Salaryman Masculinity

Social Sciences in Asia

Edited by
Vineeta Sinha
Syed Farid Alatas
Chan Kwok-bun
VOLUME 29
Salaryman Masculinity
Te Continuity of and Change in the
Hegemonic Masculinity in Japan
By
Tomoko Hidaka
LEIDEN BOSTON
2010
Tis book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hidaka, Tomoko.
Salaryman masculinity : the continuity of and change in the hegemonic masculinity
in Japan / by Tomoko Hidaka.
p. cm. (Social sciences in Asia ; v. 29)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18303-2 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. MenJapanSocial conditionsCase studies. 2. MenJapanIdentityCase
studies. 3. White collar workersJapanCase studies. 4. MasculinityJapanCase
studies. I. Title. II. Series.
HQ1090.7.J3H54 2010
305.3896220952dc2
2010006224
ISSN 1567-2794
ISBN 978 90 04 18303 2
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Te Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints BRILL, Hotei Publishing,
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printed in the netherlands
In memory of my grandmother (19132008) and my father
(19322007)
CONTENTS
Preface .................................................................................................. ix
Notes on the Text ............................................................................... xiii
Introduction ......................................................................................... 1
Chapter One Growing Up: Gendered Experiences in the
Family ............................................................................................... 13
Chapter Two Growing Up: Gendered Experiences in
School ............................................................................................... 43
Chapter Tree Love and Marriage ............................................... 69
Chapter Four Work ......................................................................... 103
Chapter Five Ikigai .......................................................................... 137
Conclusion ........................................................................................... 163
Appendices
Appendix One Biographies of the Participants ..................... 185
Appendix Two Chronological Background of the
Participants ................................................................................. 191
Appendix Tree Tables and Charts ......................................... 193
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 199
Index ..................................................................................................... 219
PREFACE
Why on earth are you interested in masculinity? Tis view, whether
expressed or implied, represents the most typical response to my
research interest in men and masculinities from my friends, acquain-
tances and people I have encountered during my research. In retro-
spect, I realise that my personal interest in Japanese corporate men
and their masculinity has its origins in my work experience in a rela-
tively large trading company in Japan. My work experience dates back
more than a decade when Japanese people frmly believed that Japans
stable economy would last and had not the slightest suspicion that
the bubble economy would burst. Te section to which I was assigned
was engaged in Ofcial Development Assistance (ODA). It was appar-
ent that the men in the section were proud of their jobs, believing
that their projects were facilitating needy countries socio-economic
development. Probably, the fact that the majority of these men wore
a moustache represents an exception to Japanese male white-collar
workers. However, the majority of ruling-class men in recipient coun-
tries, such as India, Nepal and African countries, wore moustaches
and my male colleagues adopted the expedient of wearing a moustache
like government ofcials and project leaders in the recipient countries
as part of their business strategy. Consequently, their assimilation into
the culture of the ruling classes in these countries meant their embodi-
ment, not only of Japanese hegemonic masculinity, but also of the
dominant masculinity of other countries. Perhaps, because of this, in
my eyes, their sense of self as men appeared to be stronger than that
of men in other departments who conducted business mainly with
Japanese clients. It was intriguing that my male colleagues understood,
consciously or unconsciously, the imperfect symbolic aspects of Japa-
nese hegemonic masculinity in other countries (i.e. a well groomed
appearance with no moustache or beard) and adopted the recipient
countries symbolism of dominant masculinity while they knew that
adding moustaches to their presentation did not undermine Japanese
hegemonic masculinity. I was fascinated by their performance of mas-
culinity and the intersection of identity and power.
x preface
In my section, mens duties and womens duties were clearly sepa-
rated, just as Ogasawara (1998) documented in her study of male and
female white-collar workers in a large Japanese company. My inter-
ests in and concerns about gender relations and the way in which my
male colleagues presented themselves lingered in my mind for a long
time. In the meantime, a friend of mine sent me an on-line newspa-
per article about the Japanese mens liberation movement. Learning
about the mens movement in Japan, I was fascinated by the idea of
exploring men and masculinities. It was, perhaps, natural for me to
be intrigued by Japanese corporate men and their masculinity and to
choose them as the topic for my research because my questions about
Japanese salarymen and their masculinity could thus fnd expression
and could fnally be exorcised from my mind. More importantly, I
was convinced that doing research on the masculinity of the Japa-
nese salaryman would contribute to broadening the currently limited
understanding of their masculinity. When I was working in Japan, I
perceived my male colleagues as kigysenshi
1
(corporate warriors), but
now I wonder if this was really so. Kaufman (1994: 142) argues that
power and pain constitute a pair in mens lives and he calls this mens
contradictory experience of power. As will be evident in the following
chapters, contradictions in mens lives emerged in my study.
Tis book draws on my doctoral research as a graduate student at
the University of Adelaide. First and foremost I would like to thank
the supervisors of my doctoral dissertation, Chilla Bulbeck and Shoko
Yoneyama for their invaluable and insightful guidance with regard
to my thesis and for their unstinting support and encouragement
throughout the researching and writing of the manuscript. I was (and
still am) fortunate to have the assistance of these dedicated scholars.
My heartfelt thanks must also go to another mentor, Jennifer Brown,
who was always there for me, for her generous assistance, from reading
my draf and ofering comments on my work to giving me continu-
ing moral support throughout (and even afer) my higher education
in Australia. I am indebted to the participants, who generously gave
their time for my research, for, without their valuable life stories pro-
vided in the interviews I would not have been able to complete my
1
During WWII, the name kigysenshi was conferred on salarymen in contrast
to soldiers who were called industrial warriors (Miyasaka 2002: 4). Te term became
popular again during the high economic growth period.
preface xi
project. I am truly grateful to my family, my relatives and my friends
for their help in fnding the participants. I had the privilege of meeting
Taga Futoshi and Romit Dasgupta. I am grateful for their generous
assistance in giving me useful information and in making their work
available to me. Unexpectedly, Romit became one of my colleagues at
the National University of Singapore. Our recreational activities with
other wonderful colleagues made my new life in Singapore pleasant
without this I would never have been able to take my mind of my
work. My sincere thanks to my colleagues in the discipline of Gender,
Work and Social Inquiry at the University of Adelaide, Ken Bridge,
Jessica Shipman Gunson, Alia Imtoual, George Lewkowicz, Pam
Papadelos, Ros Prosser and Ros Averis for their friendship and moral
support, and Margaret Allen, Kathie Muir, Susan Oakley and Margie
Ripper for their generous scholarly and friendly assistance. I also give
thanks to other colleagues Peter Burns, Gerry Groot and Purnendra
Jain for their assistance and support as well as Glen Staford, Shoo Lin
Siah and other members of CASPAR (Centre for Asian Studies Post-
graduate Academic Review) for their intellectual companionship as
well as friendships. I thank Naomi Hof, Diana Clark, Greg Clark and
his family, Helen and Keith Mitchell (sadly, Keith passed away only
recently), Ivy Wing and her family, Chris Hamilton and his family, Jan
Dash, Jan Miller who is no longer with us, Gus Overall, Libby Ivens
and other friends for their friendship and caring support. Tese friends
made my long and sometimes trying journey to the completion of my
research more meaningful. Finally and surely not least, I would like to
thank my parents, Hidaka Manabu and Kazuko, for their extraordi-
nary generosity and support and my grandmother, Kawamura Fumi,
who raised me with unconditional love. Tis book is dedicated to the
memory of my grandmother and my father who would have rejoiced
unreservedly over my work but unexpectedly departed this life with-
out seeing this book.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
Te names of the participants in this study are fctitious. Japanese full
names mentioned in this thesis are written in the Japanese order, with
family names followed by given names. In the case of the participants
in this study, their names are indicated by family names together with
the Japanese comprehensive courtesy title san (e.g. Amano-san),
which is used to indicate status titles such as Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
in Japanese.
Te Hepburn style of romanisation is applied in rendering Japanese
words, and macrons indicating long vowelsfor example, as in
rysai kenbo (good wife, wise mother)in order to convey the pro-
nunciation of Japanese words. Tose Japanese words in the Hepburn
style are italicised, as exemplifed in the above example. Tey are inten-
tionally used because of their importance in the Japanese discourse on
sociology, these terms being followed by English translations in brack-
ets. However, macrons are not used for the Japanese words that are
commonly used in Englishfor example, Tokyo.
Quotations from the narratives of the participants in this study as
well as those from publications in Japanese have been translated by
the author.
INTRODUCTION
Tis book concerns Japanese sararman (salarymen) and their mas-
culinities.
1
It focuses on the construction of salaryman masculinities
throughout their lives, exploring three generations of salarymen. In the
Japanese context, in general, employees who receive a monthly salary,
whether company workers or civil servants, call themselves sararman.
In this book, however, sararman specifcally refers to middle-class
white-collar workers who work for a large company. Masculinities are
confgurations of practice structured by gender relations (Connell
1995: 44), and this book draws on Connells gender theory. Te model
of gender structures consists of four dimensions: power relations, pro-
duction relations, emotional relations and symbolic relations (Connell
2002). Power relations refer to patriarchy (the dominance of men
by means of the overall subordination of women) as well as to the
oppression of one group by another (Beasley 1999: 55; Connell 2002:
59; 2000: 24; 1995: 74; 1987: 111; Walby 1990: 20). Production rela-
tions look at the gendered division of labour. Emotional relations
concern sexual and non-sexual emotional attachments to an object,
and symbolic relations signify meanings and symbolsanything
that expresses gender attributes. Masculinities are thus the processes
and practices in the above four facets in relation to femininities and
the efects of these upon individuals physical as well as emotional
experiences, identity and society.
Dasgupta (2005a; 2005b; 2003; 2000) explores hegemonic mascu-
linity i.e. Japanese salaryman masculinity, focusing on the process of
change in hegemonic masculinity through the process of the induction
training for newly hired employees. Taga (2004) also looks at Japanese
transnational corporate men who live in Australia and explores their
experiences in the public sphere as workers and in the private sphere
as husbands (and fathers). Te above literature on Japanese men and
masculinities suggests that the masculine norm in Japan involves
1
One of the important theoretical discoveries is that there is no single masculinity
but multiple masculinities (Brod 1992: 12; Brod and Kaufman 1994: 4; Connell 2000:
10; 1995: 76; Kimmel and Messner 1995: xxi; Segal 1993: 638; but see also Hearn 1996
for an argument about the limitations of the concept of masculinity/masculinities).
2 introduction
heterosexuality and the traditional gendered division of labour, and
this masculine norm is sustained by the power of the company. Yet
changing socio-economic circumstancesfor example recession and
subsequent restructuringhave been undermining the leverage of
the company, and these facts reveal that the masculinity that derives
from the power of the company and the unquestioned normality of
heterosexual marriage and parenting inevitably entails vulnerabil-
ity. Te Japanese masculine norm can be construed as a dependent
masculinity. Nevertheless, despite growing feminism that has gained
strong government support afer the bubble burst, hegemonic mascu-
linity has been challenged less than one might think, as this book will
demonstrate.
Japanese salaryman masculinity is considered to be the dominant or
hegemonic masculinity (Dasgupta 2005a; 2005b; 2003; 2000; Gill 2003;
Ishii-Kuntz 2003; Miller 2003; Roberson 2003; Roberson and Suzuki
2003). Te term hegemonic masculinity does not refer to the most
statistically common type of man but rather to the most desired form in
relation to social, cultural and institutional aspects (Connell 1995: 77;
Connell and Messerschmidt 2005). Japanese salaryman masculinity as
hegemonic has considerable bearing on Japans metamorphosis from
a feudal state to a capitalist nation, founded on the patriarchal hetero-
sexual family together with the state ideology of modernisation that
emerged in the Meiji period (18681912) (Dasgupta 2005a: 69; Uno
1991: 40). Te term sararman (salarymen)
2
laid the foundations of
its orthodoxy in parallel with industrialisation afer the Second World
War (Dasgupta 2000: 193). Te notion of salaryman masculinity as
hegemonic was established in the discourses in the 1950s and 1960s,
creating a distinct division of labour based on a heterosexual com-
plementarity. Just as in advanced nations, rapid industrialisation and
urbanisation in Japan increasingly separated the private from the public
realms, reinforcing divisions between the public sphere as the domain
of men and the private sphere as the domain of women. As the number
of middle-class salarymen (and their housewives) increased, the mat-
rimony of a salaryman and his wife was constructed on the principle
that a man and a woman were perfectly complementary to each other
2
Te use of the word dates back to 1916 when a popular cartoonist published a
series of cartoons about salarymen: the sararman no tengoku; sararman no jigoku
(salarymens heaven; salarymens hell) (Kinmonth 1981: 289).
introduction 3
(Smith 1987: 3). Tat is, the heterosexual breadwinners work hard and
faithfully for their companies, supporting the economic development
of Japan and the well-being of their families, whereas their wives do all
the housekeeping and bear and raise children for the convenience of
patriarchal and industrial capitalism. In this context, hegemonic sala-
ryman masculinity connotes a distinct image of a married man who
embodied the characteristics of being a loyal productive worker, the
primary economic provider for the household, a reproductive husband
and a father.
3
By the mid-1970s, the productive and material power of
salarymens households symbolised the afuence produced by Japans
economic miracle and became the ideal in public discourses. It was
not until the 1990s with the bursting of the economic bubble that the
notion of salarymen came under criticism as a gendered construct
(Dasgupta 2005a: 95).
Despite the clear notion of corporate masculinity as dominant and
hegemonic, substantial empirical research on Japanese salarymen and
their masculinity is still in its infancy. By contrast, research on subor-
dinated and marginalised men in Japan is prolifc (e.g. Lunsing 2002;
2001; McLelland 2005a; 2005b; 2003a; 2003b; 2000; Pfugfelder 1999
for gay men; Gill 2003; Roberson 2003; 1998; Sunaga 1999; Taga 2001
for marginalised men). Tere are a few studies of salarymen in Eng-
lish; however, their focus is limited to one facet of salaryman life and
masculinities. For example, Allison (1994) looks at company-funded
drinking at hostess clubs afer work. Ogasawara (1998) examines
female ofce workers and their relationships with salarymen in a com-
pany, and Vogels ethnographic work depicts salaryman households in
a new residential suburb ([1963] 1971).
In contrast to the above researchers, this book focuses specifcally
on the hegemonic masculinity of Japanese salarymen. It also deals with
three generations of salarymen. Te three-generational approach is a
unique contribution to Japanese masculinity studies, combining what
Bulbeck (1997) revealed in relation to three generations of Australian
women with what Connell (1995) demonstrated with regard to difer-
ent Australian men and masculinities, but following Dasgupta (2005a;
2005b) and Taga (2004) who directed their attention to the research
3
Mackie (2002: 203) argues that the archetypal citizen in the modern Japanese
political system is a male, heterosexual, able-bodied, fertile, white-collar worker. See
also Mackie (2000) and (1995).
4 introduction
arena of Japanese salaryman masculinity. By introducing Japanese
salarymens own accounts of themselves, this book explores the con-
struction of their masculinities throughout their lives. As hegemonic
masculinity is shaped and maintained through the structures of soci-
ety but also changes over time (Connell 1995: 77), the book explores
similarities and diferences across three generations of salarymen
described in these pages as Cohort One, Cohort Two and Cohort
Tree (see below). In addition, similarities and diferences within
each generation are examined. Te life of the three generations covers
the period from before the Pacifc war (from the mid-1920s) through
the post-Pacifc war, the economic miracle (19551973), the burst-
ing of the bubble (the early 1990s) and present debates concerning
Japanese work and family life (see Appendix 2). While these changes
are refected in the participants narratives, little work has been done
which links the changes in interruptions in the performance of mas-
culinity as a result of these dramatic economic and social changes over
the last century. Unlike the above studies of Japanese hegemonic mas-
culinity, the book aims to contribute to creating new knowledge of
cross-generational transformation of Japanese hegemonic masculinity
by applying the inter-generational approach.
Methodology
Te methodology of my research is based on both sociological and
feminist approaches. Tis study adopted in-depth interviews and col-
lected participants life histories as the primary data sourcelife his-
tory here referring to the individuals observations on their past and
present lives in their own terms. Collecting such life histories allows
us to refect not only on personal subjectivity but also on the social
and collective circumstances that shape the lives of the story-tellers
and their changes over time (Anderson and Jack 1991: 11; Chanfrault-
Duchet 1991: 7778; Connell 1995: 89; Plummer 2001: 4; 1983: 14, 70;
Reinharz 1992: 19). Te life history method has its weaknesses, such
as the limited accuracy of memory and the difculty of validating the
narratives told by the interviewees. Te issue of memory is not simply
about an individuals capacity to remember but the fact that memory
is constructed in the process of story-telling. Tis does not mean that
the constructed memory is invalid (Plummer 2001: 238)it has its
own truth because people compose memory to make sense of their
introduction 5
past, whether to generalise or dramatise it or to create a psychologi-
cal distance from it (Allison 2006: 228; Easton 2000; Roseman 2006:
238; Tomson 2006). Tese problems are mitigated in my study by
the socially theorized life history approach which relates interview
materials to prior analysis of the social structure involved (Con-
nell 1992: 739). Accordingly, interview materials are checked against
secondary sources. Te method used to fnd willing participants was
the snowball method: my family, friends and colleagues were asked
to introduce, as research participants, people who met the essential
conditions described below. Tose people that had been introduced
were in turn also asked to introduce their friends or acquaintances for
the research.
One interview was conducted in Perth, Australia, as a pilot inter-
view in May 2004. Tis interviewee had been fred from his job due
to the restructuring of his company and was studying in Australia at
the time of the interview, and the material from this interview was
used in this study. Te remaining interviews were conducted in Japan
in 2004 (in Chiba, Fukuoka, Hygo, Kagoshima,
4
Saitama, Tokyo and
Yokohama). Participants were asked a range of questions as to how
they performed their masculinities in school, how they developed their
sense of themselves as boys and men in their relations in the family
in which they were raised (with their mother, father and siblings) and
how their idea of themselves as men changed, if it did, in their family
of orientation (with their wives and children), at work and so on. In
the process of discussing how these men balanced work and family
commitments, they were asked about how they met their partners, and
their expectations of their partners role in marriage, parenting and
contributing to the household activities and income. Each interview
lasted from one to three hours. Each of the interviews was recorded,
except in four cases where the participants wished not to be tape-
recorded and the researcher took notes instead. Te tape-recorded nar-
ratives of the participants were transcribed by the researcher, retaining
the original Japanese, and all the quotations used throughout this book
were translated from Japanese into English by the author.
4
While Kagoshima represents small-scale economic development, there are locally
developed large banks and branch ofces of major large companies.
6 introduction
Te Men
Te selection criteria were applied to interviews with Japanese white-
collar salarymen who worked or had worked for a large company,
(a large company being defned here as employing more than 1,000
employees). Large corporations were intentionally chosen because
they are socially and culturally the most desired destination for Japa-
nese graduates, as refected in such elements as a higher income, secu-
rity and the existence of in-company welfare. In a sense, the larger
the company for which he works, the more a salaryman conforms
to hegemonic masculinity, and the salarymen interviewed in this
research worked for companies varying in size from approximately
2,000 employees to more than 5,000. Because the proportion of com-
panies which have more than 300 employees accounts for only 0.2 per
cent of the total number of companies in the private sector in Japan
(Sugimoto 2003: 87),
5
the participants in this study represent the most
highly paid and privileged elite salarymen among all the salarymen in
Japan. Te type of companies varied from heavy industries to service
industries and brief biographies of the thirty-nine men are provided in
Appendix One. Particulars of the participants are provided in Appen-
dix Tree (Table One).
Te participants, who met the selection criteria were further divided
into three generations, loosely defned as Cohort One with age ranges
from sixty to eighty years, Cohort Two with age ranges from forty
to ffy-nine years and Cohort Tree with age ranges from twenty to
thirty-nine years. Tere is one blood-related pair of father and son in
this study, the father being in Cohort One and the son being in Cohort
Tree. Te way in which the participants are divided into the three
generations is arbitrary. Nevertheless, from an historical perspective,
each generation has its own distinctive traits in relation to masculin-
ity. Te men in Cohort One were born prior to the end of World
War Two, and their ideal masculinity in their childhood was unques-
tionably infuenced by the national propaganda of yamato-damashii
(the Japanese spirit in which one fulfls ones obligations and serves
the nation and the Emperor, sacrifcing oneself without fear of death);
5
Te proportion of employees who work for a company with more than 300
employees accounts for 11.4 per cent of the entire number of employees in frms in
the private sector (Sugimoto 2003: 87).
introduction 7
that is, the soldier spirit (Arakawa 2006a: 118; 2006b: 3738). How-
ever, shock waves and despondency in the nation, caused by losing the
battles in the Pacifc War, transformed Cohort One into kigysenshi
or corporate soldiers whose masculine missions assimilated rendering
services to the nation (once again) in order to reconstruct Japan. Tis
was demonstrated by the conspicuous economic successes that were
achieved during the period of high economic growth (195573). A
complicated set of sentimentsthe humiliation of Japans defeat in
the war and the envy of American afuenceafected the masculinity
of this generation. Te fact that Cohort One built an economic infra-
structure plays the major role in maintaining the unshakable mascu-
linity of this cohort.
Men in Cohort One were born between 1945 and 1964. Tey consist
of the so-called dankai or the baby boomers born between 1945 and
1950 and the post-dankai generations (Sakaiya 2005: 11). In the 1960s
and 1970s, when these men entered employment, the seniority-based
wage system, lifetime employment and company-based welfare system
were all well established in large corporations. Tese practices obliged
Cohort Two to become kaisha ningen (company men) who obediently
followed their companys demands. Te words wkahorikku (worka-
holic) and karoshi (death by over work) which appeared in the 1970s
and the 1980s respectively, symbolised the masculinity of Cohort Two
(and Cohort One) who were bound, hand and foot, to their compa-
nies and internalised the corporate ethos as part of their masculin-
ity, neglecting family life (Amano 2006: 2021). Te masculinity of
Cohort Two correlates with the collusive relationship between their
companies and the men themselves. Because of their mutual inter-
ests the mechanism with which the companies manipulated them into
devotion to work while they unconsciously exerted themselves to serve
their company was hardly questioned by either party. But as a result of
the bursting of the economic bubble in the early 1990s and its nega-
tive ramifcations, Japan is no longer a growing economic superpower.
Tis has allowed the cozy relationship between the company and its
workers to degenerate into a relationship that places high priority on
the companys survival over that of its employees. Yet the fact that
men in Cohort Two occupy important positions in their companies
indicates that hegemonic masculinity and the current gender rela-
tions in Japan have considerable bearing on their gender awareness
and behavioral patterns (Amano 2001: 31). Men in Cohort Tree who
were born between 1965 and 1984 fully enjoyed Japans afuence that
8 introduction
had been built, in their childhood, by Cohorts One and Two. Tis
Cohort, however, entered employment just before and afer the burst
of the economic bubble. As a result, while the masculinity idealised by
Cohorts One and Two lives on in the minds of Cohort Tree, they are
aware that their realitythe current economic slump, the companys
relentless restructuring and rationalism and the changing gender rela-
tions with the governments interventiondoes not secure an ideal
(gendered) life for them. Unlike Cohorts One and Two, whose hard
work had been sustained by the collective aspiration to rebuild the
nation and expand its economic empire, Cohort Tree does not have
the social or economic solidarity united by a common goal. Cohort
Tree works neither for the nation nor for their companies. Teir indi-
vidualised lifestyle is diferent from that of the older generations, and
this book provides a glimpse of the masculinity of that cohort, a cohort
on which further research is indispensable as there is a potential for
change in gender relations.
Tere were thirteen participants in Cohort One, ffeen in Cohort
Two and eleven in Cohort Tree. Te participants in Cohort One
were all married and had children. All the participants in Cohort Two
except one were married, with children, and among eleven partici-
pants in Cohort Tree, seven were married and four had children.
Feminist Methodological Considerations
Feminist methodology encourages the establishment of egalitarian
relationships between respondents and the researcher (Bloom 1998:
18; DeVault 1999: 31; Reinharz 1992: 21). Prior to the interviews, how-
ever, I was conscious of the possibility that I would not be able to
create an egalitarian relationship with my participants, especially with
men in Cohorts One and Two. In Japanese society, appropriate social
comportment entails particular language, including diferent forms of
politeness, and a demeanour according to ones social status, age and
gender. Tese change in accordance with the person to whom one is
speaking. At the time of the interviews, I was a female student who was
younger than the majority of the participants and whose focus was on
men, and not women. Accordingly, my personal circumstances, rather
than my circumstances as a researcher, afected the power dynamics
between each interviewee and myself. Tere were times when I was
daunted by inconsiderate remarks during the interviews and felt dis-
introduction 9
empowered despite my mental preparation for them. Of course, there
were also positive and empowering interviews, but these events that
occurred during the interviewsboth positive and negativetaught
me that structurally unequal power relations cannot be eliminated,
and that the researchers position in the power dynamics is not fxed,
depending also on inter-personal factors (Bloom 1998: 39). Power
oscillates between the participant and the researcher throughout the
interview process according to their subjective identity, their desires
and their life circumstances. As the relationship between the intervie-
wees and myself rarely allowed for an egalitarian situation, I would
suggest that our relationship was close to a professional interview
in which the researcher enters a persons life for a brief interview
and then departs (Plummer 1983: 139). However, as is evident in the
following chapters, the participants revealing or stark comments, or
their disclosure of intimate matters, demonstrated that the interviews
were not superfcial, which is something that might be suggested by
the term professional interview.
Given that feminist researchers who focus on women are women,
or who are generally expected to be women themselves, outsiders
usually means researchers who are not members of the researched
community, that is, male researchers (DeVault 1999: 2930; Stanley
and Wise 1993: 30; 1990: 21). Until recently, most feminist research
explored womens experiences and voices. In such situations, the
researchers identifcation with their respondents functions as a posi-
tive tool in interpreting womens stories and in gaining an insight
into the narratives (Bloom 1998: 18; DeVault 1999: 30; Reinharz 1992:
23). Yet, despite the adoption of feminist methodology, the focus of
my research was men. I was, therefore, an outsider in the community
of my respondents.
6
As Dasgupta (2005a: 54) discusses, I decided to
transform myself in order to establish a good rapport with my inter-
viewees. Firstly, I transformed myself from a student who wore casual
clothes into someone who dressed in relatively formal clothes, which
I speculated would be more agreeable to my participants dress code
standards. Secondly, I chose to use polite language or an honorifc
6
Layland (1990: 125), who is a feminist and in the middle of her research on gay
men, fnds her situation paradoxical. She even expresses her confusion as to whether
she is a feminist or not. However, she suggests that it is important to be conscious of
the situation and utilise the very feminist awareness in her research (Layland 1990:
132).
10 introduction
locution expressing the speakers humility in order to show my respect
for my participants, regardless of their social status and age. Neverthe-
less, my self in the symbolic interactions was altered and adjusted
according to the fow of the interviews. While an outsider in terms of
my age and gender, in a sociological or anthropological sense, I was
an insider because I was a Japanese person who understood Japanese
society, culture and language. Tis constitutes advantages for me over
non-Japanese researchers who are not familiar with Japan. Moreover,
as I used personal and family networks, those participants who knew
my friends, my family or my relatives welcomed me. Tis ofen took
the form of social activities outside the interviews. Since many of them
ofered their ofces as a venue for the interview I had, therefore, a
chance to visit their workplaces and join some of the participants for
lunch in a canteen at their company or in a nearby restaurant. Tese
events gave me wonderful opportunities for observation and for gath-
ering additional contextual information. For example, every time I
visited a company, a female worker served tea for me even in compa-
nies where tea and cofee vending machines were installed, and where
female workers would no longer be required to serve tea. However,
the diference from past practice was that the men had to ask a female
worker in advance to serve tea, giving the date, time and the number
of visitors (and in theory a female worker could refuse to oblige).
My difculties in developing egalitarian relationships with my par-
ticipants and my status as an outsider were by no means the total
impediments to my research. As will become evident in the follow-
ing fve chapters, the participants open discussion and self-disclosure
produced valuable interview material which was much more fruitful
than one might assume would arise from the relationship between a
young Japanese woman and salarymen who were usually older. In that
valuable material they expressed not only a sheer sense of security in
hegemonic masculinity but also vulnerability, confusion and regret.
Te Book
While the four gender dimensions in Connells gender theory consti-
tuted the analytical essentials of my project, allowing systematic analy-
sis of the research fndings within these four domains, it is difcult to
contain and analyse my research fndings within each domain because,
as Connell (2002: 68) clearly states, the four dimensions of gender
introduction 11
relations overlap and, therefore, they cannot be treated as separate
compartments of life. Because of these complicated and intertwin-
ing relationships within the four domains, while drawing on the four
gender structures, the order of the following chapters is organised in
accordance with the major phases of the mens lives, beginning with
childhood. Subsequent to this introductory chapter, fve chapters fol-
low. Chapter One explores the mens gendered experiences of growing
up as boys in their families. More specifcally, the chapter looks at their
relationships with their parents and siblings. Te chapter also explores
the theme of play. It examines their relationships with their peers in
settings such as the playground and the neighbourhood. Chapter Two
looks at the mens gendered experiences of growing up as male stu-
dents in their schools in relation to symbolism and peer culture. Tis
chapter also explores how physical education (PE) at school and sport
in club activities outside the school curricula afect the masculine iden-
tity formation of the participants. Chapter Tree deals with love and
marriage. Beginning with adolescence, a series of signifcant life events,
commencing with dating and culminating in marriage, is explored.
How the participants develop their sexual identity and what marriage
means to them are foci in this chapter. Chapter Four concerns work.
Tis chapter looks frst at the participants transition from education
to work. Secondly, it examines their perception of gender equality in
the workplace. Tirdly, it discusses transfersa painful price of being
a salaryman. Chapter Five is built upon the participants views of life,
focusing on ikigai (what makes life worth living) and parenting. Te
concluding chapter explores the post-retirement lives of the partici-
pants in Cohort Tree and sounds a warning about a contradictory
post-retirement life that other participants may have to face in the
future.
CHAPTER ONE
GROWING UP: GENDERED EXPERIENCES IN THE FAMILY
Segawa-san was born in Tokyo. His mother was sengy shufu (a pro-
fessional housewife) and his father was gdoman (a security guard).
He had a happy childhood until his brother was born. Because I was
an only child for fve years until my brother was born, so, in that sense,
I was lucky. For instance, especially my father used to buy me toys
and take me to various places. I think I received afection and special
treatment more than my brothers. By the time he reached his teens,
he sensed that there was something wrong with his family. As a matter
of fact, his mother and father were antagonistic, although there were
no hostile quarrels or domestic violence. Its a long story . . . I should
be honest, shouldnt I? My family, well, as a family, is a bit difer-
ent from other families. My family is diferent. Everyone did what-
ever they liked including my father and mother. My mother didnt do
housework regularly. My father was sort of the same. And they werent
on good terms. So I dont have happy family memories like going on a
picnic together or going to an amusement park together. My father did
his own shopping. So did my mother. My father ate what he bought
for himself. What my mother bought was hers. So, they never touched
the others food. Tere was no discipline at home. His parents lef
their children to care for themselves. My parents didnt teach me
manners. So I had to fnd out. How to put it . . . For example, when
I was in primary school, I didnt know how to behave when I went
to my friends houses. Because I didnt know what to do, I observed
what my friends were doing and, you know, I learned it. He used to
play with a girl next door when he was very small. If you ask me who
were my play mates, I would say that was a girl next door. What did
we do? I think we stayed inside and ofen played house. In due course
his family moved. He began to play with boys in the new place. He,
however, was always comfortable with girls. He enjoyed having a chat
with girls at school and they also seemed to be comfortable with him.
When he completed primary school, he was lef with one of his rela-
tives in Kysh, which was far away from Tokyo. He was still on good
terms with girls as friends. I dont think that I was conscious that I
14 chapter one
was talking to girls. I never thought if it was a boys conversation or
a girls conversation even during high school. However, boys in his
classroom made fun of him. He sometimes became a target of bully-
ing. He was sexually abused by one of his classmates. Ah, I wonder
if that was homosexual love or something else. I was in junior high
school. I had this friend. Well, I used to be bullied quite ofen at that
time and this boy took me to the toilet and touched me, frankly I
was at his mercy. Tis is my bitter memory. His adolescent homo-
sexual encounter still puzzles him in terms of understanding human
sexuality. His foster parents were very strict. I didnt play during high
school. Tey didnt let me go out. It was like school was the only place
I could enjoy myself when there were school events like a cultural
festival or something like that. He did well at school. He entered a
good academic high school and went on to university to study law,
in a faculty full of male students and male lecturers. Tis was what
his mother expected of him. My mother and my father had diferent
expectations of me. For example, my father had only compulsory edu-
cation. He wanted me to start working as soon as possible. He never
encouraged me to study. My mother, because I did well at school when
I was in primary school, she wanted to send me to a good school. He
gained freedom when he entered university. He enjoyed socialising
with friends. He had opportunities to go out on dates. However, he
had no idea how to approach his girlfriend. I couldnt have a relation-
ship nor even, you know, things like a date between a boyfriend and
a girlfriend. Even when I was in university, I wasnt good at it. Well,
I would go to a party and ask a girl to go for a drive on a weekend.
But then, on the day, I just dont know what to do . . . I was extremely
nervous and had no idea what to talk. He did not know how to move
on to the next step from friendship to a relationship.
Te above narrative is the growing-up story told by Segawa-san in
Cohort Tree, the youngest generation in this study. It is an unex-
pected and atypical picture of a salaryman, frstly because, as the pres-
ent chapter reveals, the majority of participants spent their childhood
in an unperturbed family that consisted of an employed father with
authority and a self-efacing mother who respected her husband. Sec-
ondly, almost all participants were immersed in homo-social male
friendships during their childhood. Tirdly, even participants in Cohort
One who were slow in developing relationships with women seemed
to proceed to relationships (or marriage) without much difculty (see
Chapter Tree). It is generally accepted in the Anglophone sociologi-
gendered experiences in the family 15
cal literature that the childhood family life, school life and adolescent
experiences infuence a mans gender identity (e.g. see Askew and Ross
1988: Ch.1; Connell 1995; Gilbert and Gilbert 1998; Pease 2002: Ch.4).
One might wonder, then, whether or not Segawa-sans parents mat-
rimonial circumstances, his congenial attitude to girls and his sexual
encounter afected his masculine identity. In fact, Segawa-san used to
regard himself (and still occasionally does) as efeminate because of
his good rapport with girls and he also felt that he was inappropriately
frail for a man because of his magnetism, and was as an easy target of
harassment by his peers.
In this chapter, I examine how childhood family relationships make
an impact on the construction of the masculinities of the participants
in my study. Te chapter looks at the family life of the participants in
connection, frstly, with the infuence of pre-war government policy:
the ie
1
system (the family system) and, secondly, with the state ideol-
ogy of rysai kenbo or good wife, wise mother; and, in the fnal sec-
tion, it also explores boys play in relation to peer culture.
Family: Te Ie System
Te assertion that womens lives in Japan refect the history of Japa-
nese policies in relation to global politics and economy (Liddle and
Nakajima 2000: 17) also has considerable bearing on mens lives in
Japan. Indeed, it was evident across the three generations of men in
my research that the infuence of the pre-war government policies
established in the Meiji period was still noticeable, to varying degrees,
in the course taken in their lives. Te rigid ideas that the longitudinal
or ancestral family transcends individual family members and contin-
ues in perpetuity and that the inheritance right of family business and/
or property belongs to a single successor, usually the frst-born son
of patrimonial lineage,
2
were stipulated in the old Civil Code (1898)
1
Te term ie is translated as household in English, although it is also understood
as family, house and genealogy according to the context. It is the fundamental social
unit in Japan. Te ie is a corporate body which owns the material, cultural and
social property of the household, runs and maintains a family business if there is one,
and continues the family line (Hendry 1981: 15; Kondo 1990: 121122; Ochiai 1996:
5859; Vogel 1971: 166).
2
While the inheritance right was not limited to men, an heiress was regarded as
merely a transit successor (take 1977: 240).
16 chapter one
established in the Meiji period and became known as the ie system
(Hendry 2003: 28; Hirai 2008: 6). While the ie system secured the
dominant position of men in both the privateas the kach (the
paterfamilias)
3
and the public spheres, women were legally incom-
petent (Hayakawa 2005: 249; Nishikawa 2000: 13). Te ie system was
abolished in 1947 because, under the new Civil Code, both husband
and wife were now treated as equal, for example, with regard to prop-
erty, parental power over children and inheritance (Supreme Court of
Japan 1959).
Yet despite the fact that the current Civil Code no longer conferred
patriarchal authority on men, the seemingly obsolete family system
overtly and covertly surfaced at various stages in the lives of the partic-
ipants. My research, conducted in the early twenty-frst century, also
revealed continuing practice of the ie system among my participants
(see Table Two in Appendix Tree) just as numerous other studies
between the 1950s and 1990s have found (e.g. Hamabata 1990; Hen-
dry 1981; Kondo 1990; Tsutsumi 2001; Vogel 1971; White 2002). Tis
is argued to be due to the propagation of the family system through
the educational system until the end of the war (Hendry 2003: 26;
1981: 15; Mackie 1995: 3). Te maintenance of the Koseki
4
(Family
Register) Law, in which the ofcial document of the family register
still retains an entry called the head of the family, has also preserved
the substance of the ie system in contemporary Japan (Iwakami 2003:
75).
5
Nevertheless, changes in and the decline of the ie system are
not denied. Families in Japan have been evolving through a chain of
eventsradical constitutional changes soon afer the Second World
War, the ensuing economic miracle, subsequent changes in the val-
ues of marriage and family, and urbanisation, globalisation and the
infltration of individualism. In the following section, the changing
practices of the ie system across the three cohorts in my study are
3
Te head of the ie had power to control his family members conditions and
welfare (Yamanaka 1988: 44).
4
Koseki is an ofcial document in which a married couple (or a single parent) and
their (her/his) single children of the same surname are recorded (Sakakibara 1992:
131). Before 1947, it registered the head of the family, his family members, their
relationships and the legal domicile (Iwakami 2003: 73).
5
Men accounted for more than ninety seven per cent of the entire register of the
heads of a family in the 1990s (Sakakibara 1992: 135137; Sugimoto 2003: 148) and
this has not changed to date. See also Arichi (1999).
gendered experiences in the family 17
discussed in relation to the authority of the head, the structure of the
family and relationships amongst family members.
Te waning of the ie system
In old times, if you were chnan (the frst-born son), you had to succeed
to ie. It doesnt matter if you have a noble family line or not. Defnitely,
[when I was small] I could sense the idea that the frst-born son had to
succeed. People and relatives implied it in a casual way. It was natural.
We didnt even need to be told the idea. (Ishida-san, I)
6

It was not surprising to fnd the traditional custom of the ie system
ubiquitous in the values and refections provided by Cohort One. Te
tradition of the ie systemthe continuation of the ie together with
flial pietywas in operation when participants in Cohort One, who
were born in the pre-war period, were growing up and continued in
widespread practice even afer the enforcement of the 1947 Civil Code.
All the participants in this generation, who married in the 1950s and
the 1960s, were aware of the basic rules of the ie system. In the eyes
of the participants, it was obvious that someone had to succeed to the
ie. Amongst the thirteen participants of this generation, there were
three frst-born sons. One of them, Katagiri-san, was adopted into a
wealthy couple who were his mothers sister and her husband and had
no children. Tis was when he was very small and just afer his father
had died on the battlefeld. Te fact that his sister remained with his
biological mother implied that the couple chose Katagiri-san because
he was a male. As he was the only child of his foster parents, he suc-
ceeded to their house and tended them at home until they passed away.
While another participant, Sonoda-san, always lived with his parents
and looked afer them, the house where he was born was destroyed by
an air raid in 1945, and this explains why he did not succeed to the
parental home.
Te responsibility for fulflling flial piety places a heavy burden on
family members, especially on the womeni.e. the wives
7
because
6
I indicates Cohort One.
7
See Long (1996) and Jenike (2003) for Japanese womens stressful experiences
in caring for the old and Lebra (1984) for married womens relationships with
mothers-in-law, but see also Harris, Long and Fujii (1998) for possible changes in
the contemporary care-giving activities in which the involvement of husbands and
sons in the care of their wives and parents might increase due to the combination of
increasing life expectancy and the lack of public care.
18 chapter one
it is the women who do all the physical labour of care while their
husbands are busy working. In the course of the interview Katagiri-
san expressed gratitude to his wife for services which she rendered to
his bedridden mother, ranging from feeding her and attending to her
personal needs, changing her nightclothes. I could sense his sincere
gratitude as, during the interview, Katagiri-san never expressed such
appreciation of his wife in other areas, such as housework and par-
enting. In contrast to Katagiri-san, Sonoda-san is unusual. He made
eforts to attend to his sick mother at home as much as possible. He
asked his company for permission to start work at nine oclock, which
was later than the normal starting time at workplaces. In addition, he
came home to care for her during lunchtime. Sonoda-sans father had
died of cancer much earlier than his mother. He had also lost his frst
wife when his daughter was small and his mother had taken care of the
household (and did so even afer Sonoda-san married again). Because
of his deep feelings for his mother, he wanted to look afer her. Only
Hirose-san, among the frst-born sons, did not follow the tradition of
succeeding to the parental home and living with his parents; however,
he lived close to his parents throughout his adult life.
Te families into which the other ten, non-frst-born participants
were born, also followed the ie system. Te oldest brothers of eight of
these participants succeeded to their households, while the parents of
the other two participants, who were not blessed with healthy frst-born
sons, transferred their households to other sons. Tus the participants
in Cohort One endorsed the common practice of the continuation of
ie by a single (frst-born) son and heir.
My brother has a tacit understanding that he will look afer our parents.
He doesnt live with our parents but he lives only 100 metres away from
our parents house. (Hino-san, II)
8

Amongst participants of Cohort Two, who grew up in the period of
high economic growth, the ie system diminished somewhat. Although
they were conscious of the system and they assumed that generally the
frst-born son succeeded to the ie, the participants of this cohort were
concerned mainly about the care of their ageing parents rather than
the continuation of their ie. Of ffeen participants, there were eight
frst-born sons. Amongst them, only Tachibana-san lived in the house
8
II indicates Cohort Two.
gendered experiences in the family 19
where he had been born. Tachibana-sans parents had been adopted
at marriage into a distinguished family, which was a descendant of a
respected samurai family, but who had no son.
9
Accordingly, Tachi-
bana-san succeeded to the ie as the head of the family line. Two other
participants, Sugiura-san and Toda-san, lived with their parents but
not in their parents houses. When they set up their own households,
they invited their parents to live with them.
Living with parents-in-law involved both advantages and disadvan-
tages for wives in Cohort Two. Sugiura-sans wife enjoyed full-time
paid work, as her spry mother-in-law looked afer the household, while
Toda-sans wife was bound to the care of her own bedridden mother
as well as her in-laws. Toda-sans case was unusual because he lived
with his own parents as well as his wifes mother, as his wife had no
male siblings, indicating the shif in emphasis in this generation from
inheritance of property to a focus on caring for ageing parents. It was
generally considered to be the wives responsibility to look afer elderly
parents-in-law at home. Indeed, Sugiura-san was prepared for the care
of his parents, which meant that it is very likely that his wife will have
to look afer her in-laws in the future, unless there is a signifcant
increase in government support for the care of the elderly (Izuhara
2006: 166; Long 1996: 171).
Because of the pattern of economic growth, fve frst-born sons had
moved away from the locality of their parents houses in order to work
for large companies in a big city. Even so, they accepted their responsi-
bility for flial piety as the frst-born son. Yoshino-san resigned his frst
job and returned to his hometown, not only because he wanted to go
back to his birthplace but also because he was worried about his ageing
parents. Matsuzaki-san was concerned about the care of his parents
grave when he died. Ono-san, who had been transferred from place to
place for work, asked his company to transfer him to his hometown
when his retirement was approaching. He also wished to care for his
parents grave because flial piety necessarily involves care of the grave
and semi-permanent ceremonial events, according to the particular
faith. Likewise, other frst-born sons, including the participants and the
oldest brothers of other participants, as the above quotation indicates,
9
Tere was another example of the adoption of a married couple. Ueno-sans
parents were adopted at their marriage by one of their relatives who had a family
business to continue but no children. Ueno-sans older brother succeeded to the ie
and to the business.
20 chapter one
lived close to their parents to help them in the event of an emergency.
10

