Editor Akiko Matsuo remembers the first time she organized a protest. It was 2018, after Tokyo Medical University was found to have manipulated entrance exam scores to reduce the number of women admitted.
¡°That¡¯s when I realized that when you raise your voice, people hear you,¡± Matsuo says while sitting in the book-filled office space at Etc.books, the feminist publishing house she founded that same year and whose bookstore has since become a gathering place for readers and activists.
Named for those who appear as ¡°etc.¡± or footnotes in society, Etc.books (stylized in all lowercase) expanded into a bookshop in Tokyo¡¯s Shindaita neighborhood in 2021. Today, its shelves hold some 3,000 titles, from children¡¯s picture books and cookbooks to philosophy. Most are in Japanese, though English, Korean and other languages are represented. Despite their varied genres, each reflects the store¡¯s commitment to feminist values.
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