My knowledge about this topic is certainly not very in-depth, since I'm specializing into pre-modern Japan and only briefly touched this subject in the past months. But maybe I can give a rough overview - that hopefully will be expanded upon and corrected by others!
(one line summary: they were supposed to be housewifes and bear children.)
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, there was a general push towards the reception of Western ideas within society. In general, this led to some elements of society to also advocate a larger role of women, who should also have an opinion in, for example, political matters. This is strongly related to a rejection of everything that was perceived as not-Western, and therefore inferior (since the Western powers did judge foreign cultures as inferior). Especially the Confucian-tinged society of the Edo-period was rejected. As was the traditional family system (the ie): during the Edo-period, adoption, for example, was normal, and having multiple wives was legal. Since this was not in line with the values of the Christian world, this conception of family was deemed outdated.
However, ca. around the 1890s, certainly in part due to Japan's rapid advancements especially on the military sector (victories in the Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War) , these progressive thoughts were mostly replaced with a far more conservative outlook, which might be described as a discovery of "samurai virtues." This also coincided with a rediscovery of samurai texts such as the Hagakure, and of Inazo Nitobe writing his book Bushidô: The Soul of Japan, and so on.
One element of this conservative push was the redefinition of the role of the woman within society within the context of a "revival" of the samurai's household as an idealized role model, which led to the association of the female gender with the "private sphere" of society. (Of course, this general distinction between the public space being the domain of the male gender, and of the private space being female, is a very typical development that we can see in most societies.) This also meant that progressive movements, like for example, advocating for women having a voice in political discourse, were mostly dismissed and pretty much disappeared from popular discourse (i.e., magazines, journals, newspaper articles).
The role of the woman, within a larger framing Imperial ideology that envisioned the relationship between Emperor and his people like those within a family, was thus idealized within the concept of "good wife, wise mother" (ryôsai kenbo, I recommend searching for this phrase for further information - there is quite a lot of literature written on this); she was supposed to be knowledgeable in education (i.e., childrearing) and managing a household, so as to aid in raising strong citizens.
This general direction was advocated by the Extraordinary Council on Education, which advised the prime minister from 1917-1919. This body suggested to put a strong emphasis on "moral education" (whose basic ideology was already expressed in 1890 in the Imperial Rescript on Education) and the standardization of higher education. This also included - at least - a higher educational standard than the premodern world had envisioned for women, although with a specific agenda in mind: that of being capable to raise loyal subjects (soldiers) to the Emperor. This ideological construct pretty much remained the ideal within nationalist discourse until after the Second World War, although, of course, reality was more complex than the ideal.
Starting points for further reading (a.k.a., things I have lying around and no time to read *sigh*):
Bernstein, Gail Lee, ed. Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1991. (only some papers)
Koyama, Shizuko. Ryōsai Kenbo: The Educational Ideal of "Good Wife, Wise Mother" in Modern Japan. Translated by Stephen Filler. Leiden: Brill, 2013. Originally published 1991 in Japanese as Ryōsai kenbō to iu kihan.
Koyama, Shizuko."The "Good Wife and Wise Mother" Ideology in Post—World War I Japan." Translated by Gabriel A. Sylvain. U.S.-Japan Women's Journal. English Supplement 7 (1994): 31-52.
Molony, Barbara, and Kathleen Uno, eds. Gendering Modern Japanese History, Harvard East Asian Monographs, vol. 251. Cambridge, MA, London: Harvard University Press, 2005. (only some papers)
Muta, Kazue. "Images of the Family in Meiji Periodicals: The Paradox Underlying the Emergence of the "Home." Translated by Marcella S. Gregory. U.S.-Japan Women's Journal. English Supplement 7 (1994): 53-71.
Sekiguchi, Sumiko. "Gender in the Meiji Renovation: Confucian 'Lessons for Women' and the Making of Modern Japan." Translated by Michael Burtscher. Social Science Japan Journal 11, no. 2 (2008): 201-21.
Ehe, first off, I'd just like to say I'm a big fan of your work u/EnclavedMicrostate. Your articles/answers on the Qing are always a pleasure to read ! I even manged to pick up a copy of China Marches West by Perdue thanks to you haha. I think u/Morricane has done great work in illustrating the general backdrop of the government's stance towards women but I'd like to talk a little about the women's attitude towards nationalism in Meiji Japan, feminism in Japan, how it was received by the fairer sex throughout Meiji and Taisho, how it was related to nationalism and how female rights and nationalism merged into a complicated blend during and up to ww2. Truth, as they say, is stranger (and 10 times more complicated) than fiction...
The TLDR's at the bottom
Without rehashing the same facts Morricane mentioned,it is true that the Meiji period oversaw a general "return to traditional values",but the actual "Hows" and "Whys" are interesting as well ! Bear with me haha. In the 1880s,the Meiji government was the Satcho Oligarchy that had saw the emperor "restored" to power and their primary opponent was the political party, the 自由党 or Jiyūtō (People's Rights Movement). The party is primarily remembered for its 1889 constitution and the subsequent diet of 1890,the first of its kind in Japan. It was a constitution designed to protect both the rights of the emperor and limit the will of the masses by emphasizing both loyalty to the emperor and communal sacrifice for the state.It also limited the power to a select few individuals,appointed by and/or approved by the emperor. The will of the people was fundamentally constrained within the House of Representatives while the 1890 Meiji government begun to encourage (in force) uniformity in the nation's values,patriotism,a sense of sacrifice to the nation and discourage individual qualities of independence and self-reliance. Loyalty,filial piety and sacrifice were now the go-to values.Women were encouraged to be a good wife ( ryôsai kenbo), have children and basically help her husband while sharing in his burdens as he supported the state. Unsurprisingly, all the famous members of the Jiyūtō are men, but quite a few card-carrying members of the party were actually women and the roots of female suffrage and their frustration against the nationalist constitution start here in 1890.