Teir concern may have been generated either by the parents strong
desire to live together with their son or by a sense of responsibility felt
by frst-born sons without any explicit claims having been made by
their parents. As an example of the frst situation, Toda-sans parents
always expressed their expectation that they wanted him to look afer
them in their old age. On the other hand, Yoshino-san returned to his
hometown to live close to his parents without being told to do so by
his parents. Unlike the above participants, Sugiura-san told me with a
hint of ambiguity that:
As a frst-born son, I realised its responsibility just before the university
exam. You know, I thought Ill have to take care of my parents afer all.
Because, when my grandfather got ill, my father decided to take care of
him and brought him to our house. I saw it just before the exam. Tats
why I got that thought. I thought I wont be able to go far away from
home. I shouldnt have thought that way but since then, Ive never got
real courage [to go against the responsibility]. I was seventeen or eigh-
teen when your anxiety is running high. (Sugiura-san, II)
Sugiura-sans feelings suggest that the fulflment of flial piety arises
from the coercive nature of the ie system that compels the prac-
tice of respect from successors for their parents and ancestors (Kondo
1990: 141). He admitted that since then he never had the courage to
go against the responsibilities associated with being a frst-born son.
Nevertheless, it is by no means an emotionless outcome. To be a duti-
ful son satisfes the above participants in feeling proud that they are
conducting themselves as respectable and responsible men. In either
case whether forced or spontaneous, the sons concern was not the
continuation of their ie but the fulflment of the duties of flial piety.
In Cohort Two, the ie system no longer functions institutionally with
regard to inheritance but it survives in the sense of obligation felt by
many frst-born sons.
Te operation of the ie system further diminished in the youngest
generation, Cohort Tree, who were men born in the stable economic
period. It is reasonable to suppose that the parents of participants
in this generation are younger and currently enjoy good health; and
therefore, that caring for their parents in their old age is not an immi-
10
Te results of National Family Research 98 (NFR 98) also support this tendency.
See Tabuchi and Nakazato (2004: 129).
gendered experiences in the family 21
nent issue for participants of this generation. Nevertheless, the par-
ticipants showed little consideration for flial piety and revealed their
parents lower expectations of it than among the older generations.
For example, Ebara-san mentioned that:
My father has never said anything about the succession. I guess his true
feelings were that he wanted me to help him and succeed to his busi-
ness. I wonder what his intention is now. I believe hes given up on me.
(Ebara-san, III)
11
As the above quotation indicates, Ebara-sans self-employed father
seemed to be resigned to the fact that his son would not succeed
him. Likewise, Okano-sans father, who was also self-employed, never
expected Okano-san to take over the thriving family business. Further-
more, the participants were unconcerned about fulflling their parents
expectations:
Actually, Im sure my father wants to chase his dream of expanding
his business and he wants this to be my dream because he doesnt like
the idea that his business will end in his lifetime. But neither I nor my
younger brother are not going to succeed. (Kusuda-san, III)
Kusuda-sans father openly asked him to succeed to the family busi-
ness. Even so, Kusuda-san had no intention of meeting his fathers
expectations. Moreover, Kusuda-sans mother supports his position
and implicitly opposed her husband. According to Kusuda-san, his
mother appreciated the fact that working for a large company pro-
vided her son with a stable income, regular work time and company
welfare benefts, which were better for him than the arduous and
strenuous family business. Indeed, and for the same reasons, one-third
of mothers in Cohort Tree, reportedly encouraged the participants,
when they were small, to become a salaryman in a decent company.
Despite the fact that nine out of eleven participants were frst-born
sons, none of them was conspicuously concerned about the con-
tinuation of their ie or flial piety. Despite the wishes expressed by a
handful of their parents, particularly fathers, no participant in Cohort
Tree had taken over family businesses. Part of the explanation lies in
changes in the Japanese economy. A considerable number of family
businesses, which have been sustained by the ie system, have been in
decline (Rebick 2006: 76), whereas men in Cohort Tree have largely
11
III indicates Cohort Tree.
22 chapter one
sought secure salaryman employment, which ofen means relocating
to large cities. Tere has thus been a growing incompatibility between
practicing the ie system and becoming a salaryman. But much of the
explanation lies in changing values. Te participants of Cohort Tree
tended to pursue their own aspirations with little consideration for the
ie system. In addition, their mothers encouraged this tendency in their
sons, indicating that a celebrated manly path has shifed from owning
a family business to entering a corporation. However, it is of course
uncertain whether or not attitudes of young men in Cohort Tree
towards their parents will change as they grow older. Te participants
understood their parents to be resigned to declining flial piety among
the younger generations. Te resignation facilitated by their parents
fnancial resources also enabled their sons to follow their own desires
more freely (Raymo and Kaneda 2003: 30).
Te survival of the ie system
Te diference between men and women is that, defnitely, men have a
higher position than women. Terefore, women, even if they are parents,
cant go over mens heads. Tat was the rule at home. We were told
women shouldnt go over mens heads but men can. (Ueno-san, II)
While the inter-generational aspects of the ie system appear to be on
the wane, patriarchal relations based on gender and age have been
more resistant to change. Almost all the participants remembered
a childhood in which the authority of the father as the head of the
family was clearly visible. A signifcant aspect of ie is that the system
grants the paterfamilias power over his family, although in the post-
war period this power has had a more symbolic basis rather than a
legal one. Moreover, the power of paterfamilias was transformed into
the power of father/husband in the modern family (Ueno 1994: 76).
Te fathers dominant position was expressed both in family rules and
special treatment given to fathers. For example, the majority of fathers
of the participants in every generation were given the seat of honour
called kamiza or yokoza at the head of the family table (see Ueno 2004:
42; 2002: 101):
My father sat at the top of the table. Te TV was in that room and his
seat was the best position to watch TV. Its like this. Boys sat on both
sides close to him and next to them sat the girls. (Kusuda-san, III)
gendered experiences in the family 23
Te fathers seat was normally fxed and situated in the best position
to watch television and participants fathers chose the programmes
to watch,
12
regardless of cohort, the only exception being some fami-
lies in the Cohort One who did not have television in their homes as
television only came into widespread use in the middle of the 1960s
(Nakamura 2004: 49). In all three cohorts, sons generally occupied
seats that were closest to their fathers. Daughters took seats next to
their male siblings. Mothers sat in the seats that were the nearest to
the kitchen. Another narrative of symbolic seating came from Ono-
san (Cohort Two). When his family had meals around irori (an open
hearth), his mother sat in a place where smoke issued from the hearth.
Like Ono-san, no participants seemed to have questioned the seating
arrangements at home. Some participants indicated that their fathers
authority also manifested itself in other ways. Honda-san (Cohort
One) remembered that his family members were not allowed to start
eating until his father began to eat. Uchida-san (Cohort One), Ueno-
san (Cohort Two) and even Shimizu-san (Cohort Tree) said that
their fathers had an additional dish at dinner, e.g. sashimi (raw fsh).
Furthermore, many fathers took a bath frst (see Hendry 1981: 89).
In extended families, Hino-sans grandfather took a bath frst, while
Yoshino-sans grandmother took her bath frst only because his father,
showing flial piety, insisted that she do so. Te male siblings usually
took their baths before their female siblings did. Tis patriarchal order
lasted until the participants became busy with their school life and
it became impossible to maintain it. Not surprisingly, mothers were
ofen the last to use the bath. Tese practices implied that the fathers
were held in high esteem and that the mothers were placed in a servile
position.
No participants in any of the cohorts expressed antipathy to their
fathers authority. However, the way in which they interpreted their
closeness to (or distance from) their father varied. Participants of
Cohort One, as the quotation below indicates, stood in awe of their
fathers and respected them for their dignity as a father and as a man:
12
Tis has also been found for a study in the U.S. See Walker (2001).
24 chapter one
What parents say is as sacred as what god says. In the old days, we used
to say earthquakes, thunder, fre and fathers.
13
My father was the scari-
est person for me. (Shiga-san, I)
Much respectful talk concerning how interesting, intelligent and hard-
working their fathers were came from participants of this generation.
Compared with the younger generations, participants whose child-
hood occurred prior to the period of high economic growth were
relatively close to their fathers and had a good understanding of them
(except for those participants whose fathers went to war).
14
Tey com-
municated with their fathers and shared activities in their daily lives,
ofen helping them with their work in a feld or work-room. On the
other hand, the mothers of the participants were much less visible in
the background.
Participants in Cohort Two did not boast about their fathers. Tese
fathers plunged into long hours as salarymen who delivered high eco-
nomic growth but who grew distant from their sons. Sugiura-sans
father, who worked for an iron-manufacturing company, was ofen
absent from home. Tachibana-sans father came home later and later
as his social drinking hours extended. Yoshino-san and Kuraoka-
san saw their self-employed fathers working from early morning till
late at night, ofen until eleven oclock. As a result, participants in
Cohort Two indicated an emotional chasm between themselves and
their fathers. Tey also criticised their fathers, although not for their
long working hours, but for failures in their fathers personalities, for
example, in being narrow-minded. As the presence of fathers dimin-
ished, the presence of mothers in the memories of men in this cohort
increased slightly. As Sugiura-san remembers:
I was scared of my mother. She is gentle now, though. [She was strict]
because my father was absent from home. She just kept beating me. I
think she was stressed and tense because she and my father [who came
from a small town] had to do everything all by themselves in a big city,
like rearing children and buying a home. I think they were extremely
tense. . . . Tats how I see it. (Sugiura-san, II)
13
Shwalb, Imaizumi and Nakazawa (1987: 248) argue that this saying indicates
that the traditional defnition of the father was as an awe-inspiring authority fgure,
almost as fearsome as natural calamities such as earthquakes.
14
Fathers were close to their children prior to Japanese industrialisation because
the fathers involvement in housework, childcare and childrens education in the
Tokugawa and Meiji periods was greater than that afer industrialisation (Muta 2006:
81; Uno 1993b: 51; 1991: 25).
gendered experiences in the family 25
Likewise, Toda-san remembered his mother standing in front of the
gate with a broom in her hand when his sister failed to come home
by curfew. Tese mothers were strict moral disciplinarians on behalf
of their absent fathers.
In Cohort Tree, mothers again disappeared into the background,
while fathers were represented as strict disciplinarians. Despite the
common acceptance of household privileges of the father as the head
of the ie, the term for a domineering husband, teishukanpaku, was
used by several participants in this cohort to describe their fathers.
Tis term was not used in the older generations and suggests that the
patriarchal family head is becoming a more contested position in Japa-
nese society. A domineering husband is seen as less typical and unde-
sirable in the youngest generation in this study:
My father is teishukanpaku . . . he is obstinate most of the time. Well, my
mother is good. She is not dissatisfed. She just obeys my father. Tey
are on very good terms with each other. But, you know, well, my mother
thinks they are fne but I think my father should be a bit more coopera-
tive because I dont think every father should be domineering, should
they? Terefore, in this sense, he is hanmenkyshi (a person who serves
as an example of how not to behave). (Shimizu-san, III)
Shimizu-san criticised his domineering father and showed sympathy
for his submissive mother, although he still described his mothers
long-sufering obedience in admirable terms. Okano-san also described
his father as very sexist and an advocate of danshi chb ni tatsu beka-
razu (men shall not enter the kitchen).
15
Okano-san admitted that his
fathers infuence on his view of gender was considerable. He revealed
that he used to behave like his father in front of his ex-girlfriends.
However, he felt that his attitudes scared them and afer a series of
breakups in relationships, he decided to change his sexist attitudes
towards women. Te partner of Okano-sans sister, a European man,
who appeared to him to be diferent from conservative Japanese men,
also triggered his attitudinal change. Te only exception was Kusuda-
san who had a very close relationship with his self-employed father,
with whom he spent a considerable amount of time communicating
and sharing the traditional ideas about gender roles. In the abstract, he
15
Japanese people tend to think that the phrase represents Japanese tradition;
however, there is a record that men in the Sengoku period (13921573) (the Age
of Civil Wars) did the cooking. Even men in the upper class enjoyed cooking (It
2003: 25).
26 chapter one
said, men work outside, for example they build a house, while women
wait for them preparing meals.
While fathers of all three cohorts maintained their authority as
the head of their families, Only in Cohort Tree did any respondents
express direct strictures upon their fathers patriarchal and domi-
neering attitudes towards their mothers. Tis indicates that, unlike
the older generations, some participants in the youngest generation
observed their parents through more gender-sensitive lenses, illustrat-
ing the growing debate concerning appropriate gender relations in the
household.
So far, the survival of the authority of the participants fathers has
been discussed. Te following section deals with the diferent treat-
ment meted out to siblings as a result of their order in the family and
their gender. Te psychological pressure put on children by parents,
which was caused by the practice of the ie system, difered among sib-
lings. Expectations of parents regarding the frst-born son were greater
than those regarding the rest of their male children (Hendry 1981:
9799; Kondo 1990: 125), for while sons were expected to become
the breadwinners regardless of their familial status, daughters were
expected to leave home at their marriage and enter their husbands ie
(Vogel 1971: 166). Tese presumptions generate inequalities between
male and female siblings.
In Cohort One, people were not fnancially and materially afu-
ent and parents endeavoured to leave as much property as possible
to their frst-born sons. Accordingly, other siblings generally did not
receive any property. Daughters had to marry and leave their home
to reduce their parents burden. Because the idea that women did
not need an education was prevalent (Liddle and Nakajima 2000:
232235), women had much less access to education than men.
According to the oldest participant, Kasuga-san, his siblings had a
strong sense of hierarchy among themselves and his two younger
brothers held the oldest brother in awe. Although Kasuga-san lived
with another family during his schooling, he was never envious of his
other brothers who stayed at home. It was natural for him to obey
his fathers decision.
In Cohort Two, in addition to property, parents strove to give a bet-
ter education to the frst-born son but were less eager with regard to
the other children. For example, Ueno-san of the fathers generation
mentioned that:
gendered experiences in the family 27
My parents wanted to give chnan (the frst-born son) as much as they
could. Jinan (the second son) can do anything he likes because he leaves
home. Te frst-born son is treasured. Tere werent so many difer-
ences in treatment between my brother and me but there were occasions
where I could see the diference. My parents used to say to my brother
Be responsible as you are chnan. Tey ofen said because you are
chnan. (Ueno-san, II)
Ueno-sans parents cherished his brother most among his siblings
because his brother was the successor. Ueno-san said that his parents
diferent treatment between his brother and him did not bother him
much. However, his stories that he hated to wear clothes handed down
from his brother and took them of at school and that he and his sister
were close because, he said, they were in a similar situation, that is,
not being a successor, imply his dissatisfaction at inequalities amongst
siblings by virtue of the ie system. Fukuda-san (a second son) also
expressed his envy because his parents were keen on giving his elder
brother higher education, while they were happy with Fukuda-sans
decision to go to a vocational high school. Teir envy was genuine in
their youth but their confdence in themselves as salarymen in a large
company seemed to be powerful enough to overcome their bitterness
in their middle age.
Te responsibility for the continuation of the ie places a burden
on the frst-born son. Many frst-born sons amongst the participants
mentioned that it was not only their parents but also their relatives
who frequently reminded them of the importance of their responsibil-
ity as the frst-born son. For example, when the father of Ashida-san
(Cohort Two) retired from work, he said to Ashida-san: now you
have to protect your mother as a frst-born son. When Yoshino-san
(Cohort Two) and Segawa-san (Cohort Tree) were married, their rel-
atives unanimously told them youve got to be responsible as a frst-
born son. Segawa-san received this sort of warning again from his
relatives when his mother became ill. By contrast, the second sons and
younger sons may consider their responsibility to leave home to be
their freedom. For instance, Hino-san was glad that he was the second
son and did not have to succeed to his parents farm. Hence, fraternal
inequalities caused by the ie system exist amongst male siblings.
Te disparity between male siblings and female siblings in regard to
education was still great in Cohort Two. For example, when Yoshino-
san failed to enter a university, his father allowed him to take a year
out to prepare for the next examination. However, his elder sister,
28 chapter one
who wanted to continue her education, met opposition from their
father. Yoshino-sans father clearly felt that she did not need educa-
tion because she was a woman, implying that a future housewife did
not require tertiary education.
16
His sister did not show her discontent
with their fathers decision to Yoshino-san but to the father. He clearly
felt her resentment when he was allowed to take a year out especially
because he knew that she had a strong and independent character,
and always asserted her position. Te attitudes of his sister afected
Yoshino-sans awareness of gender inequality at the early stage of his
life. By contrast, Tachibana-san remembered a time when his sister
expressed her mixed feelings that their parents expected more of him
than of her in every aspect of life, such as academic achievement and
occupational success. Tis occurred much later in his life. Until then,
he had never been concerned about the diferent treatments by his
parents. In fact, his sister was quite submissive, unlike Yoshino-sans
sister, and helped their mother with the housework.
In Cohort Tree, the idea that women do not need an education
was tempered according to the familys afuence. However, regard-
less of the familys fnancial circumstances, the traditional idea about
womens education was still observed (DeCoker 2001: 216). For exam-
ple, Hirose-sans father expected him to go on to university but he
never expected his sister to do so. Moreover, the view that society is
a mans world still prevails. According to Miura-san, the youngest
participant, his parents used to say to him:
A man should enter society and work, for example, in order to sup-
port his wife, and he should experience hardship in the process of self-
realisation. My father used to say this to me but not to my sister. (Miura-
san, III)
Te greater expectations of parents for sons than for daughters took
a draconian shape in home discipline across the three cohorts. For
example, Shimizu-san and Okano-san of Cohort Tree received many
smacks from their fathers. Shimizu-san remembered that his father
kept scolding him until he stopped crying. Boys dont cry was a pet
phrase used by fathers in all three generations. In addition to smacks,
Amano-san of Cohort Two was put in a straw bag and hung up for
half-a-day. Hamada-san of the same generation was locked in a rice
16
In the early 1980s, many mothers also held this idea regarding their daughters
education (Buckley 1993: 364).
gendered experiences in the family 29
storehouse overnight as punishment. According to these participants,
their mothers always tried to reduce their fathers zealousness and the
extent of the punishment. Notwithstanding, these participants indi-
cated their acceptance of physical punishment implying a generalised
idea that boys were incorrigible and, therefore, needed severe punish-
ment. Some participants made an introductory remark that people
would take it as physical abuse today but . . . and I think I had a good
upbringing, indicating both a signifcant degree of violence and their
acceptance of it as well as an understanding that these attitudes have
changed. It was apparently easier for fathers to hit a boy, as only one
respondent, Yoshino-san, reported that his rebellious sister, as men-
tioned earlier, was hit as punishment. Despite corporal punishment,
participants felt that they were freer to do things than their protected
sisters, who, for example, were required to obey a curfew. Moreover,
parents were more unremitting in imposing feminine standards of
language and demeanour on female siblings than in enforcing mascu-
line standards upon the research participants.
Te above examples demonstrate how the ie system lingers on in the
minds of the participants across the three generations. Te nature of
the system has, however, been changing and has had a waning impact
on the actual behaviour of the respondents over time. Te diminishing
efect of the ie system on the evolving modern family is indicated in
the more individualistic way of pursuing aspirations amongst Cohort
Tree, with little respect for the ie system, and with their parents
acquiescence in their sons desires. By contrast, the patriarchal ideol-
ogy of the ie system continues in contemporary Japan (Ochiai 2000:
108; Ueno 1994: 83). Participants internalised the concept that men
were the head of a family and, therefore, that men were superior to
women. Moreover, the idea that men are the ones who support their
families was implanted in their minds. Conversely, their female sib-
lings interiorised their subordinate status. Te patriarchal hierarchy
based on gender continues into the workplaces of the participants (as
we will see in Chapter Four). It is to the participants understanding
of their mothers that the next section turns.
30 chapter one
Family: Rysai Kenbo (good wife, wise mother)
Rysai kenbo
17
was an educational ideology that controlled the direc-
tion of education for women and the behavioural pattern of women
from the late 1890s in the Meiji period until the end of the Second
World War. Te Japanese government recognised the signifcance of
mothers in educating and training their children for the service of the
state and, because of this, educating women in order to make good
wives and wise mothers was considered to be ultimately of beneft to
the nation (Fukaya 1998). Te rysai kenbo ideology was highlighted
especially afer the Sino-Japanese War because Japan aspired to trans-
form itself to a strong modern state grounded on industrialism and
capitalism. Discourses on womens education advocated that it was
essential for the government to integrate women as educators of the
people into the building of a rich and strong Japan (Koyama 1991:
44). More importantly, rysai kenbo was a state ideology which laid
the foundation of the gendered division of labour (Koyama 1991: 236;
Muta 2006: 72). In contemporary Japan, that gendered division of
labour still governs the lives of women (and men); and many women
(and men) are captives to the convention. Given that women were
considered to be lacking in ability and, therefore, that the education of
children was lef in mens/fathers hands in the Edo period, the image
of rysai kenbo in the Meiji period, with women contributing to the
nation through housework and childcare, ran counter to the norm for
women in the Edo period. On the contrary, it raised women to the
same status as men, as the people of the nation (Koyama 1991: 22,
46). Simultaneously, however, it is not denied that the government
also resorted to womens absolute altruism based on the Confucian
teaching with regard to their husbands, in-laws and children in order
to bolster the ie system, binding women to their households as the
second citizens (Fujii 1975: 1718; Koyama 1991: 56).
At its inception, the concept of good wife, wise mother empha-
sised being a good wife. Te symbolic sense of womanhood was propa-
gated through moral education at womens elementary, secondary and
higher schools (Fukaya 1998; Liddle and Nakajima 2000: 40; Nolte and
Hastings 1991: 152158; Uno 2005: 496; 1993a; 1991). Trough the
17
See Jin (2006) for rysai kenbo in the countries of East Asia, such as China and
Korea.
gendered experiences in the family 31
introduction of science into womens education, women were also
taught rational and efcient houseworknamely, the latest scientifc
[housekeeping] methods (Koyama 1991: 143; Uno 1991: 62). During
the 1930s, the importance shifed from wifehood to motherhood, and
with the advent of aggressive militarism, the governments concern
with military force changed the meaning of good wife, wise mother
from being the efcient household manager to the bearer of the soldier
(Liddle and Nakajima 2000: 54; Tipton 1995: 46; Uno 1993a: 299).
With the slogan Umeyo, fuyaseyo (reproduce, multiply) the govern-
ment encouraged women to have as many children as possible. One
of the ofcial policies announced in 1941 was to achieve a total of
fve children per family over the next ten years (Liddle and Nakajima
2000: 55; Tipton 1995: 47).
Despite the radical and substantial transformation in Japan afer the
end of the Second World War, the concept of good wife, wise mother
remained alive in diferent disguises. Sengy shufu
18
or the profes-
sional housewifebecame the modern version of good wife, wise
mother at least until the 1980s (Uno 1993a: 305). And unlike Walbys
argument (1990: 174), in Japan, the increased participation of women
in the workforce from the mid-1980s has not shaken the conventional
gender pattern of production relations in the private space. Because
the idea of good wife, wise mother is deeply embedded in womens
minds (Koyama 1991: 236; Atsumi 1997: 281), wives, regardless of
their occupational circumstances, overwhelmingly carry out house-
work.
19
Te concept of good wife, wise mother is now interpreted as
women having a household and a job. A double burden is placed on
the shoulders of working women. Another guise of good wife, wise
mother is kyiku mama or (an) education mum
20
who is enthusi-
astic about her childrens education and does anything that facilitates
her childrens educational progress (Allison 2000: 106; Dickensheets
1996: 74; Fukuzawa and LeTendre 2001: 102; White 1993: 55). More-
over, in the early twenty-frst century, kyiku mamas are pressurised
into becoming the perfect mums who train their children to become
18
Te word sengy shufu was frst used in the early 1970s (Ueno 1994: 56).
19
See, for example, a study conducted by the National Institute of Population and
Social Security Research (1998; 2003) at http://www.ipss.go.jp/ for details. See also
Gender Equality Bureau (2007: 25; 2006: 11; 2005: 4) for evidence that husbands
continue to do a small amount of housework.
20
Te term kyiku mama appeared in the media in the latter half of the 1960s
(Sakurai 2004: 20).
32 chapter one
the perfect child who enters a prestigious university such as Tokyo
university (see Honda 2005b: ch.5). Te ways in which participants
referred to the good wife, wise mother ideology and associated it with
their wives and future wives is discussed in the section on love and
marriage in Chapter Tree. Te following section focuses on the extent
to which the respondents narratives represent the good wife, wise
mother concept in relation to their own mothers.
Transformation of rysai kenbo
Mothers of Cohort One perhaps belonged to the last generation that
was encouraged by the government to bear as many children as pos-
sible. For example, Shiga-san had ten siblings. When he was born in
1935 as the youngest among them, his mother was already forty-three
years old, and his oldest sibling had been born when his mother was
eighteen years old. In Shiga-sans family, his mother had, on aver-
age, a child every other year. Participants who were born in the 1930s
and before had an average of fve siblings, their mothers responding
to the slogan reproduce, multiply that accompanied the good wife,
wise mother ideology.
21
Te average number of siblings of participants
who were born in the middle of the 1940s onwards was lower, with
participants in Cohort Two having 2.7 siblings on average, and those
in Cohort Tree having an average of 2.5. Te propaganda of good
wife, wise mother as a child-bearing machine vanished along with
the major social and economic changes following the Second World
War, when having few children but with quality education became
the ideal.
Following in the footsteps of their fathers, almost all the men in
every generation in the research did little or no housework at home,
although there was a slight trend towards mothers demanding more
housework from sons in Cohorts Two and Tree (see Table Tree in
Appendix Tree). Tose who recalled doing any housework as sons
described exceptional situations in which they were forced to assist
with domestic labour, or compelling circumstances in which it was
inevitable for them to do housework. For example, in Cohort One,
21
It is also worth noting that the high birth rate might have resulted from scarce
availability of birth control (Uno 1993a: 300), the short life expectancy of children and
the need for labour in a largely agricultural economy.
gendered experiences in the family 33
Kasuga-san, the oldest participant, became shos when he was thirteen
years old. Shos is, in this context, a man who boards with a well-of
family away from his own family in exchange for performing domes-
tic duties during schooling. It was common for men to become shos
when there were many siblings and families were struggling to make
ends meet. Kasuga-sans job was cleaning the house, polishing his
masters shoes and serving tea for the guests. Shiga-san, who was the
youngest in his family, prepared breakfast for his family. He had been
forced to do so from the age of eleven when his fathers munitions
factory was closed down just afer the War and everyone in his fam-
ily was busy working to survive. Yoshida-san helped his mother with
cooking and cleaning because she had a heart problem. Te majority
of fathers of the participants in Cohort One had a paid job or were
self-employed and their sons did no housework. Sasaki-sans family
had a maid, which was not necessarily unusual for a wealthy family
before the War, and there was a maid in the house where Kasuga-
san boarded. However, the majority of Japanese households at this
time comprised farming families in which sons and daughters would
normally contribute with either housework or farmwork. Te fathers
of only two participants (Uchida-san and Yanase-san) in this study
were farmers. Tese participants frequently helped their parents in the
felds.
In Cohort Two, out of ffeen participants, ten did no housework,
though Amano-san, Hamada-san and Hino-san helped their parents
with farmwork. Yoshino-san remembered his grandmother used to
say that he did not have to do anything because you are a man.
Only Ono-san shared housework with his sister, and this was because
his parents were farmers who worked long hours. Unlike Cohort One,
four respondents in Cohort Two did housework tasks when asked to
do so. For example, Toda-sans mother allocated jobs to him and his
sisters. Matsuzaki-san, Minami-san and Tachibana-san were most
ofen asked to undertake physical labour tasks such as drawing water
from a well and chopping frewood.
Cohort Tree represents the worst group in terms of housework con-
tribution. Amongst eleven participants, eight did no housework. Te
mothers of the three participants who did housework were employed
(or self-employed) and the participants housework included cleaning
and cooking, rather than physical labour. Despite the contributions
from their children, these participants mothers ultimately managed
the households. Moreover, their fathers scarcely did any housework.
34 chapter one
Te non-existence of any feeling of guilt about not helping their
mothers with housework among the participants implies that they
assumed that housework is a mothers (womans) job but not a mans
job. Te concept of good wife, wise mother as a caretaker and nur-
turer remained intact in the childhoods of the participants across the
three cohorts, and this meant that mothers in paid work in Cohort
Tree had to cope with a double burden as experienced by employed
women struggling to balance work and family in the study by Liddle
and Nakajima (2000: ch. 2223). Despite the fact that some partici-
pants did a considerable amount of housework, they did not replicate
this assistance when they married.
In general, participants in each generation were better educated
than their counterparts in each cohort. In particular, participants in
Cohort One represent well-educated men, compared with men in
the same generation. Te participants attributed this to afuent par-
ents and the encouragement of their fathers who had a better edu-
cation than their counterparts.
22
In this cohort, the fathers decided
the educational direction of their sons. In Cohort Two, the major-
ity of the participants studied hard and did well at school, requiring
no special support from their fathers. Tis did not mean that their
parents had no interest in their sons education but rather that the
school had the more signifcant role in urging participants towards
tertiary education.
23
For example, Minami-sans and Yoshino-sans
academic schools demanded students go on to university. Given that
the term education mum emerged in the latter half of the 1960s, the
participants in Cohort Two had little infuence from their mothers
regarding their education, except for Toda-san who wanted to go to
a non-academic high school that was famous for its baseball team but
his mother insisted on his going to an academic high school for his
future. In Cohort Tree, participants remember parentsmothers
slightly more so than fatherspressing them to study at home: my
parents nagged me was heard from more than one-half of the par-
22
Ojima and Kondo (cited in Ojima 2003: 217) demonstrated that the better the
socio-economic circumstances of the family, the higher the level of education of the
children. Moreover, socio-economic circumstances afect the educational achievement
of women more than that of men (Kimura 1999: 137).
23
High schools are ranked and, therefore, students in a high school have a relatively
similar level of academic competence (Yoneyama 1999: 46). For this reason, academic
high schools tend to focus on sending their students to well-known universities for the
distinction of having students with academic excellence.
gendered experiences in the family 35
ticipants. Okano-sans mother used to sit with him and do his home-
work with him during the mornings in the long school holidays when
he was small. At his mothers suggestion, Nakama-san went to piano,
swimming and calligraphy lessons. Tese stories implied the zealous
involvement of education mums in their sons education in Cohort
Tree in accordance with Japans super-meritocracy in which almost
all students were involved in the highly developed examination system
(Takeuchi 1995). Te participants narrative of their family lives thus
portrays their mothers playing their roles obediently according to the
current of the times.
Gendered Play
Most children come to conform to the existing gender order as early as
pre-school (Askew and Ross 1988: 7; Davies [1989] 2003; 1993; Torne
1994: 61; 1993). Children generally play in a group or groups of their
own sex. Moreover, they readily play the role of gatekeeper in pre-
serving the gender order (Davies 2003: 20), teasing being the habitual
method used by children (and sometimes adults also) in both pre-
schools and schools (Torne 1993: 5254). Davies (1993: 19) maintains
that teasing is understood as an individual and collective endeavour
in which members of the feminine group or masculine group make
eforts to perform as knowable individuals within a predictable know-
able collective reality. Two kinds of children cross the gender border
at school. One is a child who is well equipped, familiar with the rules
and competent in playing a particular game engaged in by the oppo-
site sex (Torne 1993: 131). Te other kind is a childpresumably, it
is usually a boywho has extensive social resources (Torne 1993:
123), and in this case his charismatic presence and impeccable mascu-
linity prevent him from being teased. Rather, he is respected by other
children for his audacity. While it is difcult for most children to make
cross-gender friendships at school, in a less crowded space such as the
neighbourhood, children may well play in a mixed group of girls and
boys, although they hide their friendships at school to avoid teasing
(Torne 1994: 70). Torne (1993: 54) calls this the phenomenon of
underground friendship.
Although it is acknowledged that processes of gender socialisa-
tion and construction amongst children are never simple, boys play
amongst the participants across the three cohorts in my research
36 chapter one
evinces a strong sex-segregated characteristic, corresponding to that in
Western society. Gender boundaries are rigidly policed in childhood,
although this sex segregation can be moderated by age and location.
In addition, the maintenance of hierarchy among boys is a signifcant
aspect in boys play (Davies 2003: 92). Tis tendency is more evident
in neighbourhoods where playmates consist of diferent age groups
than in the classroom at school. Te following section looks at these
facets of play in the participants childhood supplementing this with a
study of electronic games, which diferentiates Cohort Tree from the
other older cohorts.
Sex segregation was a characteristic of childhood leisure activities
for all the cohorts, while boys play was coded by the respondents as
being either dangerous or competitive and so not suitable for girls.
Men in all the generations took pleasure in outdoor activities. Cohort
Two and, in particular, Cohort One enjoyed nature. Tey went to the
rivers to catch fsh, to the hills to catch birds and to the felds to catch
insects. As if transported back into their childhoods, Honda-san and
Tachibana-san explained in great detail the methods and materials for
a trap with which to catch birds. As many participants in these older
generations did not have manufactured toys, they made their own:
We did handiwork a lot . . . Children today cant even sharpen a pencil
with a knife, can they? If a child has a higonokami (a pocket knife), thatll
be a huge problem. Everyone had one. We made anything with it . . . and
defnitely we played outside, that is, we did dangerous things. I wouldnt
let my children do such things. (Katagiri-san, I)
Katagiri-san described playing outside and using pocket-knives as
dangerous, something that neither boys nor girls would be allowed
to do today. He also told of his childhood adventures. For example,
defying his parents prohibition,
24
Katagiri-san and his male friends
secretly went to swim in a river where people drowned every year. He
also used to go to an air-raid shelter, which he treated as a maze, but
where no one would be allowed entry today.
24
Resistance against authority is an expression of masculinity. See Mac an Ghaill
(1994: 56) for the example of the Macho Lads in the U.K.
gendered experiences in the family 37
In Cohort Two, playing menko
25
and marbles was understood as a
matter of victory or defeat, Ono-san noting that a world of victory
or defeat is a mans world:
A matter of victory or defeat, this (menko) is a match, Im sure girls
didnt play menko, not one. (Yoshino-san, II)
I still keep menko and marbles with care because they are booty . . . Play-
ing marbles or menko is a matter of victory or defeat. It isnt play. Its
a matter of victory or defeat. . . . I still have lots of booty. Tey are forty
something years old. (Tachibana-san, II)
Although most participants in the three cohorts always played with
boys, some participants occasionally played with girls. Amano-san,
Kusuda-san, Yoshida-san and Yoshino-san have sisters, and when
they joined their sisters, they played girls games. Interestingly, these
participants did so with older sisters. It is likely that older sisters had
some control over their younger brothers, age hierarchy compensating
to some extent for the reverse gender hierarchy. On the other hand,
participants who have younger sisters did not play with them. Rather,
the participants decided whether or not to allow their sisters to join
them. Sugiura-san avoided his sister, assuming her to be a nuisance
to his friends. Unlike Sugiura-san, Tachibana-san sometimes took his
younger sister out with him. However, they played something that was
not defned as boys play or girls play:
I played with girls but we didnt play boys games with them, we played
something diferent with girls. I had a sister and I felt bad when I didnt
play with her. So, I sometimes took her with me and asked other boys
sisters to join us. So, I played in a mixed group of boys and girls. Tis
was fun. We pretended to be detectives. We sat on the roadside of a
national highway and wrote down the number plates of passing cars. We
did it for a week. Everyone wrote down the numbers with no ulterior
intention. (Tachibana-san, II)
As the above quotation indicates, Tachibana-san invented a form of
play under his leadership that did not require a complicated hierarchy.
Tachibana-san was the kind of charismatic boy whom no one would
have disobeyed. Amano-san remembers a girl of extraordinary physi-
cal strength that was her passport to joining the boys:
25
Menko is a game whereby the contestant slaps a pasteboard card down on the
ground in order to turn over that of his opponent.
38 chapter one
My playmates were all boys for sure. But there was this very active girl.
She sometimes joined us. She had equal combat strength to us or greater,
she was really strong. (Amano-san, II)
Many participants mentioned that they did not play with girls because
they would be teased by their peers at school but the gender division
was indistinct in the neighbourhood:
Tere were girls in my neighbourhood. So boys did jump-roping and
played hopscotch with girls. If you play with girls at school, you will be
teased. But it was O.K. to play with girls of the neighbourhood. (Ishi-
hara-san, I)
Te participants played with boys of their own age at school, whereas
they played in a mixed gender and age group in their neighbourhood,
revealing that the phenomenon of underground friendship at school
was also the case with Japanese children.
Tings used to be like this. Tere was senpai (my senior) and he taught
younger boys how to play. And as he moved up to the higher grades, he
disappeared. And, when I got to the top, I taught younger boys how to
play. We followed the tradition. . . . A bird caught in our trap was eaten
by a marten. Te bird was ripped apart. When I saw it, I felt really bad
and I made a decision and I said to my mates our group stops catch-
ing birds from today. I felt sorry for the bird when I saw it . . . We did
bad things too at that time. I knew what grew and when (fruit and veg-
etables) in which houses in my town [to steal them]. You cant become
a leader if you dont know those things. (Tachibana-san, II)
Primary school boys in the frst, second and third year, are like appren-
tices. Tey play with other older boys but they are kind of underlings
because there is a leader of the neighbourhood urchins. Other boys try
to go up in the pecking order. Lets say, the leader has got over a wall
and you cant do it. You are an underling. Boys in the second and third
year try hard to get over the wall but they cant do it. And then the leader
says you guys go round to the back! See, they are underlings. In a way,
they have privilege. Its O.K. if they lose in games. Also, they are never
oni.
26
But they cant join in a match. Te leader lets you join in games
but not in matches. In that kind of environment, I learnt rules like an
apprentice. (Yoshino-san, II)
26
Te Japanese term oni literally means an ogre or monster in English. In this
context, oni refers to a person who chases and catches other people who run away
from oni in a game called onigokko. Te role of oni is similar to that of a tagger in
hide and seek.
gendered experiences in the family 39
Te above quotations reveal an age-based hierarchy among the neigh-
bourhood boys play groups. Te leader had absolute power over fol-
lowers and underlings as if the boys lived in a microcosm of their
future salarymen lives. Te leader was usually the oldest boy who met
the conditions of a leader, which included knowledge of and skill in
games and knowledge about the neighbourhood. Underlings joined
games such as tag and hide-and-seek but they were not allowed to join
matches, including menko and marbles. Moreover, a leader had to pass
any knowledge on to his juniors in his group. Whatever ones position
in the group, boys learnt about social hierarchy and acquired a way
of behaving properly in it according to their status. In this context,
the world of play among the participants was complete without girls,
being indicative of their gendered workplace.
Computer games: boys congregation in the bedroom
When sociologists commenced studying girls subcultures in the 1970s,
they argued that girls played at home, particularly in the bedroom,
for example talking in a small group, while boys play involved the
outdoors (McRobbie and Garber 1976: 220221). Tis spatial polarity
between girls and boys play has been challenged by the invention of
electronic games (Gilbert and Gilbert 1998: 58). Tis does not mean
that boys play has been feminised. On the contrary, electronic games
represent a masculine sphere through the promotion of competition.
27

