Kiyo Takeda

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Kiyo Takeda (1896–1954) was a Japanese educator and politician. She was among the first group of women elected to Japan’s House of Representatives in 1946, when women could vote for the first time. Born in Zeze, Shiga, her family moved to Yamaguchi Prefecture. She studied at Yamaguchi Girls’ School and graduated from Tokyo Women’s Higher Normal School in 1919. She worked as a teacher and later led several schools. After World War II she joined the Liberal Party and was elected as a representative from Hiroshima in 1946. She was re-elected in 1947, later joined the Democratic Party, but lost her seat in 1949. Takeda died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1954.