Anthony Herrera

Japanese 311

Dr. Dustin Wright

December 10, 2020

Japanese Feminism: The Fight Against Oppression

Throughout the history of Japanese society, women have always been at the lowest part

of the hierarchy when being compared to the men. Men are always shown and represented as the

strong and dominant gender based on societal norms, and when men are married, their family

name is passed on throughout generations to come. While women grow up to become the slaves

and the servants of their husbands and were raised to obey the men of the family. For example, in

the Japanese story named The Tales of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu, has many

representations how citizens in the Heian period would praise the prince known as Genji; despite

his arrogance and the various affairs he had with multiple women throughout the story. Women

were constantly being oppressed and treated as objects by men that never gave them opportunity

to let their voice be heard or have the opportunity to be respected throughout the Heian period.

However, as the years and generations had gone by women have gained more recognition and

power due to the Equal Employment opportunity law in 1985, the various amendments that

passed in the Japanese Standards Act of 1947, and the Working Women’s Welfare Law. Although

women's rights have improved significantly since the Heian period, there are still many ways that

women are still being oppressed in the modern society. Therefore,the intention is to research the

oppression of women in Japan in order to understand Japanese women’s perspective of the

feminist movement.

The topic of oppressed women in Japan has been a huge predicament and a controversial

problem that has been constantly researched for several years through news articles and in other

forms of literature. Within gendered labor and the women’s role in the workplace has been most

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commonly examined and judged, mostly due to the poor working conditions, women are

expected to not receive help in any situation throughout their time working in the business or

company. For example, many Japanese companies are reluctant to hire women in professions

such as in hospitals because women are known to have children and suddenly leave the company

leaving a labor shortage in the future (Yamamori). This represents the insensitivity of the view of

the Japanese men in power of rejecting women, the opportunity to attempt to make a living for

themselves and being denied to start their own families. Also, due to the large number of women

being rejected to companies based on their sex, they are forced to pursue a career as hostesses for

the majority of their livelihood. In Japan, there is an immense amount of young and attractive

women that refuse to go job-hunting to make better wages in jobs such as sex work and being

hostesses in a bar to break away from their repetitive and oppressing conditions they would

otherwise experience in a Japanese company. There are also many women that work in the sex

industry to make the money to support themselves and their family, due to the wages Japanese

women receive in many companies and businesses being inadequate. To put it in perspective,

Yoshihiro Nagata, the president of a club named leJacks Groove, says that the profession of

being a hostess offers a high salary. Nagata states, “This merit system is a big incentive to

ambitious women like Hanazuka and Julie, who both make more than $300,000 a year. By

contrast, the average salary of Japanese women with full time jobs is $37,000 a year” (Fukuda).

Although, the women who work in the clubs do make a good living and are well off for years,

they work under poor working conditions that may lead them to an unhealthy lifestyle.

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Therefore, based on these two articles that have in-depth information on the oppression that

women have to experience, it is also important to understand how oppression can affect them.

In order to research and explore the topic of Japanese women’s oppression in modern

Japan, I will be reviewing and analyzing various peer-viewed articles that are primarily about

Japanese women’s point of view. I will also be analyzing various important points that involve

feminism and how the idea of spreading feminist ideology amongst Japan will improve the very

male-dominated society the Japanese inhabited throughout their history. Therefore, by the end of

my research on the oppression of Japanese women, I will gain a deeper knowledge of women’s

hardships and the importance of feminism being spread throughout Asia.

In regards to Japanese women suffering from the oppressing Japanese society, Drew

Martin, a sociologist in the European Journal of Marketing, in his article “Foreign women in

Japanese television advertising” he addresses the struggles of being constantly viewed as a

caregiver and how television commercials idealize how Japanese women should represented in

the Japanese society. Martin states in his article, “Under such socio-cultural circumstances it is

extraordinarily difficult for young Japanese women to find themselves as independent

individuals. Career development does not seem easy but their mothers’ generation does not seem

happy either. Young Japanese women are easily influenced by idealized feminine images based

on white Western women with slender bodies, small heads, long limbs, and large busts, which

they encounter in various ways every day through the mass media. These characteristics

encourage Japanese women to hate their natural Asian body shape and tell them that they need

many commodities to achieve such an ideal body shape, although actually it is impossible.”

