York and thru her role as a producer of many performances. So glad to have "made Beata's acquaintance"!
December 21, 2015
This one is terribly interesting. After WWII, the US forced Japan to rewrite their constitution. When they didn't do it to our liking, we did it for them. Beate Sirota Gordon was one of the women employed by the army in post-war Japan, specializing in languages. She had also lived for many years in Japan with her parents.
When the decision to write their own constitution was made, they pulled her aside and basically said, "You lived in Japan. You're a woman. You'll write the section on women's rights". And she did.
When the decision to write their own constitution was made, they pulled her aside and basically said, "You lived in Japan. You're a woman. You'll write the section on women's rights". And she did.
January 25, 2009
This was an interesting turn of the century book. Things are different in the world not only because of the war, but women are starting to work more and have some say in the goings-on.
This story about a girl living in Japan before and after the war (College she spent in the US) then her life with her husband and her lack of involvement with her kids due to her constant attention to her work preserving heritages and 3rd world customs.
This story about a girl living in Japan before and after the war (College she spent in the US) then her life with her husband and her lack of involvement with her kids due to her constant attention to her work preserving heritages and 3rd world customs.
March 1, 2017
Wonderfully fascinating memoir of an amazing life. Ms. Gordon tells facts and anecdotes of her childhood in Japan with famous Russian Jewish pianist father and gregarious mother, survival in the U.S. by herself after WWII separated her from parents, her work helping draft the new Japanese constitution, her years spent bringing Asian cultural art performances to the U.S. So fun and historic we are bringing her to town to hear her speak.
January 8, 2008
A very interesting read as I was reading it while taking a Japanese hisotry class. I heard her speak in Vancouver (then bought the book based on her talk) and her story is inspirational and kind of funny, too. Highly recommended for students of Japanese history.
March 29, 2008
This is a fascinating story that is true and will give you some insights to how the Japanese constitution was influenced by one woman and how the lives of all Japanese women were changed after WWII because of it. A really good read
July 19, 2012
Beats Sirota was the woman who brought the idea of equal rights for women to Japan when she helped write the Japanese constitution. I wish my students knew her story and he contribution to their lives. However, I found her autobiography sparse and I wanted to know more.
June 10, 2013
This was fantastic. Really quick, well-paced read, and her life was really interesting both before and after the drafting of the Japanese Constitution, so the book didn't have an abrupt drop-off after her "crown achievement" like I was expecting it to. Tons of great pictures too.
July 1, 2013
Only used one chapter on the drawing up of the constitution; the rest of the book is an autobiography of her life.
It was good. Easy to read and insightful. Made me think perhaps women's rights were not a battle of the countries, but the sexes.
It was good. Easy to read and insightful. Made me think perhaps women's rights were not a battle of the countries, but the sexes.
August 12, 2014
This was fascinating and I wish there had been much more about making the Japanese constitution and the discussion about the post-war era and the internment etc, but it gave me a few leads so that was great.
April 14, 2016
My rating is based solely on the fact that the writing was dull and it felt like she still had a very American perspective on Japan and other countries. She still had a rich life and that itself is not at all dull or unimpressive.
February 26, 2016
A short and sweet memoir of Beate's extraordinary life, with her contribution to the writing of the postwar Japanese constitution as centerpiece. The prose is simple and straightforward, with some wonderful anecdotes. A lovely read!
May 29, 2007
this book i DID use for my application to stanford. it's a fabulous memoir about a young woman's (foreigner) huge role in writing japan's new constitution post ww2.
March 31, 2008
Jan is right. Excellent book
January 25, 2013
Modestly written auto-bio from a woman who led an extraordinary life.
April 17, 2014
3.5 stars.
May 5, 2014
I don't remember where I heard about this book, but have looked for it off and on for a number of years. Finally it's in print again. I found it fascinating and well written.
March 2, 2016
A fascinating insight into US and Japanese decision making at the end of WW2
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews