The Japanese Lifestyle and Womens Freedoms Throughout the many nations of Asia, Japan has always considered

itself a unique nation. The structure of the Japanese government is unique in itself. Sitting at the head of the Japanese government is the emperor: a man considered a kami, or god. The Japanese people believe that they all descend for the god emperor. With this unique governmental structure and historical structure, Japan also boasts unique societal, familial, and religious structures. Within Japan, women are subjugated to men in societal, familial, and religious realms. Although women around the world are generally considered weaker than men, the women in Japan are subjugated in hopes of maintaining the societal, familial, and religious structure of their nation. Without the dominating patriarchy in Japan, many of Japans unique attributes would disappear. If women in Japan continue to gain freedom within society, home life, and religion, the unique Japanese way of life will cease to exist. In the past, women had very specific roles in society. One of the most interesting ways that women contributed to society was in literature. In magnificent opposition to the paucity of material on Nara women, the Heian period represents a virtual window into the lives, both material and interior, of the court women in ancient Japan (Hooker). In ancient Japan, women were the main creators of literary masterpieces, including diaries and poems. Unfortunately, only high-ranking women within the court wrote the literary masterpieces thus excluding the lower to middle class female population (Hooker). For example, the female writer Kazunomiya single-handedly saved the city of Yedo from being destroyed during a fire that took place during the clash between Royalists and the Bakufu Government (Ide). Although Kazunomiya had such a profound role in saving the history and society of that time, her story is hardly ever told now due to the patriarchal hold on modern Japanese society. At the time, however, Kazunomiya was simply doing her job as a woman and was not trying to become infamous. It seems in ancient Japan that women stumbled over fortune or fame simply by doing what was asked of them or doing what was pleasurable for them. This innocence and non-threatening way of coming across fame and fortune may be the reason why hostility between the female and male groups in ancient Japan seemed to

be lacking. During this time, men were also having literary and military success and the two genders seemed in balance between themselves. One gender did not overleap the other and both genders managed to create masterpieces in harmony with one another. Current day Japan does not have the same harmony as ancient Japan did in regards to women and men in society. Currently, women are trying to find a place in society despite the resistance from male counterparts. Women are trying to find jobs outside of the home in society and are also trying to gain power in the arts. Their act of striking out on their own gives the impression that they are not satisfied with doing the duty of raising their families and serving the country as a whole. Some women have found success within the artistic realms, such as Atsuko Fukushima and Shizuka Hayashi. These two individuals are examples of women who have managed to break through the realm of a patriarchal society in order to find success outside of the home. Although it is remarkable that women have begun to find success, it is still a very unequal field. Men and women are at odds in regards to pay and treatment in the field of work. Although it is unfair to women, the societal pressure on women to stay within the home is an obvious hint that Japanese society relies deeply on the traditional Japanese woman. As women seek work outside of the home, men are finding it harder to find a wife. Because of the societal move towards independent women, the marriage age has increased and many women in their thirties are refusing to get married at all. Society is beginning to change dramatically. The birth rate in Japan is also falling significantly (Retherford &Natsukura). Statistics state that the average woman in 1940 bore 4.11 children in her lifetime. As of 1997, the number of children born in a womans life has decreased to 1.39. This decrease in birth rate has led to a boom in the older generation of Japan and a decrease in the number of persons able to carry the Japanese economy later on. Although the Japanese population is vast in number, this incident seems much like the American baby boom, except in reverse. Because of the baby boom in America, the population is seeing an increase in the number of elderly in the upcoming decades. If the Japanese birth rate continues to decrease, it is quite possible that the economy will begin to collapse as the elderly generations begin to disappear. The increases of independence in women have led to such societal changes as older

marriage ages or no marriage at all, and the decrease in birth rates. With the changes in society, Japans unique life style may be in for some changes in the upcoming decades. Within the realm of the home, women have played a very distinct role in the past. In the past, women have been considered shufu, or housewives. Ishii and Jarkey state that the creation and establishment of the ideal women as full-time, professional housewives has undoubtedly been a key aspect of modern society and social structures (Ishii & Jarkey). In the past, women have been expected to stay within the home, taking care of the children and serving their husband and their parents-in-law, as well as their sons. Various magazines were published in order to instruct women on how to run a household. It was an honor to server the family through being a thorough and organized housewife. All women were expected to maintain a clean household that ran smoothly. Women were in charge of monitoring the finances and dealing with the money that passed through the household. In the past, it seems, women had almost unlimited power in the home in regards to the structure and schedule. Currently, however, women are starting to leave the house, searching for jobs outside the home. In the film Early Summer, Noriko, the main character, finds a job outside of the home and even decides to marry a man without consulting her parents (Ozu). Noriko was an example of the new and developing woman in Japan. As the film depicts, her new independence leads to the destruction or breakdown of the family life. This is true in current Japan as well. As women are finding work outside of the home, the conventional family is beginning to disappear. Generations of families are no longer living under the same roof. As is in the United States, family life is beginning to branch into nuclear families of just a father, mother, and children. The changes in the familial structure of Japan can be traced back to the result of the influence of Western society in Japan. With the introduction of the Western ideal, the social structure of men being superior to women began to become less of an ideal for women (Ishii & Jarkey). Women began to instead to idolize the American housewife. This led to a destruction of the traditional dress and the traditional household. Because of the independence of women, Japan is seeing many detrimental changes within the home life. Aside from the lowered birth rate, older marriage age or

