Kiyo Takeda

Kiyo Takeda (Japanese : 武田キヨ; 21 September 1896 – 14 March 1954) was a Japanese educator and politician. She was one of the first group of women elected to the House of Representatives in 1946.^[1]

Takeda was born in Zeze [ja ] (now part of Ōtsu) in 1896. The family later moved to Yamaguchi Prefecture when her father was transferred there for work. She attended Yamaguchi Girls' School [ja ] and graduated from Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School [ja ] in 1919. She subsequently worked as a teacher at Kure Girl's High School [ja ] and Kure Port Junior High School [ja ], and served as headmistress of several schools including Tokyo Yakumo Girls' School [ja ].^[2]

After World War II, Takeda joined the Liberal Party. She was a candidate for the party in Hiroshima in the 1946 general elections (the first in which women could vote), and was elected to the House of Representatives.^[2] She was re-elected in the 1947 elections, shortly after which she joined the Democratic Party. She lost her seat in the 1949 elections and died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1954.