Moreover, Morohashi (2003: 75) argues that intelligence is rewarded
at school as well as in computer games, and is, in addition, an impor-
tant attribute of white collar/corporate masculinity.
Most of the participants in Cohorts One and Two did not have their
own private rooms or the so-called living room in their houses during
their childhood. Only in the mid-1970s did children start having their
own private rooms in their houses in Japan (Nishikawa 2004: 165;
Ueno 2002: 109). Following the increased expectation of private rooms,
individualised high-tech equipment, such as means of communication
27
According to a survey conducted by the Computer Entertainment Sofware
Association in 2002 in Japan, one-third of the respondent males, aged from three to
eighteen, liked role-playing games beste.g. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Teir
second favourite was sport games. Only seven per cent of the men liked fghting games
beste.g. Street Fighter. Electronic games, according to this writer, afrm attainment
and success (Morohashi 2003: 70, 74).
40 chapter one
and computers also began to penetrate into them. Given these, it may
not be a coincidence that the majority of participants in Cohort Tree
who were born in and afer the 1970s congregated in their or their
friends houses to play. Indeed, computer games distinguish Cohort
Tree from the other generations, eight of the eleven participants
remembering playing them. Shimizu-san enjoyed famikon.
28
He used
to exchange games with his friends and go to their houses to play the
games. Tokuda-san also remembered that he and his friends congre-
gated indoors and played games and that this gradually increased.
As with playing sport, the major purpose in playing games was to
win:
I remember the computer game came when I was in the second or third
grade in primary school. Tats why we are called the game generation.
We talked about strategy books and how to master games. (Kusuda-san,
III)
Participants read strategy books and talked about tactics with friends.
Ebara-san, who loved playing games, distinguished girls idle chatter
from boys meaningful conversations concerning games. Te compe-
tition involved in electronic games requires individual and collective
eforts in order to master electronic skills, the same attributes required
in a school education and also for mens bonding at the workplace.
To conclude, even as boys play moved from the countryside into
the bedroom, the sex-segregated use of space and the emphasis on
competition and hierarchy still remained. While dangerous adven-
tures in nature or competition in games that were played outside by
the participants in Cohorts One and Two were expressed in physical
abilities and skills, winning cerebral computer games in Cohort Tree
was achieved mainly by mental power. In either case, from early child-
hood, participants were involved in a hierarchical environment and
they internalised competition and ranking in their homo-social world
of men.
28
Famikon is an abbreviation of Nintendos family computer for TV video games.
It frst went on the market in 1983 (Morohashi 2003: 64).
gendered experiences in the family 41
Conclusion
Te narratives of the participants in this study clearly demonstrate
that the institution of family has a great impact on the formative con-
struction of dominant masculinity amongst the participants across the
three cohorts while they were growing up. Te mens masculine iden-
tity was shaped by tenacious gender ideologies and it was evident that
the ie system supported the authority of their fathers as the head of
the family (Nishikawa 2000: 15; Ueno 1994: 76) and that the ideology
of rysai kenbo (good wife, wise mother) confned their mothers to
the household (Koyama 1991: 236; Muta 2006: 72). Te ie, which was
invented in the early days of the modern era, established the Japa-
nese modern family and modern patriarchy (Ueno 1994: 69, 94). Tis
distinct division of labour, based on the heterosexual complementar-
ity, is refected in the employment system in the company, and this is
discussed in Chapter Four on work. An unchanging feature of mascu-
linity across the three cohorts was hierarchy based on age and gender.
Te hierarchy was ubiquitous in the family lives of the participants and
endowed them with self-confdence as men with unearned privileges.
Within a male homo-social world of participants at play, a hierarchy
based on age makes a prediction of their future salaryman life, whereas
gender segregation at play continues into their schooling and further
into their workplaces, men being given preferential treatment.
Aiming for a high score in competition with other rivals by using
skills and intellectual power proves the correlation between computer
games and school education, because hegemonic masculinity includes
the power of reasonwhite-collar corporate knowledge that society
needsand not just physical prowess (Connell 1995: 164165; Con-
nell and Wood 2005: 350351). Tis value is promoted in electronic
games. In this context, intelligence, one of the ideal Chinese mascu-
linities which Louie (2003: 45; 2002: 14) calls wen-wu (scholarly
attributes and military strength), is deployed by Japanese boys as the
intellectual and cultural expression of power in computer games. Cap-
italism needs wen masculinity more than wu masculinity in contem-
porary society, and the shif from physical activities to mental faculties
in boys play parallels the shif from physical prowess to intellectual
power as prerequisites for corporate masculinity on a global scale. Te
next chapter explores a second key domain of growing up, i.e. the
experience of schooling.
CHAPTER TWO
GROWING UP: GENDERED EXPERIENCES IN SCHOOL
In Japan, there has been little press coverage of boys disadvantage
of the kind which has appeared in Anglophone countries (Askew and
Ross 1988: 1; Connell 1996: 207; Foster, Kimmel and Skelton 2001:
12; Gilbert and Gilbert 1998: 4). Although there is a discourse that
boys are becoming intellectually and psychologically weak, the Japa-
nese media have been more interested in the increase in the number
of vicious crimes perpetrated by teenage boys (It 2003: 6168). While
scholars, feminists and lawyers have been paying attention to gender
issues at school since the 1970s, there is still an insufcient number of
empirical studies on gender relations at school (Kimura 1999: 5). Tis
chapter illuminates what Connell (1996: 213) calls the gender regime
of the school through the experience of the participants. Beginning
with a brief discussion of the academic trajectory of the participants
in this study, various aspects of schooling such as the structure of
the school, the gender of the teachers, discipline and peer culture are
examined. Te latter half of this chapter discusses sport in the context
of physical education as well as of extra-curricula activities outside
school regulations, exploring sex-segregation and hierarchy among the
participants.
Academic Trajectory
During the 1950s, while a little more than ffy per cent of male junior
high school students enrolled in high school, just forty per cent of
female students went on to high school. And amongst these male
high school students, only ten per cent entered university. In 1955, for
example, 13.1 per cent of boys and 2.4 per cent of girls of the relevant
age cohort went on to university (Sasagawa 2004: 171). It was not until
the 1970s that the majority of both male and female students went on
to high school (Ojima 2003: 215). In the 1980s, most of the students
44 chapter two
(ninety-fve per cent) who completed compulsory education
1
went on
to high school and nearly forty per cent of male students entered uni-
versity (Fukuzawa and LeTendre 2001: 22; Ojima 2003: 215; Sakurai
2004: 19; Yoneyama 1999: 46). In 2001, for instance, 32.7 per cent
of girls and 46.9 per cent of boys progressed to university (Sasagawa
2004: 171). In the light of the media term education mom, it is inter-
esting to note that the late 1960s was the turning point in the Japanese
educational system, marking the advent of the Japanese meritocracy
(Takeuchi 1995). Tis also generated academic credentialism to the
extent that people began to appraise others and themselves in accor-
dance with their academic record (Yoneyama 1999: 4548).
As mentioned in Chapter One, the participants in this study were
well educated men compared with their counterparts in each genera-
tion in general. More than 30 per cent of the participants in Cohort
One went on to university in the 1940s and the 1950s (See Table four in
Appendix Tree). It was especially the case that wealthy parents in this
cohort gave their sons a good education, while parents who were not
wealthy enough to give their sons higher education, simply demanded
that their sons work. However, parents strove to give their sons at least
high school education, which was seen as a privilege in Cohort One.
For example, Katagiri-san, Nishida-san and Sasaki-san who went on
to university, were all from relatively wealthy families. Katagiri-sans
father, wanting his son to go to his famous alma mater, even assigned
a private tutor for him when he was in primary school in order to
ensure his sons success in the examination for a feeder junior high
school of the alma mater. Nishida-sans father insisted on his entering
university and allowed him to become rnin (high school graduates
who have failed to pass the entrance examination for university and
who prepare for the next years examination by studying at home or
in a special cram school), which was rare at that time. Nishida-san
remembered that the word examination hell (juken jigoku) existed as
early as 1955 when he went to the cram school that prepared him for
the university examination. He studied hard because it was a question
1
Since 1947, Japanese schooling has been divided into three phases: primary school
(six years), junior high school (three years) and high school (three years). Primary
and junior high school constitute compulsory education. Students who go on to high
school normally take an entrance examination unless they belong to a private school
that has an integrated educational system running from compulsory education to
higher education.
gendered experiences in school 45
of the value of his existence, meaning that entering university nursed
his pride, realised his duty to his father and ofered his future pros-
pects. Sasaki-sans father was also very education-minded and always
wanted to send Sasaki-san to a famous academic school. Sasaki-san
also became rnin and, according to him, there was a phrase yon-t
go-raku (literally four-pass fve-fail) around 1958, which meant that
if you sleep for four hours, you will pass the examination but if you
sleep for fve hours, you will fail. Two other fathers had unusually
high education levels themselves: Kasuga-sans father had a good com-
mand of English and Shiga-sans father had studied in Germany in the
Meiji period, which was a very rare thing. Both fathers were keen on
advancing their sons education. Kasuga-sans father, unable to aford
a good education for his son, lef him with a wealthy couple as shos
(see p. 33). Shiga-sans father used to say to him that money that was
earned by physical labour was precious but working people were not
able to become the ruling people and, therefore, one must have educa-
tion in order to enter the ruling class. Unfortunately, Shiga-san had to
give up high school because of fnancial difculties. However, having
faith in his fathers words, when those fnancial difculties were over,
he repeated the fnal year of junior high school and went on to high
school.
In Cohort Two, the high ratio of participants who went on to uni-
versity (almost 70 per cent), which was greater than that of their coun-
terparts in the 1960s and the 1970s, is proof of their good academic
records and their hard work. Te majority of the participants were
studious without a spur from their parents. For example, Hino-sans
parents used to tell him to stop working that hard, otherwise you will
make yourself ill. Many men in this cohort had the idea that you can
win if you do your best and the idea was supported by their own expe-
riences. For instance, Kuraoka-san, who always obtained poor marks
in physics, received almost full marks in a physics test for the frst
time afer studying the subject seriously. Toda-san passed the exam for
the university of his wish despite his teachers concern that he would
fail it because he believed that he studied crazily. Older participants
in this generation were able to secure a position in a large corpora-
tion on completion of high school. Ueno-san claimed that there were
still opportunities for vocational high school leavers to enter decent
companies, an idea that is discussed further in Chapter Four, on
work. Fukuda-san and Matsuzaki-san began work afer completing
high school but they attended university evening classes while they
46 chapter two
worked, because they felt that it was simply common sense to do so.
Matsuzaki-san went to a corporate schoola school operated by his
companyand this secured his position in the company. Tis form of
school no longer exists, but its presence indicates the expanding power
of corporations at that time.
By the time of Cohort Tree, it was common to go on to university
or post-secondary institutions
2
afer completing high school. Only one
participant did not have tertiary education, and this was because his
divorced mother raised him by herself and could not aford higher
education for him. As discussed in Chapter One, there was a ten-
dency amongst the mothers in this cohort towards being an educa-
tion mom.
More importantly, participants did not question the competitive
nature of the educational system. As Sugiura-san in Cohort Two said,
people are born to compete and it is natural for us to be involved in
competition because there is a hierarchy in everything. Kusuda-san,
of Cohort Tree, deplored the excessive latitude in schools todaya
latitude, he felt, that has led to a decline in academic ability and social
disorder. Interestingly, the participants rather admired excellent
female students. Te fact that the intellectual excellence of girls did not
threaten the participants masculinity suggests that the participants felt
secure in their privileged social positions, which would not be under-
mined even by females who outperformed them at school.
Te Gender Regime
Tis section explores the gender regime in the participants school
lives, involving two main aspects: symbolism and hierarchy. Te for-
mer looks at gender diferences in subjects that are learned and taught,
and at teachers, school events and activities. Te latter involves leader-
ship positions in the classroom and among peers. Tese aspects sug-
gest that the education of males was more highly valued than that of
females, and even the harsher punishment which the boys received
exposes this point.
2
In the Japanese context, post-secondary institutions refer to vocational, technical
and academic schools which are private organisations.
gendered experiences in school 47
Schooling as a social institution has a hierarchical structure. Despite
the immense educational and social changes afer the Second World
War, the gender regime of the pre-war school, which was inclined to
be masculine and authoritarian, remain largely intact. Men still over-
whelmingly occupy the positions of school principal and deputy prin-
cipal in primary and junior high schools (Kimura 1999: 33; Sasahara
2003: 96). Te proportion of female teachers in managerial positions
diminishes as the level of education escalates. Female teachers account
for sixty per cent of the total number of teachers in primary schools,
yet only one to two per cent of principals and deputies are female
(Sasahara 2003: 96). Compared with primary school, the proportion
of female teachers is considerably lower in junior high school (Kimura
1999: 33; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technol-
ogy 2004a; 2004b). As a result, school children assume that women are
suitable to be primary school teachers and that men are ft for junior
high and high school teaching and for managerial positions (Kimura
1999: 34). Tese assumptions are refected in the narratives of my
participants.
Formal schooling is based on equality of the sexes and egalitarianism.
However, each subject is understood to be masculine or feminine to
varying degrees. For example, literature, music and home economics
are considered to be feminine subjects, while science, social science and
PE are regarded as masculine subjects (Sasahara 2003: 96).
3
Tis sym-
bolism afects not only decisions made by students when they go on
to the next stage of education, but also the division of labour amongst
teachers. Although primary school teachers teach all the subjects in
their classroom, teachers in junior high schools or higher, teach their
specialised subjects. Masculine subjects, such as science, social science
and PE, are overwhelmingly taught by male teachers, and vice versa
(Kimura 1999: 33). Moreover, despite educational reforms advancing
gender equality, the continued existence of sex-segregated subjects (i.e.
home economics, technical skills and PE) indicates that school educa-
tion still subscribes, at least in part, to the traditional gender division
of labour (Buckley 1993: 363364; Horiuchi 2003: 111). Tis policy was
reformed in 1989 and home economics was incorporated into elective
3
See Askew and Ross (1988: 50) for the similar symbolism in subjects in the U.K.
and Connell (1996: 217) and Gilbert and Gilbert (1998: 121122) for the similar
symbolism in subjects in schools in Australia.
48 chapter two
subjects from which girls and boys chose one. Tey are woodwork,
electrical engineering, family life and food in junior high school
and general domestic science, life skills and general living in high
school (Horiuchi 2003: 113). Te reform was put into operation in
1993 in junior high schools and in 1994 in high schools (Horiuchi
2003: 13). However, the above subjects remain gendered subjects as
long as they are elective because the process of selection is governed by
the existing symbolism concerning them (Kimura 1999: 32).
Gender diferences
Te school lives of the participants of the three generations range from
the early 1930s to the early 1990s. During these decades, all the partici-
pants experienced educational and social changes to varying degrees.
In particular, many men in Cohort One went through enormous
transformations because of the interruption of the Second World War
during their early schooling. One of the most signifcant modifcations
made to the old educational system was the adoption of co-education,
and all the participants in this generation expressed discomfort in talk-
ing to female studentsboth those men who had no experience of
co-education (Kasuga-san, Shiga-san and Sonoda-san) and the partici-
pants who experienced the transition from sex-segregated education
to co-education. Te men with no experience of co-education were
told that boys and girls should not sit together from the time when
they become seven years old.
4
Kasuga-san remembered discomfort
even in talking to his cousin when she suggested that they go to school
together and get into the same train carriage (even though each train
had carriages for male students and for female students at that time):
I was embarrassed. I just didnt know how to talk to her. It wasnt that I
was afraid that someone would report us but I just didnt know how to
talk to a woman. (Kasuga-san, I)
Sasaki-san avoided playing with girls in second grade, when his co-
education commenced,
5
explaining this as being due to his single sex
4
Danjo nanasai ni shite seki o onajy sezu. Te phrase, which came from
Confucianism, was an educational principle of the samurai class (Edwards 1989: 54).
A boy of a samurai family started his education when he was seven years old.
5
Tis endorses arguments on gender-segregated play which are made by Askew
and Ross (1988); Davies (2003; 1993); Torne (1994; 1993). See also the section on
gendered play in Chapter One.
gendered experiences in school 49
education in frst grade. However, even Yoshida-san, the youngest in
Cohort One, and one who experienced co-education throughout his
schooling, remembered:
I never talked with girls in junior high and high school. You know, I
was self-conscious. Its not that I liked someone or anything like that
but it was just difcult to talk to someone of the opposite sex. But I did
mischief. I pulled the hair of a girl who was sitting in front of me. I did
things like that but when it came to conversation, I was just embar-
rassed. (Yoshino-san, I)
Likewise, for Hirose-san it was all he could do to look at girls at junior
high school. Not until high school did he feel comfortable talking to
a female student. In a sex-segregated society, parents sometimes rein-
forced the respondents discomfort with the opposite sex. For example,
every time Katagiri-san talked to a female classmate about their club
activities on the phone, his father frowned at him.
Some participants in Cohort Two indicated friendly contacts with
female classmates at school, although others expressed their shyness
and avoided attracting attention from their peers who would tease
them. Tachibana-san and Ueno-san, who had been mischievous boys
in primary school, remembered pulling a girls plait or fipping up a
girls skirt. In these perverse expressions of their interest in girls, they
avoided teasing from their peers by embarrassing girls. Looking back,
Tachibana-san stated how shy he was:
I remember this. When I was in year six, we did a folk dance in the
sports festival. Oh, I just couldnt grip girls hands because I was embar-
rassed. I, like this, only touched their fnger tips. (Tachibana-san, II)
Cohort Two was a transitional generation from societal endorsement
of sex segregation to an increased acceptance of social mixing between
the sexes. Younger participants in this cohort felt relatively comfort-
able talking to girls at school. For example, Yoshino-san preferred
talking to girls at high school because he did not like the boys, who
were interested only in academic achievement. Tsutsumi-san had no
problem with talking to girls, but he adapted his interaction by refrain-
ing from using the bad language and the physical horseplay that ofen
occurred when he talked to his male friends.
Only in Cohort Tree did respondents remember girls as actual
friends, in a similar way to their male friends. Kusuda-san said that
he had many female friends and Segawa-san was on good terms with
girls, while Hirose-san fondly remembers being invited by a female
50 chapter two
primary school classmate to visit her home, which he did, chaperoned
by his mother. Te youngest participant, Miura-san, stated:
I ofen took part in school events such as cultural festivals. I always
enjoyed these occasions because it was fun to do things together with
girls. (Miura-san, III)
Across the three cohorts, participants were taught almost exclusively by
male teachers. Afer the inauguration of co-education, among Cohort
One, Ishihara-san and Sasaki-san had a female classroom teacher
6
in
primary school but only Hirose-san had a female classroom teacher
in junior high school. In Cohort Two, all the participants had more
than one female classroom teacher in primary school and more than
one-half had at least one female classroom teacher in junior high
school. Katagiri-san remembered that around the time when democ-
racy was established in Japanthe 1950san ideology of equality and
equal rights between genders was widely advocated and there was an
atmosphere of fairness at least in education. Interestingly, in Cohort
Tree, fve participants had a female classroom teacher only in pri-
mary school. Four participants were certain that they had a female
classroom teacher some time during their schooling but they were not
able to specify exactly when, so that 20 per cent had no female class-
room teachers at all.
Entrenched gendered symbolism was observed across the three
cohorts. School based symbolism stemmed from the relationships
between the subjects taught and their teachers sex and from the con-
nection between these subjects and their students sex. According to
the experiences of participants, for example, female teachers taught
literature or music. Nurses in sick rooms were always women. On
the other hand, teachers of physical education for male students and
technical skills were men. However, the educational reforms which
were aimed at gender equality did have an impact in that, by Cohort
Tree, only half experienced sex segregated domestic science and
technical skills. Te other participants took part in cooking and sew-
ing with female students, while girls took woodwork with boys. Tis
6
In Japanese schools, students are allocated to a specifc classroom in each grade.
For most classes, teachers come to the allocated classroom, students only going to
other rooms for elective subjects such as music and arts. Principal and co-classroom
teachers, in addition to their teaching jobs, are responsible for their students everyday
school life and for any school events, organising them, mobilising and chaperoning
students.
gendered experiences in school 51
remodelling occurred mainly in schools in urban areas. Within each
major grouping of subjectshumanities and sciencefemale students
dominated in the former and male students in the latter. Sugiura-sans
comment below represents how profoundly the gender symbolism of
subjects was internalised in the minds of the participants:
When I was in primary school, I couldnt understand arithmetic. When
I became a junior high school student, I began to understand maths. I
thought oh, I am a man, seriously. . . . I didnt study but I understood
maths and I thought it happened because I was a man. People say men
are good at science subjects, you now. I thought thats it, I was a man.
(Sugiura-san, II)
Te parents of the participants were another source of stereotypical
ideas. Ashida-san of Cohort Two strove to become a chemical engi-
neer following his fathers recommendation that science was a mans
feld of study and a man should become an engineer. Among the felds
of study of participants in tertiary education, indeed, various types
of engineering were the most popular in Cohort Two, for example,
chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. Even those par-
ticipants who did not have a tertiary education specialised in mechani-
cal or electrical engineering in high school. Only Kuraoka-san majored
in a so-called feminine subject, Russian. He was aware that major-
ing in languages was regarded as feminine, and justifed his purpose
to master Russian saying that he had a plan to work internationally.
Kuraoka-san also emphasised that language was a mans feld of study
until the 1960s when the number of female university students began
to increase (see Table Five in Appendix Tree).
Many participants claimed that both female and male teachers were
very strict with students. However, male teachers tended to use corpo-
ral punishment more frequently than female teachers, whereas female
teachers employed other methods of punishment such as increasing
the amount of homework and giving a dictation of, for example, Chi-
nese characters. As mentioned above, these diferences generated the
image of tough male teachers and of sof female teachers. Participants
endorsed the practice because they thought that only male teachers
were able to handle male students who were incorrigible, which simul-
taneously implied that female teachers were not tough enough to con-
trol the male students.
7
Some participants used a term oksan sens or
7
See Askew and Ross (1988: 46) for the U.K. examples and Gilbert and Gilbert
52 chapter two
a motherly teacher to describe a female teacher who invited students
to her house and entertained them with her own home cooking
(Fukuda-san) and who scolded students severely but in a motherly
manner (Sugiura-san). Female teachers were described as warm-
hearted and close.
Male teachers were, by contrast, strict disciplinarians who were dis-
tant from students; however, some were also considered to be play-
mates, e.g. playing sports with students during recess. Female teachers
were comfortably associated with the image of the mother, although
male teachers were not linked with that of the father, probably because
the father, who was ofen absent from the students lives, did not
invoke a close afnity with a male teacher who took care of children.
Additionally, participants pointed out that teachers treated boys and
girls diferently and the treatment changed as they proceeded to higher
grades. For example, most of the participants across the three cohorts
claimed that teachers, especially male teachers, had a sof spot for girls
in relation to corporal punishment.
8
Participants remembered the pet
phrases spoken by their teachers, including be gentle to girls, be
kind to girls and men should protect women, refecting the pam-
pering of girls at school. Tis, however, also implied the exclusion of
girls from the future job market and from adult responsibilities and
tasks. Teachers paid more attention to boys and did their best for the
excellent male students in the higher grades because, according to the
participants, teachers wanted to cultivate boys abilities (Kusuda-
san) and because society was male-centred (Ueno-san). Moreover,
teachers frequently divided students into a boys group and a girls
group and allocated diferent tasks to them. For example, in the clean-
ing tasks allocated to students in public schools, boys went outside and
did the sweeping and girls stayed inside and did the dusting. In the
annual sport festival, boys played a mock cavalry battle, whereas girls
performed a dance.
9
Te gender division in students tasks was also an
expression of hierarchy:
(1998: 118) for Australian examples of gender diferences in teachers control of
students.
8
According to a survey conducted in 1995 in a junior high school in Osaka, one-
half of female students and 65 per cent of male students answered that teachers were
sof on girls (Kimura 1999: 35).
9
See Kawai (2000: 4547) for the allocation of tasks based on sex.
gendered experiences in school 53
Naturally, we boys, were leaders in various school events. Most of the
time boys exercised leadership. In my generation, girls only helped us.
For three years at high school, I was always in a leading group. In that
sense, at school as an organisation, I confdently carried out events and
I think I felt myself manly to some extent. Women were in the helping
roles, and we used to ask them to bring tea or to prepare our lunch.
10

(Ueno-san, II)
Yoshino-san was aware that dividing students into a boys group and
a girls group in everyday aspects of school impacted upon boys (and
girls) and, throughout schooling, boys (and girls) internalised gen-
der roles in accordance with their gendered experiences at school.
Te internalisation of gender roles continued as long as the entire
institution of school and teachers preserved the hidden (gender)
curriculum
11
(Kimura 1999: 3639, 6792; Sasahara 2003; see also
Connell 1989: 300).
Corporal punishment
Japanese schools have a very authoritarian and autocratic teaching
style (Fukuzawa and LeTendre 2001: 14; Yoneyama 1999: 22). Despite
the prohibition of corporal punishment since 1947, as a result of the
School Education Law, its widespread use is apparent (Yoneyama 1999:
97). Connell (1996: 215) argues that discipline is one of the mascu-
linizing practices. In particular, corporal punishment is a masculin-
ity test in which students (ofen boys) have to show their toughness
in confronting pain (Connell 1996: 217). Indeed, boys receive more
frequent and more severe corporal punishment than girls do (Connell
1996: 217; Kimura 1999: 83). Terefore, corporal punishment as an out-
come of friction between a teacher and a male student, afects the for-
mation of his masculinity (Connell 1996: 217). Moreover, non-violent
10
According to Hatakeyama (2000: 81), these girls are called onigiri butai (the
rice ball unit) in a similar situation.
11
Other parts of the hidden curriculum not discussed by participants include: the
names of male students are listed frst and, therefore, the names of female students are
listed afer the boys names, although there is now a movement to mix boys and girls
names in the class list. Te contents of textbooks convey stereotypical sex rolesmen
are the leading characters who are independent and women are supporting characters
who are passive (Fujii 1975: 4855; Kimura 1999: 48, 7174; Sasahara 2003: 8690).
See also Jassey (1998) for her study of gender in primary school textbooks in Japan
as well as in other countries such as China, Greece, Mexico, Nigeria, Singapore, the
former Soviet Union, the U.K., the U.S., and several Arab nations.
54 chapter two
spurring by teachers such as admonitions to act like a girl/boy, take it
easy as you are a girl or boys dont get beaten by girls instils a sense
of gender diference in the minds of the students (Kimura 1999: 35;
Sasahara 2003: 95; see also Tomson 2002: 168).
Te experiences of the participants indicated the extensive difu-
sion of corporal punishment at school across the three generations.
Before 1945, in the overwhelmingly male-dominated school environ-
ment, militarism was prevalent in classrooms, as suggested by a song
Uchida-san had to sing at primary school:
I like soldiers very much. When I grow up, I will wear decorations and a
sword, and ride astride a horse saying whoa there, whoa there. (Uchida-
san, III)
In such an environment, participants in Cohort One frequently
received corporal punishment. According to Katagiri-san, many male
teachers in primary school right afer the end of the war were demo-
bilised soldiers. Tese teachers inficted violence on students as young
as six. Across the three generations boys received corporal punishment
more frequently and of a greater severity than did girls, although in
Cohort Two, a comment such as girls were equally beaten up was
occasionally heard. More importantly, the participants approved of
corporal punishment. For example, Tachibana-san said:
When I was in school, we didnt call it violence, though. When we were
told of, we had so-called corporal punishment. I dont take it as physical
punishment. Even if girls do the same wrong thing, men get more and
severer punishment than girls. Girls get sofer punishment/discipline.
But I dont think thats discrimination. For example, if a man gets sof
punishment like a girl gets, he doesnt obey you. Terefore, I think men
who have more physical strength than women should receive hard pun-
ishment. (Tachibana-san, II)
Tsutsumi-san remembers a teacher at his boys school in the 1970s
who always carried a Japanese sword with him, a violation of the
Firearms and Sword Possession Control Law. Every time students did
something wrong in his class, the teacher patted the students cheek
with the sword:
He was extremely strict. He beat me dreadfully. It didnt matter if you
had a nosebleed or whatever. (Tsutsumi-san, II)
Many participants, however, spoke boastfully of their experiences of
corporal punishment, from minor to severe, as if the number of pun-
gendered experiences in school 55
ishments was proof of their masculinity, thus endorsing the function
of corporal punishment as a masculinity test (Connell 1996: 217).
Peer hierarchy
Te participants heroes across the three cohorts had at least one of
the following attributes in descending order from the most respected:
all-around athletic ability, intelligence, good-natured personality, good
looks and popularity with girls. However, whether they were a super
athlete or an extremely bright student, these stars did not occupy the
top position in the peer hierarchy at school. According to the par-
ticipants in all the cohorts, the hierarchy in the classroom and in the
entire grade was based on scufing ability. In retrospect, Hirose-san of
Cohort One valued the old school hierarchy:
We had gakidaish (king of the kids). Yeah, in primary and junior high
school, there was the king of the school. If someone was fghting behind
the scenes, the king would appear and say dont fght behind me but
fght here in front of me and bring it to an end. Ten, he would become
a referee and let them fght until one of them gave up. And then, when
the fght was settled, the king would say hey, you (the loser), dont go
against him (the winner) and you (the winner), dont be cruel to him
(the loser) because he will listen to you [from now on]. We had this
kind of king. I witnessed this many times. . . . He was the strongest in
fghting. He also had, you know, humanity. He would say, dont be hard
on the weak (Hirose-san, I)
Hirose-san stated that if such a hierarchy were present in schools
today they would not be characterised by the insidious bullying which
has become a social problem in todays schools.
12
Ueno-san in Cohort
Two called himself the king:
We ofen fought. It wasnt bullying. If bullying was going on between
the weak and the powerful, someone would defnitely break it up. For
example, I came and said what are you doing there? and then, I would
help the weak. I was a strong fghter and formed a group with my mates.
We didnt squabble or fght against other groups very ofen but if I saw
bullying, I would say something. I am sorry for todays students [because
of bullying at school]. (Ueno-san, II)
12
Unlike bullying outside Japan, contemporary ijime (bullying) in Japan occurs as
the victimisation of a single individual by a group (ofen extended to the whole class
or beyond) (Yoneyama 1999: 165).
56 chapter two
Participants in Cohort Tree, unlike the older generations, consid-
ered physical fghting to be a sign of vulgar fellows, indicating that
the heroic image of gakidaish was fading away. Te target of bully-
ing was mostly a male student who was quiet and in a weak position,
implying that there was a certain standard of manliness with attributes
and codes which are clearly evident, whereas those of womanliness
tend to be difused, e.g. tomboys are accepted but efeminate boys are
not (see the section on gendered play in Chapter One). Tose male
students who did not meet the standard thus became the target of
bullying. Tis also indicates that subordinate masculinities are policed
and punished (Connell 1995: 83). Te participants narratives suggest
that the means of monitoring the peer hierarchy shifed from physical
prowess to psychological power in Cohort Tree, which coincides with
the unprecedented increase in the number of suicides
13
caused by bul-
lying at school in the 1980s (Yoneyama 1999: 157159).
In summary, the perception of female students as the other, the
male-dominated composition of teachers, the widespread use of cor-
poral punishment, the symbolic meaning of subjects and the difer-
entiated treatment of boys and girls inculcated in the participants the
understanding that the masculine gender is the powerful ruler. In
fact, the participants had both a conscious and an unconscious under-
standing of their patriarchal dividend in society (Connell 1995: 79).
Moreover, the peer culture of policing fghts and leadership in school
demonstrated their immersion in a hierarchical environment from an
early age. Despite the educational ideology of equality and egalitarian-
ism, schooling constituted training in male dominance for the partici-
pants.
Sport
Masculinity depends on the physical and psychological power that
men embody (Connell 1983: 18). Sports, which occupy an important
part of the identity development of little boys into young men, provide
us with an insight into male embodiment. In looking at the partici-
13
Te number of boys who committed suicide in the 1980s (and the 1990s) was
greater than that of girls, It (2003: 9) arguing that this stems partly from gendered
teachings for boys such as boys do not show their weakness and boys do not
express their emotions.
gendered experiences in school 57
pants engagement in PE, this section deals with the internal relation-
ships between the participants physical force and skills (performance)
and their masculinities. In addition, the section is concerned with the
impact of sports on the participants in relation to sex-segregation and
hierarchy.
In industrially and technologically advanced societies, work for
many men is no longer a demonstration of physical strength, because
of mechanisation, automation, computerisation and cybernation,
although it is still an arena of competition and achievement. On the
other hand, sport remains an optimal site where the physical prowess
of men is extolled over that of women (Messner 1994c: 96; 1987: 54;
Rowe and McKay 1998: 118; Whitson 1990: 19). Most sport is sex-seg-
regated, with mens sport being seen as superior to womens (Bryson
1990: 175180; Kidd 1990: 36; Messner 1990: 100; Whitson 1990: 20),
and Sabo (1994b: 101) argues that the legitimation of male excellence
in sport expresses male supremacy in society. Tus sport substanti-
ates the existing gender relations between men and women (Rowe and
McKay 1998: 113; Staurowsky 1990: 163; Whitson 1990: 20).
Kimmel (1990: 6162) argues that sport in the nineteenth century
in the U.S. played a powerful role in reproducing the essential quali-
ties required by industrial capitalism such as docility and obedience
to authority. Baseball generated amenable and compliant men in a
strictly superintended environment. In contemporary Japan and other
countries, sport still develops endurance, obedience, discipline, loyalty
and acceptance of intransigent hierarchy in the homo-social world of
men, which simultaneously represents the essential elements of domi-
nant masculinity in corporations. Sabo (1994b: 100) calls the justifca-
tion of injuries and pain due to sport as the pain principle and in
the context of Japanese sports, this is considered to be the spirit of
gaman (Light 2003: 106). Gaman means endurance, toleration and
tenacity and under the guise of character building, the pain principle
or the spirit of gaman gives high praise to mental toughness (Connell
1990: 93). Additionally, the assumption that sport is all about competi-
tion and winning makes sense when the meaning of sport shifs from
pleasure to a task (Messner 1990: 100), especially in the case of boys
with outstanding athletic ability and skills (Sabo 1994a: 175). As Sabo
(1994a: 175) argues, the approach to sport is very similar to the work
morality: the importance of competition and its outcomes.
Te sports placed at the top of the pyramid of the symbolic
masculinity hierarchy ofen involve violence, for example spectator
58 chapter two
contact sports in which athletes bodies are weapons (Messner 1994c:
89; see also Bryson 1990; Burgess, Edward and Skinner 2003; Sabo
1994b for violence in sports).
14
Many former professional male athletes
described their violence in sport as natural (Messner 1994c: 90). Tis
popular discourse on sport associated with violence and its expres-
sion of masculinity is so powerful that some athletic boys and young
men perform toughness and aggression by camoufaging their gentle-
ness (Burgess et al. 2003: 204206). In the Western sporting context,
frequent violence inside and outside games is more or less accepted
as the emblem of masculinity as, for example, in rugby in Australia
and New Zealand and in ice hockey in Canada (Burgess et al. 2003:
202; Light 2003: 110; Wedgwood 2003: 180). By contrast, Light (2003:
110111) suggests that Japanese sportspeople seldom employ violence
such as punch ups. More importantly, force used by the Japanese
rugby players in his study was legitimate and within the rules. Light
(2003: 110) argues that, unlike Western rugby players, Japanese sports-
men saw an uncontrolled explosion of violence as unmanly, a loss of
masculine self-control.
Sport connotes the quintessential features of patriarchal institu-
tionsthose concerned with hierarchywhich legitimises and repro-
duces dominant masculinity by means of subordinating women and
marginalizing men who do not meet the criteria of the dominant mas-
culinity (Bryson 1990: 173; Humberstone 1990: 202; Kidd 1990: 32)
and this section looks at relationships between sport and masculinity
in the Japanese sporting context.
Physical Education (PE)
Athletic ability and skills are very important to adolescent and pre-
adolescent boys, for the formation of their personal and gender iden-
tity cannot evade the positive and negative impacts of involvement in
sports (Humberstone 1990: 202; Messner 1994b: 103; Whitson 1990:
19). Physical Education (PE) plays a signifcant role in reinforcing the
existing popular assumptions about masculinity and femininity (Hum-
berstone 1990: 202; Paechter 2003: 47), and PE is a site in which dom-
14
See also Colman and Colman (2004) for an overview of articles concerning the
sports and leisure activities of young Australian people, published in various Australian
newspapers in March 2004.
gendered experiences in school 59
inant masculinity is exhibited and praised by students and teachers
who intentionally (or unconsciously) want to maintain it, while sub-
ordinate masculinity is derogated (Bramham 2003: 60; Humberstone
1990: 203; Messner 1987: 57; Staurowsky 1990: 163). Students who are
not good at sport, therefore, ofen attract the unwelcome attention of
other students and teachers in PE, and become an object of ridicule.
Te strictures of peers and teachers on the sporting ability of poor
athletes afect their formation of gender identity (Paechter 2003: 49),
potentially leading to low self-esteem and negative self-image (Hum-
berstone 1990: 203; Messner 1987: 57). Moreover, experiences in sport
continue to infuence the sense of self throughout mens lives (Mess-
ner 1987: 65).
In Japan, PE is a compulsory subject at school.
15
Added to this,
school students have a standardised physical-strength-test every year,
and this means that they are exposed to the annual evaluation and
ranking of their athletic ability in addition to their weekly PE lessons.
Furthermore, throughout their schooling, there is an annual athletic
festival and while such an athletic festival is aimed at showing stu-
dents healthy development to their parents, some students unnec-
essarily become self-conscious about their performance. Indeed, PE
afected the identity formation of the participants in my study in both
positive and negative ways. Sasaki-san and Segawa-san remembered:
I was very poor in sport and I hated PE. . . . I believe there is something
wrong with PE. When I had a test of physical strength at school, I
couldnt do a chin-up. And my PE teacher said to me are you a man?
I am a man and I got very angry with him. (Sasaki-san, I)
I hated PE because I was poor in sport. . . . Of course, I admired boys who
ran fast, were good at the horizontal bar or boys who played soccer and
baseball well. I wished I could play sport like them. . . . To be honest, I
feel a little inferior. (Segawa-san, III)
Te participants awareness of their athletic competence or incompe-
tence infuenced their self-image. Sasaki-san and Segawa-san loathed
physical education at school. Sasaki-san received derogatory com-
ments from his PE teacher in front of the other students because of
15
See Fukuzawa and LeTendre (2001: 12) for subjects taught in junior high school.
Even in some universities, PE is compulsory in the frst year. See the web site of the
Japanese Association of University Physical Education and Sports, URL: http://www
.daitairen.or.jp/about/aisatsu.html.
60 chapter two
his inability to do chin-ups, and although Sasaki-san claimed that this
incident did not weaken his identity as a man, he admitted that he
became twisted and he revolted against anyone who evaluated him
according to his physical ability. Segawa-san estimated his athletic
ability to be far below average and he always had an inferiority com-
plex as a man. Yoshino-san told an anecdote concerning a male friend.
His friend could not swim a stroke. Because of that, at university, the
friend had to participate in special PE involving swimming. Yoshino-
sans friend felt it was all right that female students said no, I cant
[swim] in a feeble voice. However, even though he was intimidated
and humiliated, he felt that it was wrong for him as a man to whimper.
Tus the negative gender identity of boys and men who are poor at PE
is worse than that of girls and women who are likewise poor because
the social and cultural expectation for men in relation to sport is
higher and, therefore, they sufer for their inability to play sport more
than women. By contrast, Noda-san was a fast runner. As there was no
sport club for track and feld events in his school, his PE teacher gave
him special training to send him to a prefectural tournament of feld
and track events. Te discovery of Noda-sans athletic talent in PE cer-
tainly brought him high self-esteem. He thought of himself as looking
cool when he was alone in the playground running. He was aware
of others eyes on him and wondered, if girls think Im cool. Tere
is no escaping PE at school for those men who failed in this physical
domain. Frail men have to go through humiliation and embarrass-
ment even afer schooling in Japan, which is probably unusual in the
West. By contrast, sport, which is voluntary, ofers a chance for boys
who are good at it to express successful masculinity.
Extra-curricular activities
You know, it amazes me to see a woman throw like that. I always thought
there was something about the female arm that made it impossible for a
woman to throw like a man. (Cited in Messner 1994a: 29)
When I was in high school I did karate. Girls did it too. I couldnt use
my full strength with girls. I was conscious of their limited strength. I
believe there is a huge gap between men and women in strength. (Naka-
ma-san, III)
gendered experiences in school 61
Many participants in sports clubs, which were designated as extra-cur-
ricular activities at school,
16
remembered both girls and boys in all the
sports clubs apart from baseball, soccer and rugby.
17
Strictly speaking,
mixed sports clubs were, however, sex-segregated. Each sports club
had a girls team and a boys team with their own training. Many par-
ticipants mentioned that sport demonstrated perceptible diferences
between men and women in relation to strength, stamina and tech-
nique. When Tokuda-san had joint judo training with girls, which was
unusual in high schools, he realised how weak girls were and was
convinced that men and women were diferent, men having more
strength than girls. Likewise, Shimizu-san, who joined a windsailing
club at his university, mentioned that the majority of the members
were men because women did not have enough physical strength. In
line with Shimizu-sans logic, Kusuda-san, who joined a boating club,
also said that in reality, as rowing a boat is strenuous, no women want
to do it. Other participants confrmed their beliefs that men were
stronger than women, some linking this with the moral superiority
of men. Refecting on his tennis training in junior high school, which
caused his skin to peel and become ragged, Tachibana-san remem-
bered his sense of superiority over girls. He thought that it is too
hard for them and only men can appreciate the sense of achievement
afer the hard training. Shimizu-san and Kusuda-san also pointed to
womens reluctance to get sunburned implying that women were not
interested in building up their bodies but in making themselves look
nice. Masculinity is, therefore, embodied in the strength and force of
mens bodies and minds. Biological essentialism is used not only to
extol the physical superiority of men but also to exclude women from
sports, or to include them in a subordinate statusa hierarchy that is
also seen in relation to women in Japanese workplaces as discussed in
the chapter on work.
Every now and then there were difcult times. Tere were times I wanted
to escape . . . Te frst year in uni was hard. I sort of wanted to escape or
just wanted to have a break. I felt like crashing into a car and having an
injury for two or three weeks in a hospital. I remember I actually tried to
do it. Its not that I wanted to die, I just wanted to rest. (Toda-san, II)
16
Tese activities are called bukatsud, literally club (bu) activities (katsud). See
Cave (2004) for bukatsud (its history as well as the contemporary situation).
17
Very recently some baseball and soccer clubs have allowed girls to join them.
62 chapter two
Toda-san played baseball from a very young age, spending many hours
in training at school. Being scouted for his talent in the sport he entered
one of Tokyo roku daigaku
18
(Tokyos six universities) to play baseball,
which was his dream. He attended one or two lessons in the morn-
ing and he spent the rest of the day training. His company recruited
him for his baseball talent and he played for the company, which was
exactly what he had planned to do. He worked for two hours in the
morning in his ofce and trained for the non-professional
19
baseball
games in the afernoon.
As the aforementioned quote indicates, Toda-sans glorious status
sometimes brought agony for him, just as the Australian iron man
likened his training to being in jail (Connell 1990: 85) but Toda-san
accepted the painful process as part of the game (Messner 1994c: 95;
Sabo 1994a: 175; 1994b: 100). In retrospect, he concluded that baseball
taught him perseverance. Similarly, Tsutsumi-san, who was also excel-
lent enough to be scouted for his baseball talent, mentioned that he
learned to be tenacious through baseball.
Shimizu-san played baseball throughout his school life, remem-
bering the high school training as the hardest,
20
both on and of the
baseball feld. Te frst year members had to go to the grounds at six
oclock in the morning and during the lunch break to keep them in
good condition and they had to polish the spiked shoes of the senior
members until the school lesson began. Moreover, there was a rule
that they always had to dash from place to place as part of training,
except in the corridors. If a senior member witnessed a junior mem-
ber walking, all the senior members scolded him harshly. In addition,
there were regular sermons during which junior members stood hold-
ing their hands up with their eyes shut for about half an hour. Teir
training lasted until eight or nine oclock every night. Shimizu-sans
experience was not uncommon. Other participants who belonged to a
sport club in high school similarly remembered that considerable time
18
Tey include Tokyo, Kei Gijuku, Housei, Meiji, Rikky and Waseda universities.
Te annual baseball tournaments held by these universities (Spring and Autumn) is
a famous spectacle. Not only the university students but also the general public enjoy
watching the games.
19
In Japan, people who play sport for the corporate organised team are called non
puro (non-professional) players. See Sakonj (2001) for details concerning corporate
sports sponsorship.
20
Cave (2004: 402) also argues that the feeling that bukatsud is hard is shared
by many respondents in his study.
gendered experiences in school 63
and efort were spent on training. Shimizu-sans experiences revealed
how gaman was demanded in organised team sport, as well as disci-
plined training and obedience to senior members.
21
As Tsutsumi-san
said:
I dont know if sport is about masculinity but its about the strict rank
between the senior and the junior members. It still is, afer 25 years or
so from graduation. If my seniors came here right now, my back would
immediately straighten. Its extraordinary. (Tsutsumi-san, II)
Hierarchy in Japanese organised team sport mirrors the seniority
system in Japanese corporations. Tat is, being senior per se has an
importance which means that senior athletes are given power over and
responsibility for junior members, even if the latter are more talented
and skilled. As noted previously, in Shimizu-sans story, behaviour
such as the senior members watchful eyes on the junior members and
the regular sermons, also conveys the rigid hierarchical relationship
between the senior and the junior members. Te current structure of
organised sport subliminally persuades players of the value of hierar-
chy (Messner 1987: 66).
Hirose-san stressed that the ultimate outcome of playing team sport
was solidarity:
Because I was in a baseball team, I can empathise with other people. If
someone makes an error or a mistake and someone else blames him for
the error, I say you shouldnt do that because you make errors too. So
I got a sense of solidarity. If you play sport in a team, you can forgive
your peers errors as something like a collective responsibility. (Hirose-
san, I)
Sport functioned as the inculcator of morality (Kimmel 1990: 60), a
fraternity or, as Hirose-san described it, a kind of collective responsi-
bility which salarymen express in corporations. A collective solidarity
is also important in the Western sporting context (Rowe and McKay
1998: 115). However, in Japan, the shared sense of responsibility for
performance prioritises the ultimate goal of the group over individ-
ual needs. In an environment where achievement as well as failure is
regarded as the group responsibility, it is not surprising that intra-
group surveillance, as indicated in Shimizu-sans storythat is, junior
21
Cave (2004: 403406, 411412) similarly argues that school clubs play a role in
teaching discipline and hierarchical relationships.
64 chapter two
members being under tight surveillance by senior membersprevails
in the Japanese sports club (Light 2003: 112).
22
By contrast, it is worth
noting that Ueno-san, who was the second-best table tennis player
among all the Japanese high school teams, and Yanase-san, who was
a basketball team captain at high school, described sport as shbu no
sekai (the world of victory or defeat), indicating an individualistic
aspect of sport. Te amount of training and exercise increases from
primary to junior high school and it further intensifes in high school.
23

