[4] Her mother, Morita Chise, was the daughter of Aoyama Enju, who was a Confucian scholar in the Mito Domain.

In 1908, Kikue attended the private women's college Joshi Eigaku Juku (present Tsuda University) in Tokyo.

[8] This experience made her realize that religion could not solve the manifold problems faced by women factory workers.

[9] After her graduation in 1912, Kikue worked in a publishing company part-time, engaging in making an English dictionary and translation.

[11] On the other hand, Kikue argued that against Itō that the long history of prostitution could not justify the existence of the industry, and that the licensed prostitution was not the system created by men's natural demands but created according to the social system that internalized unnatural power balance between men and women.

[14] In sum, Kikue did not think the Christian movement, which encouraged women to follow the sexual norm mainly created by men's selfish desire, would lead to the abolishment of licensed prostitution.

[15] From 1918 to 1919, two magazines Fujin Koron (Women's forum) and Taiyou (The Sun) hosted a controversial debate over maternity protection.

In addition to Kikue, who changed her family name to Yamakawa after her marriage, famous Japanese feminists, such as Yosano Akiko, Hiratsuka Raicho, and Yamada Waka, took part in the debate.

[18] Moreover, Yamakawa disagreed with Yosano that the protection of motherhood by the nation was a shame because it was the same as the government's care of the elderly and the disabled.

[20] Yamakawa summarized these arguments and argued that financial independence and protection of motherhood were compatible and natural demands of women.

[16] Moreover, Yamakawa Kikue made an objection to present society which left household labor unpaid work.

[21] Yamakawa Kikue, as a social feminist, had multiple viewpoints against discrimination (sexism, racism, and classism) and took position against colonialism and imperialism.

In response to the passing of the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law, a political study group was organized for re-establishing the Japanese Communist Party.

[25] Yamakawa shared much with the leadership of the Women's Suffrage League in that both "argued throughout the prewar period that Japan's legally codified family system, which designated a usually male head-of-household and excluded other family members (including wives) from owning property, denied women legal decision-making capacity".

Many Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese people were killed by the military police and vigilantes who believed the rumor.

[28] Not only did Yamakawa criticize the military police and vigilantes for these actions, but she also denounced the Japanese who internalized anti-foreignism as a result of imperial and colonial education.

After she died, women cherishing her established the Yamakawa Kikue Memorial Organization, which still exists today.