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December 10, 2020

(Martin)This quote expresses the hardships and struggles that women are experiencing due to

commercials and advertisements that depict overly exaggerated body shapes that cause Japanese

women to feel self-conscious and struggle to keep a positive self image. Due to this, Japanese

women are more prone to detrimental eating and mental disorders in order to fit into the society's

norms and appear “normal”.

Also, Nakamura, a Jungian psychotherapist, in her extensive article, “Struggles Among

Japanese Women with Conservative Gender Roles Flooded with ‘ideal’ Feminine Images

through Commercialism”, expresses that the use of Jungian psychotherapy on one of her patients

was a way to understand the experiences of her struggling with mental disorders due to the

oppression she experiences in her daily life. Nakamura explains, “It is very helpful to introduce a

Jungian approach in clinical work with such patients. For example, by dealing with dreams,

patients can find out what actually frightens them. They might find that they have identified

themselves with feminine persona or ideal feminine images too much, which functions as

internalized oppression, to use a feminist expression” (Nakamura, 58). This quote represents the

constant struggles that Japanese women experience in regards to always forcing a feminine or

“lady-like” lifestyle throughout their lifetime. In addition, Rio Ueno, a Psychiatric Nurse for

women and mothers, writes about the mental suffering Japanese women go through thanks to

discrimination. Rio Ueno writes, “Due to living in a male-dominant society, women experience

discrimination at a daily basis... Japan Women must constantly endure men’s verbal and physical

abuse, which leads to mental and emotional trauma. Living and breathing in a continuous state of

inferiority, causes women to develop clinical depression and anxiety disorders... Ironically, many

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women deny that they experience any abuse or discrimination of any kind to avoid conflict, it is

not until they’re alone, when they truly release their frustration.” (Ueno). Unfortunately, due to

Japanese customs, society is preventing Japanese women from expressing themselves properly

and silencing their voice, causing the women to suppress all their problems and emotions inside

in order to avoid troubling others. Therefore, throughout the extensive research that Nakamura

explores, an in-depth understanding of what is going on in Japanese women's mentality evokes a

feeling of being oppressed in their society.

Next, the ideals of feminism are slowly spreading throughout Japan allowing feminist

writers such as Hiratsuka Raicho to inspire Japanese women through her literature, whichevoke

Japanese women to make changes to Japan’s male dominant society. Hiratsuka Raicho is a

renowned author that was known as one of the earliest among those who battled to reform the

social and legal position of Japanese women toward the end of her life Her publication of her

literature named “Genshi Josei wa Taiyou de atta (In the beginning women was the sun)” was an

enriching and respected piece of literature that reflected the importance and power that women

once possessed before men were created in existence. Hiratsuka Raicho published her literature

in the literary magazine called “Seito,” which was dubbed a journal created by women for

women. Raicho had written in its prospectus, “In the beginning, woman was the sun. An

authentic person. Now she is the moon, a wan and sickly moon, dependent on another, reflecting

another’s brilliance . . .” (Germer 270). This quote strongly supports the idea that women were

known to have the potential and ability to think for themselves, be respected, and were once

admired by their colleagues, until the men took control of their society. Therefore, this leads the

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women to become under-appreciated and forced to be dependent such as the moon is dependent

amongst the sun.

In addition, Sakiko Kitagawa, a Japanese philosopher from University of Tokyo, wrote an

extensive article that explains various aspects of Feminism in Asia and explains about ways

Japanese women can widespread the ideology of a more equal environment for both sexes in

Japan. In her article, “Japanese Feminism in East-Asian Networking”, she conducts various

research and surveys among Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan through feminist

discussion panels and interviews with victims that experienced a gender-type discrimination.

Based on her various studies and her connection with Japanese women that were oppressed in

their community, she states, “Feminism is concerned mainly with the problem of social

discrimination against women and an essential aim is to reveal the hidden gender hierarchy in an

apparently neutral or equal system. Feminist criticism is bound to the participant internal

perspective, and thus tends to work best when it targets oppressive structures in the critic’s own

society. A Japanese feminist philosopher, Igeta Midori, warns of the potential affinity of feminist

criticism with “The Nation.” Japanese feminism should be necessarily connected with other

Asian feminist theories in order to contextualize the nation in a critical way.” (Kitagawa 37)This

quote from Kitagawa expresses that in Japan due to the archaic customs from the Heian period

and religion, the hidden hierarchy amongst the women and men are still present today. Therefore,

in order to bring a stronger community for feminism and equality of men and women is to bring

awareness throughout Asia and allow younger generations to be cognizant of the way women are

not being treated equally in modern society.