Table tennis was work for Ueno-san and his only purpose was to win.
To win was always Yanase-sans goal because of his responsibility as
a captain and his own desire for victory and this internalised com-
petitive desire also prepared respondents to strive for success in the
workplace. Hence, sport provides players with the preliminary strat-
egy required for corporations, (re)producing male supremacy and the
salaryman reserve.
If I have to choose one [place where I feel masculine], I felt masculine
when I played soccer. When I ran against the opponents and I got fung
away, when I got a kick from my coach, when I got a kick in my face
from him. Well, I thought girls wouldnt get kicked. So, from my experi-
ence, soccer is sort of wild. I felt masculine when smashing against other
players and the degree of contact matters. (Amano-san, II)
Amano-san said that violent aspects in sport made him feel masculine.
However, far from being consistent with his statement, he has been
acting as a soccer coach for a community team in which he does not
encourage or practise violence and he accepted female players in his
team long before other soccer teams began to take female players. As
Light (2003: 111) suggests, playing well and putting in a skilled per-
formance is of paramount importance, and violence is eschewed in
high school rugby. Some of my participants in Cohort Two and, in
particular, Cohort Tree, explicitly opposed violence as an outlet for
emotions and argued that physical prowess should be used to protect
those who have little strength, that is, women.
24
Te spirit of gaman
22
Connell and Wood (2005: 353) also argue in their research that mutual scrutiny
prevails amongst transnational corporate men.
23
See Fukuzawa and LeTendre (2001: 57, 99100) for examples of the busy club
schedules of junior high school students and Light (2003: 108109) for hard training
in high school.
24
Castro-Vzquez and Kishi (2003: 27) similarly argue that high school sporting
boys consider themselves obliged to use their physical power to protect the feminine
gender.
gendered experiences in school 65
means that, in proving ones masculinity, having self-control is more
praiseworthy than exercising violence.
25
I defnitely didnt want to do any cultural club activities. Tey [the stu-
dents who do cultural activities] look as if they have spent their lives
wrapped in cotton wool. I dont like it. And they are pale. I am very
opposed to it. (Shimizu-san, III)
Tennis was seen as a sof sport. Probably, we had an image that tennis
was a sof sport for women, rather than for men . . . Masculine sport was
baseball or soccer and feminine sport was tennis or volleyball. We had
that kind of image. (Kusuda-san, III)
Te marginalisation of substandard men occurs through the gen-
dered symbolic meanings of sport, the above quotations suggesting
that men in cultural clubs or involved in sof sports were regarded
as unmanly nerds, while men in hard sports clubs were considered
to be masculine and tough or cool.
26
Sports such as baseball, soc-
cer and rugbyassociated with speed, force and competitioninvest
players with masculine prestige,
27
whereas sports such as tennis and
kyd (Japanese archery) give a less masculine status to male players.
Shimizu-san, a baseball player, always admired rugby players for their
masculinity, getting muddy but single-mindedly running towards the
touchline.
28
He added that, according to his fantasy, these people had
to be men. Yoshino-san wondered why a male friend joined a kyd
club, refecting on his assumption that kyd is an unmanly sport.
However, the lines between masculine sports and feminine sports
have become blurred with the advent of female athletes and coaches
(Straurowsky 1990) in male-dominated sports. Without any hint of
cynicism, Sugiura-san was excited about the emergence of two female
25
Cave (2004: 412) argues that school clubs, especially sport clubs, are infuenced
by Zen or seishin kyiku (spiritual education)encouragement of discipline and
hardship.
26
See Castro-Vzquez and Kishi (2003: 27) for a distinction between sporting boys
and non-sporting boys (grinders) in relation to masculinity in a Japanese academic
high school. See also Connell (1989) for a distinction among cool guys, swots
and wimps in Australia, Mac an Ghaill (1994) for a distinction among macho
lads, academic achievers, new enterprisers and real Englishmen in the U.K.
and Messner (1994c) for a distinction between tough sports men and elite modern
men in the U.S.
27
In the Australian context, in some schools, for some boys, soccer is considered
to be sof (Burgess et al. 2003: 202).
28
Similarly, gaining a sense of being completely absorbed in sport is one of the
attractions of sport amongst young Australian men (Gilbert and Gilbert 1998: 60).
66 chapter two
pitchers
29
in the Roku daigaku baseball tournament. A famous female
sofball coach from his high school was superintending a baseball club
in a high school at the time of the interview. He stated that women do
play sport and that professional female athletes are great too, arent
they? I dont think sex matters in sport. Tis statement implies his
diferentiation of professional female athletes from ordinary females,
that is, the desexualisation of professional female athletes as in the case
of the workplace (Cockburn 1988: 40; Pringle 1989: 176; and see the
section on the employment system in Chapter Four) In fact, Sugiura-
san was concerned about his small physique as a man:
I joined a gymnastic club in junior high school because I was very short.
I thought I cant beat big guys if I join a baseball team. So I avoided
baseball. I couldnt win in baseball. It didnt matter what I did because I
was too small to do any sport. (Sugiura-san, II)
Gymnastics was not Sugiura-sans frst choice. However, he turned
out to be a good gymnast who won city and prefectural tournaments.
Gaining confdence in his athletic ability, he joined a baseball club in
high school when his body developed a more or less average physique.
As Connell (1983: 20) argues, Sugiura-sans experience of his changing
identity through his changes in emotions and physique indicates not
only that the body plays a crucial role in developing male identity but
also that learning how to enhance ones dormant physicality has an
impact on maturing masculine identity.
In conclusion, sport without doubt cultivated the participants incli-
nation towards competition, endurance, obedience, discipline and the
acceptance of hierarchy. Te spirit of gaman encapsulates these ten-
dencies. Masculinity formed through sport is a collective practice
(Connell 1990: 87). Sport shapes and constructs gender relations
beyond its arena, so that, for example, internalised male supremacy
remains intact at work.
29
One is Kobayashi Chihiro who belongs to Meiji University and pitched in a
spring tournament for the frst time in 2001. Te other one is Takemoto Megumi
of Tokyo University who frst pitched in 2003 (see ULR: http://www.cnet-ta.ne.jp/
jishu/089z-1.htm; Tezuka 2002).
gendered experiences in school 67
Conclusion
In the school and sporting spaces, there was always a hierarchy that
was grounded in age, gender and peer ranking as was the case in the
familial sphere. Te participants entered a hierarchical environment
outside their home from an early age. Despite the principle of egali-
tarianism in the educational system, schooling in Japan, unlike the
current discourse on boys disadvantage in Western society, oper-
ated in the way that was advantageous to male students in order for
them to advance to the level of education required for their future,
whereas girls were regarded as others who were not taken seriously
as competitors in the job market as their presence in society tended
to be temporary. Te participants internalised the idea that menthe
masculine genderwere the powerful rulers in society, and sport rep-
resents a site where male supremacy as well as the salaryman reserve
are produced and reproduced, promoting competition, endurance,
obedience and hierarchy. Schooling, together with its extra-curricular
sporting activities, functioned as preparation for the male-dominated
corporate culture (see Chapter Four).
Nevertheless, there is a source of friction between physical prowess
and intelligence. Cockburn (1983: 1011) calls this the mechanism of
contradiction that brings about a fssure and, in time, a synthesis;
a solution. She has demonstrated a shif from physical labour to an
intellectual (computerised) one in the compositors labour process in
the printing industry; one in which the compositors were forced to
negotiate and compromise with the new idea of skill as an expression
of manliness (Cockburn 1983). Tis shif concerning masculinity may
occur in the wider context of the participants lives; for example from
adolescence to adult working life. As discussed in the previous chap-
ter, salarymen need intellectual power rather than brawn. Te next
chapter explores the personal aspects of the participants lives, ranging
from the development of sexual identity to their conjugal relationships
in their family lives.
CHAPTER THREE
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Te previous chapters have explored the childhood of the participants
in this study. A tenacious theme is that gender and age hierarchy
persisted at home and at school across the three cohorts. Beginning
with their memories of adolescence, this chapter explores the inti-
mate sphere of the participants, including love and marriage, and the
development of their sexual identity. Te current chapter reveals that
marriage is the natural destiny for all the participants in my study,
whereas parenthood is no longer seen as fate in Cohort Tree. Despite
the fact that many participants lacked experience of intimate or even
friendly relations with the opposite sex, this gender chasm was (and
still is) resolved by arrangements for marriage by third parties. How-
ever, such an outcome suggests a recurrence of gender segregation
in the household. In fact, there is a continuity of gender segregation
throughout the participants lives. Te frst section of this chapter looks
at the participants development of sexual identity in conjunction with
adolescence and dating. Te next section explores the patterns, and
social and personal meanings, of marriage.
Development of Sexual Identity
Until the mid-1980s at least, popular discourses on adolescence and
youth studies discussed neither masculinities nor gender diferences
between boys and girls, because popular studies concerning adoles-
cence were based on masculine attributes and the attitudes and behav-
iour of boys were the presumed norm (Hudson 1984: 35; Pecora and
Mazzarella 1999: 1). Regarding Anglophone adolescents sexuality
within heterosexuality, young male sexual identity (as well as young
female sexual identity) is a male-centred construction, young men
being defned as active and knowing actors who act upon women
to satisfy their desire and, therefore, perform embodied masculin-
ity (Holland, Ramazanoglu, Sharpe and Tomson 1998: 108, 113;
70 chapter three
1996: 240; 1994: 127).
1
Tis male power over women is seen in the
participants objectifcation of women. However, unlike their Western
male counterparts, the participants in this study appear to have been
inhibited from developing their sexual identity. Tis section looks at
the participants own accounts and experiences of the development of
their sexual identity.
Physical maturation at puberty is a signifcant factor in adolescence
and it is important to pay attention to cultural and societal interpre-
tations of physical changes because the cultural and social meanings
given to the changes embody gender relations (Torne 1993: 138).
Girls and boys are aware of their own bodily changes, as well as those
of the opposite sex. It is true that those girls who are physically more
mature than others of the same age ofen become targets of gossip by
both girls and boys (Torne 1993: 137, 139).
2
However, irrespective
of the degree of female physical development, boys tend to objectify
girls bodies and assess their appearance (Wood 1984: 58), thereby
securing and reinforcing masculine dominance (Collins 1999: 19). By
contrast, conspicuous bodily development of boysi.e., those with tall
and muscular bodiesattracts admiration because these features give
a high masculine status to the boys (Martino and Pallotta-Chiarolli
2001: 2540; Torne 1993: 139). Given this, boys tend to experience
their vulnerability regarding physical changes on their own, whereas
girls are likely to share their private concerns with other girls (Torne
1993: 141143).
3
For heterosexual young men, sexual responses to the opposite sex
increase markedly during adolescence. In the 1960s, the majority of
American male and female adolescents were already in steady dat-
ing relationships. Functioning as sexual experimentation, dating gave
them a sense of self and a sense of intimacy (McDonald and McKin-
ney 1999: 284). By contrast, the sexual maturation of Japanese youth
1
Holland and others (1994: 127) argue that young women are considered to be
unknowing and acted upon, subordinating their bodies for mens pleasure. Tat is,
the young women were under pressure to construct their sexuality in response to
what we have called the male in the headthe surveillance power of male-dominated
heterosexuality, producing their femininity as disembodied (Holland, Ramazanoglu,
Sharpe and Tomson 1996: 240).
2
Some girls of course have the desire to develop more quickly. Bowles-Reyer (1999:
28) calls the coexistence of this desire and the stigmatised mature body among young
girls the fractured adolescent female sexual identity.
3
See Martino and Pallotta-Chiarolli (2001: 38) for Xanders unusual experience of
discussing puberty with other boys at the age of fourteen.
love and marriage 71
advanced at a slow pace, at least until the mid-1990s (Hatano and
Shimazaki 1997: 794). In 1974 and 1981, the average young Japanese
man usually experienced dating at the age of seventeen and, in 1987
and 1993, at the age of eighteen (Hatano and Shimazaki 1997: 803).
Tose young men who dated frequently accounted for less than ffy
per cent of young men from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1993 in Japan,
by the time male students completed their high school education, a
minority (some twenty per cent) had experienced intercourse and in
1998, the proportion increased to twenty-seven per cent (Hatano and
Shimazaki 1997: 794797; Kashiwagi 2003: 82). Since 1996 in Tokyo,
the proportion of high school girls who experienced intercourse has
been increasing and is greater than that of their male counterparts in
the early twenty-frst century (Asai, Kitamura, Hashimoto and Murase
2003: 51). It is likely that the mid-1990s sudden mushrooming of enjo
ksai
4
made a sharp contrast with schoolboys. Nevertheless, apart from
schoolgirls who sell their sex, in the heterosexual context, ordinary
boys are interested in gaining sexual experiences with women or are
engaged in obtaining and/or exchanging information on sex (White
1993: 172), with friends being important sources of information about
sex (Holland et al. 1998: 68). In Japan, an experience of actual coitus
rarely occurs. Boys, especially those young men from the middle class
who are pursuing a university education and busy preparing for the
entrance examinations, refrain from sexual escapades (White 1993:
184).
Pubescence: the body and fantasy
Te majority of the participants did not pay much attention to changes
in their own bodies. Even if they were aware of them, they expressed
no concern about the changes, claiming that they were going through
the same process as everyone else. For example, catching a glimpse
of friends pubic hair when he took a bath with other boys for the
frst time on a school trip, Ashida-san (Cohort Two) thought that oh,
4
Enjo ksai refers to dating with junior high and high school girls, frequently
involving sex, which is purchased by adults through an organised medium including
telephone and the Internet. See McCoy (2004) for enjo ksai and Miyadai (1996) for
its development from the mid-1980s before the term was coined. It was not until
1999 that the Japanese government passed the Child Prostitution and Pornography
Prohibition Law. Prior to that, enjo ksai was not considered to be prostitution by
many Japanese people because of its voluntary nature (Chan-Tiberghien 2004: 66).
72 chapter three
everyone is diferent and his concern about his body disappeared.
However, there was one participant from each cohort who expressed
anxieties about his physical growth during adolescence. Teir concern
was due to their progress in growth being either slower or faster than
that of other boys and their worries ofen came to a head during school
activities such as school trips:
In a place like a school camp, we took a bath with other boys. I didnt
have pubic hair, only me! I hated that. Terefore, I took a bath earlier
than the other boys. (Katagiri-san, I)
Katagiri-san was a small boy of slight build and was worried by his
lack of body hair and high-pitched voice. In the frst year of junior
high school when the voices of boys around him were breaking, Kata-
giri-san was very anxious.
5
By contrast, Shimizu-sans physical change
began earlier than other boys. Initially he was proud and boasted of
his bodily hair to his parents. However, he suddenly felt embarrassed
when he took a bath with his friends on a school trip, too sensitive
and self-conscious to be proud of being diferent from others. Tese
reminiscences indicate that the cult of physicality (Connell 1983:
20)the socially constructed idea of the young boys/mans appropri-
ate bodyafects their self-perception.
Te participants in Cohort One spoke little about awakening to
their sexuality, either because they had limited access to pornographic
materials and did not discuss sexual matters with their peers or were
reluctant to discuss such matters with a younger female researcher
or they may not have remembered their experiences of anxiety from
several decades earlier. Te objectifcation of women was very evident
among the participants in Cohorts Two and Tree who had conversa-
tions about their sexual interest in women with their close friends:
Probably from the frst or second year in junior high school, defnitely,
about diferences between mens and womens bodies. Tat kind of
topic always comes up in talk with friends. For example, about girls, we
say her breasts are getting bigger or not or her body is getting round.
(Kusuda-san, III)
5
Connell (1983: 19) points out the similar anxiety of an Australian teenage boy.
Dasgupta (2005a: 148) also talks of his respondents anxiety about his high pitched
voice.
love and marriage 73
When I was in junior high school, well, in the second year, ah, what hap-
pened ofen was, someone had indecent videotapes or magazines and we
went lets watch them, lets watch them. (Segawa-san, III)
Ueno-san and Yoshino-san of Cohort Two also mentioned that por-
nographic magazines satisfed their sexual fantasies. As the above quo-
tation indicates, Segawa-san and his friends congregated in someones
house and studied pornographic magazines or videotapes. He also
pointed out that because indecent materials were available through the
Internet, todays youth might congregate for the exchange of sexual
information much less than did Cohort One. Regarding the availabil-
ity, Noda-san in Cohort Tree was overwhelmed by the fact that he
was ignorant of sexual matters at his sudden exposure to pornographic
materials and sexual knowledge when he moved from a small island to
the main island of Kyushu to attend high school. Unlike young Aus-
tralian and U.K. males whose pornographic fantasies revolved around
female domination (Bulbeck 2005: 76; Holland et al. 1998: 108, 113),
my respondents expressed a hesitant longing for a womans body in
their fantasy world. Comments such as I thought women (female
bodies) were great (Ueno-san, Cohort Two) and I thought if I were
a woman, I wouldnt have to buy these magazines (Yoshino-san,
Cohort Two) implied their curiosity about the female body, suggest-
ing that they had not yet experienced much actual physical intimacy
with girls.
Watching pornographic videos together represents mens collective
activities in the homo-social world of heterosexual men. As described
at the beginning of Chapter One, Segawa-san in the youngest cohort
was the only respondent to mention a homosexual incident:
I was in junior high school. I had this friend. Well, I used to be bullied
quite ofen at that time and this boy took me to the toilet and touched
me, frankly . . . it was like I was at his mercy. Tis is my bitter memory.
He said this was practice, you know, for that act. I must have thought
oh, O.K. we need to practise. It happened in the frst year in junior
high school. Its horrible. (Segawa-san, III)
Although Segawa-san described the experience as a bitter and horrible
one, he stated that he has never understood why he did not resist his
friend but acceded to the powerless position. He was at the mercy of
his friend. He wondered if his feeling of inferiority as an efeminate
boy resigned him to his destiny. At the time of the interview, Segawa-
san was a heterosexual and married man, declaring that he has never
74 chapter three
been attracted to a man since the incident. However, he has been
intrigued by the homosexual attachment of gay men. He also stated
that he did not disavow the homosexual relationships of other people,
an attitude very diferent from that of the other participants who all
expressed sheer antipathy towards homosexuality.
6
Segawa-sans hon-
est confession of his homosexual encounter indicates the complex
nature of sexuality, both in practice and thought.
Dating
Dating was taboo in Cohort One. Tere was almost no dating until
boys fnished high school. In Cohort Two, it was still considered to
be a deviant activity. By the time of Cohort Tree, the social stigma
attached to dating had disappeared. In stark contrast to their Western
counterparts who regarded dating as a way of sexual experimentation,
dating was, however, a friendly activity even amongst the youngest
cohort in this study. More importantly, there was a tendency for par-
ticipants to deny that they were women chasers. Te present section
begins with accounts of some participants bittersweet frst love prior
to dating.
Many participants across the three cohorts remembered their emo-
tional attachment towards a particular female classmate as the most
special memory in their early school lives, although they emphasised
that nothing happened from the viewpoint of romance. Participants
of all the cohorts became conscious of the opposite sex from year fve
or six in primary school. By the time they became junior high school
students, their interest in girls was very strong. Te attitudes of the
participants towards their heroines were, however, reserved and not
expressed, and their frst love was, in most cases, unrequited love.
Only a few participants revealed their stories of their childhood sweet-
6
Teir antipathy is diferent from the Western notion of homophobia. For
example, some participants who met Western homosexual men (who were also
their business partners) during their overseas business trips accepted them without
objection. However, it is unimaginable for these participants that Japanese men can be
homosexual. Other participants, particularly in older generations, fnd homosexuality
simply unthinkable and they ofen expressed that homosexuality is kimochiwarui
(eerie or creepy). Te author speculates that it is likely that their image of homosexual
men comes from efeminate homosexual men in the entertainment world and that this
is the source of their antipathy.
love and marriage 75
hearts. In retrospect, Hirose-san in Cohort One felt nostalgia for his
heroine:
I was in charge of school radio broadcasting. We were all boys and I
decided to recruit girls. We selected one girl from each class. Tere was
this lovely girl. I still remember her name. She had nothing to do with
the broadcasting. I almost forced her to join us. . . . You know, it was all I
could do to call her. It was sort of an adventure. She would be just there
but we didnt talk about anything complicated. I was just looking on her
with favour. Terefore, it was rather devious of me. I just wanted to have
her around and watch her without saying anything. (Hirose-san, I)
Hirose-sans story conveys his apparent awkwardness with the girl
but, simultaneously, his arroganceabuse of his power and the male
gazeis evident. Unlike Hirose-san, the following participants put
their feelings into words. Ono-san in Cohort Two and Noda-san
in Cohort Tree liked a new female student who moved to another
school. Missing her, Ono-san wrote a letter to her. Likewise, Noda-
san, realising that he liked a new student, started to write her letters;
however, the correspondence lapsed afer two years. Shimizu-san in
Cohort Tree wrote a letter to a girl who used to be a classmate but
went to a diferent high school from his when he was having a hard
time. He analysed his conduct as being due to lack of comfort and this
was never realised. Te above letters did not represent explicit love
letters. However, in contrast to Hirose-san, these participants showed
their tenderness, which contradicted the stereotypical idea that men
were not emotionally expressive.
7
In Cohort One, dating was rare in both junior high and high school.
Te majority of participants stated that I was interested in girls but
just couldnt do it (Shiga-san), that there wasnt an atmosphere [that
allowed dating] (Nishida-san) and that I didnt have the nerve and
dating was totally uncommon (Sasaki-san). For the three men who
remembered having a date, dating meant going to school together or
going home together with a girl. According to Katagiri-san, even dur-
ing university, only advanced men had a girlfriend.
8
In Cohort Two, one participant had a date when he was in junior
high school and seven participants had a date during high school. For
7
According to Teo (2005: 358), Australian men in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries also expressed love and tenderness in their love letters, contradicting the
representation of Australian masculinities in the bush legend and the Anzac myth.
8
See also Vogel (1978: 21).
76 chapter three
Tachibana-san, dating meant strolling in the park together and drink-
ing juice while taking a rest. Minami-san corroborated the belief that
people frowned upon young couples in a cofee shop. Terefore, walk-
ing together in public was the most adventurous thing that people
in this generation could do. For Amano-san and Ono-san, and prob-
ably some other participants as well, sport clubs kept them so busy
that dating did not occur frequentlyonly once every few months.
Interestingly, Tachibana-san, who was popular with girls when he was
in junior high school, refused to accept love letters from them. He
explained that this was because I was a sporting man. His masculin-
ity, which was constructed by his devotion to sport, entailed asceticism,
self-discipline and self-control, which were of paramount importance
to him. In fact, in Japan, a longstanding binary opposition classifes
men as either kha (the hard school)
9
or nanpa (the sof school). Te
kha is characterised by stoicism in which men of kha prove their
masculinity by their suppression of reason and personal feelings,
physical prowess in fghts, aggressive personalities, an infnite capac-
ity for hardship and pain and practice of misogyny, whereas men of
nanpa hate fghts and enjoy keeping women company (Buruma 1984a;
1984b: 139, 143, 147).
10
Tachibana-san implied that he was kha.
Toda-sans comments supported Tachibana-san:
Boys who looked like [popular] musicians or wanted to be them were
hanging about with girls. Tey looked happy. I thought oh well we are
afer all men of the sport clubs. (Toda-san, II)
Tese boys in the above quotation were nanpa or karui (sexu-
ally unrestrained) (Castro-Vzquez and Kishi 2003: 29). Tachibana-
san and Toda-san diferentiated themselves from these womanisers.
According to the four categorisations by Castro-Vzquez and Kishi
(2003: 24),
11
these participants may represent the sporting boys and
the boys mimicking musicians may stand for the lifestylers. How-
9
See also Pfugfelder (1999: 215225) for the kha and nanpa type in the Meiji
period.
10
Miyamoto Musashi, a master swordsman of the early Edo period, represents the
kha school (Buruma 1984a; 1984b: 136140). His story (of the early Edo period)
appeared in the Asahi newspaper in 1935 and the novel written by Yoshikawa Eiji has
been capturing male readers hearts in Japan ever since (It 1993: 15).
11
Sporting boys construct their masculinity through physical prowess in sport.
Lifestylers pursue their personal purposes in life, while critical of the educational
system. Gariben (grinders) form their masculinity through hard work, social class
and sexual continence. Confdent heterosexuals form their masculine selves through
love and marriage 77
ever, as the above researchers are aware, my participants cannot be
divided precisely into the four groups. Some participants belong to
more than one group, e.g. an outstanding athlete with an excellent aca-
demic recorda sporting boy cum grinder. Interestingly, sporting
participants who overlap with the gariben group tend to emphasise
their athletic ability without ceasing completely to indicate their sagac-
ity. It was more important for participants of the sporting boy-cum-
grinder type to stress their excellent athletic performance than to give
the impression of a grinder largely because they wanted to represent
themselves as members of the kha and partly because they wanted to
avoid the image of the derogatory term gariben which implied an
unsociable academic-orientated person. Nevertheless, the majority of
the above participants emphasised their unconcern for dating and its
infrequency. In other words, they did not like to be represented as a
member of the nanpa or karui group.
In Cohort Tree, in contrast to the older generations, participants
neither indicated social restrictions on dating nor exhibited bash-
ful responses to the question about dating. Nevertheless, dating still
generally meant going home together afer school. Tere were four
participants who never went on a date until they entered university.
Tese men met their girlfriends through gkon (a joint drinking party
organised by students from diferent universities) or through univer-
sity club activities. Te publication of (young) mens fashion magazines
coincided with the social acceptance of dating in Cohort Tree. For
example, magazines to which some participants referred, Popeye and
Mens Non-No, were launched in 1976 and 1987 respectively (Tanaka
2003: 225226). While these magazines deal with fashion, beauty and
techniques that make girlfriends happy, shaping the male reader into
desirable men for women (Tanaka 2003: 230233),
12
none of the par-
ticipants was serious about adorning himself with fashionable clothes
or about instruction in dating. If they were descended from the school
of kha, the participants certainly did not curry favour with women.
Even if some participants were interested in fashion, perhaps they did
not tell me so as to pose as kha.
their confdence and assertiveness in heterosexual relations (Castro-Vzquez and
Kishi 2003: 24).
12
See also Miller (2003) for young Japanese men who consider themselves fashion
targets and sexual objects (of the female gaze).
78 chapter three
In conclusion, while the connotation of dating as a societal taboo had
faded away by the time of Cohort Tree, there was very little change in
the attitudes of the participants towards dating during schooling over
the half-century covered by my research. Some sporting participants
chose asceticism and self-control according to the importance of disci-
pline in sport. Given that participants were slow to make friends with
girls, let alone to have girlfriends, how did they manage to marry with-
out difculty? Te following section explores the participants patterns
of marriage, their reasons for marriage and its necessary outcome for
them.
Marriage
In recent generations, marriage and parenthood were the presumed
destiny of every Japanese person (Lunsing 2001). However, socio-eco-
nomic and demographic changes and a changing pattern of marriage,
together with issues of delayed marriage, non-marriage, a declining
birth rate and divorce have all attracted a number of researchers (e.g.
Dales 2005; Fuess 2004; Jolivet 1997; Lunsing 2001; Roberts 2002,
Yamada 2007; 2005). However, except for the young single ones, the
majority of participants in this research seemed to be comfortably
ensconced as daikokubashira
13
in their conventional and patriarchal
family milieus. Tis section looks at their matrimonial partnerships
with their wives.
Patterns: renai, miai and shanai/shokuba kekkon
Marriage in Japan is classifed into two categories. Two types of court-
ship in selecting a spouse, namely miai (an arranged meeting/date) and
renai (love) (Lunsing 2001: 90) result in miai kekkon (the arranged
marriage) and renai kekkon (the love marriage). Strictly speaking,
there is a third pattern: shanai/shokuba kekkon (the intra-company
marriage),
14
which is usually included in the love marriage category
(Jolivet 1997: 47; Rohlen 1974: 236). It is nothing unusual for people
13
Daikokubashira is an architectural term and means a central pillar, which has
become a metaphor for a person (in many cases, a man) who is the centre of the fam-
ily and supports the family.
14
Shanai means inside the company and shokuba refers to the workplace.
love and marriage 79
to fnd a partner in their workplace; however, the existence of the term
shanai/shokuba kekkon suggests its widespread practice in Japan.
In arranged marriages, the parents start inquiring amongst their rel-
atives and friends if they know of a suitable candidate for their sons
or daughters future spouse. When a potential spouse is nominated,
it is ofen the case that the people concerned exchange photographs
and copies of their personal history (Edwards 1989: 5859; Hendry
1981: 122). As soon as both families consent to hold miai (literally,
to look at each other) afer examining each others backgrounds,
nakdo (a go-between)
15
is selected. Afer the frst meeting organised
by a go-between, the go-between sounds out the view of each side and
decides whether they should proceed to the next meeting (Edwards
1989: 6263). More importantly, with the aid of the go-between, each
family inspects not only the education, occupation, health and social
status of the future in-law but also her/his family lineage and the fam-
ily members personal history before a prospective couple reaches the
fnal agreement to marry (Applbaum 1995: 3738; Vogel 1961: 116).
Te workplace has always been the most common place for people
to meet partners (Kashiwagi 2003: 87), especially for those who believe
in love but do not have many occasions to meet people of the opposite
sex outside the workplace (McLendon 1983: 159; Rohlen 1974: 236).
Only recently has an introduction from friends and siblings overtaken
the workplace as a method of meeting partners (National Institute of
Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) 2005). In the company-
cum-love marriage, couples tend to conceal their relationship until
they decide to marry, the reason for disguising the relationship being
that companies believe that a man in love cannot give the highest
priority to his work (Rohlen 1974: 237238). Yet despite the percep-
tion of the incompatibility between love and work, there are cases in
which superiors or senior colleagues introduce a prospective candi-
date to their female or male workerthus creating the company-cum-
arranged marriage (Rohlen 1974: 240). In either case, a couple usu-
ally chooses their go-between
16
from among the grooms superiors,
15
Tere are still occasions in which a go-between initiates the fnding of a prospective
wife or husband for a son or daughter of a family. Te go-between usually has a higher
social status than the couple with marriage prospects (Applbaum 1995: 37). He also
has a close relationship with both families who are in search of a daughter/son-in-law
(Edwards 1989: 58). See Vogel (1961) for the roles of the go-between.
16
Te go-between is indispensable for the Japanese traditional wedding ceremony.
He counsels the couple if they should have difculties in their marriage afer the
80 chapter three
implying a convenient reciprocal relationship at work, the groom
expecting the assistance of the superior and the superior expecting
the loyalty of the groom to him at work (Rohlen 1974: 241; Vogel
1961: 119).
Te love marriage is based on so-called Western romantic love,
which is founded on the emotional and physical feelings of attraction
between a man and a woman. While the arranged marriage involves
signifcant control by the parents of the couple,
17
the love marriage
symbolises the freedom of two individuals in their decision-making
(Applbaum 1995: 3738; Edwards 1989: 67). However, Ueno (1994:
89) points out that, despite the wide appeal of the love marriage from
the 1970s, class endogamy characterised love marriages in the 1970s
and 1980s. Whether through a love marriage or an arranged marriage,
couples tend to come from the same socio-economic and educational
background, indicating a close afnity between the traditional wis-
dom and the modern strategy in selecting a spouse. Additionally, the
company marriage facilitates the phenomenon of class endogamy
because it presupposes the similar social and economic background of
the couple. As a result of the Japanese competitive meritocracy, even
the love marriage in younger generations, which ofen grows out of
university life, has the same efect as class endogamy because uni-
versities, particularly elite ones, generally accommodate students from
a similar family background (Kashiwagi 2003: 88).
Te Western concept of love was hardly observable in the exist-
ing literature on Japanese women and housewives (e.g. Atsumi 1997;
Hendry 1993; Imamura 1987; Leblanc 1999; Lebra 1984; Sait 1982;
Vogel 1971; Vogel 1978; White 1992; 1987). In addition, this body of
research rarely discusses the emotional relations between wives and
their husbands, with the exception of Sait (1982) and Lebra (1987).
18