The fundamental issue was this : If the constitution granted all Japanese citizens rights,how could the rights of women be neglected as simply a supplementary role to her husband. At the same time the 1890 constitution was being promulgated, the state was also prohibiting women's political activities, including attendance at or convening of political meetings (1890) and voting at every level (1888,1889). Were women not citizens unless they came with their husbands ? Almost as immediately as nationalism became the new "norm" via the constitution,there came opposition by women. Teenage girls,married women,widows in their 50s gathered in political meetings and societies for women's rights. Their origins were mainly from the former samurai class (ie wives of samurais) although many came from the wealthy merchant class and wealthy farmers (gono). In short,from the middle-upper class. Notable examples include Kusunose Kita, a widow in her forties in Tosa on Shikoku Island, the district where the movement was the most active, who appealed to the Home Office as well as the local government, insisting that if a woman head of household had a duty as a land-tax payer, she should also have the right to vote in a local election and the right of guarantor in a contract or Kishida Toshiko (1861-1901), who was married and divorced after serving as a court lady, and gave speeches at a number of political meetings held in the western part of Japan. She was the first woman in Japan to speak out against the inequality of the sexes. She insisted that women were not inferior to men and that women's lack of confidence originated from 'traditional' female education.As a consequence, she was imprisoned. Perhaps most famously,the example of Kageyama Hideko/Fukuda Hideko (1865-1927), a member of the Society for Women's Rights founded in Okayama prefecture in 1882 and known as the "Joan of Arc of the Orient", who was also imprisoned as a criminal of state affairs. They had legitimate points as valid contributors to the economy.See,despite the ideal image of women as domestic homemakers,female participation in the workforce had quintupled in the direct 20 years after Meiji,primarily in the silk and cotton industry where they were paid ~4 yen as compared to the male wage of 6 yen / hour. By 1913,that number was estimated to be some 800,000 women workers nearly a solid 40-50% of all silk workers in japan."If they were workers,they should,at least,have the rights of workers,not be non-citizens in their own country" was the idea.
So, sorry for the lengthy background but what did these women,their followers and the movement want ? Did they repudiate the 1890 Constitution ? Were they strongly anti-nationalist and anti-war ? Did they march against the Sino- Japanese war or Russo-Japanese War ? The answer is a kinda sorta No. Did they,however,want to change the image of women to fit nationalistic ideas though ? For a majority of the suffragettes,yes. What about the other women who didn't actively participate in suffragette activities ? Did they adhere to the ryôsai kenbo image ? Generally,yes but for a political purpose or they were too busy living day-to-day to care about it.
Officially speaking,the role of women in Meiji,Taisho and (early) Showa Japan all the way to ww2 was to be the domesticated supporter,a purely servile citizen. Their taxes were paid via household but in actuality,women began to be working as early as 1871 and that number only grew as time progressed.The earliest suffragettes wanted equal rights and a re-examination of their role in society but that wasn't progressing anywhere.The Meiji government had arrested and clamped down on female activists and expanded male voting powers to keep the men,at least,placated,culminating in universal male suffrage by 1925,even though really close shaves were very nearly passed in 1902, 1903, 1908, 1909,1910 and 1911. It became apparent even from the early 1900s that women were fighting an impossible battle. To go against nationalism and the Meiji constitution (especially when to sacrifice to better the nation was the general mood) was to go against half of Japan.
Hence the nature of the suffrage and rights movement began to shift as well.Realizing they would need male support from the male-dominated government who held all the cards,the image of women who could contribute to national interest changed as well. Women were already working afterall. Why not have them help in a traditionally male field : War ? When Okumura Ioko (1845-1907), who took part in the anti-Bakufu movement, was sent to China, she observed the miserable conditions experienced by the Japanese soldiers during the 8-Nation Alliance to put down the Boxer rebellion and established the society of Women Patriots (Aikoku Fujinkai) in 1901 to help families of the dead and wounded and disabled soldiers. In addition, the society declared that as women their patriotism was reflected in raising children and saving for the sake of the nation. In essence,the perfect Japanese woman according to the Meiji ideal. Membership exploded from 13,049 in 1902 to 806,887 in 1911,thanks in no small part to the Home Ministry and the Army,who believed this to be a resounding success of the nationalistic ideology that they had repeatedly enforced over the years. Did all the sufragettes try to be the perfect Japanese nurse/housewife/ideal housewife during this period though? Of course not ! A good majority of active suffragettes were also working at the time,whether it be in the field as farmers,in factories as low income workers (They weren't even payed minimum wage but Hane or irregular wage) or as brothel workers,which were already low as dirt in the eyes of society. They propagated their role as that of the 'worker' ; those who contribute to the growth of Japan and hence their economic contribution was their contribution and toil for Japan.