From the late 19thcentury to the early 20thcentury, there were some movements focused on developing girls’ competency in the society. Among them, Girl Guide/ Scout movement is one of the unique movements in the history of children and youth; It was inspired by Boy Scout movement (1908-) established by Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941). So the early girl scouts, though they were made to call themselves girl guides later, were considered as tomboys who were pursuing something improper for their gender at that time. On the other hand, it was the age when more and more young people were expected to contribute to their nation as citizens. In this paper, a historical comparison of Girl Guide/ Scout movement in Britain and Japan was attempted. Girl Guide movement was introduced to Japan by the missionary of the Church of England in 1920. It was shown how the movement in Japan was developed in the era between two world wars, suspended during the World War II, and restarted after the war. The changing idea of femininity and the influence of the warfare on youth associations was also considered.