Sait (1982) reveals the sorrows of salarymens wives because of their
ceremony. Because the go-between usually has a high social status, this, however,
functions as a constraint on the couple that they should not mortify or embarrass
him by discord between them (Rohlen 1974: 241). See also Edwards (1989: 7475) and
Vogel (1961: 118119) for the ceremonial role of the go-between.
17
Hendry (1981: 117) argues that the reason why Japanese parents do not agree
with the love marriage is that they do not have the concept of love as seen in the
Western and Christian ideals and consider that the love marriage is mainly based on
sexual attraction.
18
See also Rosenberger (2001) in which she discusses changing housewives from
the 1970s to the 1980s and the 1990s including the subject of their relationships with
their husbands.
love and marriage 81
husbands absence from home. Te discourse on the absence of the
husband from home has a long history in Japan, indicating various
marital and familial problems. Indeed, kateinai rikon (an unofcial
divorce in which a couple keep living together with no emotional or
sexual attachment) has been increasing insidiously (Amanuma 1997:
260; Hayashi 1986; Yamada 2005: 200). Likewise, Lebra (1987: 122)
suggests that sexual and emotional closeness between a married couple
is of little importance in marriage in Japan. While most of her inter-
viewees avoid explicitly discussing sexual matters and relating the con-
cept of love to their feelings for their husbands, many of them imply
that they directed their love completely to their children from the time
of their birth. Lebra (1987: 123124) argues that marriage in Japan,
whether of the arranged or love type, is represented by suppressed
intimacy and estrangement.
In Cohort One, for those who married in the early and mid-high
economic growth period (19551973), the arranged marriage and the
company marriage were the dominant forms, accounting for 85 per
cent (see Table Six in Appendix Tree). Amongst participants of the
company-cum-arranged marriages, comments like it is sort of on the
side of love marriage (Hirose-san), I think it is close to love mar-
riage (Ishida-san) and half love marriage and half company mar-
riage (Honda-san) suggest that they preferred the image of the love
marriage. As previously mentioned, Yoshida-san kept his work-based
relationship concealed. He explained that he did not want to make any
trouble, implying that he was concerned about the watchful eyes of his
colleagues. Plunging into the period of high economic growth, work
occupied the participants lives and thus the workplace provided the
only opportunity for many of them to socialise with women.
Tere were only two cases of love marriage in this cohort. One of
them, Shiga-san, told me of his strenuous eforts to win the heart and
mind of his wife. According to him, in the early 1950s, which was
around the time when the U.S. occupation ended, there was an atmo-
sphere of liberalism in which people talked freely about love.
19
He
openly talked with his friends and colleagues about his love. He asked
a friend to write a love-letter for him, which was torn into pieces by
19
In 1959, as a sensational event, Crown Prince Akihito fell in love and married
Shda Michiko who was a commoner. Tis was in a sharp contrast to the Emperor who
had married a woman from a noble family by arrangement (Bardsley 2004: 353).
82 chapter three
the woman but he put them together and sent the letter to her once
again. He asked his female colleague for advice as to where he should
take his girlfriend on a date when he fnally gained her hand. While it
was a love marriage for Shiga-san, it was questionable whether or not
it was based on mutual love. His wifes decision to go out with Shiga-
san was almost equivalent to marrying him without knowing him very
well, because the mores of the 1950s and 1960s meant that agreeing to
courting was agreeing to the marriage (Yamada 1994: 7).
In Cohort Two, there was only one arranged marriage amongst ff-
teen participants. Matsuzaki-san, who went to an all boys corporate
school and had no female colleagues in his workplace, explained: I just
couldnt be bothered with fnding a wife. In some companies, indeed,
female workers were only be found in the personnel and accounting
departments. Accordingly, his parents found a suitable woman for him.
One participant never married and all the others described their mar-
riage as a love marriage (86 per cent). However, half of these appear
to be company marriages, although participants did not distinguish
the company marriage from the love marriage. According to Fukuda-
san and Toda-san, who worked in the personnel section, in the 1970s
it was typical for people to meet their future spouses in the work-
place. Moreover, the company marriage gave a sense of security about
the future spouse because large companies checked their employees
backgrounds.
20
Among eleven participants in Cohort Tree, seven were married
and four were single, the married men meeting their spouses during
schooling or higher education, except for Hirose-san, who met his
spouse at work. However, he did not regard his marriage as a com-
pany marriage because his wife was a temporary worker. Tus all the
seven married participants indicated that theirs was a love marriage.
All the single participants confdently stated that they had a girlfriend
and that the arranged marriage was not an option for them in the
future, although the company marriage may become an option as a
young respondent in a study married through the in-company mar-
riage because of his lack of free time to meet a prospective partner,
20
According to Fukuda-san and Toda-san, large companies looked into employees
backgrounds in order to avoid recruiting people from minority groups such as
burakumin.
love and marriage 83
despite the fact that he never expected to use the in-company marriage
system (Dasgupta 2005b: 176).
Te changing pattern of marriage across the three cohorts corre-
sponded with the society-wide shif in the preference for the love mar-
riage over the arranged marriage. Tat is, the concept of romantic love
became dominant. Te fact that no single participants in this study
indicated their intention of staying unmarried is evidence of the great
importance of marriage in the participants lives. But an important
question remains: why do Japanese men marry? And why were their
parents enthusiastic about their sons marriages? In the next section,
the meaning of marriageor rather the intentions behind marriageis
examined.
Meaning of marriage
For men in Japan, the total meaning of marriage is, perhaps, con-
densed in the word atarimae or jshiki (natural or common
sense) (Lunsing 2001: 81, 91). Marriage is something that everyone
does when he/she reaches marriageable age (tekireiki).
21
However,
motives and intentions underlying marriage as natural are varied.
Firstly, before the Second World War, marriage meant the continua-
tion of the ie. Even afer the war, marriage meant an alliance between
two ie
22
(Hamabata 1990: 161162; Hendry 2003: 30; 1981: 148149;
Kondo 1990: 140141; McLelland 2000: 121). Secondly, marriage is
an expedient that promotes mens occupational prospects, giving
them social credence and presumed reliability (Coleman 1983: 187;
Tsuya 2000: 326), whereas a single man is considered incapable of
the responsibility of married life, and so is regarded as incompetent
for work (Edwards 1989: 124). According to a study (Coleman 1983:
188), employers encouragement to marry before the age of thirty was
greater than that by ones family and relatives. Men marry because it
21
Women who were over twenty-fve used to be called kurisumasu kki or
Christmas cakes, which implied that they were no good for marriage; however,
Christmas cakes have been replaced by toshikoshi soba (noodles to see out the year
on the thirty frst of December) for men, which suggests that men who are over thirty-
one should be worried about getting married (Hendry 2003: 151 and Jolivet 1997:
148).
22
Te Chinese character ie is read ke when a surname comes before it. Tere
is still a display at receptions which indicates that this is the banquet held for the
marriage between A ke (family) and B ke (family).
84 chapter three
facilitates their everyday lives (Atsumi 1997: 282283; Coleman 1983:
188) for, as a consequence of the clear division of labour, wives com-
mitment to housework is nothing but an allure for men to marry,
allowing them to commit themselves to their work. Tirdly, mar-
riage is one of the requirements for becoming a fully-fedged adult
or ichininmae (Dasgupta 2005b: 172; Edwards 1989: 124; Kashiwagi
2003: 6466; Lunsing 2001: 74). Edwards (1989: 8) frames marriage
in Japan as a rite of passage that signifes the transformation of the
social status of an individual. While a man achieves the status of a fully
fedged adult at marriage, a woman is only accepted as ichininmae
and gains the status of a fully fedged woman when she gives birth
(Coleman 1983: 190; Kashiwagi 2003: 304). Marriage for women is
understood to mean becoming a mother because marriage is a syn-
onym for childbearing (Atsumi 1997: 274; Coleman 1983: 197; Jolivet
1997: 40) and the majority of married women give birth to their frst
child within two years of their marriages. For example, in the 1970s, 40
per cent of married women had the frst baby in the frst year of their
marriage and another 40 per cent did so in the second year (Coleman
1983: 199). In the 1990s, 71.3 per cent of married women gave birth to
the frst baby within two years (Jolivet 1997: 40). An underlying reason
stems from the biological and functionalistic notion of gender as a
complementarity of incompetence (Edwards 1989: 123; Smith 1987:
3). In other words, an incomplete male and female marry in order to
achieve the oneness of a unifcation of two individuals who have dif-
ferent social roles (Edwards 1989: 123; Lunsing 2001: 75). Addition-
ally, spiritualism interprets marriage as a bond between two spirits
(McLelland 2000: 243). Te idea of a self-sufcient single individual
does not have legitimacy in Japan (Lunsing 2001: 85).
Under these circumstances marriage represents a utilitarian union
of two people and the satisfaction of social expectations. Hence,
although the law does not forbid homosexual relationships, it ignores
the existence of same-sex partnerships (Maree 2004: 543). Addition-
ally, because of the stigma attached to single people, some homosex-
ual men wish to marry a woman in order to fulfl social expectations
(Lunsing 2001: 88).
23
It is not surprising that marriage for some people
23
According to Lunsing (2001: 1, 122124), most gay respondents in his research,
conducted in 1988, wanted to marry in a heterosexual way and 30 per cent of young
gay men in a survey conducted in 1992 also wished for the heterosexual marriage.
However, the number of marriages between a homosexual man and a heterosexual
love and marriage 85
involves arrangements by a third party and, therefore, a newly-married
life begins without emotional attachment between two people. Such
a marriage is considered to be the ideal one in which each partner
develops intimacy and tenderness throughout the course of their mar-
riage by mutually fulflling their duties (Hamabata 1990: 161; Kondo
1990: 140141). To be sure, expediency also occurs in love marriages
because, as mentioned earlier, they involve calculations (Lunsing
2001: 91).
Te rationale behind marriage
While the participants in my study ofered diverse reasons for marriage
(see Table Seven in Appendix Tree), expediency and convenience in
marriage (e.g. gaining trust and facilitating household chores) as real
reasons were ubiquitous in their narratives across the three cohorts.
Te cultural and social incentives were dominant amongst partici-
pants in Cohorts One while, in Cohort Two and Cohort Tree, per-
sonal inducements rather than social ones encouraged participants
to marry. More importantly, marriage meant the path to becoming
a daikokubashira or breadwinner. As will be seen from their com-
ments, this unchanging outcome of marriage across the three cohorts
invested married participants with masculine self-confdence.
Te previously mentioned idea of gender as the complementarity
of incompetence was conveyed by respondents in Cohort One, who
noted that men and women had diferent roles in society and that
marriage was the way to maximise the two contrasting functions:
You know, we should admit mens duty and womens duty. Men and
women complement each other and then we become ichininmae (a fully
fedged adult). Tey call a spouse bet hfu (a better-half ). We ought
to be bet hfu, dont you think so? One is good because one is a unity
of two halves. . . . [Two] Bet hfu, rather kappuru (a couple), is better
because they bring their abilities into full play. Bet hfu and bet hfu
become a single whole. (Kasuga-san, I)
Men have their own feld and women have their own feld. Human soci-
ety is the union of the two. Its no good if society lacks either of them.
Nothing can be done by men alone. Tats the same with women. I feel
woman is declining because of expanding networks and support groups for gay
people.
86 chapter three
that when a man and a woman cooperate, the whole human being is
formed. Neither of the two can be lef out. (Shiga-san, I)
Kasuga-sans ideal form of husband and wife was the union of two
better-halves, while Shiga-san meant a couple as the unity of two
complete individuals. Tese indicate their championship of gendered
division of labour, which was prevalent in Cohort One. Marriage was
a must because it was the only means that channelled two comple-
mentary functions into full integration.
Marriage represented more than a personal matter. Katagiri-sans
parents urged him to marry when he was twenty-fve years old. Teir
demands were briefy interrupted when Katagiri-san was sent over-
seas by his company. As soon as he returned his parents organised a
miai, an arranged meeting. Katagiri-san remembered that his parents
presented him with a pile of photographs of miai candidates. Uchida-
san was almost forced to marry a woman whom his parents chose for
him. Uchida-san had been told by his parents that he must marry by
the time he was thirty years old. He agreed to marry the woman his
parents found for him only because he had promised to do so. Tese
stories indicated that parental apprehension about their sons marriage
was stronger than the will of the participants.
As a family matter, marriage also involved the issue of the continu-
ation of the ie.
Because I am the frst-born son and I had mother [to look afer], I used
to think that I have to have a woman as wife and have a child who can
succeed me. (Sonoda-san, I)
Unfortunately, Sonoda-sans wife died of a disease; however, he mar-
ried again two years afer her death, partly because he needed someone
to look afer the household and reduce his mothers burden and partly
because he still wanted a son since his only child from the frst mar-
riage was a daughter. Similarly, for Yoshida-san caring for his ageing
parents was of great concern. He frankly said so to his girlfriend before
marriage because of the uncertainty as to who would take on this
responsibility amongst his brothers. For these participants, marriage
was a means of fulflling the obligations of flial piety. Nishida-sans
comment that marriage was seken ippan no koto (a common thing to
do) expressed the idea that it was natural. Furthermore, respondents
commented on how marriage improved their social credence and rep-
utation for reliability as Shiga-san noted of his work at a bank:
love and marriage 87
You have to marry to do a responsible task and gain trust, I mean, social
trust. Because I dealt with money, I had to gain credit with customers.
Tis [trust which ensued from marriage] entirely afected my achieve-
ment at work. (Shiga-san, I)
Furthermore, the equating of marriage with childbirth was clearly seen
in this generation.
Of course I thought that we had to have a healthy child. It was not what
I necessarily wanted. It is inevitable [to have a child], isnt it? Once you
marry, it is natural to have a child unless you or your spouse has a seri-
ous health problem. (Kasuga-san, I)
Likewise, Ishihara-san also thought that its only natural that I would
have a child afer marriage. In commonsense understandings, mar-
riage accomplished its purpose with childbirth. Terefore, there was
no concept of choice in having or not having a child. Childbirth was
an inevitable outcome of marriage in Cohort One.
Te above rationales for marriage were still powerful in Cohort
Two. For example, the importance of ie was operating as an incen-
tive. It was only a logical consequence for Tachibana-san, who was the
frst-born son in a prominent family of samurai descent, to marry and
succeed to the family. Likewise, Fukuda-san, who lef match-making
to a third party, and Toda-san understood marriage as a bond between
two families (ie). Te existence of social pressure was also apparent.
Toda-san also believed that a man must marry when he reached mar-
riageable age. Hino-san who married relatively late compared with
other participants accounted for the pressure of the times:
I was doing very well at work, well, because I was already thirty. But for
some reason I thought Ive got to have a family. People generally, I know
this is wrong but I felt, had a prejudice against single people. I think they
shouldnt. Marriage has nothing to do with the company you work for
because it is you who do the job. But well I still felt a strong sense of
duty to marry. (Hino-san, II)
Hino-san obviously decided to marry in order to fulfl social expecta-
tions and avoid the negative connotations of the single status, despite
his success at work. Hino-sans strong sense of duty to marry came
from the notion of ichininmae or a fully-fedged adult. A successful
working life was not good enough to make him a complete man in
accordance with social appraisal. Likewise, Amano-san clearly stated
that he believed that marriage would make him socially ichininmae.
88 chapter three
In this sense, marriage was, indeed, a rite of passage. Te idea of
marriage as the means of facilitating everyday life was detected from
statements made by some of the participants, for instance, I can have
meals without trouble (Tsutsumi-san) and there is always something
to eat [at home] (Kuraoka-san). While these participants claimed that
they married for love, it was, however, apparent that they were also
lured into marriage by the traditional division of labour according to
which these men committed themselves to their work and their wives
took care of the entire household. Te fact that all the married par-
ticipants in Cohort Two had children suggested that marriage was still
understood as establishing a family that consisted of parents and their
children. Nevertheless, their apparent division of labour based on the
traditional allocations of tasks implied the prevalence of the function-
alist idea of gender amongst participants in this generation.
In Cohort Tree, married participants did not specifcally indicate
that marriage was a must or the fulflment of an unavoidable social
expectation. Instead, many of them emphasised the fact that they sim-
ply wanted to live together with their wives, stressing their emotional
attachment as a powerful incentive to marry. According to them, mar-
riage was a site where two individuals enhanced each other, which was
a diferent perspective from those in Cohort One who assumed that
the husband and the wife were complementing each other. Tis indica-
tion of a change was also discovered in their attitudes towards repro-
duction: having a child became a choice for a couple.
24
Moreover, the
period between the wedding and childbirth became longer than that in
the other generations. Of seven married men, while four participants
still equated marriage with creating a family composed of parents and
children, the other three participants did not see marriage in the same
manner. For example, having no intention of having a child, Take-san
and his wife agreed to discuss the issue and decide what to do if their
intentions changed. Segawa-san was ambivalent concerning whether
he wanted a baby or not because he simply enjoyed communication
with his wife and, therefore, wanted to retain the current situation.
Nakama-sans concern was the timing of childbirth, saying that if he
and his wife decided to have a baby, they should do so before her
physical burden or risk became too great. Te attitudes of these par-
24
Tis tendency is also seen in a survey conducted by the National Institute of
Population and Social Security (2003).
love and marriage 89
ticipants suggested that, unlike the other older generations, marriage
did not necessarily entail childbirth or, at least, they chose to delay
childbirth and enjoy a period by themselves. Moreover, these partic-
ipants suggested that they had a good relationship with their wives
to the extent that they discussed this issue freely with them. Yet the
implication of marriage as expedient still survived in Cohort Tree.
Kusuda-san thinks that to establish a family means to be accepted by
society as a person. Okano-san believes that it is necessary for me to
marry in order to make my life better. Despite his claim that a man
should be able to do housework, Okano-san was looking for a woman
who would agree with his ideal patriarchal division of labour. For
Okano-san, marriage is necessary because it facilitates both his work-
ing life and his private life. While Okano-san is eager to marry, the
statistics indicate that he may have more difculty in getting married
than men in previous generations. Te question then arises as to how
men negotiate their masculinity both through marriage and in the face
of failure to marry. Shimizu-san felt a strong sense of responsibility
when he married, describing himself as ichininmae no otoko or a
fully-fedged man. Marriage made him a man rather than a socially
acceptable adult. Te following section explores how participants saw
marriage as making men of them.
Daikokubashira: an ideal man
As noted above, daikokubashira generally refers to a man, the mainstay
who supports the family in the same manner as the central pillar sup-
ports the roof of the house. Te term is a metaphoric expression of the
ideal man as breadwinner; one which has maintained an unshakable
ideological status in Japan (Gill 2003: 144, 156; Roberson 2003: 129).
Te powerful cultural and social ideology and the prosperous economic
circumstances in the middle of the twentieth century in Japan granted
participants in Cohorts One and Two the privilege of daikokubashira.
However, the prolonged economic stagnation from the early 1990s no
longer guarantees that every man will be a sole breadwinner, although
large corporations continue to protect the ideology of daikokubashira
(Gill 1999: 17). While this status involves heavy responsibilities, it is
also through the role of breadwinner that men gain prestige and feel
masculine and virile.
Among Cohort One, becoming the sole breadwinner, was consid-
ered to be a matter of course:
90 chapter three
I agree with the idea that a man should be daikokubashira. I thought that
I must be frm and bring in a decent income because if I fail to do so,
I thought that my wife and children wouldnt be able to have a socially
proper life. Terefore, [I thought] Ive got to be frm. (Kasuga-san, I)
Likewise, Ishihara-san also said that:
I married with that idea [a man should be daikokubashira] in my mind.
Terefore, I was determined to support my family on my own and that
my wife didnt have to work. (Nishihara-san, I)
While being relied upon by their families, respondents in Cohort One
nurtured the masculine spirit in themselves. However, they owed their
virile sense of self, in large part, to the previous socioeconomic milieu,
as recognised by Honda-san:
I think my days were good. My income increased at a great rate year afer
year. Terefore, if you buy a house or a car or whatever, the increase in
your income ofsets your payment in a few years, although your mort-
gage doesnt end. Te mortgage takes some decades for sure but in the
present time when you dont get a raise in salary, your life remains the
same. When I was working, my pay rise covered my payment for a loan
within a year. . . . I worked in such a time. You cant believe it, can you?
Tats why I say my days were good. (Honda-san, I)
Honda-san was aware that this was no longer the case with contem-
porary young workers and was sorry for those whose standard of
living had become static. Many participants in Cohort One started
their working lives in the period of high economic growth and echoed
the sentiment that, in my day, things were good. Tese corporate
warriors were a source of economic power in society and a source
of fnancial power in the household and the participants self-esteem
as a man and as the breadwinner was, therefore, not easily shaken in
Cohort One.
In Cohort Two, the role as economic provider was still understood
as a mans duty. Ashida-san stated that, I think its about otokorashisa
(manliness) because I have a strong feeling that I have to bring home
money for my family. His sense of his masculinity came from his
responsibility as a sole breadwinner. Ueno-san, by contrast, stated that
the ideology was sustained by womens understanding of masculinity
rather than mens:
Women see a man of daikokubashira as otokorashii (manly). Men dont
stress it as otokorashii. My wife thinks that otokorashisa is reliability.
Tats what I feel. (Ueno-san, II)
love and marriage 91
Ueno-san may sound modest but he is confdent of being a reliable
daikokubashira and this no doubt supports a sense of manliness.
Salarymens wives in this cohort belonged to the last generation who
took their fnancial dependence on their husbands for granted. In fact,
comments from participants such as my wife didnt want to work
[afer marriage] (Hino-san) and she didnt have the intention of
working [afer marriage] and, therefore, we chose the traditional divi-
sion of labour (Kuraoka-san) implied not only their wives presumed
economic dependence on their husbands but also the difusion of dai-
kokubashira ideology among the minds of their wives. All the par-
ticipants in this cohort confdently saw themselves as daikokubashira,
even those who had wives working part-time. For these respondents
their wives part-time jobs never meant a signifcant fnancial contri-
bution to the family. Tese respondents had no intention of abdicating
their sense of sole fnancial responsibility and, despite the continuing
economic downturn, their status as economic providers was protected
by their large companies.
Two single participants in Cohort Tree indicated their strong
endorsement of the ideology of daikokubashira. While they did not
necessarily oppose their future wives working, they felt that they
should be the principal breadwinners:
I think that men should be daikokubashira. . . . I would say to my wife
please go and work but I dont want her to work for our living. I would
support her desire to work but only if it is not for our living. (Miura-
san, III)
Believing mens superiority to women in the workplace, Miura-sans
confdence as a male worker indicated his strong desire to be dai-
kokubashira. Kusuda-san echoes this close connection of the role of
economic provider with masculinity, even in a situation where he
imagines his wife in paid employment, the ideology demonstrating its
persistent force across the three cohorts.
I want to be daikokubashira for sure because I believe that protecting
something is relevant to otoko rashii. For example, to support my family
or something like that is related to masculinity. Terefore, conversely, if
my wife supports my family, it hurts my pride. (Kusuda-san, III)
Marriage was the path to daikokubashira, which made (or would make)
the participants feel virile. Yet while the current economic circum-
stances are not as favourable for Cohort Tree as they had been for
92 chapter three
Cohort One, the number of double-income couples has been increas-
ing since the early 1980s. In 1997, the number of double-income cou-
ples outnumbered that of single-income couples in which the husband
is the breadwinner (Gender Equality Bureau 2008: 78). However, fve
out of seven married participants in Cohort Tree have professional
housewives. One of them, Tokuda-san, remarked that his spouse was
looking forward to becoming a housewife and used to say to him,
before they were married, I want to quit my job soon. Cohort Tree
still proves the power of the large company.
Pigeonholing their own situations, more than one-half of participants
in Cohort Two and the majority of participants in Cohort Tree stated
that they did not support the conventional division of labour. Teir
ostensible reasons were, for example, that there are various household
patterns (Tachibana-san), it is each familys choice (Kuraoka-san),
it is up to the individuals concerned (Sugiura-san) and it is good for
a wife to have a link with society (Yoshino-san). Tey paid lip service
to the ofcial norms of gender equity but they also expressed com-
fort with the traditional situationat least in their own family. Tus
Tachibana-san and Kuraoka-san are saying that each couple should
choose their domestic roles, but their choice is to work. Indeed, they
were satisfed with the current situation, i.e. being a daikokubashira,
and they had no intention of changing their gender roles:
In my case, its good that I work and my wife does housework because
she is a good cook, good at cleaning, washing, and child rearing. More-
over, I have my mother [who lives with us]. My wife is getting along well
with her. She also has good relationships with the neighbours. Im happy
with the current pattern. (Tachibana-san, II)
I think that each family should decide what to do. I dont mind a family
that has a husband who does housework and a wife who makes money.
You just need to think which way is efective because each man is useful
in his own way. Tere are many men who are good at cooking. I dont
mind [an unconventional family pattern] . . . I cant do it. Im not made
to be a househusband. I cant. (Kuraoka-san, II)
Sugiura-san whose wife had a full-time job, by contrast, expressed a
sense of confict between his ideal and his reality
I dont think that a man should be daikokubashira but it would be better
if it were possible, I suppose. But again, our time is diferent. I dont care.
Its up to my wife. Im easy. (Sugiura-san, II)
love and marriage 93
Sugiura-san was the main breadwinner in his family, but he wanted to
be the sole economic provider. It was his wifes wish to work full-time,
which was enabled by his mother who lived with them. In the fnal
analysis, it may well be a question of who earns the most that sustains
(or undermines) a sense of masculinity. Should any of the participants
fail to be the main breadwinner then it appears that their masculinity
would be threatened. Tus being daikokubashira is the most signif-
cant hallmark of masculinity for most of the participants of all cohorts,
demonstrating its ideological force.
Te following quotation represented an exception among partici-
pants:
I like to go to school, I mean, I used to attend general meetings of the
PTA (the Parent Teacher Association). Mothers were rude. Tey ofen
asked me whats the matter with your wife? Is she unwell? [I thought]
are they suggesting that I am not supposed to come here? Tere were
almost no men but I was there anyway. I didnt feel uncomfortable at all
because it was afer my attendance at lectures on mens issues. (Yoshino-
san, II)
Yoshino-san had experienced an identity crisis as daikokubashira when
his daughter stopped going to her primary school and, as a conse-
quence, his wife had a nervous breakdown. Under the circumstances,
Yoshino-san was anxious for unity in his family but he was impatient
with himself because he was incapable of improving the situation as
the head of the family. While the family problems were eventually
solved, his uneasiness drove him to a public lecture on mens issues,
which he saw advertised. He remembered that his dignity as a man
totally disintegrated afer attending the lecture; however, it did have
a positive efect upon him. He described his transformation as attain-
ing gender enlightenment, and he stopped confning himself to stereo-
typical ideas of masculinity. While Yoshino-san began to participate
in a discussion group concerning mens issues, it is a long way for
this therapeutic practice to generate a change in gender politics at a
macro-level (Connell 1995: 159). Nevertheless, he participated in school
events which mothers usually attended; and it was such a rare event
that other mothers criticised him or his wife. However, his further
participation in school events presented an alternative to other moth-
ers and, moreover, his awareness of gender issues made an impact on
his wife and she began to question her everyday performance of gen-
der, thus changing the micro-politics in his household. Te following
94 chapter three
section is concerned with the female counterpart of daikokubashira,
rysai kenbo (good wife, wise mother).
Rysai kenbo: the ideal woman
Te section on rysai kenbo in Chapter One dealt with its infuence
on the mothers of participants in this study and its relevance to their
internalised traditional concept of gender. Te transformation of the
mothers of Cohort One from child bearers to kyiku mama (education
mum) by the time of Cohort Tree was outlined. Tis present section
explores the way in which participants in the three cohorts associated
their wives with rysai kenbo. Even though this term is considered
anachronistic in contemporary Japan, I decided to ask my participants
in all generations what this term meant to them because women at the
present time are still afected, whether positively or negatively, by the
rysai kenbo ideology (Koyama 1991: i). Tis gave the participants an
opportunity to respond in terms of social change, for example, locating
the term as applicable to historical gender relations. Many participants
across the three cohorts said that the saying rysai kenbo was a good
word, a ringing phrase and nice. Furthermore, all the participants
associated the word with their wives or future wives. None of them
talked about their mothers in relation to the phrase, except for Nishi-
da-san of Cohort One.
25
Nevertheless, the way in which participants in
each generation related the concept to their wives suggested changing
matrimonial relationships between them and their wives across the
cohorts. For Shiga-san in Cohort One:
Well, this is one of my boasts. I have a good wife. If a man wants to suc-
ceed in his life, defnitely, he has to have a good wife. Tats the same
as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
26
He had a good okaka (wife). We dont need
a man who doesnt have a good wife. You know why? I can easily tell
a mans future if I see his wife at their home. Figuratively speaking, a
woman is a knight. A man is a horse. Its all up to the knight to win
by taking the reins skilfully. Tis is true in our society, isnt it? It is
problematic if a woman works outside the house. She should manage
her household, look afer her family and manoeuvre her husband. She
25
Nishida-san was born in 1937 as the youngest of seven siblings. He mentioned
that his mother raised him and his siblings according to the good wife, wise mother
policy while his father was away fghting for the nation.
26
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (15361598) is a popular historical person who was a
military commander in the Age of Civil Wars (14281600).
love and marriage 95
should make him work willingly by seeing him of to work. Ten, he
will happily come home. Tis is the proper work (for women). Society
accepts a family that has achieved this. Moreover, a man of such a family
can do a job that contributes to people, not to his family but to society.
(Shiga-san, I)
For many of the older participants in Cohort One, the concept of good
wife, wise mother meant the ideal woman. Moreover, these partici-
pants quite confdently associated their wives with a good wife, wise
mother. Tis indicated an obvious division of labour at home and
the well-established matrimonial hierarchy, i.e. the dominant husband
and the subordinate wife, in which the wife respected the husband
as the breadwinner and provided him with an environment in which
he was able to focus on his work. Participants focused on wifehood
rather than motherhood in relation to rysai kenbo probably because
children of the participants had become independent or married and
established their own households living away from their parents and,
therefore, the participants have been living only with their wife for
some time.
Out of thirteen participants in Cohort One, eight men had profes-
sional housewives (see Table Eight in Appendix Tree). Teir sense of
authority appeared to be perfectly secure:
I clearly said to my wife that, just because I was getting important at
work, it doesnt mean that you are becoming socially important. I said
to her that you are only the wife of a chief of a factory and, therefore,
dont misinterpret yourself as important. (Kasuga-san, I)
Te above quotation implied Kasuga-sans control over his wife.
Nishida-san refected similar thoughts, saying that its good to be a
husband because his wife served him. Tere were no wives in this
cohort who had part-time jobs, although three wives had piecework
that was done at home. Te husbands of these wives emphasised
that their wives never worked outside the home. As unusual cases,
the wives of Shiga-san and Yanase-san owned their own businesses.
However, it is important to note that they had no say in the matter, the
businesses being set up at their husbands behest. Shiga-san expected
that his wifes income would help with the family budget as his income
fell sharply when banks changed their pay system from a percentage
pay system to the current seniority system. Yanase-san, by contrast,
set up a business for his wife when he retired, hoping that it would be
good if the business supplemented the family budget in their old age.
96 chapter three
Tese two participants proudly indicated their authority by saying I
empowered my wife to run a business.
My favourite words (for the ideal woman) are expressed in a poem of
four lines. Tsuma o metoraba, sai takete, mime uruwashiku, nasake ari
[I will take an intelligent, beautiful and compassionate woman to be my
wife]. Tats it. I cant say more than that. A woman like that automati-
cally becomes rysai kenbo. (Katagiri-san, I)
Tis poem was a high school dormitory song in use under the old edu-
cational system (Iwakami 2003: 64). Elite young men like Katagiri-san
must have chanted it envisaging their future wives. While he cited the
song to avoid discussing his wife, his statement that my wife is very
old-fashioned implied that she was a submissive and devoted wife.
Wives of three of the participants in Cohort One had a full time
job; however, only one couple, Yoshida-san and his wife, lef their
two-year-old child at the crche. Two other wives went back to paid
work when their children became old enough to be lef home alone
but it was apparent that the above three participants, as well as other
participants, did almost no housework. Justifying himself, Shiga-san
said that, Im old-fashioned but I think that women have, to some
extent, a desire to serve so I feel that its not a good idea to disturb
their territory.
I think its (rysai kenbo) a good word. But if you ask me about my wife,
I dont think she is. Well, she is very reliable. I can leave the entire man-
agement of the house to her. But her attitude to children, in terms of a
wise mother, her attitude to them sometimes gets hysterical. Tis makes
me think that she is very reliable but she is not a wise mother. As far as
rysai kenbo is concerned, therefore, I would like my wife to deal with
the children wisely. If you ask me if she is a good wife, she is a good wife
most of the time. But, because there are times when I think who do you
think you are? she is not a 100 per cent good wife. (Ashida-san, II)
Te majority of participants in Cohort Two lived with their dependent
children. Tey, therefore, tended to link their wives to motherhood in
relation to rysai kenbo. Hamada-san and Tachibana-san were the only
participants who were proud of their wives and clearly associated their
wives with rysai kenbo. Teir responses implied their appreciation of
traditional patriarchal family structures. Other participants, while they
viewed the concept of good wife, wise mother as ideal, claimed that
there was a gap between the ideal and the reality. Tey refected a less
patriarchal, marital hierarchy of which they did not always approve.
love and marriage 97
For example, Amano-san had never met any opposition from his
wife during their courtship; however, as the children grew older, he
received conficting views from her. He expressed some dissatisfac-
tion, saying I know its rude to her to say she talks back but she tells
me her opinions without minding what I think. Men in Cohort Two
commonly spoke of womens behaviour changing once they were mar-
ried and complained that their wives were less submissive to them
than they used to be. As mentioned earlier, Shiga-san in Cohort One
likened the idea of the oneness to the concept of the wife as a rider
and the husband as a horse. Amano-sans as well as Ashida-sans dis-
satisfaction quoted above suggest that the harmony of a couple can
be maintained if the wife has her way with persuasion and manipula-
tion but not outright criticism and nagging. Alternatively, men saw
their wives as wise education mothers. Te majority of participants
were happy to leave most decisions concerning the education of their
children to their wives, explaining that their wives were involved in
various school events and knew their children better than they did. A
few participants, however, were critical of their wivesover-zealous
education mumsseeing themselves as a bufer between my wife
and daughter (Sugiura-san).
Six wives in Cohort Two had part-time jobs, and this caused their
husbands no embarrassment. As long as they were the primary earner,
men in this generation were secure in their sense of manhood. Tey
supported their wives in their decision to work more or less enthusi-
astically and ofered various reasons for the positive efects this had
on their marital relationship. Tsutsumi-sans wife became cheerful
because she had extra money to spend freely, the couple treating one
another with their spare income. Hamada-san, by contrast, only reluc-
tantly allowed his wife to work. Staying at home without friends, she
came close to having a nervous breakdown. He, therefore, let her work
expecting that this would be of psychological comfort to her. Apart
from Hamada-san, the husbands of these working wives made some
contribution to housework, but their wives still complained that their
contribution was unsatisfactory.
Te idea that children should be looked afer by their mothers was
the main cause that confned wives to the home and these wives only
began to work when their children grew old enough to be lef alone
at home. Even the younger participants in Cohort Two had a strong
afnity for this idea. For example, Amano-san did not like the idea of
98 chapter three
his small children coming home to an empty house. Similarly, every
time his wife indicated her desire to work, Ashida-san convinced
her to postpone the decision for a few years.
27
In Cohort Two, it was
acceptable for wives to work but they also had to fulfl the role of
wise mother perhaps more than that of good wife. Nevertheless, the
participants indicated some dissatisfaction, implying their wives less
submissive attitudes than wives in Cohort One.
I dont hear the word very ofen. But, I like that. I mean, I like a good
wife who respects her husband and looks afer her family. And because
she is wise, she can manage the family budget well. Good wife, wise
mother is the ideal for a woman. (Kusuda-san, III)
Unlike Cohorts One and Two, the frst reaction of many participants
in Cohort Tree to the phrase rysai kenbo indicated that it no longer
had a colloquial currency. As the above quotation indicates, however,
the phrase still represented the ideal woman for some participants.
Noda-san said that his wife embodied a good wife, wise mother.
His wife, who was pregnant with their third child, was a professional
housewife who respected him. Noda-san believed that his children
understood that he worked hard to give his family all their creature
comforts because his wife told their children every payday and bonus-
day that your father made money again for us this month.
28
Noda-
san explained that his wife happily followed in her mothers footsteps,
her mother having dutifully served her father. Noda-san confessed
that his wifes attitude was convenient for him. Tokuda-san stated that
one of the goals in his life was to have a wife who represented a good
wife, wise mother and he was very happy with his wife who was a
professional housewife with two small children. However, he admitted
that he would not mind if his wife worked when the children became
old enough to look afer themselves. While the condition of timing
when his wife starts working suggests a vestige of Cohort Two, the
way in which he says that he will appreciate his wifes contribution to
27
According to two diferent surveys conducted in 1987 and 1994, the majority
of mothers who are caring for toddlers wished to work (Nakatani 1999: 47). See also
IPSS (2005). Although Nakatani argues that the increasing proportion of mothers in
this situation who want to work refects the weakening myth of motherhood, my study
indicates that one reason why they give up their desires and stay home may stem from
their husbands opposition to their wish to work.
28
Ashida-san (Cohort Two) also said that his wife sometimes told their children
that they had all the comforts thanks to his hard work.
love and marriage 99
the family budget vibrates with more sincerity than the older cohort.
While he wanted to be the breadwinner, he was conscious of the fact
that it was no longer easy for him to secure the family fnances all by
himself, which he attributed to the long stagnant economy and the
changing corporate culture of employment.
Several single participants, such as Kusuda-san, quoted above, and
Okano-san were looking for a rysai kenbo. However, Okano-san
implied that he was having difculty fnding the perfect woman who
would be happy with the conventional role of a housewife. Kusuda-
san admitted that he might do housework if necessary, acknowledging
that women today do not follow the traditional mode of household
management. Likewise, Ebara-san revealed that his desire for a rysai
kenbo was wishful thinking because he was certain that his girlfriend
would pursue her career and he would have to do some housework if
they married. Tese single participants remain fascinated by the patri-
archal family structure but they are aware of the demands made by
prospective wives. Some even speculated about how they should or
could meet their girlfriends expectations.
My wife is like a husband who just opts to help with the housework. I am
something of a househusband but I dont manage housework perfectly
like John Lennon. (Take-san, III)
Two participants had already been drawn into the vortex of their
wives infuence, one describing his wife as manly (Take-san) and
the other describing his desire for an egalitarian relationship (Hirose-
san). According to Take-san, his wife did not possess the femininity
which he had seen in his ex-girlfriends. He did most of the house-
work, including cooking, cleaning and shopping. Take-san stated that
he and his wife were not concerned about each others masculinity and
femininity. He, however, was not an advocate of egalitarian matrimo-
nial partnerships. He did housework out of necessity: only because his
wife was not a very good housekeeper. While he was not ashamed of
his situation, he was aware that the circumstances did not represent
the mainstream and justifed it by saying that his marriage was just
odd.
29

29
Take-san did not follow any of the conventional ceremonial aspects of marriage,
e.g. no exchange of betrothal gifs, no wedding ceremony and no wedding reception.
He and his wife lived separately, although, at the time of the interview, they were
looking for a place to live together.
100 chapter three
Hirose-san was the only participant who indicated that rysai
kenbo was not the ideal. He actually thought about staying at home
as a househusband and discussed this idea with his wife when they had
a baby, the couple rejecting the idea because of the fnancial inconve-
nience. Although Hirose-san admitted that he was not good at house-
work at all because his mother had done everything for him at home
before his marriage, when he wanted a household task done he did
it rather than expecting his wife to do it. Hirose-san has also been
looking afer his baby as much as possible. He was surprised to see
peoples astonishment when he changed nappies. Hirose-sans wife did
not strive to be a rysai kenbo, expressing her extreme anxiety at the
beginning of their marriage that Hirose-san would do no housework
and that all the responsibility for it would be placed upon her shoul-
ders. While Hirose-san adapted himself to his wifes wishes, like Take-
san, he did not explain this in terms of gender equality but, rather, as a
result of pursuing his ideal partnership. In conclusion, the term good
wife, wise mother became old-fashioned in Cohort Tree, although
some still endorsed it. Moreover, changing expectations among young
women have created two unconventional matrimonial relationships
in Cohort Tree. Te reluctance of young women to marry may
also bring about a less conventional marital relationship for single
participants.
Conclusion
Te sexuality of the participants of all the cohorts evolved in the arena
of a male homo-social and heterosexual world. Despite many partici-
pants lack of experience in friendly and intimate relationships with
women, most participants ensconced themselves comfortably in the
institution of marriage. As the love marriage joined the mainstream,
emotional attachment to the wife became increasingly important as
an incentive to marry, in particular, for many married participants in
Cohort Tree. However, the utilitarianism in marriage did not disap-
pear over the three cohorts. Moreover, marriage conferred the hon-
our of daikokubashira (the breadwinner) upon participants regardless
of cohort, and this was essential for the participants to nurture their
sense of masculinity in themselves. Obviously, the majority of married
men reproduced their original household patternsthe patriarchal
love and marriage 101
power relations and the division of labourin their own families. Tis
replication of the traditional family arrangements in their own house-
holds came not only from the desire of the participants but was also
their wives wills. Wives in Cohorts One and Two followed traditional
social expectations as a wife and mother, and even in Cohort Tree,
a girlfriend of a participant, who accompanied him during the inter-
view, stated her will to follow in the footsteps of her parents without
hesitation, i.e. to marry a salaryman and become a housewife. Indeed,
the wives of the majority of married participants in this cohort are
professional housewives. Vogel (1986: 275) characterises Japan as an
interdependent society. In the conjugal context, while the husband
is dependent on his wife for emotional support and for care of all
his daily needs, the wife is dependent on her husband for fnancial
support (Vogel 1986: 277). Tus this mutual interdependence between
husband and wife continues to produce a replica of the original family
and is the key to the efcient and prosperous salaryman family. We
saw unconventional families in Cohort Tree and changes in a marital
relationship afer familial crises in Cohort Two. Nevertheless, the gen-
dered division of labour and the identifcation of men with the bread-
winning role remain strong, and the participants performance of the
role of corporate warrior indicates its irreconcilability with household
responsibilities. Te next chapter explores the participants in the pub-
lic sphere, that is, their working lives.
CHAPTER FOUR
WORK
Te previous chapter discussed the participants experiences in the
private spherethe sphere of love and marriage. Tis revealed how
conjugal relationships over the three cohorts changed from patriarchal
relationships towards egalitarian partnerships. However, it is difcult
to deny that most participants, regardless of cohort, took the tradi-
tional division of labour for granted, the men playing exclusively the
role of breadwinner. Yet, in the workplace there is a slight tension
between institutional changes and individuals ideals, a tension not
observed in the private milieu of most participants in this study.
Japans rise from the devastation subsequent to the Second World
War was once extolled as the Japanese miracle (e.g. Vogel 1979) and
the Japanese economy experienced high economic growth, attaining
its fastest growth rate by the early 1970s. Tat miracle, however, came
to an end in the early 1990s when the asset-infation bubble economy
collapsed. As we have seen in the previous chapter, these economic
transformations certainly afected not only the participants private
lives but also their working lives. By examining corporate cultures,
the present chapter explores the participants experiences as workers
in the public sphere. As Nakane (1967: 3031) argues, participants in
this study generally indicated their subjective perception of their com-
panies and used expressions such as uchino (my), which connotes I
am an insider and, therefore, you are an outsider , or warewareno
(our) company, implying the importance of a collective or family-like
structure in mens lives as well as their oneness with the workplace.
1
Te frst section looks at the transition from secondary and tertiary
education to work. It also analyses the participants perception of
frt or freeters (young part-time workers, further explained below)
who make a striking contrast to salarymen in relation to stability and
1
It is worth noting that Nakanes argument as a theory of the Japanese is criticised
for its application to Japanese businessmen, the theory thus lacking an analysis of
Japanese women. See Morris-Suzuki (1998: 128129) and McLelland and Dasgupta
(2005: 3).
104 chapter four
security. Te second section examines sex-based discrimination in
the workplace. Te employment system and sexual harassment are
discussed. Tough participants receive the patriarchal dividend from
their companies they ofen have to pay a painful price, including long
working hours, karoshi (sudden death by overwork), frequent trans-
fers and tanshinfunin (going to a distant post unaccompanied by fami-
lies). Among these costs, transfers and tanshinfunin are the themes in
the last section.
Entering Society: the Transition from Education to Work
In Japan, the phrase shakaijin ni naru (to become a fully fedged
adult)
2
denotes entering society. It is also used to describe entering the
workforce as full-time and permanent workers. In theory, the phrase
applies equally to young men and women; however, the cultural
expectation to enter society via employment is stronger in relation
to men than women. Men are expected to move immediately from
the completion of their formal education to full-time and permanent
employment, regardless of the level of education at which they gradu-
ate. Tis recruitment of fresh school leavers and university graduates
existed in some large corporations at the end of the nineteenth century
and became a popular practice from the early twentieth century (Beck
and Beck 1994: 36; Matanle 2006: 58). Until recently, it was unthink-
able to have an intermission between education and work. Terefore,
job seeking (shshoku-katsud) before the completion of ones educa-
tion is a necessary and almost universally shared ritual. It is of course
advantageous for job-seekers to have a university degree in order to
obtain a position in a large company; however, at least until the eco-
nomic bubble burst, higher education was not always a prerequisite.
Junior high schools, high schools and vocational high schools
ofered career guidance for their students to place them in jobs in
companies (Genda 2001: 85; Kariya 1991: 5556; Nakajima 2004: 101;
Okano 1993: 144), and the percentage of students entering employ-
ment each year who do so through the guidance was more than 60 per
cent of male high school students in the 1970s and about 50 per cent
2
Shakaijin literally means a social person/human being; however, the signif-
cance of the word is better understood by the term a fully fedged adult.
work 105
in the 1990s (Fukuzawa and LeTendre 2001: 22; Ojima 2003: 19). Of
these young people, some 20 per cent in 1987 and approximately 30
per cent in 1992 entered companies that had more than one thousand
employees (Kariya 1991: 31; Kosugi and Hori 2004: 18). Since the bub-
ble economy fnally burst, it has become very hard for school leavers to
enter large corporations as corporate demand for new employees has
been in decline (Genda 2001: 51).
By contrast, the proportion of university graduates who entered
large companies has been approximately twice that of their high
school counterparts (Kariya 1991: 31; Kosugi and Hori 2004: 20).
Until the 1970s, employment services in universities were as system-
atic and detailed as those in high schools
3
but since the 1970s, this
system has been diminishing. Instead, private job agencies indepen-
dent of universities have been providing students with information
about jobs and students now apply to any company that interests them
(Kosugi 2003: 61). Starting on the frst day in October prior to the
year of graduation, employers begin to notify students informally that
they have been successful in their job application (Kosugi 2003: 19).
As a result, some university students begin job seeking in their third
year of study and all have started by early in their fourth year. Edu-
cation is neglected for job seeking, the smooth transition to employ-
ment being more important in the life course of men than achieving
excellent academic results (Mathews 2004: 121123). In addition, in
Japan, companies usually recruit university graduates regardless of
their feld of study because the companies provide On the Job Train-
ing and, therefore, the new employees adaptability and fexibility are
more important than experience or qualifcations which companies
in the West would expect from new employees (Kariya 1991: 4749;
Waldenberger 2006: 28). Tis characteristic of recruitment, however,
has been changing since the mid-1990s. Being unable to aford suf-
cient on-the-job training, companies want fewer new employees who
are qualifed and ready for work without much intra-company train-
3
Tis is called shiteik-sei, a system in which employers designate universities
for job ofers, the selection for which is ofen based on the academic quality of the
students. By contrast, the job referral system in high schools is called tokuteik-sei,
a system in which employers designate high schools, and selection is based on the
established relationships between schools and employers rather than on the academic
excellence of the students (Kariya 1991: 6364; Kosugi 2003: 61).
106 chapter four
ing (Genda 2005: 6, 16).
4
Accordingly, while fewer school leavers are
recruited by large corporations, it is even more difcult for univer-
sity graduates to enter large companies and it is thus becoming highly
competitive to become a salaryman. Tis is refected in the academic
achievement of the participants. For example, in Cohort One, out of
thirteen participants nine participants are high school leavers, whereas
in Cohort Tree, only one participants is a high school graduate (see
Table Four in Appendix Tree).
Irrespective of cohort, most participants experienced a smooth tran-
sition from education to work either because it was a matter of course
or of necessity. Tis feeling was especially acute for the participants
in Cohort One whose families had experienced poverty and who felt
that they had to reduce their parents fnancial burden. Amongst the
few exceptions were Kasuga-san, Shiga-san and Sonoda-san, who had
entered employment just before or afer the end of the Second World
War when there were few available job choices. While these partici-
pants initially took what was available to them, they kept changing
their jobs until they gained a satisfactory position in a large company
through the networks of their families or relatives. Only one partici-
pant, Segawa-san in Cohort Tree, became a freeter afer graduating
from university.
Participants who entered employment from secondary education
afer 1949 found their jobs through employment services in their high
schools. Simply following their teachers advice, they took employ-
ment examinations. Ishihara-san in Cohort One and Hamada-san in
Cohort Two explained that as high school students they were ignorant
concerning society or corporations and their teachers guidance was
crucial for them in fnding a job, the only other employment path
being personal contacts, i.e. knowing someone who had some infu-
ence in a particular company. Te participants who went to university
conducted their own research into companies, beginning in the third
or the fourth year. Many of them were interested in the scale of com-
panies, the range of salaries and the quality of welfare and security,
their job preferences being given to the security and benefts ofered
by employers over the duties of the job. Comments by Tachibana-san
4
Nippon Keidanrens proposal for Developing Japans Creative Human Resources
illustrates one of the most representative schemes for tried-and-true personnel
(Nippon Keidanren 1996).
work 107
in Cohort Two perhaps represented most participants in this research:
although very few people entered the corporations of their dreams,
workers were satisfed with their employment situation and were as
grateful as he was for their good fortune. In fact, Tachibana-san told
me that when he was in primary school, he wrote an essay about a
company that was situated near his hometown, criticising the company
for destroying the environment. However, his childhood anger did not
prevent him from entering this same company when the immediate
necessities of life became more important than his environmental con-
cern. As an exception, and with a postgraduate degree in mechanical
engineering, Sasaki-san of Cohort One pursued his dream of making
motorcycles, and actively chose a company where he could realise that
dream regardless of the employment conditions. Sasaki-san also chose
to enter a middle-sized company because he felt that he would be
oppressed if he entered a large one. Ironically, however, his company
eventually became one of the largest in its feld. Toda-san is another
exception, having been scouted by his company because of his baseball
talent, and so not having to undertake job seeking. Men in Cohort
Tree, especially younger ones who entered employment afer the
time of the bubble economy, had to compete with other applicants for
fewer positions than those that would have been available for the older
generations, and won their ways to the fnals. Some of these partici-
pants have a high opinion of themselves, which surfaced from time to
time during the interviews. Segawa-san is the only participant who did
not enter employment immediately afer formal education, describing
himself as a freeter working part-time in an insurance company.
Frt (Freeter)
5
In the early 1990s, the smooth education-to-work transition among
students was disrupted by the bursting of the economic bubble (Kariya
1991: 3; Kosugi 2004a: 37). From its peak in 1992, the automatic
employment of new high school leavers continued to fall and high
schools and vocational colleges were no longer able to guarantee job
5
Te term freeter is an abbreviation of fr arubait (a free casual worker)a com-
bination of English free, German arbeit (part-time work) and the English sufx -er
(a person) (Mathews 2004: 134).
108 chapter four
ofers from employers to their students
6
(Kosugi 2003: 16; Kosugi and
Hori 2004: 20; Nakajima 2004: 108). While economic restructuring
and globalisation have made it more difcult to secure jobs for those
without computer literacy and a command of English (Kosugi 2003:
30; Nakajima 2004: 107), even university graduates with these qualif-
cations fnd it difcult to secure work. Tis is because of the prolonged
recession, the increasing supply (or rather an excess) of university
graduates
7
and the proliferating procurement of temporary workers by
employers (Kosugi 2003: 55; Kosugi and Hori 2004: 20). In particular,
job ofers from large companies have been diminishing (Takanashi
2004: 186) and, by way of example, in 2002, about ten per cent of high
school leavers and university students who graduated did so without
the prospect of regular employment (Kosugi 2003: 1819).
Te number of young people working part-time afer their formal
education is growing and they have come to be known as frt or freet-
ers, the term having been coined in the late 1980s by Michishita Hiro-
shi who was engaged in a situations-vacant advertisement magazine.

