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Serving American Military Families

Japanese Maids as Cultural Messengers

The flood of U.S. military families to Tokyo generated a variety of new professional opportunities for Japanese people, and the housemaid was one of the most popular. Borrowed from the English word “maid,” the new Japanese term “meido” was used specifically to refer to housemaids serving U.S. military families, distinguished from jochū, domestic servants in Japanese households. Most applicants for “meido” positions were modern women with advanced educational backgrounds and basic English language skills. A total of 25,000 meido received training from U.S. military housewives on a variety of aspects of the American lifestyle. These women were an integral part of the cross-cultural exchange in everyday life, serving as key intermediaries between the occupiers and the occupied.

“Servants of a medium quality are generally available in Japan. The average family will require about three: a cook, washwoman, and house boy or girl.”

General Information for Dependents Coming to the Tokyo Area,
General Headquarters, United States Army Forces, Pacific, 6 April 1946

A U.S. military housewife demonstrating how to set a table for two Japanese domestic maids, 1947, National Archives and Records Administration

Two-page spread of the Shufu to Seikatsu magazine with dense Japanese text and illustrations of women performing domestic tasks. Two-page spread of the Shufu to Seikatsu magazine with dense Japanese text and illustrations of people performing domestic tasks.

Shufu to Seikatsu [Housewife and Life], Vol. 3. No. 11, November 1948.

In “Maids for the Families of the Occupation Forces: Learning from the American Household,” four maids who worked for U.S. military families engaged in a roundtable discussion about the role of the maid and the lifestyle of their American employers. They pointed out that the wife’s role in the American household was more elevated than the wife’s role in a Japanese household. An American husband was willing to put on an apron and help out in the kitchen. He’d even get his wife’s shoes for her and help her put them on. The maids were envious of the time-saving electrical appliances in an American home, including a vacuum cleaner, a clothes presser, and a washing machine.

One maid stated, The good thing is that they [Americans] do not look down on maids. In Japanese households, maids [jochū] have to eat their food in the kitchen. But I eat at the same table with my employers. It’s such a good feeling -- same food, same dishes.

Two-page spread of the Fujin Gahō magazine with Japanese text and vignette illustrations of domestic activities like cleaning and cooking.

Fujin Gahō [Women Pictorial], No. 535, April 1949

“New Maid Studies” was written by a Japanese administrator of Grant Heights, the largest dependents housing complex in Tokyo. He explained that, for a maid, efficiency, cleanliness, and the ability to adapt to an employer’s home management style were of utmost importance.

Note the illustration of the maid. She embodied the image of a modern woman wearing western clothing and high heels.

Page from the Josei Raifu magazine.

Josei Raifu [Women Life], Vol. 3. No. 3, March 1948

“A List of Vocational Schools Granting Professional Credentials with Short-term Training”

This was a list of vocational schools that granted credentials for the following occupations: nutritionist, hairstylist, typist, beautician, stenographer, Western garment designer, and housemaid. A graduate of the housemaid school would be assigned to an American military family after a two-month training period. Basic English-language skills and a middle-school education were required for admission to this school.

Page from the Josei Raifu magazine with photos of women styling hair, in typing class, and making the bed.

Josei Raifu [Women Life], December 1947

“Visiting Women’s Vocational Schools” This article included photographs of several vocational schools for women, such as schools for typists, Western garment designers, nutritionists, hairstylists, and housemaids.

The description of the school for housemaids stated,

  • “Because Japanese maids work hard, the Americans may start to look at the Japanese people more positively.”
  • One of the teachers at the school, said, “I want them [the maids] to start Japanese diplomacy at the household level.”
  • “The maids have a great opportunity to learn about American life first-hand. From that experience, I’m sure that they can learn how to be good Japanese housewives in the future.”

An American woman demonstrates to a group of Japanese women how to make the bed. A typed note with heading 'Japanese servants at new housing area'.

National Archives and Records Administration

An American woman stands next to a Japanese woman cooking in the kitchen. A typed note with heading 'Army wife explains American styles to Japanese servant cook'.

National Archives and Records Administration

About

Each year, the staff of Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Maryland creates exhibits that showcase materials from the University's collections. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the official naming of the Gordon W. Prange Collection, this year's featured exhibit is Crossing the Divide: An American Dream Made in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952.  The corresponding physical exhibit of Crossing the Divide will be on display in the Maryland Room Gallery in Hornbake Library North, University of Maryland, through July 2019.

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The Gordon W. Prange Collection is the most comprehensive archive in the world of Japanese print publications issued during the early years of the Allied Occupation of Japan, 1945-1949.  It is located in Hornbake Library North on the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

For general information about the library and our collections, contact us.

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