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The Impact of Women on Japan's Society
| Article
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18581 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1991 |
2,494 Words |
| Author
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Ryoko Kato Tsuneyoshi
Ryoko Kato Tsuneyoshi is assistant professor of sociology at
Bunkyo Women's College. Her areas of specialization include
socialization in the family and school (comparisons of the
United States and Japan) and national character studies. Her
publications include "Meanings of Equality: Lessons from
Japanese Debates," Educational Forum 1990, and The Hidden
Socialization Process of Americans and Japanese (in Japanese;
forthcoming from Chuokoron). |
Today, Japanese women are acquiring higher degrees and participating in the labor force on a scale that few would have foreseen several generations ago. Although Japanese women are still underrepresented in managerial positions and the majority are in so-called feminine occupations and fields, the gains they have made in the social sphere are undeniable. In this regard, Japan is experiencing social change that is reminiscent of what has taken place in other industrialized nations.
Such social change does not occur in a cultural vacuum. The mythical ancestor of the Japanese imperial line is Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun. Scholars have often alluded to matriarchal images, such as the sun goddess shining through a cloud of male domination.
Westerners often regard Japanese women as being dominated by men in a chauvinist society. This article suggests that the actual position of Japanese women may be something more than what this conventional view implies.
The Paradox
Japan is often seen as a country of paradox: a nation both industrialized and traditional, where the old and new, the East and West, coexist.
Women are considered to be one of Japanese society's greatest paradoxes. Foreign observers never cease to wonder at how the traditional role of women can survive so long and remain so strong in so industrialized a country. The literature continues to point out the low status of Japanese women compared to their counterparts in other leading industrialized countries. It is considered a paradox, an exception to the general principle that industrialization brings about the dissolution of traditional values concerning the family and women. Although trends of change are apparent, traditional Japanese family patterns and values have held out quite impressively. This is even more surprising given the rapid speed at which Japan has modernized.
Within the traditions preserved in this modernizing Japanese society are the dual public and private roles played by Japanese women. While some literature describes the low status of women, other reports attest to the crucial role women play in the formation of Japanese character and society. As Hayao Kawai puts it, Japan is seen as being dominated by the "maternal principle."
How can Japanese women's status be so low while they
...
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