Michishita intended no pejorative connotations in describing young
people who chased their dreams by supporting themselves with part-
time or casual jobs (Uenishi 2004: 55). Yet, despite his intention, the
term took on various negative meanings amongst the general public,
coming to denote young people who want to become full-time work-
ers but cannot; those who do nothing, or who are idling because of no
enthusiasm for work. Although currently there is no fxed defnition
of freeters (Kosugi 2003: 2; 2004b: 4; 2004c: 53), this section follows
the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (hereafer JILPT)
which defnes freeters as young people whose ages range from ffeen
to thirty-four, who are not students or married women, who have
part-time jobs or casual work and who are also between such jobs or
seeking such jobs (Kosugi 2003: 23).
8
Married women are excluded
from the list of freeters in order to highlight young part-time/casual
6
In 1992, there were 1,670,000 job ofers to high school leavers, while, in 1995, this
had fallen to 643,000, further falling again in 2003 to 220,000 ofers (Honda 2006: 144;
Kosugi 2003: 16).
7
In 1991, while there were 840,000 job ofers to 290,000 graduates, in 2002 there
were 460,000 job ofers to 420,000 graduates (Kosugi and Hori 2004: 19).
8
Te defnition of freeters presented in the White Paper on the Labour Economy
(2000) by the Ministry of Labour does not consider males who have worked as a
part-timer for more than fve years to be freeters (Kosugi 2003: 2). See also Kosugi
and Hori (2004: 2627).
work 109
workers as a new category of such workers because, until the early
1990s, the majority of part-time/casual workers were married women.
However, since then the entry of young people into part-time/casual
work has been strikingly increasing. For example, in 1991, part-time/
casual workers under 25 years old accounted for only 7 per cent of
working men and 8.6 per cent of working women (Kosugi 2003: 6). In
1982, there were 590,000 freeters, increasing threefold by 1997 (to 1.73
million) (Kosugi and Hori 2004: 27). In 2002, the number of freeters
exceeded 2 million. However, the increase reached its peak in 2003
(2.17 million) and since them the number of freeters has been decreas-
ing (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2007: 229; 2005b: 26). It
is also worth noting that the decrease in the number of freeters aged
between 25 and 34 is small compared with that of freeters between 15
and 24 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2007: 229) and that
the freeter phenomenon stems from the decline in full-time employ-
ment by companies, given the considerable advantages for employers
in being able to employ staf on a short-term basis without the same
benefts provided to career-track employees (Genda 2001: 74; Kosugi
2003: 24, 31).
Te discourse on freeters frequently emphasises male freeters
(Mathews 2004: 124). However, fewer males than females are freet-
ers (Honda 2006: 158) and the focus on males indicates widespread
internalisation of the idea that men bear the role of economic provid-
ers. According to Honda (2006: 164; 2004),

many male freeters tend
to have a negative image of themselves as opposed to the fully fedged
male adult who can support his family.
9
Indeed, the majority of male
freeters have a strong desire to enter regular employment (Genda 2001:
75; Honda 2006: 161; Uenishi 2004: 70). While many female freet-
ers are likely to see marriage as their escape route, because marriage
is regarded as part of their life-course, some womens occupational
ambition is frustrated because it is harder for women to fnd a full-
time job than it is for men (Honda 2006: 165; Kosugi 2004a: 49; 2003:
47, 6768; Kosugi and Honda 2004: 27). On the other hand, freet-
ers who positively choose part-time/casual work appreciate its mer-
its: fexible time, limited responsibility, jobs that are interesting and
satisfactory, and ease of entry into and exit from employment, as well
as enjoying a variety of work-experiences (Honda 2005a: 18; Kosugi
9
See also Miura (2005: Ch. 5).
110 chapter four
2003: 38; Shimomura 2004: 77). Tese freeters justify themselves by
their having a purpose or yaritaikoto (what I want to do) in their
lives (Shimomura 2004: 83). In fact, among freeters, having a sense
of yaritaikoto is a key indicator of a good freeter (Kosugi 2003: 38;
Shimomura 2004: 82). Additionally, freeters ofen have an aversion to
corporate cultures and any afliation to companies (Honda 2006: 161;
Mathews 2004: 129) and respondents in one study described salary-
men as being shackled to their companies (Honda 2004: 161). As
Honda (2005a: 5) argues, freeters should not then be considered as
mere victims of a prolonged economic stagnation, given that some
freeters consciously choose not to enter companies.
Te topic of freeters, which refects a sharp contrast to the salary-
man life in relation to stability and security, was intentionally raised
with participants by the researcher in order to explore the partici-
pants perception of freeters, which in turn mirrored their perception
of themselves. Interestingly, the classifcation of freeters by the JILPT
(see Chart One in Appendix Tree) is refected in the views of the
respondents. Moreover, the participants negative views of freeters
expose their gratitude for their own full-time employment as the fol-
lowing indicates.
Te majority of participants frst distinguished between accept-
able freeters and outrageous or unacceptable freeters. According to
them, the acceptable freeters are young people who have faith in their
dreams, who have a clear plan for their future, who strive to cultivate
their skills and who stay as freeters only for a short period of time. Te
outrageous ones are characterised by any one of the following features:
intentional avoidance of becoming a full-time worker and of accept-
ing their responsibilities, an absence of enthusiasm for work, and/or
having an inclination towards being free from the restrictions of com-
panies. Notwithstanding this dichotomy, almost all participants across
the three cohorts remonstrated against freeters as a whole, with only
a few participants in Cohort One showing any compassion towards
them, explaining their plight in terms of the prolonged economic stag-
nation, which is very diferent from the booming economy that gave
work to Cohort One. Te participants negative views of freeters were
generally attributed to disadvantages that freeters would face in their
individual lives and to the lack of their contribution to society. Inter-
estingly, the degree of opposition towards freeters became harsher as
the cohort descended in this research, the two youngest participants
work 111
being the most critical of freeters. However, some of Cohort Tree
appeared to express a slight jealousy of freeters, a point discussed fur-
ther below.
Men in Cohort One received the beneft of a remarkable industrial
development, a rapid economic growth and a long period of economic
stability. Because of these experiences and their deep appreciation of
their good fortune, some of them were aware that the current socio-
economic circumstances marked a signifcant departure from their
own good times. Hirose-san, Honda-san and Yanase-san extended
this understanding to compassion towards freeters. For example,
Hirose-san was aware of the current social environment and criticised
the economy that inevitably produces freeters. Likewise Honda-san
stated that:
In a word, politics is to be blamed for the difculties faced by todays
youth. . . . It is manifest that Japan is saturated with fully equipped fac-
tories. Tere is no need to invest in them. . . . China and the South East
Asian countries have that need. Because of the huge need in China, com-
petent young Chinese people have a diferent look in their eyes from
young Japanese people. Im sorry for them when I think of my time. Tis
is not only their fault but also the fault of politics. We dont have politi-
cians who can make a change of direction and can put life into young
people. (Honda-san, I)
Although the above participants remarks implied some criticism of
young men who are particular about what job they will take (Hirose-
san) or who lack passion for work (Honda-san), they excuse those who
cannot fnd a job, blaming the stagnant economic conditions and the
politicians.
Yoshida-sans mild statement represented the most common view-
point in this cohort.
I really think that its benefcial for freeters to do various things in order
to build up their skills. But in the long run, I think that, considering real
life and purpose, its much more benefcial for you to enter a company
and work steadily. . . . It doesnt have to be a big corporation but I think
you had better work for a decent company. (Yoshida-san, I)
Again, in his remark, it doesnt have to be a big corporation, Yoshida-
san, like the other men in Cohort One, implied his awareness of the
tight contemporary job market. Nevertheless, although Yoshida-san
accepts a period of freedom that would have been unthinkable a
decade ago, he is concerned about future prospects for freeters, the
112 chapter four
insecurity of their livelihood, and the denial of a passage for them to
adulthoodshakaijin ni naru (to become a fully fedged adult).
Cohort Two more ofen expressed incomprehension concerning
freeters: I dont understand why they choose to become freeters;
they have completely diferent ideas [about work] or strong criti-
cism: nonsense! Youve got to stick to one job; they are only trying
to dodge [company] restrictions. Others echoed Yoshida-sans con-
cerns that (male) freeters cannot accomplish responsible adulthood,
but were more critical of young men who failed to commit to their
obligations as steady breadwinners:
Teir lives are fne now [when they are young] but they cant marry or
do anything without a future plan whatever their sex is. Actually, I think
a woman is fne if she marries but because I believe that a man has to
support his family if he marries, freeters cant marry. I wouldnt let my
daughter marry a freeter. (Ueno-san, II)
I know that I shouldnt discriminate between men and women because
we have the Equal Employment Opportunity Law. I shouldnt discrimi-
nate but still, from my point of view, men as a pillar should be frm. It
doesnt matter if your salary is large or small. A man cant establish a
good family if he doesnt form a basis for his livelihood including the
social security system. In this sense, beginning [as freeters] would be fne
but my point is that men should establish a frm basis. (Toda-san, II)
Likewise, Tsutsumi-san would not permit a freeter to marry his daugh-
ter. As mentioned in Chapter Tree, the importance of playing the role
of breadwinner as a fully-fedged man was emphasised by many men
in Cohort Two. Moreover, the belief that men as daikokubashira (the
breadwinners) should have full-time work, as expressed in the above
quotations, suggests that the issue of female freeters is not taken seri-
ously. Tese men were not concerned that their daughters might be
freeters, only that they might marry one. Toda-san was aware that his
opinion contradicted the gender-free society envisaged by the Law.
Even so, he (and Ueno-san also) did not imagine that wives might
become full-time salaried workers in those cases where the husbands
could not or did not want to. In Cohort Two, the contempt for freet-
ers on the assumption that they were failed men was the reverse
side of the participants self-confdence in their own success as the
breadwinners.
In Cohort Tree, the two youngest expressed the strongest disap-
proval of freeters:
work 113
I feel that the majority of freeters today readily give up regular employ-
ment. I mean, from my spiritualist point of view,
10
I think they lack
gaman zuyosa (power of endurance) and konj (will power). . . . I think
many freeters do things by halves. Once youve become shakaijin (a fully
fedged adult), you should be responsible. When you become old enough
to enter society, I think entering full-time employment is fulflling your
responsibility to society. Well, freeters are idling without doing anything.
If you ask me if thats O.K., I would defnitely say that they should fnd a
stable job and work with a sense of responsibility. (Kusuda-san, III)
I think its very bad. Talking of fur (freedom), its only for people who
have purpose and responsibilities. I think the freedom of those who dont
have responsibility isnt real freedom. People who fulfl their duties and
responsibilities can claim their right to freedom. (Miura-san, III)
Both Kusuda-san and Miura-san emphasised the importance of fulfll-
ing ones responsibility to society as shakaijin. Tese young men con-
fronted the tight labour market but surmounted the difculties. Teir
confdence as responsible adults was expressed in their utter repug-
nance towards freeters whom the above participants see as lazy and
weak. Likewise, Tokuda-san said that times are hard but if freeters
make the efort, they would fnd a job. As with Cohort Two, it was felt
that being a freeter was incompatible with marriage (for a man): its
better to have a regular job if you want to marry (Nakama-san) and
becoming a freeter was never my option because I decided to marry
before I entered my company (Shimizu-san).
Miura-san was, perhaps, sharply critical because he was also jealous
of the freedom of the freetera freedom which, he thinks, they do
not deserve because they are irresponsible shakaijin. Te above par-
ticipants are aware of their own infexible working conditions that do
not allow them to have as much free time as freeters enjoy. Given that
workloads are intensifying and working hours are increasing due to
restructuring (Honda 2006: 155), these young men are also refecting
on their ongoing transformation into corporate-tamed employees and
thus expressed their jealousy of the freedom enjoyed by freeters. In
addition, given the growing number of freeters, the above participants
felt that freeters undermine hegemonic masculinity expressed in their
defensive reactions to freeters (Lunsing 2006: 186). Tis indicates that
10
See Rohlen (1996) for spiritual training as an important aspect of character
building in Japan.
114 chapter four
a fne line, or rather a tension, between glory and sacrifce in hege-
monic masculinity surfaced in Cohort Tree. Tis tension is particu-
larly evident in the later section on transfer, troubling Cohort Two and
having troubled Cohort One.
Presenting a striking contrast to the above participants, Ebara-san
expressed his acceptance of freeters because he was forced by his com-
pany to resign in the midst of restructuring and was painfully aware
that there is no guarantee of life-time employment (Lunsing 2006:
184). Studying in pursuit of his dream, yaritaikoto, Ebara-san found
a sense of fulflment in his life, which he had never gained from his
work. Because of this, he readily accepted freeters. Similarly, Segawa-
san, an ex-freeter, had accepted a short term period as a freeter, but
echoed some of the participants above who emphasised the responsi-
bility for entering adulthood, that is, securing full-time employment.
Segawa-sans satisfaction in his full-time work explains his acceptance
of freeters whose part-time work was a stepping stone to full-time
employment. Tese participants indicate that experiencing job market
difculties, either as a freeter (Segawa-san) or something very similar
to it (Ebara-san), has an impact on their attitudes towards freeters.
Given the growing freeter phenomenon and employment insecurity, it
is likely that peoples perception of freeters will change from a negative
one to a more tolerant one.
In summary, the participants views on freeters mirrored their own
life experiences. Refecting their gratitude for their stable lives that
were guaranteed by their companies, Cohort One was appreciative of
the chance to perform hegemonic masculinity, a situation that arose
during the course of their lives. Cohort Two, focusing on the ideal
role of men as the breadwinners, expressed their self-assured perfor-
mance of hegemonic masculinity. Cohort Tree, however, indicated
a tension between their privilege (the patriarchal dividend) and its
associated constraints (limited free time). Teir implicit comparison
of themselves with freeters implies the potential for future change in
hegemonic masculinity. Nevertheless, not one respondentnot even
those who had had experience as freeterssuggested that the lifestyle
of freeters was superior to that of the salaryman in a large company.
Being satisfed with their stable and secure livelihood, the men in this
study revealed their sense of superiority as fully-fedged men and
workers over freeters; and considered freeters to be failures not only
as workers but also as men. Tus the ideology of ideal masculinity
associated with an economic provider maintains its force; in particu-
work 115
lar, amongst those who embody hegemonic masculinity (McLelland
2005b: 97; McLelland and Dasgupta 2005: 10).
11
Te following section
turns to another presumptionan employment system that favours
men over women, with its attendant sexual harassment that defends a
homo-social male territory in the workplace.
Sex Discrimination
It has been more than two decades since the Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Law (hereafer EEOL) became efective in 1986. Te EEOL aimed
at establishing equal treatment of men and women in every aspect of
employment and career opportunities. However, it was only hortatory
and did not have any legal force, consequently having little impact on
the unfair culture and practices in the workplace (Lam 1992a: 7; 1993:
207). In 1999, the EEOL was revised to stipulate employers respon-
sibilities for the occurrence of any discrimination against women as
well as for its prevention, identifying sanctions for companies that
failed to comply (Chan-Tiberghien 2004: 2; Miya 2000: 225; Ochiai
and Yoshitake 2001: 2). Te number of females in the workforce has
been increasing steadily (Gender Equality Bureau 2008: 76; Ministry
of Internal Afairs and Communications 2006b) and the Basic Law for
Gender Equal Society (Danjo kyd sankaku kihon h) was enforced
in 1999 (Ito 2006: 137). Yet, despite these positive changes, as will
be evident in the following section, mens privileges have been little
afected. Tis section deals frstly with the changing employment sys-
tem in Japan in relation to sex discrimination. Secondly, it explores the
participants perception of female workers. Finally, it discusses sexual
harassment and the participants attitudes towards it.
Te employment system
Te disparity between men and women in employment exists to this
day in Japan (Macnaughtan 2006) and it is salarymen, especially men
in large corporations, who beneft most from these disparities. Before
11
One of Dasguptas interviewees (salarymen) likened a man who does not have
a job to an animal that cannot hunt for its food and he described such a situation
metaphorically as death (Dasgupta 2005a: 194).
116 chapter four
the enactment of the EEOL, the Labour Standards Law forbade female
workers working from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. and performing danger-
ous work. It also provided them with menstruation leave (Cook and
Hayashi 1980: 1418). However, there was a fne line between the
protection of women and discrimination against them. Women were
protected as reproductive bodies but not as workers (Buckley 1993:
349; Mackie 1997: 7677; Molony 1991) and female workers were
denied the benefts that men had from employers on the assumption
that women were physically weaker, intellectually inferior and men-
tally less committed than men (Buckley 1993: 349; Cook and Hayashi
1980: 28). For example, more than forty per cent of companies explic-
itly specifed men only in their job advertisements. Many companies
selected women who lived with their parentsa condition which
was not applied to men (Lam 1992a: 15; 1993: 210) and women who
overcame these hurdles to obtain work were all placed in the general-
duties grade, whereas men comprised the core members of the career
track (Lam 1993: 211). Female workers received almost no training
(Cook and Hayashi 1980: 9). Moreover, the majority of companies,
either ofcially or customarily, required women to resign at marriage
or pregnancy and childbirth. Tis was euphemistically called early
retirement (Broadbent 2003: 15; Cook and Hayashi 1980: 9, 2526).
As a result of the enactment of the EEOL, discriminatory job adver-
tisements largely disappeared (Lam 1992a: 1516; 1993: 210). Cor-
porations started employing women in the executive-track grade as
well as in the general-duties grade. Tis dual-track employment was,
however, called a big frm phenomenon because some 40 per cent
of large corporations with 5000 employees or more had introduced
the system, while only around 10 per cent of middle-sized and small
companies with fewer than 1000 employees had done so (Lam 1992a:
18). By contrast, almost all men were automatically assigned to
the executive-track grade (Lam 1992a: 20; 1993: 214). Because of the
dual-track system, large companies allege that they do not discrimi-
nate against female employees. However, in efect, while only a few
elite women (among the university graduates) are employed as future
managers, most women are employed as clerical workers to support
men (Atsumi 1997: 273; Lam 1992a: 20; Morley 1999: 78; Takenobu
1994: 41). Men are in charge of almost all business and management
and are expected to acquire special skills and knowledge through their
work and in-company training. A quarter of all companies still pro-
vide training only for men and nearly one-half conduct men only
work 117
training for managers (Abe 2005: 16) and this is the case even in retail
industries which utilise women as workers more than any other indus-
try (Kimoto 2005: 83, 157). Moreover, men are promoted according
to their accomplishments (Lam 1992b: 63) whilst female workers have
little hope of promotion. Accordingly, they do not receive the train-
ing necessary for advancement. Even afer the EEOL, managers may
imply directly or indirectly to female workers that it is time for them
to leave the company with a so-called kata tatakitap on the shoul-
der (Gottfried 2003: 265; Gottfried and OReilly 2002: 29; Kondo 1990:
227; Ogasawara 1998: 64; Renshaw 1990: 30). Yet even without the
kata tataki, many female workers leave their company at childbirth
because they give in to the social and corporate expectation of resigna-
tion and childcare responsibility (Macnaughtan 2006: 47). As a result,
the notorious M-shaped curve in the graph of Japanese womens
workforce participation endures, even if less sharply than in former
decades (Macnaughtan 2006: 35).
12
Tis female work pattern also
diminishes companies incentives to give female workers job training
equivalent to that of the men (Abe 2005: 16). Accordingly, the satura-
tion of men in the boardroom has changed little, male directors com-
prising 98 per cent of the entire number of directors in 2004 (Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare 2005a)
13
and it is economically expedi-
ent for corporations to employ young women fresh out of college or
university to replace women resigning to marry or start families. Te
relatively low wages such women receive underwrites the high cost of
mens employment because of the seniority systemalthough this is
changing(Conrad and Heindorf 2006), and the persistent lifetime
employment (Broadbent 2003: 15; Lam 1992a: 5; Matanle 2006: 75;
Molony 1995: 268; Morley 1999: 70).
14
Te increasing number of law-
suits by female workers against their male employers and employees
12
Womens workforce participation in the developed Western countries was rep-
resented by the M-curve until the 1970s; today it is represented by the trapezoid line
because marriage and childbirth have little afect on womens participation in the
workforce (Broadbent 2003: 9).
13
In 2007, while the proportion of female subsection chiefs accounted for a little
over 10 per cent of the entire number of subsection chiefs, the proportion of female
department managers accounted for less than 5 per cent of the whole department
managers (Gender Equality Bureau 2008: 7475).
14
Despite the similar starting salary for newly employed men and women, the sal-
ary for women in the general-duties grade becomes almost half of the mens salary by
the time they reach their forties, women no longer experiencing wage increases from
the end of their thirties (Broadbent 2003: 15; Genda 2005: 49; Ogasawara 1998: 35).
118 chapter four
indicates persistent discrimination against women at work even afer
the 1999 revision of the EEOL (Hamada 2005: 46). Te following
section turns to the participants perception of female workers in their
workplaces.
Te participants perception of female workers
Changing attitudes to female workers were expressed by the partic-
ipants; for example, disapproval of the term OL
15
or the abolition
of ochakumi (serving tea) by female workers to their male work col-
leagues. Even so, inequality between men and women is far from hav-
ing been eradicated in the participants workplaces. For example, heavy
industries recruit mainly men and participants from the iron, steel
and cement companies described their workplace as a mans world
(Hirose-san, Ishihara-san and Uchida-san in Cohort One). Tey sim-
ply thought that there was no room for women in their industries.
Moreover, of twenty-seven companies in my research, only thirteen
had women in managerial positions. Tey were, however, either sub-
section chiefs or section chiefs, with no women in executive posts.
None of the participants had ever had a female boss. All the partici-
pants had experienced in-company training separately from female
workers, suggesting ongoing sex discrimination against women in the
participants companies.
When asked how they would feel if they had a female boss, regard-
less of their cohort, the majority of the participants answered that they
would feel uncomfortable, which was very similar to a study of corpo-
rate management conducted by Wajcman (1999: 64). Tis was espe-
cially the case in Cohort One who had little interaction with female
workers. Honda-san claimed that he was simply not able to imag-
ine women to be as competent as us [men]. Participants in Cohort
Two faced the dilemma of complying with ofcially promoted gender
equality, or of consciously or unconsciously adhering to their comfort
zoneone with patriarchal and paternal work conditions. Participants
in Cohort Tree also saw men as the main workers. However, some
15
Te term OL stands for an ofce lady. Te discourses on OLs portray them as
lively and merry young women. Te media pay much attention to their lifestyles
and characterise them as important active consumers, while their tasks at work are
described as both easy and tedious (Ogasawara 1998: 2425). See also Ito (1994: 84)
for the description of female ofce workers in comics.
work 119
of them were bewildered by the changing attitudes of female workers
who have no intention of working for the men beyond their ofcial
tasks, thus revealing that even young men in this cohort expect work-
ing women to do subsidiary tasks, such as photocopying and serv-
ing tea. Participants indicated that there were the specifc problems of
what they assumed to be womens preferences, namely, their focus on
the family as well as general problems with female workers.
Participants generally assumed that women gave the family priority
over work, suggesting that they leave work permanently or that their
temporary absence from work due to childbirth introduced trouble
in the workplace (Wajcman 1999: 36). In addition, many participants
suspected that women who have children were not able to balance
work and the family. In other words, womens relation to the domes-
tic sphere is problematised in the minds of participants (Cockburn
1991: 76). Refecting on his experience in a personnel department,
Shimizu-san (Cohort Tree) suggested that childbirth dooms womens
prospects of success:
If a woman gets married, she will defnitely have a child. Probably I
myself think that way. And then she will take maternity leave. Tis
means she deserts the front line. Terefore, I think people who are in
managerial posts tend to think the same and they also think they never
know the future if they promote a woman. I know we shouldnt have
this thought, but in reality, women defnitely walk away from the front
line. Its not discrimination but we just hesitate to promote women.
(Shimizu-san, III)
Te above quotation implies mens distrust of women as workers and
also mens perception of women as encumbrances at work. Hamada-
san (Cohort Two), by contrast, works for a securities company that
zealously promotes gender equality. While he had a high opinion of
competent female workers,
16
he was doubtful of their commitment to
work because they not only chose the family over work but also under-
mined high quality job achievement.
17
16
In his company, unlike other Japanese companies, from April 2004, employees
have worked on a contract-basis and are paid by the merit-based pay system. Some
female workers in his team earn 1,000,000 (A$10,500) a month. According to him,
in big cities, there are successful female workers who earn 2,000,000 ~ 3,000,000 a
month.
17
Acker (1998: 198199) argues that this kind of frustration represents a response
to the ineluctable antagonism between the practices of organisations in the public
sphere and the practices of reproduction in the private sphere. She maintains that,
120 chapter four
A woman enters a company and gets married a few years later and then
she takes maternity leave for some months. She comes back to work
and then she gets pregnant again and takes leave. Men and women have
equal rights but only women bear a baby. Well if I say this, some people
get angry but I wonder. Tis kind of woman is a problem. If it is a
small- or middle-sized company, the company will go bankrupt. Dont
you think so? (Hamada-san, II)
Hamada-san made a contradictory statement. While he did not see
womens maternity leave as unfair to men only because men do not
become pregnant or give birth, a woman, however, creates trouble for
the company once she takes maternity leave. Te fact that Hamada-
san gave no endorsement to young male workers who take childcare
leave suggested that he saw women as the gender of domesticity. Simi-
larly, assuming that childcare is womens work, Sugiura-san (Cohort
Two) says that men of his age can go out in the middle of the night to
work but women cannot do so because women in their forties have
children at home.
One of womens general problems raised by many participants was
their lack of ambition. For example, Amano-san (Cohort Two), who
works in a personnel department, told me about an informal meet-
ing which he had with, supposedly, other male colleagues. While they
would like to give more opportunities to female workers, they sus-
pected that no one would dare. Likewise, Hino-san (Cohort Two), who
also works in a personnel department, regretted that female workers in
general duties refrained from facing a challenge:
I would like them to take up a challenge and I give them the chance quite
ofen. But, unfortunately, they sidestep difcult tasks and escape to their
support job. I ask them to attend a meeting and present a report but they
say something like this, no, I dont want to attend a meeting or no, I
dont want to talk in front of people. . . . Unfortunately, I dont have any
ambitious ones. (Hino-san, II)
Te women discussed above belong to the general-duties track and
have not received any training that might help them with challeng-
unless both men and women are considered equally to have caring responsibilities
in the private space, maternal and paternal childcare leave and childcare centres for
parenting will play a role in maintaining sex segregation in (or exclusion of women
from) organisations because these are ofen utilised by women and are by no means
compatible with proft-making organisations, women thus continuing to be margina-
lised as workers.
work 121
ing tasks. Neither Amano-san nor Hino-san seemed aware of this
disadvantage, instead attributing their hesitation to incompetency.
Te above participants suggestions can be interpreted as ofoading
work onto them without due payment. More importantly, the female
workers hesitation in attempting challenging tasks unjustly nurtures
and maintains the participants sense of superiority. Te presence of
unskilled female workers with few resources represents an institution-
ally granted advantage in order that men can retain their privileged
status in their organisations (Cockburn 1991: 45). Moreover, men have
a cultural advantage. Mens collective corporate culture also represents
an obstacle to womens empowerment at work. Kusuda-san argued
that women did not ft into the male drinking culture:
I think men and women have a diferent way of thinking about the com-
pany and work. Ah, let me see, for instance, men can have a frank and
open talk when drinking together afer work but I think you cant have
such a talk with women. You know, I think its hard for men and women
to talk together afer work. I think trust is built better in a conversation
outside the company than inside the company. When you go drinking,
you might speak your real feelings. Maybe its because you are drunk but
my point is men and women cant have such a frank and open discus-
sion. (Kusuda-san, III)
Men resist women advancing into their territory, not wanting to give
up their established homo-social fraternity. Other participants criti-
cised women on the grounds that they were temperamental, fastidious
about insignifcant matters and shrewish,
18
implying that men are ratio-
nal and, therefore, suitable for work (Wajcman 1999: 6061). Draw-
ing on the examples of their wives, Nakama-san (Cohort Tree) said
that his wife was moody and I dont want to study womens moods
all the time at work, whereas Amano-san (Cohort Two) associated
his wife with women in general and stated that women are naggers
and more or less hysterical. Refecting on his teachers, Kuraoka-san
claimed that:
Female teachers were particular about small things. To put it in a nasty
way, women dont see the mountain but the trees. Tey are like that.
18
In her study of correctional ofcers working in a mens and womens prison,
Britton (1999: 462) argues that, regardless of sex and their current workplace, the
majority of the ofcers prefer working in a mens prison to working in a womens
prison partly because of their perception of women as being emotional and higher
strung than men.
122 chapter four
Tey observe leaves and branches closely but they cant grasp the whole
mountain. Tats what I think. I may be biased but I think women tend
to scold emotionally. (Kuraoka-san, II)
Tese criticisms of female workers indicate the above participants nar-
row contacts with women inside and outside the workplace. Sugiura-
san (Cohort Two) also argued in a similar manner that women were
not patient enough in dealing with difcult clients, suggesting that it
was culturally inappropriate for women to take clients out for drinks at
night and ask favours of them. Tese participants were clearly unwill-
ing to invest women with authority or competence.
In contrast to the above arguments, some participants asserted that
they would not look at their bosses through a gendered framework.
Tey were only concerned about the quality of their boss as a supe-
rior. Participants who knew women in managerial positions evaluated
them in two ways. Te frst was an appraisal of them as exceptional.
Te other was a subtle criticism of their femininity by seeing them
as desexualised (or masculinised) women, that is, as honorary men
(Cockburn 1988: 40; Pringle 1989: 176). In this way, these participants
also endorsed the assumption that normally only men could hold posi-
tions of authority.
19
For example, Tachibana-san praised a woman who
became a section chief:
Tis woman got into the head ofce via the executive-track. She has
become a section chief over there. When I was working there, she arrived
unexpectedly. Our company hired her at midyear. Tat woman became
a section manager. I think it is natural because, its amazing, she was
very competent from the very beginning. And she was diferent from
other young men. Her way of thinking, dealing with work and negotiat-
ing were defnitely diferent. I was surprised when I heard she became a
section chief but I also thought it was proper. (Tachibana-san, II)
Tachibana-san judged the woman by the standard of evaluation for
men as he compared her competence with young males, thus mascu-
linising the female section manager. On the other hand, Katagiri-san
implied criticism of an able woman who rose above her husband:
19
See Smith and Kimmel (2005: 18371838) for an example of a woman who was
unsexed by success. A competent female senior manager was proposed for a part-
nership but her employer cancelled it for the reasons that she was macho and she
overcompensated for being a woman.
work 123
Tere was a married couple working for our company and the wife
became more important than her husband. But, but, she is not ordinary.
How can I put it, she is a kind of person I dont understand. I think she
had better become a government ofcial . . . Elite women clearly distin-
guish between work and marriage. Tose women go overseas leaving
their husbands alone in Japan, dont they? (Katagiri-san, I)
Katagiri-sans comment suggests that he judged the woman by his stan-
dard of evaluation for married women (femininity), thus representing
a desexualisation of competent women. Tese two women were difer-
ent and not ordinary, whether because they were more capable than
a man (manly) or were able to balance work and the family without
being bound by domestic commitments (unfeminine).
In summary, the various interpretations of female workers ofered
by the participants played a role in defending their fortress and in
protecting their patriarchal dividend in their companies. On the one
hand, women are defned as the gender of reproduction, through their
perceived incapability, as outsiders to the fraternal corporate culture
and as temperamentally unsuited to authority. On the other hand,
women who become insiders are referred to as desexualised excep-
tions or condemned as unfeminine. Sex segregation is thus sustained
by the collective and active engagement of male employees (Cock-
burn 1988: 32). In either case, this male resistance to the advancement
of women was an unrefective response among the participants, no
one mentioning mens advantage in the institutional, organisational
and cultural protection of male superiority in the workplace. Another
aspect of sex discrimination in the workplace is sexual harassment,
and this will be explored in the next section.
Sexual harassment
Given recent legislative and policy changes in this area, this section
focuses on sexual harassment in Japanese organisations.
20
Given that
Japanese salarymen in general have little understanding of sexuality in
the public sphere, it was felt that focusing on a topic which has had
20
Tere is same-sex harassment that does not involve sexual desire and is appro-
priately called gender harassment. However, it is beyond the scope of this thesis
and, therefore, is not dealt with in this section. See Smith and Kimmel (2005) for a
discussion of gender discrimination in the workplace.
124 chapter four
recent public exposure would elicit more active and comprehending
responses in the interviews.
Te term sexual harassment became widely difused in the 1970s,
in the U.S.A. (Pringle 1989: 164). In 1979 Catharine MacKinnons
classic text Sexual Harassment of Working Women was published, and
in this work, she indicated defects in the legal interpretation of sexual
harassment and argued that sexual harassment was sex discrimination.
In Japan, in 1989, the term fnally gained currency.
21
Sexual harass-
ment is as old as the hills, but in Japan documentation only goes back
to the Meiji period (18681912) when poor girls working in textile
mills, were sexually harassed and treated inhumanly by their factory
employers (It 1974: 67; Numazaki 2003: 226), and this is relatively
recent. However, it must still be seen as a new issue because the con-
cept of sexual harassment was only formulated at the end of the 1980s.
More importantly, gender and hierarchy were applied to understand-
ing sexual harassment as key analytical tools. Although Japan adopted
the foreign words sexual harassment (sekush(u)aru harasumento)
into Japanese, Japanese people use the abbreviation sekuhara (Miya
2000: 21; Morley 1999: 119).
Sexual harassment was understood as personal and natural
in male-centred society as was the case in the U.S. a decade earlier
(Gutek 1989: 59; MacKinnon 1979: 84; Ochiai and Yoshitake 2001:
2). By regarding sexual harassment as personal, the harassed person
is divested of her legal rights. A personal matter also disguises the
important point that sexual harassment is sex-based and work-related.
Finally, it removes the employers accountability for the injustice, the
victim ofen being regarded as responsible for the outcome (DiTomaso
1989: 72; Gutek 1989: 62; MacKinnon 1979: 8487). Considering sex-
ual harassment to be natural draws on biology. Accordingly, a sexual
drive towards the opposite sex becomes acceptable, which results in
the blindness of organisations to or tolerance of male sexual advances
21
In 1986, the lawyer, Kawamoto Kazuko, defended a woman who was arrested
for murder, citing legitimate self-defence. She pushed a drunken man on a train sta-
tion platform, who persisted in touching her, and he fell onto the train line and was
killed by a passing train. In 1987, the complainant won the case with the support of
sasaeru-kai [a society that supports the plaintif ] formed by many women, who had
had similar experiences of sexual harassment. Although the term sexual harassment
was not raised during the trial, the lawyer learned of the concept and played a key role
in disseminating the term (Miya 2000: 1421).
work 125
towards female workers (Collinson and Collinson 1989: 9394;
DiTomaso 1989: 71; Gutek 1989: 57, 62; MacKinnon 1979: 90).
In 1992, in Fukuoka, a sexual harassment lawsuit delivered a guilty
judgement against the accused harasser and his employer.
22
Tis
lawsuit was regarded as the landmark case of sexual harassment in
the workplace because it was the frst civil trial in which not only
the harasser but also his employer were found guilty. Given that the
employers responsibility for regulating the workplace for the welfare
of their employees was provided for in the revised EEOL seven years
later, the lawsuit that pursued the employers responsibility was a
milestone in sexual harassment (Yoshikawa 2004: 1516). Te medias
report about the lawsuit sent salarymen a warning that something that
occurred more or less daily at work violated the law and also alerted
employers that they had better take measures to deal with sexual
harassment in the workplace. At least until then, sexual harassment
by male workers towards female workers was regarded as acceptable
(Gordon 1991: 15) and women were expected to bear these obnox-
ious circumstances at work (Ochiai and Yoshitake 2000: 2). Indeed,
the 1986 EEOL failed to grasp sexual harassment as a legal matter,
requesting companies only to make eforts to prevent it. Te Japa-
nese government, initially slow to take action regarding discrimination
against women, fnally launched a project to eliminate sexual harass-
ment from the workplace. In 1999, as mentioned earlier, the revised
EEOL considered sexual harassment to be violence against women
and an infringement of womens human rights. Article Twenty-One
stipulates that employers are responsible for any occurrence of sexual
harassment at work and that they must take measures to prevent it as
well as impose sanctions against it
23
(Chan-Tiberghien 2004: 2; Miya
2000: 225; Ochiai and Yoshitake 2001: 2). Te revised EEOL adopted
two broad classifcations of sexual harassment based on the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission and the courts: quid pro quo
and condition of work or hostile work environment (Miya 2000:
206; Tsunoda 2004: 621). Te quid pro quo refers to an individuals
submission to or rejection of a sexual advance, which involves threat
22
Te harasser, who was a chief editor of a publishing house, continued to spread
despicable sexual rumours about the victim (a competent worker) and eventually
forced her to resign (Yoshikawa 2004: 15).
23
However, companies receive no legal sanctions for failing to follow the Article
(Tsunoda 2004: 623).
126 chapter four
or bribery including dismissal, a pay cut and promotion, thus afecting
the individuals condition of employment. Te condition of work or
hostile work environment is understood as unwanted sexual con-
duct that impedes an individuals work performance or creates an
unbearable work environment (MacKinon 1979: 32, 40; Miya 2000:
225226; Stockdale 1996: 6). However, dissatisfaction and complaints
amongst female workers concerning their companies responses to
sexual harassment are increasing (Yoshikawa 2004: 20). Te number of
lawsuits against sexual harassment is also growing (Chan-Tiberghien
2004: 45; Hamada 2005: 6).
Commentators argue that sexual harassment in Japan is character-
ised by coercion of the sex role, in which female workers are expected
to play the role of a caring wife, lawsuits corroborating this aspect
(Miya 2000: 227228; Numazaki 2003: 231234; Yoshikawa 2004: 95).
Tis feature is termed the sex role spillover in the West, in which
female workers are expected to fulfl female stereotypes (Gutek 1989:
59; Stockdale 1996: 10). Auditing sexual harassment-related court tri-
als from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Miya (2000) demonstrates
prevailing male assumptions in the Japanese workplace, thus indicating
the power dynamics. Women are trivialised as workers and objectifed
as the target for mens sexual desires. Sumitomo Realty and Devel-
opment Company is one recent example. In 1999, the company held
an end-of-year party organised by its personnel department in which
130 male workers and 18 female workers were involved in indecent
athletic-type games (Sait 2001: 24). Te majority of the female work-
ers were temporary and were compelled to participate if they wanted
to avoid dismissal at the whim of the company. While the coercion of
the sex role represents a common feature of sexual harassment both
in Japan and the U.S., the attitudes of companies towards the elimina-
tion of sexual harassment difer between the two countries. Te fact
that the U.S. courts thoroughly appraise employers responsibilities for
efective measures against sexual harassment has resulted in creating
the wider social system that forces companies to cope with the issue
actively and efectively.
24
By contrast, the Japanese court is concerned
24
Tere are trials in which companies that have efective measures against sexual
harassment received exemption from the employers responsibility for preventing sex-
ual harassment (Mizutani 2001: 68; Yoshikawa 2004: 199). Tis is a powerful incentive
for American companies to reinforce sexual harassment measures.
work 127
in redressing the victim more than in evaluating the employers eforts
to eliminate sexual harassment. As a result, Japanese companies lack
incentives to deal with sexual harassment seriously and their measures
against sexual harassment are still inefective in the early twenty-frst
century (Yoshikawa 2004: 197198). Sexual harassment is a tool by
means of which men maintain male supremacy over women (Cock-
burn 1991: 142; Collinson and Collinson 1989: 99; DiTomaso 1989:
73; MacKinnon 1979: 9) and this is refected in the participants nar-
ratives in the following passages. Te narratives also reveal the partici-
pants imperfect understanding of sexual harassment, including their
implicit acceptance of it as mens nature, which, they think, can never
be eliminated.
Most participants had heard of sexual harassment or had actu-
ally seen it in their working environments. Only fve people (three in
Cohort One and two in Cohort Tree) stated that sexual harassment
never occurred in their companies. Of course, these participants were
not necessarily reliable in their reports, Cohort One being generally
less familiar with the concept of sexual harassment, with several of
them merging it with illicit love afairs. Furthermore, participants may
have wished to protect their companies reputation, one in Cohort
Tree initially evading the question by focusing on the companys
eforts to educate its employees, but resulting in faltering in reality,
well, ah. . . .
Tose participants who knew of incidents of sexual harassment
described various forms including thoughtless remarks made without
being aware of their gravity, unpleasant touching and unwanted sexual
advances. Te participants noted that most of their companies gave lec-
tures on sexual harassment to their employees as part of the induction
course for newly hired employees and part of the training for newly
promoted managers. Tese companies also provided their employees
with booklets about sexual harassment. Tese measures are similar to
the results of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare (2001). Tere were a few stories of companies punishing
harassers by dismissing them. Despite the well-established training for
employees in the prevention of sexual harassment,
25
the participants
25
Since sexual harassment in large companies attracts the medias attention, there
are more preventative measures in large corporations compared with small/medium-
sized companies.
128 chapter four
found it hard to understand exactly what sexual harassment meant.
26

