Saturday, November 19, 2005
THE GROWING POWER OF WOMEN IN JAPAN
"It is hard to overstate the degree of change and turmoil in Japan's Imperial Household. Consider in the past year alone the Crown Prince has publicly apologised for standing up for his wife; Princess Nori just married a commoner; and the government is preparing legislation to allow female succession to the throne. As elsewhere in Japan, women are threatening patriarchy. The repercussions, actual and potential, are enormous, stirring a predictable backlash while pointing to how much more needs to be done in a nation that stands at 69 in the global ranking of women's status."
The Imperial women of Japan by Jeff Kingston
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4 comments:
This is the first time I have commented on your blog, but I thought I should seeing as how I actually blogged about your blog a few weeks back on my own...but really I just wanted to say that I really enjoy reading of your trails and editorials on life, especially that of Japan. I lived in Japan a few years back now and I wish blogs were as fashionable then as they are now. Anyway, I have been dropping by from time to time for quite a while now and really enjoy seeing Japan through your eyes - keep up the wonderful writing!
You've been here a good while. Are things really changing much, do you think? Most of my students still want to be married by 25, and most of the vocal feminists I meet are in their forties or fifties. Genuinely curious, do perceive a broad shift in women's power since you arrived?
Additionally, I suspect that goings-on inside the Imperial Household bear very little relationship to anything happening elsewhere in Japan.
Thank you, 23/5, will do. I'll visit your site too, for nourishing feedback on British Columbia.
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Maethelwine, I'm somewhat biased because my wife is so radical for a Japanese woman, but I get the sense that the younger Japanese women are beginning to "catch up," with about a 10-year lag. As for the rest, it's something like "the imperial trickle down" effect. And like imperial change, it will take while...
I think in all cultures women's intelligence and their biology will always be battling it out for priority. Until economics sees the value of family and carefully-raised children in a society the same way it views oil and labor as important resources, we females will be doing this battle/dance.
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