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Japanese 311

Dr. Dustin Wright

December 10, 2020

Throughout my research of women’s oppression in Japan, I believe that it is crucial to

bring attention to more aspects of feminism not only in Japan, but also throughout Asia to

prevent any more mental or eating disorders that will continuously endanger women in the future

to come. Dr. Ryo Yoneda, a doctor in psychosomatic medicine in Tokyo University, did a study

on 568 Japanese women and conducted an eating attitudes test. Based on the results, 99 of the

women had an eating disorder of either bulimia or anorexia due to the high influence of

television advertisements and their need to be accepted in their community. While the 468 other

women were healthy and had no signs of disorders (Yoneda) Based on Yoneda’s research

explains the negative effects of commercialism in the Japanese society making the Japanese

women suffer from identity problems and experiencing mental disorders throughout their lives.

Furthermore, as Kitagawa stated in her research of endorsing feminism in Asia, it will drastically

change the oppressive structures in Japan's modern society and will allow women to finally

break their silence in a male dominated society. Therefore, the topic of feminism and combating

against the continuation of a male dominated society in Japan and most locations in Asia should

be taught in schools and advertised in order for change to occur.

In conclusion, I have gained a better understanding of the numerous points of view of

Japanese women living in a world dominated by men and the effects of the perpetual amount of

oppression that women have had to endure. For example, due to the many misleading television

advertisements of western women body shapes influencing Japanese women to continue a

lifestyle of unhealthy eating developing an eating disorder. Also, based on Nakamura’s Jungian

psychotherapy, many Japanese women are suffering from being consistently silenced by the men

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in their society, leading them to develop mental disorders due to being forced to not speak their

mind. However, due to the ideology of feminism that Raicho Hiratsuka has published in journals

and various articles, the idea of women becoming an independent person is becoming more

widely accepted throughout Japan. Therefore, it is important to not only respect women but also

see genders neutrally in order to promote equality among everyone.

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Works Cited

Fukuda, Shiho. (0000). Hostess Girls » Japan’s Disposable Workers. Shiho Fukuda.
http://disposableworkers.com/?page_id=2

Germer, Andrea. "Hiratsuka Raichō and Early Japanese Feminism." 60.2 (2005): 269-72. Web.

Hashizume, Yumi. "Releasing From the Oppression: Caregiving for the Elderly Parents of
Japanese Working Women." Qualitative Health Research 20.6 (2010): 830-44. Web.

Kikuchi, Hiroyuki, Takamiya, Tomoko, Odagiri, Yuko, Ohya, Yumiko, Shimomitsu, Teruichi,
and Inoue, Shigeru. "Mental Illness and a High-risk, Elderly Japanese Population:
Characteristic Differences Related to Gender and Residential Location." Psychogeriatrics

Kitagawa, Sakiko. "Japanese Feminism in East-Asian Networking." Diogenes (English Ed.) 57.3
(2010): 35-40. Web.

Martin, Drew. "Foreign Women in Japanese Television Advertising." European Journal of

Marketing 46.1-2 (2012): 157-76. Web

Nakamura, Konoyu. "Struggles among Japanese Women with Conservative Gender Roles
Flooded with ‘ideal’ Feminine Images through Commercialism." Psychotherapy and
Politics International 4.1 (2006): 55-61. Web.

Ueno, Rie,et al. "Relationship Between Positive Self-Recognition of Maternal Role and

Psychosocial Factors in Japanese Mothers with Severe Mental Illness." Community

Mental Health Journal 47.5 (2011):520-30. Web.

13.4 (2013): 229-36. Web.

Yamamori, Nanako. “‘There Are Almost No Women in Power’: Tokyo’s Female Workers
Demand Change.” The Guardian, June 13, 2019, sec. Cities.

Yoneda, Ryo,et al. "Reliability and Validity of the Japanese Translation of the Eating Disorders

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Quality of Life (ED-QOL) Scale for Japanese Healthy Female University Undergraduate

Students and Patients with Eating Disorders." BioPsychoSocial Medicine 14.1 (2020):

16. Web.

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