Thirty years after its first publication, Womansword remains a timely, provocative work on how words reflect female stereotypes in modern Japan.

Short, lively essays offer linguistic, sociological, and historical insight into issues central to the lives of women everywhere: identity, girlhood, marriage, motherhood, work, sexuality, and aging. Cherry uses Japanese society, from folklore to pop culture, to illuminate female identity, simultaneously teaching us about both.

A new introduction shows how things have—and haven't—changed.