no marriage at all, the compact family consisting of many generations is also beginning to disappear. As portrayed in Early Summer, the tradition family ways are beginning to become old fashioned and more westernized versions of families are beginning to take precedence. Children are no longer taking care of their parents and grandparents are beginning to find that they are alone through most of their elderly life. The ability for many generations to live under one roof was a major characteristic of Japan but now, because of the increased independence of women in Japan, this characteristic is beginning to disappear. Women are beginning to find it too much of a burden to be married. They are instead seeking educations and jobs. The jobs, which have long hours and little pay, make it difficult for women to date and raise children. As the independence of women increases, the home life of Japan is beginning to disintegrate. In the past, women may have possibly played a large role in religion. Although much information is lacking in regards to the past religions in Japan, it is known that the cult of Amaterasu, the creator goddess, suggests that Shinto before Buddhism was a matriarchal religion (Hooker). Shintoism is one of the few religions in a patriarchal culture that did not abandon the overall form of a matriarchal religion. This suggests that female shamanism was highly likely in Japan before the advent of Buddhism (Hooker). This suggestion leads to the possibility that Japan was initially matriarchal and, only with the introduction of Buddhism, were women subjugated under men. As Buddhism began to take hold in Japan, women began to find it increasingly harder to have any hold over the male population. Folk tales began to surface that put a bad light on women. Women were beginning to be seen as unclean or evil (Copeland). Stories such as The Corpse, The Crone, and The Snake helped internalize the idea that women were conniving and always trying to do harm to the males. These stories led to the assumption that women should be subjugated under men and led to the thought that women were unclean. In current religious practices, women are rarely allowed to take part in religious ceremonies. At many temples, women are only used to entertain the spirits of the dead. They are rarely seen as priestesses. The main culprit for the decrease in womens roles in religion is Buddhism. It is known that many Buddhists believed that salvation was out of the question for women (Watt). Because of the alienation of women in

Shinto and Buddhist religion, Christianity and other new religions began to try and recruit women into their ranks, thus altering the religious field in Japan. As Christianity and other religions began to filter their way into Japan, they began to try to appeal to women, thus creating a rift between the traditional religions of Japan and women. As women began to be asked for allegiance to Christianity or another new religion, families found it difficult to come to terms with their daughters and wives finding religion in another place. Although the religious changes found in Japan are important, a more important question to ask regarding Japan and religion is: Does Japan need a religion? It has been argued that Japan as a whole does not need a religion because of the fluidity that it has between Shinto and Buddhist practices. As can be seen with society and the home life, the religious changes taking place in Japan began to surface along with the influence of Western society on Japan. Although it is a stretch to say that women are the cause for the rift in Japanese religion, it is possible to conclude that womens inability to participate in many religious ceremonies may have led to the influx of new religions and Christianity, thus dividing the country between traditional and newer religions. Although women are trying to find freedom and independence in Japan, the government and society as a whole is trying to keep them in their places. Such resistance to womens rights has been seen in countries all over the world, but due to the unique society in Japan, the subordination of women has become a solid and founding idea. The Japanese lifestyle depends on the subordination of women. In the past, women were the main household heads in familial life. Without the literature written by women during the Nara period, ancient Japan would not have the same detail. Without the idea of shufu, Japanese familial life would not be the same. Without the ancient shamanistic matriarchal religions, Japanese Shinto and Buddhism would not have had the same impact as it does now. Japan has become the nation it is now based on the idea that women have served. As of current day, a shift in one section, be it societal, familial, or religious, causes a shift in another section. As stated in this essay, the societal idea that women should have freedom and find jobs outside the home has led to a decrease in birth rate. As the birth rate has decreased, family life has

changed from many generations living under one roof to nuclear families. As the family has altered, the religious life of Japan has also begun to decline. Some now ask if Japan even needs a religion because of its fluidity and modernity. Although it may seem anti-feminist to say that women in Japan should not seek so much freedom, I think it is important to note that without the women shufu and the subjugation of women under men, society as a whole in Japan would not exist. If Japan continued to exist as a matriarchy, what would the country be like now? Within the world as a whole, matriarchal societies are rare, if present at all. This undeniable truth must have a purpose. Even though Japan may be unique culturally, Japan also falls into the proven fact that government eventually becomes ruled by men. As members of a culture, women have a responsibility in Japan. They are responsible for raising the upcoming generations and keeping the way of life in Japan true. The increased freedom of women in Japan is leading to a definite decline in Japanese culture and, unless something is done to solidify and keep the way of life intact, Japanese culture will become more and more westernized.

WORKS CITED Copeland, R. (2005). Bad Girls in Japan. New York: Palgrave Publications. Hooker, R. (1996). Women and Womens Communities in Ancient Japan. Ide, K. (1928). Japans new woman. Pacific Affairs, 1-11. Ishii K. & Jarkey N. (2002). The Housewife is Born: The Establishment of the Notion and Identity of the Shufu in Modern Japan. Japanese Studies, 22, 35-47. Ozu, Y. (Director). (1951). Bakush [Motion Picture]. Japan: Shochiku Kinema Kenkyjo. Retherford, R. & Ogawa N. & Natsukura R. (2001). Late Marriage and Less Marriage in Japan. Population and Development Review, 27, 65-102. Watt, P. (2003). Japanese Religions. Indiana University.