For example, the statement I had training and read a booklet but I
still dont understand what is and what is not sekuhara (Minami-san
in Cohort Two) was common amongst participants. Te participants
tend to think that sexual harassment is judged by the female work-
ers yardstick. Tokuda-san (Cohort Tree), who works in a person-
nel department, sighed that it is hard [to defne sexual harassment]
because it is a matter of womens perception. Likewise, Amano-san,
who also works in a personnel department, stated:
We thought that women didnt care but we found actually they did.
Female workers here are not very young. One female worker reported
that she was asked are you going to marry yet? We simply think thats
only an everyday greeting but apparently girls think its sexual harass-
ment. Tis came up last year in a questionnaire. If its called sexual
harassment, we have it. (Amano-san, II)
Despite the fact that Amano-san was a member of the sexual harass-
ment prevention committee in his company, he was unconcerned with
male workers misbehavior. Te above quote refects the fundamental
problem that sexual harassment was not taken seriously as violence
against women and an infringement of womens human rights. In fact,
Amano-san and other members of the committee only released the
survey results but did not advise harassers to stop their wrongdoing,
expecting them to realise and mend their ways.
Hino-san works in a general afairs department. He thinks that sex-
ual harassment will never be eradicated:
Of course, as I work in a general afairs department, Ive heard of it
many times. We educate employees to a moderate degree. Just because
we provide training, I dont think it will disappear. I think reasonable
education is enough . . . but we havent really done anything about sexual
harassment. Actually we are concerned whether or not we can really do
something about it. My job is to take care of the sexual harassment that
has happened. It is hard to decide how far we can take preventative mea-
sures. Terefore, we just provide reasonable education because I dont
think the prevention will ever be complete. (Hino-san, II)
Likewise, other participants who worked in a personnel department
stated that they provided preventative education because they have no
26
In fact, the Revised EEOL does not defne the term sexual harassment (Tsunoda
2004: 631).
work 129
choice but to do it in compliance with the governments policy.
27
So
sexual harassment was trivialised, even by the participants who were
responsible for educating workers about it. Under the circumstances,
how did other workers perceive sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment was somebody elses business was the attitude
of most participants. While they claimed that their companies pro-
vided meticulous training and education about sexual harassment, they
turned a blind eye to it. However, Katagiri-san was an exception, in
that he was very cautious concerning the possibility of accusations of
sexual harassment. Although Katagiri-san was always on good terms
with the female workers, articles on sexual harassment which he read
in magazines, when he was overseas, made him think that he should
refrain from making jokes because female workers may misinterpret
his jokes in a negative way. He related an experience that kept him on
edge afer returning to Japan, although a joke was not the cause:
Tere was a tall woman called Akemi-chan. I called her Akemi-chan
and then another woman asked me if I knew her frst name. I thought
oh no, thats it. I memorised the frst names of twenty-three women in
my section in 10 minutes. I was that careful. (Katagiri-san, I)
Katagiri-san was in a cold sweat. While he remembered the name of
the tall woman only because she was extremely tall, the other employ-
ees might think this was discrimination or favouritism. Moreover,
Katagiri-san called the tall woman by her frst name with chan, which
connotes endearment and is normally used in close relations, which
he was also concerned about because it might be understood as sexual
harassment, in which case he might be sent to a branch ofce or a
subsidiary company.
28
As the imported term sekuhara indicates, its alien character meant
that sexual harassment was still an unfamiliar concept for many
participants in this study. In addition, because of a lack of human
rights education (Chan-Tiberghien 2004: 70), participants lacked the
27
In fact, one participant, who works in a personnel department and is engaged
in the elimination of sexual harassment, implied that I should marry. Tis incident
refected his fundamental lack of understanding of sexual harassment as well as his
lack of sensitivity.
28
Disciplinary action includes reprimand, salary and/or grade reduction, transfer,
delay in promotion, withdrawal of annual salary increments, demotion, suspension
or even actual dismissal: these forms of sanction are commonly used internationally
(Aeberhard-Hodges 1996: 530; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2001).
130 chapter four
essential understanding of sexual harassment as a serious matter in
relation to womens human rights. Moreover, even those participants
who provided preventative education to workers in their companies
did not deal with the issue in a serious manner. Te trivialisation of
sexual harassment is one form of mens collective mobilisation of
masculinity for the purposes of excluding women (Martin 2003: 350;
Martin and Collinson 1999: 302). Especially in large Japanese male-
centred corporations, it is easy to promote such a collective practice
unnoticed (Connell 1995: 172). As Walby (1990: 145) suggests, sexual
harassment is a by-product of other forms of patriarchal supremacy
over women. Te revised EEOL may dissuade male workers, although
not every worker, from indulging in sexual harassment; however, it
cannot demolish the organisational stratagems that maintain male
dominance.
Transfer and tanshinfunin: one painful price of being a salaryman
Te male patriarchal dividend does not come without a price. Noto-
rious are Japanese salarymens long working hours, karoshi (sudden
death by overwork)
29
and transfers. Te issue of working hours amongst
white-collar workers attracted media attention from the late 1980s,
the curtailment of long working hours being the major topic. While
in 2002, working hours were reduced for which the government had
aimed, another problem of sbisu zangy (unpaid overtime service)
surfaced (Palumbo and Herbig 1994: 54; Shimada 2003: 2). Tis was a
product of reduced recruitment due to the prolonged recession, which
increased the tasks and thus the working hours of young salarymen in
large corporations (Genda 2005: 66; Shimada 2003: 3). Although, in
the 1990s, workers in the U.S. and the U.K. exceeded the annual work-
ing hours of Japanese workers on average (Reiss 2002: 17; Watts 1999:
1273), no (2003: 23) argues that Japanese working hours would be
second to none if the hours of unpaid overtime service which do not
appear in the ofcial record were included. Karoshi was frst legally
recognised in the early 1980s (no 2003: 21; Reiss 2002: 17). While
in the early 1990s, the Japanese government was reluctant to accept
karoshi as a work-related, fatal, mental and physical breakdown, in
29
Karoshi used to be called kachby (managers disease) (Palumbo and Herbig
1994: 55).
work 131
1999, because of marked increases in karoshi suits and suicides,
30
the
Ministry of Labour amended the defnition of karoshi and included
suicide committed by those who had enormous work-related pressure
and stress (Watts 1999: 1273). Another example of a painful price
transfersis the major theme in this section.
Salarymen (and bureaucrats) are occasionally (or even regularly)
transferred from their head ofces to a branch ofce, and vice versa
(Tanaka 1991: 12). When the new ofce is out of commuting range,
married employees have to decide whether their whole families move
with them or they go alone to the new workplace (Ogasawara 2004:
248). Te former is called tenkin (a transfer)
31
and the latter is referred
to as tanshinfunin (going to a distant post unaccompanied by fami-
lies). Vogel (1971: 152) described salarymen and their families who
lived separately because of transfers, although he did not use the term
tanshinfunin, probably because it was spread by the media only in
the 1980s (Tanaka 1991: vi).
32
Te redeployment of workers within
the company has been a vital tool for personnel management. In the
1980s, the reshufe of personnel meant a redisposition of excess work-
ers in order to maintain life-time employment, fll vacant positions,
reform the organisation, and educate prospective workers concern-
ing corporate management, and it ofered a solution to workers who
reported maladjustment to their work environment (Tanaka 1991:
37).
33
During the 1990s and onwards, the redeployment of workers
30
Te 1999 record indicated 32,863 suicides, which was greater by 34.7 per cent
than the previous year. Moreover, the number of men in their ffies who committed
suicide showed a 45 per cent increase over that of the previous year (Watts 1999:
1273). See also Karoushi Jishi Soudan Center (2006) http://www.karoushi.jp/ for the
increase in the number of karoshi.
31
In contrast to the transfer system, the fxed workplace location system is called
gentei kinmuchi seido and saish ninchi sentaku seido (the limited workplace sys-
tem and the selection of the fnal workplace system). Tis system used to be applied
automatically and indiscriminately to workers who could not obtain promotion
female workers and less-educated male workers. Te system is now applied to workers
in the executive-track; however, the price of choosing it is fewer opportunities for pro-
motion, and decreased income and welfare benefts than for the workers who subject
themselves to the transfer system (Housei Daigaku hara Shakai Mondai Kenkyjo
2001; Tanaka 1991: 45).
32
Te practice itself existed as early as the mid-1940s, there being an ofcial record
of companies that paid an allowance to their married workers who lived separately from
their families because of their work. Tis allowance is still paid (Tanaka 1991: ii).
33
According to Eguchi (2005), bank employees, journalists and bureaucrats are
ofen transferred by their employers in order to prevent the employees from engaging
in activities that bring private beneft to them.
132 chapter four
became more important than ever because of the ongoing restructur-
ing of companies through such activities as moving factories, divid-
ing and merging companies and transferring the function of the main
ofce to other locations (Hikkoshi Bunka Kenkyjo 2001a; McCann,
Hassard and Morris 2006: 99). Amongst the entire full-time work-
force in all companies in Japan (thirty-one million), three per cent are
said to be tanshinfunin workers within Japan (nine hundred thousand)
(Hikkoshi Bunka Kenkyjo 2001b). Additionally, large corporations
have the largest percentage of transfers overseas in the form of tan-
shinfunin (Hikkoshi Bunka Kenkyjo 2001b).
Until the early 1990s, when companies issued transfer orders, large
corporations strongly recommended to their workers that they relocate
with their families, only accepting or choosing tanshinfunin in com-
pelling circumstances (Tanaka 1991: 9, 43). However, large companies
now regard tanshinfunin as unavoidable in maximising organisational
mobility in order to revitalise companies (Matanle 2006: 75). Some
workers readily choose tanshinfunin because male workers in their
forties and ffies are likely to have children who are busy preparing for
examinations for high school or university, to own their own homes
and to have their parents living with them (thus exercising flial piety)
(Tanaka 1991: 12, 22, 30). More specifcally, due to the educational
system it is difcult to change high schools. In addition, parents are
worried about their childrens failure to adjust to new school envi-
ronments. As it is very difcult to buy a house in Japan, people have
a strong attachment to their own house and land, and it is unusual
to repeat buying and selling houses from place to place. Since many
companies do not give consideration to their workers personal cir-
cumstances, the concept of the transfer being an unconditional com-
mand is widely accepted by both corporations and salarymen. Te
following reveals the participants experiences of transfers and tan-
shinfunin as prioritising the demands of their working lives for the
sacrifce of their families.
Te numbers of transfers and tanshinfunin are highest in Cohort
Two (see Table Nine in Appendix Tree), although this might be
partly explained in relation to Cohort Tree by their shorter work-
ing lives. Participants in Cohort Two regarded transfers and tanshin-
funin as part of their work and, therefore, as something inevitable,
and some participants regretted causing inconvenience to their fami-
lies due to their transfers, which indicated an increasing preference
for tanshinfunin. By contrast, although only about one-half of Cohort
work 133
One experienced transfers and tanshinfunin, those who did saw work
as a matter of the highest priority. Regarding Cohort Tree, nearly
one-half of the participants had already experienced transfers, despite
their young age.
A few in Cohort One refused or avoided transfer or tanshinfunin.
Hirose-san reported a fabrication to avoid transfer, telling his com-
pany that he had a sick mother to look afer.
34
Sasaki-san refused his
companys order because his wife had a job, while several others were
lucky to escape transfer or tanshinfunin. By contrast, despite the fact
that those participants who experienced transfers or tanshinfunin had
to move many times (more frequently than those in other cohorts),
they expressed a sheer sense of mission for their work with no com-
mitment to their families, embodying the devotion of the corporate
warrior to the company. Yanase-san proudly related his experiences
of eight transfers and three tanshinfunin. Shiga-san, who worked for a
bank, was transferred every three years. Afer buying a house, Shiga-
san was determined to commute to his distant workplace from his
house. At one stage, he caught the fve-forty train every morning and
came home afer midnight, spending the night in a hotel if he missed
the last train at 10 p.m. Even so, Shiga-san expressed his gratitude to
his company for giving him time to read and learn while commuting.
Katagiri-san was transferred overseas four times. He received one order
just afer his child was born. He decided to go overseas by himself:
I was prepared [to obey the order]. My company gave us the right to
refuse. You dont get any punishment if you do so.
35
But I think my
company is too kind to its employees. Salarymen must do what they are
told to do. (Katagiri-san, I)
Te above participants in Cohort One unhesitatingly obeyed their
companies commands, being unconcerned about their families in the
process. Tese corporate warriors clearly revealed their internalisation
of corporate ideology.
Most participants in Cohort Two experienced transfers or tanshin-
funin, although they were transferred only once or twice. For them,
34
A rejection of the companys order by its workers is rare and one-third of compa-
nies penalise workers rejection and they are ofen subject to disciplinary action (Oga-
sawara 2004: 247; Tanaka 1991: 44). However, some companies give consideration to
employees sick family members (Tanaka 1991: 16).
35
A colleague of Yoshino-san (Cohort Two) was asked to resign his post when he
refused a transfer.
134 chapter four
while work took precedence over their families, they were also con-
cerned about the impact of their transfers on them, especially on their
children. Ono-sans wife told him that his sons experienced bullying
at school and Ono-san was troubled that his sons might not be able
to make good friends because of his many transfers. Similarly, when
Toda-sans children told him that they did not feel any attachment
to their school at the graduation ceremony when other students were
crying, he thought, if I could do the transfer over again, I would leave
my family. Likewise, Hino-san expressed his worry:
I dont have any problem but my child does. [When we moved] he was
in the second grade in junior high school. He had trouble with friends.
We moved from Nagoya to Kagoshima. Te language is diferent, cul-
ture is diferent, apparently, textbooks, eleven out of twelve, are difer-
ent. It was just before examinations for high school. My child seemed to
be so worried. I thought he would grow out of it but it was difcult for
him. He thinks that he was forced to move. (Hino-san, II)
Toda-san and Ueno-san, who each worked in the personnel depart-
ment in their companies, also noted the change in attitudes in compa-
nies from encouraging their employees to go to a new post with their
families to accepting tanshinfunin (Toda-san), ofen because wives and
children resisted the move (Ueno-san). Transfers caused difculties
not only for some participants children but also for wives. Hamada-
sans wife felt lonely because she did not have friends in the new post
until she started part-time work. Transfers, once children fnished sec-
ondary school, were hard for his wife because there were no school
events that provided opportunities to make friends.
Tanshinfunin poses diferent problems. Hamada-san was in the
middle of tanshinfunin at the time of the interview.
I didnt do any housework [at home]. Now I have to do it. I didnt even
make tea. I have daughters. I just said tea and I got it. I clean the bath-
tub and toilet but my wife comes here once a month. (Hamada-san, II)
Likewise, Ueno-san who called his situation half-tanshinfunin
explained:
My wife makes a trip between Hakata and here fortnightly because we
have a house there. She lives alone over there but our children live close
by. Because I pay an allowance to her for this, shes got to come here [to
do housework for me]. (Ueno-san, II)
So-called half -tanshinfunin was the experience of some other par-
ticipants, whose wives came regularly to their digs or to the hotel in
work 135
order to perform household tasks. Participants also expressed the eco-
nomic power and patriarchal perceptions of the veteran salaryman
they paid for their wives services and expected them to be provided.
While it was obvious that participants in Cohort Two who experi-
enced transfers and tanshinfunin obeyed their companies at the sac-
rifce of their families, there was an undercurrent of concern for and
complaints from their families that was absent in Cohort One.
Almost none of the participants in Cohort Tree had to juggle fam-
ily and work commitments, experiencing transfers as single men. Shi-
mizu-san, the only married participant who experienced tanshinfunin,
went through an extremely difcult time. When he was transferred, his
wife was pregnant with their second child and the frst child was only
three years old:
My wife wanted to raise children here, so I was sure that if I got a trans-
fer, thats going to be tanshinfunin. As I have an ambition for success as
a salaryman, it was a dilemma . . . My wife said to me that she was like a
father as well as a mother and she couldnt count on me. It was hard to
take. Te second child was born when I was away from home. We ofen
had quarrels [over the phone]. I was very busy and it was impossible to
look afer my children because of my location. She was sort of asking me
to quit my job. I was very sorry for my family. (Shimizu-san, III)
Being distressed by the situation, Shimizu-san found a new job and
was about to resign his position in order to return to his home. How-
ever, his superior kindly made an arrangement for him to return to
his former workplace afer serving away for another year. Discussing
the arrangement, Shimizu-san and his wife both agreed to accept it.
His wife and children were happy to have him at home, but Shimizu-
san planned to commit himself more fully to work when his children
became old enough to be lef without him. Cohort One experienced
the increasing redeployment and reshufing of workers and lower-
ing of the age of frst transfer. Because of this, in the future, mar-
ried participants with young children may have similar problems to
Shimizu-sans, given the growing likelihood that wives with babies and
toddlers in this cohort will express their complaints, demanding their
husbands participation in childcare.
In brief, work is more important than the family for most partici-
pants across the three cohorts, and many of them perform the role
of corporate warriors as their proper task without any doubts, fulfll-
ing corporate needs at the sacrifce of their families. In Cohort One,
some participants showed their extreme determination to devote their
136 chapter four
lives to work in their attitudes towards transfers or tanshinfunin. Tis
single-minded approach was balanced with some concern for costs to
family amongst participants in Cohort Two, some preferring tanshin-
funin; however, their wives and children were still sacrifced to work
demands. In Cohort Tree, tanshinfunin caused a family crisis because
of a wifes protest and the company accommodated this. Unlike long
working hours and karoshi, participants families pay the immediate
price, shouldering a heavy burden of additional housework and/or the
entire child-rearing process. Notwithstanding this, many participants
continue to nurture their work ambitions even if this means neglect-
ing their families.
Conclusion
Patriarchy is an important dimension of the structuring of modern
societies and of contemporary reality that shapes mens and womens
diferent lives and opportunities (Cockburn 1991: 18). In the context
of work, men in this study benefted from the patriarchal dividend
the advantage men in general gain from the overall subordination of
women in their organisations (Connell 1995: 79). Tis hierarchical
system, as was discussed in the early section of this chapter, inevitably
involved the ranking of men in society. Te system thus empowered the
participants as the elite male workers compared with male freeters who
were not valued workers. In contrast to the foregoing chapters, there
was less evidence of generational changes in workplace experiences,
although family demands on salarymen have grownfor example in
the questioning of transfers. Te advent of EEOL and its subsequent
revision has been inefective in eliminating sex discrimination against
women, although it has had some minor impact on expanding the
role of women in the workplace. Participants across the three cohorts
manifested their resistance to womens advances into their territory by
both sexualisation (through sexual harassment) and desexualisation of
women (the evaluation of elite women either as manly or unfeminine).
Most participants were able to enjoy the patriarchal dividend because
of the support of their families (and in particular, that of their wives)
(Wajcman 1999: 141), and this indicated, as was the case in the previ-
ous chapter, the taken-for-granted division of labour. Te next chapter
explores the period of maturity, that is, the participants experiences in
parenting and their purpose in lifeikigai.
CHAPTER FIVE
IKIGAI
Te previous chapter depicted salarymen in this study as benefciaries
of the patriarchal dividend, as expressed in such things as the power
and material resources, with which their large male-centred compa-
nies rewarded them as men. It has also indicated that their ambition
for work is not easily disturbed by the cost that their family members
have to pay. In return, a salaryman is expected to ofer loyalty to his
company, accepting transfers and tanshinfunin. Tis chapter asks the
importance as well as the meaning of work for the participants and
their loyalty to their companies by examining the way in which they
locate work in comparison with other important aspects of life such as
the family, children and leisure activities. Te signifcance of work is
revealed through the lens of ikigai (that which makes life worth living).
Each participant identifed at least one stage in their lives when work
was their total ikigai. While most participants across the three cohorts
suggested that kigysenshi or corporate warrior was an antiquated
dedication to work, many were unsuccessful in identifying an ikigai
other than work. Indeed while some participants claimed that their
ikigai was family, their participation in childcare and child-rearing, to
say nothing of other participants participation in them, was minimal.
Tis chapter also discusses paternal childcare amongst the participants
in this study, exploring the meaning of childcare for them.
Ikigai
Te Japanese term ikigai connotes several slightly diferent meanings.
Ikigai can refer to lifes worth (Lebra 1984: 162), something to live for
(Mathews 1996: vii), sources of self-fulflment (Ogasawara 2004: 241),
ones whole life, a purpose to life or something that makes life worth
living (Mathews 2003: 109; 1996: 3; Plath 1980: 90). English does not
have a corresponding word for ikigai although Mathews (1996: 27)
suggests that the discourse on ikigai in Japan bears a close resemblance
to the discourse on the meaning of life in the U.S.A. Although ikigai
138 chapter five
appears to be a grave word, it is a topic that is frequently discussed in
the Japanese media (Mathews 2003: 109). For example, Plath (1980:
9093) discusses two surveys on ikigai conducted in Japan (one in
1970 and the other in 1972). In one of them, respondents (men and
women whose ages ranged from ffeen to forty-four) chose their iki-
gai from given answers including family, children, leisure, work, life-
style, social activities and other. Te results indicated that the older
men became, the more the family and children became important.
Similarly, the older women became, the more children became their
ikigai. In the other survey, respondents (two groups of men, young
and middle-aged, in large corporations) chose three things that were
the most important to them. Although health was of the greatest con-
cern for the majority of men, regardless of age, similar to the above
survey, older men considered the family to be signifcant for them.
Lebra (1984: 162) also presents the results of a survey conducted by
the Japanese government in 1972 in which women (70 per cent) view
their children as their ikigai, one-half of their male counterparts seeing
their ikigai in work and family (Lebra 1984: 213).
According to Mathews (1996: 12), a survey in the mid-1980s also
indicates that, whereas men over thirty claimed work or family and
children as their ikigai, women over thirty overwhelmingly claimed
family and children as their ikigai. In his comparison of Japanese
people and Americans regarding ikigai, Mathews (1996: 18) sug-
gests conficting ideas in the ikigai discourse in Japan. While one
idea encourages self-realisation (jiko jitsugen), in which self is vital,
the other promotes a sense of unity with or commitment to a group,
in which playing a social role becomes crucial. Many of his respon-
dents fnd their ikigai in oneness with, for example, work (in the case
of men) or children (in the case of women), whereas the majority of
the respondents, regardless of sex, reveal ambivalent feelings about
fnding their ikigai. Te respondents are aware of the two conficting
values of ikigai and indicate the dilemma between living for a group
or someone (playing social roles) and pursuing a life for themselves
(self-realisation). Te interpretation of ikigai as self-realisation resulted
from Japans economic changes from the end of the Second World
War. Rebuilding their society afer the War, people were fulflled in
making their contribution but the advent of afuence meant soul-
searching, which in turn questioned the importance of unity with
the group (Mathews 2003: 118; 1996: 148). Additionally, the familial/
gender division of ikigai amongst married Japanese respondents dem-
ikigai 139
onstrates a striking diference from their American counterparts who
expect the ideal ikigai between spouses to be one that brings mutual
comfort to them and, therefore, has no specifc gender implication
(Mathews 1996: 95). Mathews (2003: 121) argues that men in the older
generation in his study take it for granted that work should be mens
ikigai, whereas younger respondents tend to distance themselves from
work. Despite their opinions, in reality, cultural, socio-economic and
institutional constraints facilitate the continuing gender division of
ikigai and, therefore, work continues to represent mens de facto
ikigai (Mathews 2003: 113).
Nevertheless, ikigai is precarious. Te participants in my study con-
stantly shape and negotiate their ikigai according to their personal,
social, cultural, institutional and economic circumstances and it was
not easy for many participants to articulate their present ikigai. Te
majority of participants in Cohort One, however, claimed without
the least hesitation that work had been their ikigai (see Table 10 in
Appendix Tree). Teir ikigai entailed unity with their company,
except for one participant whose ikigai meant self-realisation in his
work. While most participants who were retired found a new ikigai
in leisure activities, the others were not certain what their ikigai was
at the time of the interview. Cohort Two indicated ambivalent feel-
ings towards both work and family as ikigai except for one participant
whose ikigai was work but clearly in the mode of self-realisation. Some
participants saw their families as ikigai. Some said that both work and
family were important as ikigai, although their conception of the rela-
tionship between work and the family varied. Te others expressed
their wish to fnd ikigai outside work. In Cohort Tree, a few par-
ticipants spoke their minds about wanting their work to be ikigai,
implying that their experience of work as ikigai accorded neither with
playing a social role nor with self-realisation. For them, work repre-
sented an expedient, i.e. a means of earning a comfortable income that
enhanced their lives in relation to leisure. Some claimed that work and
other aspects of their lives were equally their ikigai, while others found
their ikigai in their family.
Work had been ikigai for many participants in Cohort One. Tink-
ing fondly of their working life, for example, a number of them stated
simply of course [work was ikigai] even though it was hard. Tese
participants, representing corporate warriors, worked frantically for
their companies during the period of high economic growth, perhaps
with pride in reconstructing Japan afer the War. Moreover, for the men
140 chapter five
who had never experienced afuence, having a steady (and increasing)
income and secure employment was the most powerful incentive for
many participants to devote themselves to their work (Matanle 2006:
75). In this process, their sense of unity with their companies gave
them a feeling of their value as men. Indeed, many of them showed
total loyalty to their companies. For example, in retrospect, Ishihara-
san expressed his devotion to his job with complete loyalty:
Of course, [I had] 100 per cent [loyalty]. I had a sense of satisfaction.
Tere were times when I didnt feel satisfed but its natural because your
company doesnt let you please yourself. It cant be helped. I think we
were corporate warriors. We worked for the sake of our companies. We
were in the middle of the high economic growth period and it was quite
a long challenging period. At that time, we werent aware that we were
corporate warriors but now I think we were. We carried out any tasks
no matter what conditions we were in. (Ishihara-san, I)
Shiga-san as a branch manager of a bank made every efort to make
his branch the best one amongst all the branches, reporting proudly
that his output was disclosed in a well known economic newspaper.
Shiga-sans narrative that he never took a day of in the frst four years
of his work was indicative of his subsequent outcome. Hirose-san went
to work even on Sundays and even when he was ill, believing that
his hard work would make a diference to his company. According
to Katagiri-san, around the time of the Tokyo Olympic Games (1964)
in the middle of the high economic growth period, there was a televi-
sion commercial that depicted a dedicated salaryman together with
the catchphrase Oh intense (mretsu)! meaning salarymen were
extremely hard-working. Katagiri-san described Japanese society at
that time as strangely frantic, as did the commercial.
Teir confdence in their own hard work was refected in their criti-
cism of younger colleagues, arguing that they were disappointed by
young workers because of their lack of passion for work. Obviously,
these participants ikigai meant oneness with their work or with their
companies during their working lives. Every time when Honda-san
went on a long-term business trip overseas, his employed wife and
children went to her parents home as it was convenient for her to
have someone who looked afer domestic chores. Honda-san did not
object to this; however, he never contributed to the housework either
when he was at home. Honda-san said, to this day [in post-retire-
ment life], I give thanks to my company. Such gratitude was barely
expressed towards families by the men in this cohort.
ikigai 141
By contrast, Sasaki-san pursued his ikigai as self-realisation in
his work, holding no loyalty to his company. He chose his com-
pany with the clear purpose of satisfying his knowledge and skill in
engineering:
Yes, work was ikigai because I did what I wanted to do. I didnt want
promotion because, you know, you cant do what you want to do. It
is funny to say that but I hated being a manager. I truly wanted to do
a technical job, so I hated administrative tasks. I said I dont want to
become a manager when I was promoted but I was told that I cant say
that. (Sasaki-san, I)
As an example of where Sasaki-sans loyalties lay, he once ruined a
project with which he was not satisfed, realising that his conduct was
burdensome to his company, although he did not regret having done
it. Sasaki-san was unusual among this generation in being from a
wealthy family and having a postgraduate degree, factors which might
have infuenced his path and his diferent sense of values.
Many participants who had retired from their work found a new
ikigai in their leisure activities, whereas men who had no hobby were
pining for work. For example, Hirose-san was not able to articulate
his ikigai, saying:
Work was my ikigai. Its hard to say what my current ikigai is . . . I won-
der if its my family. Ive got two grandchildren. Well, grandchildren are
adorable but . . . (Hirose-san, I)
To be sure, Hirose-san adored his newborn grandchildren and he
occasionally visited his daughters and sons places to see them as they
live close to each other. However, he did not fnd his ikigai in his
familial situation. He was simply bewildered by an excess of free time.
None of these participants, whether their ikigai was oneness with their
companies or self-realisation, discussed their families as part of their
ikigai, refecting lives occupied by work and a clear familial/gender
division of ikigai.
In Cohort Two, ikigai was much more varied. Tree participants
considered work to be their ikigai, only Hino-san clearly claiming his
ikigai as self-realisation at work. Sugiura-san said that his ikigai was
work; however, his manner was uncertain:
If you ask me if work is my ikigai, its not. I admire people who say work
is ikigai. Work is just work . . . But if I think hard, probably, I suppose,
work is my ikigai because its hard if I dont have a job. Its hard to live
without anything to do. Its hard to be just alive. (Sugiura-san, II)
142 chapter five
Sugiura-sans passive or hesitant manner in the above quotation sug-
gests his ambivalent feelings towards his real ikigai, implying that
work is his de facto ikigai. In fact, Sugiura-san showed considerable
loyalty to his company. Respecting the president of his company, he
regarded himself and his colleagues as corporate warriors in the feld
of information technology, thus indicating that work was pivotal in his
life. Moreover, Sugiura-san once stayed in a hotel for a year while he
was in charge of an important project, despite the fact that he could
commute from his home. Ueno-san also found ikigai in his job, liken-
ing work to the sun and himself to the earth that revolved around the
sun. However, at the same time, Ueno-san expressed anxiety about
his life afer his retirement, explaining that he would not live in con-
tentment unless he began to make friends outside work, which indi-
cated his limited social activities outside work and perhaps shallow
friendships amongst colleagues. Some men like Ueno-san for whom
work was their de facto ikigai said that I want to fnd a real ikigai or
I hope I can fnd ikigai in the near future envisaging cheerless post-
retirement life (further discussed in the Conclusion).
For Hamada-san who was content with his job and committed him-
self to work, there was no boundary between work and the family:
To be 100 per cent responsible for my family means to be 100 per cent
responsible for my company. Because, for example, lets say, you have
to give an importance to your company out of 100 per cent and to the
family the rest. In this case, I give 100 per cent importance to my family
which is the same as giving 100 per cent importance to my company. For
example, I never take a paid holiday for the sake of my family. My fam-
ily may be unhappy about that but if I trouble my company by taking
holidays, that doesnt do my family any good. (Hamada-san, II)
Hamada-san further criticised his young colleagues.
Todays young people easily take paid holidays. Yes, Im going over-
seas. Tey do that so easily. Well, I wonder if that is O.K. Its an annual
paid holiday and therefore that doesnt afect the company negatively.
But still its not productive for the company, is it? Tey dont care about
the company at all. Tey dont do anything good. Tey only claim their
rights. (Hamada-san, II)
Te above criticism of young people embodied Hamada-sans loyalty
to his company. Hamada-sans ikigai was work in the guise of the fam-
ily allowing him to place his familys happiness in abeyance while pri-
oritising his companys profts. He would be able to bear his familys
ikigai 143
complaints about, for example, a lack of leisure but he would never
take a risk in causing any kind of trouble to his company.
Hino-san represented work as a central part of ikigai as self-
realisation:
Of course [work is my ikigai]. My company is not ikigai but my work is.
I dont think that this company is the only place for me. I have eighty
per cent loyalty to my company but twenty per cent is my determination
that I will leave when I fail to realise myself. (Hino-san, II)
Nevertheless, Hino-san showed his pride in his company by saying
that, not like my brothers [who are civil servants] I am spreading my
wings in the world. He identifed himself with his company that had
large global markets for its products. Moreover, despite his determined
statement, Hino-san disclosed that personal fnancial liabilities meant
that he would be unlikely to change jobs as changing jobs involved
substantial fnancial costs (Lunsing 2006). In reality, his duties as a
breadwinner were in confict with ikigai as self-realisation.
For the majority of participants in this cohort, work was of equal
importance as ikigai compared with other factors such as family or
leisure activities. Some had previously experienced work as ikigai but
were dissatisfed now that they were older, having failed to receive the
same promotion rates as those who entered the company with them,
and were perhaps aware of a future without work. While work remains
a de facto ikigai for many men, their loyalty declines in the course of
their work.
Men in Cohort Two experienced a sudden economic downturn
in the early 1990s. In the concomitant restructuring process, a few
participants were involved in their companies reckless experiment in
starting a new enterprise. Teir experiences only lef in them a distrust
of their companies. For example, Ashida-san was put in charge of a
new project which was related to primary industries and had nothing
to do with his skills in engineering. Although he felt that the job was
not suitable for him, he undertook the task as he had been ordered
to do so by his company. Eventually, the project failed and his proj-
ect members were placed in diferent sections. Ashida-san currently
makes the most of his skill at work and is satisfed with his job; how-
ever, he cannot understand or accept his companys decision about
the project and has, as a result, lost his loyalty towards his company.
Tat same loss of loyalty towards his company afected Matsuzaki-san
afer being assigned to a completely diferent task from his former job.
144 chapter five
He was disappointed by the order, especially because he went to the
companys school and he had been using the skills which he had learnt
there. Toda-san and Ueno-san said that from the viewpoint of the per-
sonnel department, the workers enthusiasm for their jobs declined
around the time when they became ffy years old, as they were able to
predict their future concerning promotion and income. Nevertheless,
in the time of economic survival, pitiless measures taken by companies
afected salarymens loyalty towards their companies.
For Yoshino-san who had almost no loyalty to his company, ikigai
was something that gave him pleasure, and included his family and
leisure activities:
Work is not ikigai. Ikigai is what I take pleasure in. So, my own ikigai
is . . . I enjoy spending time with my family. Tere are things I want to do.
In order to do them, I work for conveniences sake. (Yoshino-san, II)
As discussed in Chapter Tree, afer his enlightenment towards mat-
ters of gender, Yoshino-sans active participation in the community
and volunteer activities gave him more satisfaction in his life than ever.
Ashida-san and his wife enjoyed playing sports in a community sports
club. Fukuda-san and his wife started attending tennis lessons, expect-
ing to play it together. Tsutsumi-san coached a community baseball
team of which his son was a member. For all these participants, work
was not their complete ikigai but a necessary part of their life which
enhanced their leisure activities. Four men denied work playing any
part in their ikigai instead claiming their ikigai to be their families.
Yet, again, the degree of their involvement with their families hardly
convinced me of their claims.
Regarding Cohort Tree, only two participants found ikigai in work.
Te other participants were divided into two groups. While some of
them found ikigai in work and leisure activities and/or the family, the
others claimed that ikigai was their family. Young men who viewed
work as their ikigai did not show the single-minded commitment to
their companies observed in Cohort One. Rather, they actively sought
pleasure from their work so that they could carry on. Teir ikigai in
work did not represent unity with their company; however, it did
not necessarily signify self-realisation either. For example, Miura-san
expected work to be a source of satisfaction:
[Work is] ikigai. I like my job but I dont like to work like mad. I think
that because I make a sacrifce of fun time to work, like catching up with
my friends, travelling or exercising, its a waste of time if I dont enjoy
ikigai 145
my job. I am happy if my work contributes to society but I want my
own satisfaction from work. Because I spend so much time on work, I
want to say ikigai is my work for the time being, otherwise I would feel
sad. (Miura-san, III)
Despite his young age, Miura-san was called a senior consultant. Obvi-
ously, he was a promising youth. However, he was already thinking
about changing jobs in pursuit of more satisfaction, thus indicating
little loyalty to his company. Moreover, as discussed in Chapter Four,
the above quote implies Miura-sans dilemma about sacrifcing his
time for his work. Similar to Miura-san, Ebara-san also said that, in
retrospect, given that work occupied a considerable amount of time in
the day, it should give satisfaction:
I suppose work was ikigai. Work takes up a huge part of the day. Its
important for me to fnd some fulflment in my work. Well, [fortunately]
I was enjoying my job. (Ebara-san, III)
Although he was dismissed by his company as a result of restructuring,
Ebara-san enjoyed his work and the interactions with his customers
who appreciated his contribution. As Sasaki-san in Cohort One indi-
cated earlier, self-realisation through work entails simply having per-
sonal pleasure without expecting promotion, whereas satisfaction and
fulflment in the above quotations involve receiving praise from oth-
ers, or recognition of their worth in their jobs, perhaps, with ambitions
for advancement in social standing but without working as hard as the
older generations did. Teir desire for appreciation may be explained
by their being in the early stages of their careers. As Matanle (2006:
59, 76) discusses, the youngest cohort in this study, who were born
into an afuent society, seek challenges and self-fulflment from work
rather than security in the context of life-long employment. However,
in my study, gaining self-fulflment through work was not necessarily
the primary incentive to work. Among these and other participants
there was the idea that they had neither a sense of oneness with their
companies nor a strong desire for self-realisation but used their com-
panies as an expedient for achieving extrinsic satisfaction at work.
Some participants lived for work as well as for additional ikigai fac-
tors such as leisure activities and the family. As an example of a calcu-
lating point of view, Okano-san, a single young man, asserted that:
I am proud of my work and enjoy it. But basically, for me, work is a
means to earn money for life. You have to work hard to earn money
but you also have to play. I want to get good pay but I also want to
146 chapter five
play. For example, I want to spend my pay on travelling and seeing the
world. But because I want to improve my skills, I think I should work
hard. (Okano-san, III)
While Okano-san was also planning to change jobs, he would wait for
the right time to move on until he had acquired enough skills to do
so, and this resembles the interviewees attitudes in one of the groups
in Lunsings study (Lunsing 2006: 171).
Shimizu-san, who was married with children, found ikigai in his
work and his family.
Work is ikigai but child rearing is too. I am engaged in two trades at the
same time . . . When I was in the personnel department, work was more
important than my family. But now I am more engaged in my family
than in work. So, my family is happy. But ikigai in work is declining.
I want to improve the quality of my job. I cant make much output in
carrying out routine tasks at the moment. (Shimizu-san, III)
Completing tanshinfunin, Shimizu-san was making up for his absence
from home by participating in childcare. While he saw his ikigai
equally in work and family, the above quote implied his ambition for
work and his eventual shif from childcare to career. Similarly, it was
likely for those men who were in the early stages of childcare that work
might become the frst priority later in their lives, even though their
leisure activities were the incentive to work.
Tose participants who denied work as ikigai were all married and
had toddlers. Communication with their very young children gave
them great satisfaction as fathers:
Work hasnt become ikigai. Tis [pointing to his newborn baby] is my
ikigai. If I have to choose work or my family, I would choose my family.
I optimistically think that we will survive. (Hirose-san, III)
As mentioned in the Introduction, Hirose-san in Cohort Tree is a
son of Hirose-san in Cohort One, and the young Hirose-san ofers a
sharp contrast to his father throughout this study. As mentioned ear-
lier, his father had lived for work. As a result, he was at a loss afer his
retirement. On the other hand, utilising fexi-time, the young Hirose-
san looked afer his baby as much as possible. Tis father and his son
provide a good example of a generational shif in ikigai. However, only
a few among the participants whose ikigai was the family indicated
their actual involvement in childcare, young Hirose-san being one of
those few. As Mathews (1996: 16) suggests, mens claim that ikigai is
family stems from their sense of responsibility as breadwinners. Teir
ikigai 147
physical and mental devotion to work is socially praised. Addition-
ally, as will be discussed in the following section, given their equating
work with childcare, their minimal engagement in childcare does not
undermine their claiming that ikigai is family.
In summary, it is very likely that work retains the status of de facto
ikigai for many participants in this study, although the unswerving
identifcation with ones company waned across the generations. In
contrast to Cohort One whose ikigai was derived from work, many in
Cohort Two put their hearts into their work, while some of them also
put their hearts into other ikigai factors. In Cohort Tree, by contrast,
work becomes an expedient, i.e. a means of maximising satisfaction
and achieving a good lifestyle, although work remained as ikigai for
many participants as a means of realising personal goals rather than
entailing loyalty to the company.
Parenting
Te previous section explored the ikigai of the participants in this
study. While work represented a de facto ikigai for the majority of the
participants, regardless of the cohort, many married participants in
Cohorts Two and Tree also found their ikigai in their families. Nev-
ertheless, their role as a father and their interactions with their chil-
dren were limited. In this section, an analytic framework, explaining
the factors correlated with the degree of paternal childcare developed
in the United States, is applied to the Japanese situation in the same
manner as Ishii-Kuntz (1994) and Ishii-Kuntz and others (2004) have
done. Te participants pattern of engagement in childcare across the
three cohorts in this research is compared with the fndings of other
studies of the involvement of Japanese fathers in childcare. Tis sec-
tion also explores the meaning of childcare for the participants. In
the Japanese context, parenting is understood to consist of two stages.
Te frst stage is called ikuji, or infant-care, and the second stage is
called kosodate, or child rearing and the section follows these defni-
tions when discussing research fndings.
In the 1970s in the United States, the concept of the new father-
hood drew both academic and popular attention (Lamb 1987: 3). In
an article, entitled Fathers: Forgotten Contributors to Child Develop-
ment, which appeared in 1975, Michael E. Lamb cast a new light on
paternal childcare, given that prior to this publication developmental
148 chapter five
psychology concentrated its parent-child relationship research over-
whelmingly on the relationship between mother and child. In Japan,
in 1981, a group called Tunderous Fathers (Kaminari oyaji no kai)
1

