Abstract:The Imperial Rescript on Education promulgated by the Meiji Government in 1890 is a significant document in the spiritual history of modern Japan. On gender issues, The Imperial Rescript on Education redefined men-women relationship, replacing the traditional Confucian notion of “husbands and wives being different” with a new idea of “husbands and wives being harmonious”. Besides, many intellectual elites interpreted the idea of “husbands and wives being harmonious” from different perspectives and cast new light on this newly defined relationship. The evolution from ‘being different” to “being harmonious” is more a representation of male elites’ dominance of literal interpretation with which they shaped men-women relationship and the ideal women than an epitome of men-women relationship and women issues in modern Japan.