was established by a group of prominent people, including an actor
(Sugawara Bunta), a boxer (Gattsu Ishimatsu), a cartoonist, a member
of the National Diet, a sumo wrestler and an explorer (Shwalb et al.
1987: 247). Te group deplored the powerlessness of fathers follow-
ing the Second World War and urged the resurgence of patriarchal
and authoritarian fathers, deploying the argument that social prob-
lems concerning youth were a result of weakened fathers.
2
However,
motherhood was (and still is) so rigidly defned as an irreproachable
norm that, despite the interventions of groups such as Tunderous
Fathers, a meaningful defnition of fatherhood was not established
and fatherhood remained in a state of fux in the early 1980s (Shwalb
et al. 1987: 247). A well-known phraseit is good that husbands are
healthy and away from homeappeared in a television commercial
in 1987. As the phrase indicated, the dominant position appeared to
endorse the fathers absence from the home.
Despite the increasing number of studies on the father-child rela-
tionship in the United States from the 1970s, in Japan, it was not until
the 1990s that much research on fatherhood began to appear (Kaizuma
2004: 23; Kashiwagi 2003: 235).
3
Te so-called controversy concern-
ing the restoration of fatherhood emerged in the late 1990s, the point
at issue being whether or not the absence of a father or the lack of dis-
tinct paternity in child rearing arrests the healthy growth of children
in particular, that of boys (Kaizuma 2004: 30; no 1999: 88). Hayashi
(1996), one of the major proposers of the restoration of fatherhood,
stirred up academic discussion as well as public opinion concerning
fatherhood. Hayashis advocacy of the need for dignifed and discipli-
narian paternity with leadership, which is distinguished from comfort-
ing maternity, in order for childrens psyches to develop in a healthy
manner (Hayashi 1996: 122) continues to meet with counter-arguments
by feminists and pro-feminists. Teir criticism is that advocates of the
1
Kaminari oyaji refers to an irascible old man who roars at people.
2
Dominant mothers, youth violence, school refusal, apathy and rebellion were
ofen associated with weakened fathers (Shwalb et al. 1987: 259260).
3
According to Kaizuma (2004: 29), various publications targeted at the general
public since the 1960s have dealt with the topic of fatherhood from the viewpoint of
developmental psychology.
ikigai 149
restoration of fatherhood do not promote active paternal childcare but
simply aim to restore or strengthen the fathers patriarchal status in
the home (Kaizuma 2004: 30; no 1999: 88). In fact, active paternal
childcare was a feature in the Tokugawa and the early Meiji Periods
but disappeared in the 1910s (Kaizuma 2005: 5253; Muta 2006: 81;
Uno 1993b: 51; 1991: 25). Tis was because fathers as educators were
replaced by school education as well as mothers; because the natural
sciences promoted breast-feeding of infants; and because the emer-
gence of the new middle class due to capitalism reduced the meaning
of the father to that of the economic provider. Fathers became second-
ary in childcare, resulting in the current gendered division of child-
care.
4
A report found that fathers are severe disciplinarians, whereas
mothers are sof soothers (Kashiwagi 2003: 246). Other studies showed
that fathers were ofen involved in fun activities with their children;
mothers, however, were occupied by everyday physical and emotional
care for their children (IPSS 2003; Ishii-Kuntz, Makino, Kat and
Tsuchiya 2004: 780; no 1999: 87).
Although the number of married women who enter the workforce
has been increasing since the 1980s in Japan (Ministry of Internal
Afairs and Communications 2006a), there was (and probably still is)
a strong belief in sansaiji shinwa (myth of the three-year-old) among
the Japanese population in the latter half of the twentieth century in
middle-class households (IPSS 2003; Roberts 2002: 71). Te slogan
sansai made haha no tede (up to the age of three, in mothers hands)
(Kashiwagi 2003: 200)which was based on an old saying mitsugo
no tamashii hyaku made, literally means that the soul of a three-year
old child persists until a person is one hundred years old. Te essence
of the slogan is that it is vital for a baby and young child to be taken
good care of by the mother. Not only women but also the male-dom-
inated psychological profession tended to endorse this myth (Kashi-
wagi 2003: 236; Taga 2005: 55). Indeed, until the end of the 1990s,
government childcare policies were explicitly based on it (Nakatani
2006: 106; Roberts 2002: 71).
4
In 2001, the husband in the double income family spent only 5 minutes a day on
average in childcare, an increase from 1 minute per day in 1986, while the husband in
the single income family spent 13 minutes a day on average in childcare, an increase
from 2 minutes per day in 1986 (Ministry of Public Management, Home Afairs, Post
and Telecommunications 2003). Measuring the care for pre-school children under 6
years old.
150 chapter five
Paternal childcare is ofen assessed by the amount of time that
fathers devote to childcare. It is, however, also important to look at
factors that infuence the degree of the fathers involvement in child-
care so as to understand the causal relationship between the factors
and the level of paternal childcare. Te analytical framework devel-
oped by Pleck (1997) considers the following control variables: the
fathers motivation, relative and absolute resources, the gender ideol-
ogy of each spouse, the time availability of each spouse, family size,
childcare demands, and the degree of the fathers satisfaction with
his job and workplace policies, thus involving the fathers subjective
understanding of their circumstances relating to childcare (Pleck 1997:
7595). Few Japanese studies have sought to establish the causal rela-
tionship between factors contributing to paternal childcare by using
data collected from fathers (Ishii-Kuntz et al. 2004: 779780). My
study, however, explores the participants parenting voices as fathers
by applying Plecks analytical insights to the fndings from Japanese
studies, drawing a comparison with the fndings from my study (Stu-
eve and Pleck 2001: 692).
Te motivation of fathers for childcare is infuenced by the quality
of paternal childcare which those fathers received in their own child-
hood, although one argument claims that fathers are inclined to follow
a similar pattern to that of their own fathers (whether that involvement
was low or high), while another argument claims that fathers compen-
sate for their own fathers lack of childcare (Pleck 1997: 80). Across the
three cohorts in my study, married participants with children indicated
an extremely low level of involvement in childcare. Although little is
known of Japanese fathers motivation, a recent study on nurturing
fathers suggests that many respondents made amends for the authori-
tarian attitudes of their own fathers (Ishii-Kuntz 2003: 206207). By
contrast, the participants in my study showed little motivation for
paternal childcare, and while many men in Cohort One had relatively
close relationships with their fathers in their childhood, it was almost
impossible for them to replicate the same child-father relationship
because of their extremely busy working life during the period of eco-
nomic growth. Cohorts One and Two reported little paternal childcare
in their own childhood. However, they did not seem to harbour ill-
feeling because of their fathers lack of childcare. Tus most of them
followed a similar pattern to that of their fathers.
Relative and absolute resources include the occupational status of
both the husband and the wife, income diferences between them,
ikigai 151
educational achievements and diferences between them and their
relative ages. Fathers who have wives who are employed participate
in childcare to a greater extent than fathers whose wives are unem-
ployed. Fathers who wish to encourage their wives who have a good
career potential are more likely to take part in childcare. Te impact
of the wives career prospects on the fathers childcare involvement
is stronger than that of the wives income: the higher the mothers
education the more likely the father is to take part in childcare. In
addition, fathers who have older wives tend to be more involved in
childcare than fathers with younger wives (Pleck 1997: 85). Available
studies indicate that, in Japan, the husband whose wife has a full time
job and a high level of education tends to be active in childcare (Gen-
der Equality Bureau 2006: 11; Ishii-Kuntz et al. 2004: 781; no 1999:
99100). Te husbands higher level of education also directs him
towards a keener engagement in childcare. Te researchers suggest
that an income gap between the husband and the wife may not be a
signifcant factor because, even if the husband is the sole breadwinner,
his wife usually has major control over the budget (Ishii-Kuntz et al.
2004: 788) and also if she earns more she also contributes more and
so this part of her role is seen as more valuable. As for age, a husband
who has a wife of a comparable age tends to do more childcare than
those who have a much younger wife (Ishii-Kuntz et al. 2004: 781). In
my study, a number of facts gave the participants a sense of author-
ity, regardless of the educational, income and age-gap between them
and their wives. Tese issues that contributed to a sense of security
included the fact that all the participants worked for large companies;
that married participants with children were the principal earners in
their families; and that the majority of their wives were housewives,
and these conditions only promoted the traditional division of labour
amongst the participants. If there is any exception, it is shown in the
way that Shimizu-sans wife, who was six years older than he, had
some infuence on his participation in childcare given that he once
considered changing jobs in order to grant his wifes request for child-
care. Tere is a gap, however, between a wish and the actual conduct
amongst young fathers in Cohort Tree. Te fathers wishes to partici-
pate in childcare more and to reduce working hours at the birth of the
frst child are rarely met. On the contrary, the reality that men who
prioritise work are widely considered to be ideal men and that society
does not think highly of paternal childcare discourage fathers from
engaging in childcare (Gender Equality Bureau 2005: 7172).
152 chapter five
Egalitarian gender ideologies held by both husband and wife encour-
age fathers to participate in childcare (Pleck 1997: 83). Tere is a report
that a couples egalitarian gender ideologies also infuence the fathers
engagement in childcare in Japan (no 1999: 102). Likewise, Japa-
nese fathers who actively participate in childcare found that strong
persuasion by wives channelled them into active paternal participa-
tion (Ishii-Kuntz 2003: 207208; ta 1999: 83).
5
Te gender ideologies
of the majority of the married participants in my study were, as we
have seen, decidedly conservative. Except in some passing comments,
they did not indicate incompatibility between their gender ideologies
and those of their wives, some saying my wife is old-fashioned, she
supports the traditional division of labour and her traditional ideas
about the sexual division of labour are convenient for me. For exam-
ple, Hino-san (Cohort Two) mentioned that she hasnt said anything
lately but I know she wants me to help more and play the role of
father and Tsutsumi-san (Cohort Two) stated that, she ofen says to
me you didnt care about me when I was having a difcult time [with
infant-care].
Concerning time availability, fathers who spend long hours at work
obviously share little time with their children. However, if the wives
have little time available for childcare, this promotes their husbands
involvement (Pleck 1997: 85). By contrast, in Japan, many mothers
tend to take on the whole responsibility for childcare and mothers
with full-time work are likely to feel guilty for spending less time on
childcare than other mothers, because these working mothers have
internalised the myth that young children should be looked afer by
their mothers. As a result, the guilt of many mothers with a job drives
them to overcompensate for their lack of time with their children and
they try to engage in childcare at home as much as possible rather
than expect their husbands to participate
6
(no 1999: 102103; Rice
2001). Te participants in my study, regardless of cohort, spent long
hours at work, which suggested that they had little time available for
childcare.
Paternal childcare tends to increase in large families consisting of
many children, although the father may provide quality childcare in
families with fewer young children (Pleck 1997: 76). Japanese fathers,
5
See also Otoko mo onna mo ikuji jikan o! Renrakukai (1995: 4042).
6
See Pocock (2003: 90) for guilt among Australian mothers.
ikigai 153
who live in a large extended family with more adults to ofer childcare,
tend to share childcare less than men who live in a nuclear family (IPSS
2003; Ishii-Kuntz et al. 2004: 782), and despite the fact that the majority
of the married participants in my study lived in a nuclear family, only
their wives took responsibility for childcare. Moreover, participants
who lived with their parents relied upon their parents for help.
Te demand for childcare is determined by the number of children
and the age of the youngest; demands increasing when a couple has
an infant or many young children, and a higher demand encourages
fathers to share in the childcare (Pleck 1997: 76). Japanese fathers are
concerned about the care of infants and tend to make eforts to par-
ticipate in infant care; however, they hand it over to their wives prior
to their childrens schooling (Ishii-Kuntz 1994: 33; Shwalb et al. 1987:
256) and many married participants with children in my study were
unconcerned about childcare demands at home because their main
interest was their work.
Finally, a family-friendly environment at work increases the time
available for fathers to participate in childcare. While job satisfaction
does not impact directly on childcare, it is correlated with reduced
time availability on the part of the father and thus reduced paternal
childcare (Pleck 1997: 9195). Ishii-Kuntz and others (2004: 783)
found that the fathers dissatisfaction with their work channels them
into their families, which increases their involvement in childcare. In
my study, almost all the married participants were very satisfed with
their jobs. However, even those respondents who were unhappy at
work did not retreat to their families, being still bound by their com-
panies. In fact, a study indicates that men who come home from work
afer eight p.m. and later are much less engaged in childcare compared
with men who come home before eight p.m. (IPSS 2003; Kashiwagi
2003: 269; no 1999: 98). Concerning the policies of the workplace,
despite the availability of childcare leave for women and men in Japan
since 1992, only 0.12 per cent of eligible fathers took childcare leave in
1996, rising to only 0.42 per cent in 1999, and increasing only a little to
0.5 per cent in 2003 (Kashiwagi 2003: 268; Nakatani 2006: 94; Roberts
2002: 70). In 2007, 1.56 per cent of eligible men took childcare leave.
Tis is a substantial rise. However, the proportion is still much smaller
than that of eligible women (89%) (Minaminihon Shinbun 09 Aug.
2008a: 5) and, moreover, the mens proportion is very small compared
with their counterparts in the U.K. who accounted for 71 per cent of
eligible working men in 2005 (Macnaughtan 2006: 46).
154 chapter five
Fathers who engage in childcare as the primary caregiver drew the
medias attention in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Some of them were
salarymen who worked for large companies (see Ishii-Kuntz 2003;
Nakatani 2006; ta 1999; Otoko mo onna mo ikuji jikan o! Renr-
akukai (Ikujiren)
7
1995) and their experiences of childcare and house-
work appeared in newspaper articles and books. In 2004, a TV drama
series called Attohmu daddo (Stay-at-home Dad), which depicted a
struggle of an elite salaryman who was fred from his job and became
a househusband while his wife became the breadwinner, was aired.
Seemingly, discourses on caring fathers became a trend of the times
and appeared to be a challenge to hegemonic masculinity in Japan.
However, in reality, salarymen who perform considerable childcare
are likely to be marginalised by their colleagues in their companies.
Among my married respondents, taking childcare leave was unthink-
able. Only one nurturing father, Hirose-san in Cohort Tree, consid-
ered taking childcare leave but, ultimately, he decided not to do so
because of fnancial difculties. A word like outrageous! was ofen
uttered by the participants of Cohorts One and Two in response to the
suggestion that fathers take childcare leave, implying that the highest
priority should be placed on work. Te negative response to childcare
leave also indicates the discouraging environment of Japanese compa-
nies where salarymen hesitate about taking any kind of leave (Amano
2001: 158). Tus the participants demonstrated distinctly uncoopera-
tive attitudes in relation to childcare. While one study found that young
fathers identify themselves as the father rather than the breadwinner,
a number of diferent cross-cultural studies demonstrate that Japanese
fathers participation in childcare is limited and consistently the lowest
in comparison with industrialised nations such as Germany, Sweden,
the U.S.A. and the U.K. (Gender Equality bureau 2006: 66; Kashiwagi
2003: 255; Taga 2005: 52). Te salarymen in my study appear to be
even less involved than the average Japanese father.
Te meaning of childcare
I asked participants, in relation to fatherhood, their views concern-
ing a poster that appeared in the so-called Sam Campaign in 1999
7
Ikujiren is an abbreviation of Otoko mo onna mo ikuji jikan o! Renrakukai (Net-
work Promoting Childcare Hours for Men and Women) (Otoko mo onna mo ikuji
jikan o! Renrakukai, 1995; see also Ishii-Kuntz 2003; ta 1999).
ikigai 155
(Asahi Shinbun 17 Mar. 1999: 6), carried out under a scheme called the
Angel Plan (1995) by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW).
Te Angel Plan aimed at increasing subsidies for childcare, the num-
ber of childcare facilities and their operating hours (Sasagawa 2006:
132; Trifletti 2006: 193). Te Sam Campaign sought to encourage
fathers to participate in childcare in the hope that paternal involve-
ment would reverse the declining birth rate (the number of children
born on average per woman). Te 1.57 shock
8
in 1989, the lowest
birth rate in postwar Japan, further decreased to 1.34 in 1999 and
1.26 in 2005 (Yamada 2007: 17; 2005: 62).
9
Te declining birth rate
indicates that Japanese women no longer willingly choose to become
mothers; rather they reject the terms and conditions of motherhood
(Jolivet 1997: 1; Sugawara 1999: 48). Because of this shshika mon-
dai or the problem of a low birth rate society, political leaders are
trying to solve the dilemma of reducing the burden of a good wife,
wise mother, for example by supporting the womans nurturing role
through the Angel Plan (Roberts 2002: 54). In the poster, Sam, who
was at that time the husband of rock star Amuro Namie, holds their
baby. MHW disseminated one million posters across Japan (Nakatani
2006: 95; Roberts 2002: 77) with the caption in the right hand margin:
men who do not do childcare are not called father
10
(Asahi Shinbun
17 March 1999: 6). Te message beneath the picture reads:
Seventeen minutes a day. Tat is the average amount of time Japanese
fathers spend on childcare. It takes two people to make a child; however,
it seems as if the mother is raising the child all by herself. Under these
conditions, it is no wonder that women do not feel secure about bearing
a child. Pregnancy and childbirth are great work only women can do but
8
Te lowest birth rate was 1.58 in 1966 when people avoided having a baby
girl because, according to a horoscope based on the twelve horary signs, the year
(hinoeuma) was believed to be an inauspicious one for women to be born in (Roberts
2002: 55); however, the birth rate soared to about 3.3 in the following year. Te rate
1.57, which was lower than 1.58, drew the attention of political leaders especially as
they became seriously concerned about Japans rapidly ageing society. Te term 1.57
shock was created by making a pun on the term oil shock (oil crisis) in 1973.
9
Te birth rate has increased in 2006 and 2007, being 1.32 and 1.34 respectively.
However, many of the mothers were baby boomers daughters who were in their late
thirties. Te increase is likely to be temporary because the birth rate for women in
their late teens, twenties and early thirties continues to decline (Minaminihon Shin-
bun 05 June 2008b: 2).
10
I dared to bring up this provocative catch phrase of the Sam campaign rather
than the 2002 poster. Its caption was Papa! Iya nante yurusaremasenyoikuji kyka
o torimashou, otsan (Daddy! You cannot be excused from childcare. Lets take
childcare leave, Father).
156 chapter five
isnt childcare a great job that men also can do? We would like fathers
to know better the joys and difculties of childrearing. We would like
them to think more about the children who will carry the twenty-frst
century for us. Please take the time to gaze calmly into your childrens
hearts and become a wonderful father.
To the lef of the picture, the section is entitled aiming for society that
supports childcare:
Although the basis of childrearing is the home, it goes without saying
that the entire society should be involved in the issue of building a sys-
tem to support childrearing. Our society is preparing a cooperative sys-
tem in various areas in order to arrange an environment where people
who desire children can give birth and rear them without anxiety. Te
time when not only the state and local governments but also companies,
workplaces and local communities look afer children of the twenty-frst
century is just around the corner.
In addition to their low involvement in childcare, many respondents
across the three cohorts maintained very gender-specifc notions of
infant-care and child rearing. Concerning infant-care, women changed
nappies and spent time with their children in order to meet the chil-
drens day-to-day needs but, according to my respondents, men did
childcare by setting a manly example, by being the breadwinner for
the family. To borrow Amano-sans words, this is called manly child-
care. As the manly childcare indicates, being complacent about fulfll-
ing a breadwinner role, the participants direct interactions with their
children were minimal. It was not surprising that their narratives con-
cerning their participation in childcare were rather spiritless compared
with their vigorous account of their work.
Participants in Cohort One and older participants of Cohort Two
were physically and emotionally occupied with their jobs when their
children were born in the middle of the period of high economic
growth (195573). Tey worked six days a week because working a
fve-day week was only introduced in large companies in the 1980s
(Ishii-Kuntz 1994: 33). In addition, some of them were busy entertain-
ing customers on Sundays. In retrospect, Honda-san of Cohort One
mused that his generation represented those who hardly spent any time
with their children. Many men in this cohort made such responses as,
I tried to spend time with my children on weekends, I tried to stay
at home on weekends or I tried to play with my children when I had
time. Tis situation was almost the same in the participants of Cohort
Two, whose children were born before the burst of the bubble. Tey
ikigai 157
were bound by their companies and it was all they could do to see their
childrens sleeping faces when they returned home from work. Never-
theless, they yielded to the tide of the times without feeling any guilt at
leaving childcare entirely to their wives. Tese men had a strong sense
of the patriarchal division of labour. Men at work, women at home
and childcare is a womans job were typical comments. Fathers in
Cohort Tree, who had more time at home than other generations as
a result of the economic recession,
11
were still reluctant to share child-
care. Unlike the older generations, these young participants indicated
that they understood the abstract idea that fathers should participate in
childcare. Teir actual involvement was, however, far from equal. Te
myth of motherhood was prevalent: a discourse which maintains that
maternal childcare is natural, right and best for children and, there-
fore, mothers should devote themselves to their children regardless of
the self-sacrifce entailed. Moreover, this discourse claims that such
dedication is the virtue of motherhood, which is innate and supreme
(Kashiwagi 2003: 199). Shimizu-san (Cohort Tree), who had two pre-
school children, asserted that, there is no substitute for mothers in
infant-care and therefore, I would like to provide security [by work-
ing hard]. Although childcare is a social construction, it is readily
associated with womens physiological functions such as child bearing
and lactation (Connell 2002: 10; Iwakami 2003: 138).
Interestingly, many participants across the three cohorts concerned
themselves with the defnition of childcare. Regarding the poster, some
participants began by saying it depends on what childcare means. As
Amano-sans comment about manly childcare indicates, a number of
men diferentiated paternal childcare from maternal childcare. Tokuda-
san, who had a preschool son and daughter at the time of the interview,
also distinguished paternal from maternal engagement in childcare:
I think its a matter of defnition. Infant-care doesnt mean only cuddling
or playing with the child. Probably, ah, our behaviour is important. Even
if you dont spend time with your children, I think they observe you.
When I was small, I did the same. So, I dont think childcare is only
spending time with children. I feel the poster is wrong and I sort of resist
it. (Tokuda-san, III)
11
While the economic recession and the subsequent restructuring have worsened
the working conditions of young salarymen, young participants in my study did not
have such deteriorated working conditions. Some had more relaxed working condi-
tions than before.
158 chapter five
But it was not only married participants but also the unmarried partic-
ipant, Okano-san (Cohort Tree), who stated that, there are diferent
ways to defne childcare. Tese men meant that maternal childcare
was taking everyday physical and emotional responsibilities for the
child, while paternal childcare was indirect childcare in which fathers
work hard to provide for the family. Tsutsusmi-sans statement cap-
tured precisely what other participants meant when he said:
Every father does childcare. Men are working hard. I think thats child-
care too. (Tsutsumi-san, II)
Te idea that women are in charge of infant-care and that men provide
fnancial security for their families is tacitly understood by participants
to constitute correct parenting. Tey thus resisted the governments
message that men should participate in infant-care, the ideology of
daikokubashira underlying their avoidance of it. Te above partici-
pants responses suggested that being a corporate warrior did not
entail being a caring father or an afectionate family man.
Te respondents had the same opinion in relation to child rearing.
Tat is, they supported indirect child rearing because they believed
that their children would understand them as reliable fathers by
observing them. Many men introduced the phraseko wa oya no
senaka wo mite sodatsu. Tis literally means that children grow by
looking at their parents back, which can be rendered as children
learn from what they see their parents doing. Tokuda-san of Cohort
Tree also mentioned earlier that children observe their fathers, just
as he had done, turning out to be a responsible salaryman. Hino-san
clearly said:
It is always better to leave the household to my wife. Tats the way in
my family. I am a company man who comes home drunk. I am a father
who does nothing. But in an emergency, I take care of it; otherwise Im
not going to interfere in family matters. Tat is, I show my back [atti-
tudes and behaviour] to my children. (Hino-san, II)
In a similar vein, Tachibana-san stated:
I think it is important how my children see my way of working and liv-
ing everyday life. I think my children have passed the stage where they
are taught in words. I would be happy if they could understand my view
of life, work and child rearing in their own way. (Tachibana-san, II)
Te majority of the participants in Cohorts One and Two told me
that they took their children to their parents home, to a beach for
ikigai 159
swimming or to a camp site during the Bon (the Festival of the Dead)
holiday period in mid-August or the Golden Week (three consecutive
holidays) in May, or to a ski area in Winter, which probably happened
once a year when their children were small. Te participants recol-
lected these holiday activities and associated them with child rearing,
indicating their infrequent interactions with their children as well as
the fathers strong connections with fun activities not only in childcare
but also in child rearing.
Hamada-san, a father of two daughters, declared that his family was
the most important thing for him (ikigai) and, therefore, he worked
hard, believing that his hard work benefted his family:
Everyone has his own ideal. I have nothing to do with the poster, out
of the question. I have other things to do, other things that contrib-
ute to child rearing. I do what I can as the division of labour is clear.
(Hamada-san, II)
What underlies the infrequent exchanges between the participants
and their children is again the participants assumption that their
role of economic provider is proper child rearing. In fact, Amano-san
(Cohort Two) clearly stated, I have to earn money. My primary role
is to work and Tachibana-san of the same cohort also said, I take a
fnancial part as my role as a father.
Additionally, participants in Cohorts Two and Tree, who currently
live with their children, considered their role in child rearing to be that
of a severe father whom their children obeyed. As mentioned earlier,
the clear dualism between sof motherhood and hard fatherhood in
home discipline is discernible. Noda-san is a father of a preschool and
a primary school child and his wife is expecting another child:
My wife tells our children of about everyday small things. But the chil-
dren dont listen to her because they just think she is saying the same
thing over and over again. So, I have implanted an image in them that
father is severe. I give them the fnal lecture. Ten, you know, they listen
to me. Its like the fnal control. I think thats my role. (Noda-san, III)
In accordance with Noda-san, Amano-san (Cohort Two) who is a
father of two teenage boys also noted that his role was to give his
children a severe scolding. Okano-san, a single man (Cohort Tree),
stated that it was more appropriate for a man to become a father with
dignity in whose presence children behave than to become a father
who changed nappies. Any other notion of fatherhood hardly existed
in the minds of the participants who strongly endorsed the dichotomy
between motherhood and fatherhood in infant and child rearing. I
160 chapter five
attribute this dualism to ideologies such as the myth of motherhood
and the internalised patriarchal division of labour, which facilitate par-
ticipants in limiting their paternal roles to patriarchal authority.
By contrast, Ashida-san was concerned about his lack of paternal
dignity:
I dont think that I am a severe father but I am a nagger. Terefore, if I
could give them one sharp warning when I should, that would be better
but I always nag them about small things. So I think they dont take me
seriously but they just think oh well father is grumbling at us again. In
a sense, I feel that they make light of me. (Ashida-san, II)
According to Ashida-san, his father was a dignifed man and never
nagged him. Te widespread dualism of severe father and sof mother
together with the comparison with his father made Ashida-san feel
unmanly concerning child rearing, his role as a sole economic pro-
vider being the only basis for his masculinity. His concern indicates
the difusion of the idea that fathers are hard and severe disciplinar-
ians and mothers are sof soothers. Studies demonstrate (e.g. Field
1978; Kashiwagi 2003: 248; Kashiwagi and Wakamatsu 1994) that the
behaviour and attitudes of fathers who are primary care givers in child
rearing are very similar to those of mothers. Te championship of the
binary parenting by the majority of participants is the reverse side of
their lack of participation in child rearing.
Conclusion
Te clear demarcation between men and women in the workplace
and in the home produced only occasional criticism and identifcation
of tensions as the participants discussed their experiences of grow-
ing up, marrying and having a family, and working. Tis is the same
in the realm of ikigai. Because work constituted a de facto ikigai for
the majority of the participants, their narratives clearly indicated the
familial/gender division of ikigai. Without their role as a salaryman,
they were nothing, and many found it almost impossible to forge a
new ikigai built around relationships with their wife and children,
the pursuit of hobbies or community activities, or any other sense of
self-realisation than soldiering for Japan through their company. Even
those participants who found their ikigai in their family hardly made
any contribution to childcare and child rearing. Teir claims that their
ikigai 161
ikigai was the family only nurtured their sense of masculinity as an
economic provider for their family because the participants considered
their fnancial support for their family to be proper childcare. While
the participants as corporate warriors in a large company had prestige
and strong confrmation of their masculinity, they had to be loyal to
their corporation, dedicating themselves to long working hours with
the result that they became strangers to their family, a price which they
had to pay for being a salaryman. Te Conclusion further explores the
major price of being a salaryman, i.e. the post-retirement life.
CONCLUSION
My bemusement with, and questions concerning, Japanese salaryman
masculinity, which arose from my experience of working for a Japa-
nese company, are reaching the fnal stage of their clarifcation. As the
previous fve chapters have demonstrated, the construction of hege-
monic salaryman masculinity amongst my participants is an ongoing
collective process, thus indicating its dynamic and fuid nature (Con-
nell 2002: 82). Despite this plasticity of hegemonic masculinity, a rigid
adherence to the status quo and a tenacious resistance to any change
in gender relations are also ubiquitous throughout the participants
lives, in particular, among the two older generations. In this conclud-
ing chapter, I will explore the post-retirement life of Cohort One as
a site where long-standing sex segregation takes on a new life for the
participantsa life prone to misery. Before moving on to the conse-
quences of sex segregation, the following summarises the discussion
that I have made so far in this book.
Construction of Hegemonic Masculinity
Te prerequisites of hegemonic salaryman masculinity, that is, being
heterosexual, an economic provider and a father, have been main-
tained over the latter half of the twentieth century (Dasgupta 2005b:
181; McLelland and Dasgupta 2005: 6). Te major institutions of social
life such as the family of origin, education, the family of marriage and
work have mutually reinforced the gender ideology in each sphere.
Accordingly, the majority of Japanese men from the mid-1920s to
the present day have grown up, and continue to grow up, in families
and schools that confer superiority upon them purely for being male,
marry into a family where their role of fatherhood consists solely of
earning an income for the family, and maintain their status as corpo-
rate warriors, contributing to Japanese society as long as they retain
their position as the economic provider in the family.
In the period of growing up, regardless of cohort, the formative
efects of dominant masculinity upon the participants were enhanced
through the endorsement of institutions such as the family and the
164 conclusion
school. Te participants were governed by the persistent gender ideol-
ogy and the gender regime of each institution. Te authority of fathers
was supported by the ie system (the family system), and the confne-
ment of mothers to their households was maintained by the ideology
of rysai kenbo (good wife, wise mother). Tese were evident in the
participants family lives. Te whole school environment, involving the
symbolism in textbooks, choice of subjects and club activities, the dif-
ferent treatment of girls and boys, the masculinity test in corporal
punishment (Connell 1996: 217), peer hierarchy and the valorisation
of physical prowess in PE and sport, taught the participants that men
were the ruling sex. Across the three cohorts an unchanging aspect of
masculinitynamely hierarchy based on age and genderwas omni-
present in all spaces including the family, the community and school,
investing the participants with self-assurance as men with unearned
privileges. However, a major change between the two older generations
and the youngest generation was indicated by the growing popularity
of computer games in Cohort Tree. While technology facilitated this
change, it meant a redefnition of appropriate masculinity by shifing
the emphasis from physical prowess to intelligence in Cohort Tree.
Boys who play computer games are preparing themselves for roles as
corporate warriors who do not need physical prowess but intelligence
in the contemporary corporate scene.
Conspicuous sex segregation in the participants childhood con-
tinued into their adolescence, maintaining their immersion in a male
homo-social world. Tis was reinforced by the social mores that pre-
vented the participants from dating, as well as by their preference
for representing themselves as kha (the hard school) rather than as
nanpa (the sof school). In Cohort Tree, being kha has, however,
become old-fashioned as the social practices and gender segregation
become less restricted. Participants such as Miura-san and Kusuda-san
enjoyed socialising with friends of both sexes throughout their lives.
Nevertheless, regardless of cohort, the participants sexual stoicism
made a sharp contrast to their Western counterparts for whom dating
meant sexual experimentation. Te institution of marriage or hetero-
normativity was powerful enough to overcome the older participants
lack of intimate relationships with women and to lead the men to
marriage. Miai kekkon (the arranged marriage) helps men in shifing
from the homo-social life to heterosexual marriage. For them, mar-
riage was only common sense, a natural destination that is a social
conclusion 165
matter rather than a private matter in Japanese society (Lunsing 2001:
138). Te arranged marriage that enabled many men in Cohorts One
and Two to marry, despite their virtual ignorance of women and their
worlds, has been replaced by the love marriage in Cohort Tree, as
co-education and more female co-workers make it possible for young
men to meet members of the opposite sex.
Marriage was an essential element of hegemonic masculinity across
the three cohorts, signalling adulthood and heterosexuality. Father-
hood was considered to be a natural outcome of marriage by almost
all the participants in Cohorts One and Two, heterosexual masculinity
being taken for granted. By contrast, the idea that having a child is a
couples choice emerged in Cohort Tree. Tis indicates that the indi-
vidualised lifestyle is prioritised over the social expectations, imply-
ing the potential for change in one of the prerequisites for hegemonic
masculinity, i.e. fatherhood. Most participants with children contrib-
uted hardly anything to childcare, and gave the moral justifcation for
their breadwinning roles by equating childcare and parenting with
their perceived duty to be an economic provider. Tis was so much a
part of some of the participants framework that taking a family holi-
day could be seen as against the interests of ones family because it
showed reduced commitment to ones work. Te old saying men at
work, women at home has changed into men at work, women have
work and a family, indicating mens unchanging roles, as against the
changing roles of women, who now balance work and family and the
social acceptance of the roles (Broadbent 2005: 215). However, some
men regard both work and family as their ikigai, while many women
consider only their family to be their ikigai. Te number of partici-
pants who regard both work and family as ikigai increases as the gen-
erations descend, although perhaps what these participants mean by
the family as ikigai is their breadwinning role. Tis might explain why
men regard the breadwinning role as child-rearing but women do not
call childcare work.
While the prerequisites of hegemonic salaryman masculinity have
been maintained in the private sphere over timeprerequisites
such as being heterosexual, an economic provider and a father
there were some changes to this in Cohort Tree. Some men have
tried to change their practices. For example, Hirose-san was involved
in childcare more fully than anyone in the older generations. He
claimed, without any hesitation, to change nappies, feed his baby
166 conclusion
girl and express his deep afection for her. Interestingly, the father,
Hirose-san in Cohort One, also feeds his granddaughter but in a
constrained manner.
1
Te elder Hirose-san does this only because he
can interact with his granddaughter. He was not certain if his fam-
ily is his ikigai in his post-retirement life; rather, he felt that there
was no purpose to his life. By contrast, the young Hirose-san had
no attachment to his company and he was ready to resign his post,
2

if any opportunity that met his personal and familial fulflment
came along.
In Cohorts One and Two, loyalty to the company was evident among
the participants in the face of transfers. However, in Cohort Tree,
this tendency of unquestioning submission was declining. Shimizu-
san chose to resign from his company when his working conditions
clashed with his wifes demands for his participation in childcare. He
consequently prioritised his family needs, indicating his lesser loyalty to
the company than was apparent in the older generations. Nevertheless,
these participants engagement in childcare was enabled by fexi-time
(Hirose-san) and the companys special arrangement (Shimizu-san).
Tat is, these changes were supported by workplace changes, thus
showing some, but on the whole, minimal change in workplace cul-
tures. Terefore, these changes can only be limited unless there is an
extensive change in workplace rules.
Te other compulsory step on the path to hegemonic masculinity
was to enter the world of work as a full-time and permanent worker.
At frst, the salaryman was secure in his hegemonic masculinity and
applauded for his contribution to the development of the Japanese
economy, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the bubble
burst in the 1980s and the capacity of the economy to continue to
guarantee the rewards of hegemonic masculinity was challenged. Sev-
eral in Cohort Tree, in particular, expressed this anxiety in defen-
sive and jealous attitudes towards freeters, attitudes not expressed
by the older generations. As several also identifed working for their
company, not to be their unquestioned ikigai, but as a means to an
extrinsic end, these attitudes suggest a more ambivalent relationship
for young salarymen today with their companies, and more question-
1
I saw both young and old Hirose-san feed the baby on the day of the interview.
2
When his company invited voluntary resignation from its workers as part of
restructuring, Hirose-san requested his company put his name on the list. However,
his company rejected his wish because of his good business performance.
conclusion 167
ing of workplace demands. Similarly, those in Cohort One accepted
transfers as their duty, while those in Cohort Two more ofen experi-
enced tension, particularly when their wives expressed concern for the
efects on the family or on them as mothers carrying the sole burden
of child-raising. In Cohort Tree, as mentioned earlier, Shimizu-san
was so distressed by being separated from his family that he decided
to resign from his company in order to return to his home. No longer,
then, can companies presume that their salarymen will align their fam-
ilys interests with their corporations interests, suggesting again the
need for more family-friendly policies that allow men and women to
combine careers and parenting.
In fact, the legislation promoting a gender equal society has had
only minimal impact on working relations. Participants were aware
that their personal views that men were the workers and breadwin-
ners contradicted the gender equal society envisaged by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL). Te 1986 EEOL enabled more
women to advance into the workforce and also facilitated the entry of
(university-educated) women into the executive-track grade in cor-
porations. Participants were aware that the institutional champion-
ship of male privilege was diminishing, and this generated insecurity
among them. Yet the participants continued to defend their status
as elite full-time workers at the top of the social ranking of workers
under the protection of large companies, marginalising men in other
categories, particularly freeters, and women as a whole. Te partici-
pants resisted womens advancement into the managerial or executive
stream by describing them primarily as mothers who were unsuited
for work because of their maternal responsibilities, or as unmotivated
or temperamental and fastidious. Male bonding or collective activities
to resist the entry of women workers were also refected in the par-
ticipants trivialisation of sexual harassment, despite the revised EEOL.
Sex segregation thus wove through the participants lives both in the
workplace and in the home.
Yet this distinct demarcation between men and women does not
necessarily provide the participants with continuing patriarchal divi-
dends in their post-retirement lives. Te following section explores
the outcome of sex segregation by looking at the retired participants
perception of the quality of their lives afer retirement as well as the
participants communication with their wives and children afer child
rearing, identifying this as the site where pronounced sex segregation
throughout their lives manifests its consequences.
168 conclusion
Consequences of Sex Segregation
Retired men have been appropriate targets for the media who degrade
their reputation with derogatory names such as sodaigomi (big rub-
bish) and nureochiba (wet fallen leaves).
3
Given the strict gender segre-
gation of household and childcare work, retired salarymen are seen by
their wives as useless like big rubbish (or wet fallen leaves) and, there-
fore, they are treated as burdensome.
4
In fact, it is widely reported
that recently retired Japanese men fnd that their lives are now empty
of meaning and that they lead miserable lives (e.g. BBC News 2006;
Faiola 2005: 19; see also Fuess 2004: 165 for the media reports in
Japan).
5
Te wives reluctance to have their retired husbands around at
home and the increasing divorce rate among elderly couples reported
in the media are, however, not a mere media craze. Te divorce rate in
Japan has been soaring since 1988 (Fuess 2004: 145).
6
In particular, the
increase in the number of divorces over the last fve decades among
couples who have lived together for more than twenty years is striking,
escalating from 3.5 per cent in 1950 to 16.9 per cent in 1998, almost
a fve-fold increase (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2000a;
Sait 1999: 222). In no group where the duration of cohabitation was
shorter than twenty years was there such a marked increase in the
divorce rate. For example, in 1950, 18 per cent of couples who were
married for between fve and ten years divorced, whereas, in 1998, the
divorce rate in the same group increased to 22.1 per cent. In 1950, 8.8
per cent of couples who were married for between ten and ffeen years
3
Te term big rubbish appeared in the early 1980s. Te term wet fallen leaves
originated when a certain housewife who likened her husband, who always wanted to
accompany her when she went out, to wet fallen leaves that could not be removed no
matter how hard she brushed. Being introduced by a commentator, Higuchi Keiko, the
usage of the term spread widely, to the extent that the term won the prize for the most
popular expression in 1989. Te euphemistic expression of wet fallen leaves is preferred
to the blunt tag of big rubbish. See URL: http://zokugo-dict.com/15so/sodaigomi.htm
and http://zokugo-dict.com/23nu/nureochiba.htm for more information.
4
As an atypical example, Take-san described his wife as big rubbish. As mentioned
in Chapter Tree, Take-san did more housework than his wife. Sitting in the middle
of a room doing nothing, she looked like big rubbish to him, although he did hasten
to add that he did not necessarily hold her in contempt. Terefore, Take-san used the
media term big rubbish to refer to someone who is unable to perform her/his role.
5
See also a serial article in six issues (entitled Your Peace of Mind and concerned
with mens post-retirement life) which appeared in Asahi Newspaper from the 28th of
May in 2007. Tese articles portray retired men undergoing hardship.
6
See also URL: http://www1.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/rikon_8/index.html for various sta-
tistics about divorce issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2000b).
conclusion 169
divorced, while, in 1998, the divorce rate in the same group increased to
12.5 per cent. Te increase in the divorce rate in the above two groups
was small compared with that in couples whose cohabitation lasted for
more than twenty years. In addition, the divorce rate among couples
who were married for less than fve years decreased from 65.3 per
cent in 1950 to 38.8 per cent in 1998 (Ministry of Health, Labour and
Welfare 2000a). Tus none of the groups indicates a marked increase.
In many cases, wives in their middle and early old age demand divorce
on the grounds that their husbands cannot give them emotional fulfl-
ment (Sait 1999: 222223), which suggests not only Japanese mens
alienation from their family in retirement but also their lack of com-
munication with their wives. Studies show that, while couples in their
twenties have good communication, that of couples in their thirties
and forties decreases (IPSS 1998; Kashiwagi 2003: 127). Although
couples in their ffies regain interaction to some extent, it is worth
noting that their topics of conversation involve mainly their children
and that it is ofen a one-way conversation from the wives (Kashiwagi
2003: 128). In comparison with American couples, Japanese couples
spend much less time together not only on communication but also
on socialising activities (Kashiwagi 2003: 127). Tese facts accord with
my participants interactions with their wives.
Te responses of many participants to the medias pejorative terms
concerning retired men revealed their anxiety about their future lives
afer retirement rather than their indignation that these tags were
applied to retired men. For example, I am concerned about it,
I dont want to become big rubbish and I am going to prepare for
it were statements ofen heard from many participants in Cohort
Two and even from young men in Cohort Tree. Indeed, some retired
participants experienced a strong sense of loss in a purpose for living.
From the participants point of view, a hobby, whether or not they
had one, was the decisive factor in the quality of their post-retirement
lives (Traphgan 2006: 279). As other researchers (e.g. Allison 1994:
125; Coleman 1983: 191; Hendry 1981: 89; Traphgan 2006: 280) have
found, the outside interests of men in this study were clearly gender
segregated. Some participants avoided unwelcome retirement by work-
ing on secondment for other companies afer the due retirement age:
Actually, the other day, my wife said to me you might become large
rubbish if we spend time together all the time. You should keep on
working. She is worried about my health. If Im not well and stay at
home, I am a trouble for her. Tat is, I am a wet fallen leaf . . . I dont
170 conclusion
like the word. I really hate that word. But if I stay home, I might be like
that. Its depressing because we dont talk much. If we see each others
face all the time, I think we will choke. So, I can understand the feeling
of wet fallen leaves. (Yoshida-san, I)
Yoshida-san has been working as a contract employee afer his due
retirement, a pattern followed by the majority of participants in Cohort
One. Despite doing the same job, Yoshida-sans salary was drastically
reducedto a quarter of his former salary. While he was disappointed
with this treatment by his company, to the extent that he came to
distrust his company, he wanted to continue to work as long as he
could. He clearly expressed anxiety as he imagined relations with his
wife once he retired properly, an anxiety only made worse afer his
wife suggested that he should have a hobby. Similarly, Hirose-san, who
had just retired, was eager to work again. His statement showed how
extensively work occupied his life:
Its better for me to have a job. Afer all, I have more time than I know
how to use. I crazily worked but now I have no work. Tis makes me
sick. Ive been thinking I shouldnt be like this. You know, I would love
to work if there is an opportunity. Its not about money. I just want to
work. And, I asked my friends to fnd me a job. And actually I work a
few days a month. Tat makes a real diference. I cant stand passing my
days in a fog or looking afer bonsai. (Hirose-san, I)
Occasional exercise at a golf practice range, walking the dog and look-
ing afer bonsai did not keep Hirose-san sufciently busy. Rather, as
time hung heavily on his hands, he felt physically and emotionally
unwell. In retirement, men like Hirose-san, who embodied the cor-
porate warrior, are now confronted with the outcome of their perfor-
mance. Tat is, they are at a loss as to how to cope with their strong
dependence on their company, implying the imperfection of the con-
cept of corporate warrior. Tis also suggests a challenge to the hege-
mony of salaryman masculinity.
On the other hand, half of the retired men in my research valued
their retirement lives above their working lives. Tey indulged in their
hobbies or participated in various activities organised by community
institutions such as kminkan.
7
However, hardly any engaged in joint
activities with their wives:
7
See Traphgan (2006: 276) for kminkan.
conclusion 171
My wife has also established her own world. And if I get in there and
say me too, of course I defnitely become nureochiba (wet fallen
leaves) . . . You know, I knew it. Just before I retired, I suppose my wife
thought that I would work a bit longer because I could stay in my com-
pany for another two years but I said to her Im going to quit. And
then she looked a bit gloomy. So, I said I wont have lunch at home
except for weekends, how does that sound? She has her own world in
the weekday afernoons and so it is hard for her to fx something for
me for lunch. Japanese men, you know, they have lef their wives alone
for a long time. And then they say to their wives lets enjoy ourselves
because theyve got time. Teir wives say give me a break! for sure.
(Katagiri-san, I)
Katagiri-san was one of the minority who decided not to work afer
their due retirement. He actually started planning how to spend his
time long before his retirement. As the above quotation indicates, he
was aware of the meaning of his retirement to his wife, that is, trouble.
It was obvious that he and his wife maintained separate spheres during
the day as if nothing had changed since his retirement. Since he had
many hobbies, he was busy enjoying himself outside the house without
disturbing his wifes lifestyle. Tis was the strategy adopted by partici-
pants who had made a successful transition to retirement. According
to Katagiri-san, there are many retired men in suits with briefcases who
loiter around department stores during the day, eating their lunches
on a bench in front of Shinbashi Station in Tokyo, although retired
participants in my study did not lapse into such a depressing practice.
However, the fact that sex segregation is found not only in the division
of labour but also in leisure activities (or hours) in the post-retirement
life is eloquent testimony to gendered experiences of life between the
participants and their wives throughout their lives in Cohort One. If
a successful transition to retirement entails separate spheres between
the husband and the wife, then, it is not only a hobby but also health
that allows the couple to follow the successful path, which also means
that the post-retirement life sometimes puts the bonds between the
husband and the wife to a test. Many participants were clearly aware
of this point. Strong possibilities of declining strength and unexpected
illness in their old age cast a dark shadow on the life afer retirement,
revealing the vulnerability of hegemonic masculinity.
While the participants in Cohort Two did not deny their uneasiness
about their lives afer retirement, they did not take the possibility of
becoming burdensome at home seriously:
172 conclusion
I feel danger. . . . Well, you know, Im going to let her be free to do things
and I will do things as I like, I suppose. Of course we live together but
as we get older, we dont need to be together all the time in our old age.
If we want to live together, we do so. We dont have to get divorced at
all. I mean, lets enjoy being with friends. I spend time with my friends
and my wife with hers. Moreover, my family as a whole mixes with other
families, various ones. I am going to prepare for that before it is too late.
(Ueno-san, II)
Te fact that Ueno-san discussed divorce implied his awareness of the
widespread media representation of the family restructuring amongst
elderly couples (Fuess 2004: 165) as was evident in his statement that
he feels danger or possibly his love-lacking relationship with his
wife. Similar to Cohort One, Ueno-sans narrative also implies that a
successful retirement involves sex segregation, suggesting that his (and
his wifes) life has been governed by gender-specifc roles. His future
plans also accord with the tendency among couples aged over forty
for each spouse wanting to have separate quality time (IPSS 1998).
It is likely that having a shared quality time with their wives would
not become a matter of concern among most participants in Cohort
Two. Indeed, according to many participants, making preparations
fnding a hobbywas the solution to avoiding a depressing life afer
retirement. Given the importance of sex segregation in leisure activi-
ties/hours in Cohort One, it does make sense that men in Cohort Two
are motivated to fnd their own hobby in order to welcome the post-
employment life. Ashida-san was also told by his wife that he should
fnd a hobby for his retirement. He said to his wife Ill be defnitely
fne, believing that he would fnd something to do during the day
in the community centre in his residential area. Because the majority
of the participants had no hobby in common with their wives, their
retirement would also be characterised by separate spheres for them
and their wives. Moreover, since many participants did not have a
circle of friends outside the workplace, fnding a hobby also meant
making friends. Being aware of these, Fukuda-san made an efort to
fnd shared hobbies and attended tennis lessons with his wife, which
was rare in Cohort Two. Nevertheless, some participants narratives
implied that their wives did not like the idea that their husbands were
sitting in the middle of a room like big rubbish afer retirement, and
thus revealing the consequence of hegemonic masculinity which was,
similar to Cohort One, brought by sex segregation and negligence in
the marital communication on the part of the participants.
conclusion 173
On the other hand, just as in Cohort One, there were a few partici-
pants who were determined to pursue their work even afer reaching
retirement age.
I think that I will work as long as I can afer sixty. Even though my sal-
ary decreases, I want to work because my ikigai (something to live for,
a purpose in life) and yarigai (something challenging, something worth
doing) are work, self-realisation. When I get in poor health and cant
work, I may become wet fallen leaves. Terefore, I am worried about the
situation I would be in when I got sick. (Hino-san, II)
Hino-san called himself kigysenshi (a corporate warrior). Work rep-
resented his whole life. Accordingly, for Hino-san, planning for his life
afer retirement was pointless; how to extend his working life was his
preoccupation, only health being a matter of concern.
Although retirement was not an urgent topic for participants
in Cohort Tree, they were aware of media discussion of the issue.
Refecting on their current working lives, they pointed out that it was
important to achieve a balance between work and family, to have com-
munication with family members and to spend more time at home in
order to have a joyful life afer retirement. Similar to the older gen-
erations, they suggested that making preparations and having a hobby
would reduce the risk of becoming big rubbish and wet fallen leaves.
However, a few participants in Cohort Tree showed striking difer-
ences from the older generations. Segawa-san almost always spent his
leisure time with his wife and discussed his wifes attitudes in ways that
suggested considerable communication between the couple. Likewise,
Hirose-san confdently stated that Im not worried about [retirement]
at all because he and his wife had many hobbies in common.
So far, the above narratives have described the participants who did
not confront a serious challenge in their post-retirement lives. In con-
trast to them, in one household, gender relations changed afer retire-
ment. Kasuga-sans wife developed heart disease when he was in his
mid-seventies. Although he still held a very traditional and patriarchal
concept of gender relations, his participation in housework increased
considerably in order to reduce his wifes physical (and mental) fatigue.
Kasuga-san stated a little nervously:
Recently, I do the cleaning. Ha hah hah. Only recently. My wife does the
cooking but I dry dishes and tidy up the sink because if you dont clean
the sink, you cant do the next thing. And I clean the bathroom. . . . I also
look afer the kitchen waste. And I never complain about what she cooks.
174 conclusion
To be honest, I thought that she became ill because I have been selfsh. I
thought she might die [because of my selfshness]. (Kasuga-san, I)
Kasuga-san tenderly took care of his wife because, as he said, with-
out her there was no fulflling life for him. His story expressed the
ideal arranged marriage as it is portrayed in Japanese literature, that
is, entailing emotional bonds that accumulate over time. More impor-
tantly, his narrative suggests that the participants took their wives for
granted, only realising their emotional dependence in times of crisis.
However, Kasuga-san drew no wider gender lessons from his per-
sonal experience. Indeed, he did not like the idea of gender equality.
While Kasuga-san has achieved an individualised project of reform
in gender relations between him and his wife, his awareness of his
change did not generate political ramifcations (Connell 1995: 159).
He lacked knowledge of feminism as well as political consciousness
of gender relations in the wider society. For Kasuga-san, his changed
circumstances are justifed only in the ideology of the ideal arranged
marriage. Negative consequences of sex segregation are associated, not
only with limited communication between the participants and their
wives, but also with the minimal interactions between the participants
and their children, to which the following turns.
Physically absent Japanese fathers are still powerful psychological
presences in the minds of children, principally because fathers are
assumed to be severe disciplinarians and most Japanese fathers actu-
ally practise this method of fatherhood (Ishii-Kuntz 1994: 32; no
1999: 87). Tus, one study found that fathers who hardly shared child-
care tended to give orders to their children rather than making sug-
gestions (Kashiwagi 2003: 248). By contrast, fathers who are actively
involved in childcare develop attitudes more like those of mothers,
primary responsibility for childcare shaping similar attitudes in men
and women who take on this role (Field 1978: 184; Kashiwagi and
Wakamatsu 1994). While a survey indicated that the number of people
who support mothers and fathers equal responsibilities in disciplining
children was increasing (no 1999: 87), other studies suggest that Jap-
anese fathers are generally inclined to believe that their duty as a father
begins when their children reach adolescence (Kashiwagi 2003: 255).
However, according to an international comparison between Japan,
the U.S.A. and Germany concerning the communication between
fathers and children, only 5 per cent of Japanese fathers answered that
they actively keep their children company, whereas 40 per cent of their
conclusion 175
American counterparts and 11 per cent of their German counterparts
did so (Sait 1999: 218).
Tis fnding concerning Japanese fathers lack of enthusiasm for
interactions with their children was also refected in the attitudes of
fathers in my study. Tese men tend to think that the rearing of infants
and children are womens jobs. In fact, my research found that com-
munication between authoritarian fathers and their children dimin-
ishes as the children grow. Participants in Cohort One had minimal
conversation with their adult children, and many of them mentioned
that they heard about their children second-hand from their wives,
who mediated between the participants and their children. Tis does
not mean that the participants had good communication with their
wives. On the contrary, their conversation was minimal. Regardless of
the cohort, while the participants wives told them about their children
and everyday happenings, the men hardly told their wives about their
work, assuming that women did not understand their working life,
despite the fact that many of their wives worked for the same company
as theirs. Tis reinforces the sense of the mens gendered perception
of work as a mans domain. However, some men in Cohorts One and
Two whose children were independent expressed embarrassment or
regret that they had not participated in child-rearing.
8
Katagiri-san has
two independent children. Although he lives with them, he has almost
no communication with them:
I feel embarrassed because I did nothing. Its not regret. As they say
oya wa nakutomo ko wa sodatsu
9
my children chose their schools by
themselves and they got a job on their own. . . . I didnt know anything
about my children. Actually I was thinking that I would use my connec-
tions and ask my friends for help to fnd a job for my children but they
got a job without my help just like they chose their schools . . . so I dont
interfere with them at all. (Katagiri-san, I)
Hardly any of the participants in Cohort One expressed gratitude
towards their wives for raising their children with so little support.
On the contrary, some criticised their wives child-raising methods.
8
Wajcmans study (1999: 142) reveals that male corporate managers in Britain also
lament neglecting their family, especially their children.
9
Children who lose their parents early still grow up into adults and, therefore,
there is no need to worry about children without parents.
176 conclusion
Yoshida-san has a son, a daughter and three grandchildren. He
expressed his regret:
My wife did most of child rearing and I didnt get in her way. I totally
lef it to my wife. I tried to communicate with my children on weekends,
though. Now I regret that she spoiled them a little bit. Tey sort of lack
guts. Its like this: they always come to us and ask for help. I think I
failed in child rearing a bit but I cant tell this to my wife because she
gets angry. (Yoshida-san, I)
In retrospect, Yoshida-san felt that he should have contributed his
masculine perspective
10
to the childrens upbringing and so failed in
child rearing. Because of his limited involvement in childcare, perhaps
his wife experiences his criticism of his children as criticism of her
child-rearing practices.
Participants in Cohort Two, by contrast, did not explicitly voice
their dissatisfaction with their wives way of raising children, except
for Ono-san who had just had a grandchild, and could not hide his
disappointment saying I regret having had no real discussion with my
children and Sugiura-san who regretted his decision to stay in a hotel
on business for a year because he felt that he lost contact with his fam-
ily which had been good and well-established. While the majority of
the participants who were in the process of child-rearing were critical
of and discontented with their wives child-rearing ways, they knew
that there were no legitimate grounds for complaint. For example,
Hino-san thought my wife is unnecessarily attentive to our child
but he said nothing critical because Im not going to help her with
anything anyway. Moreover, comments such as my wife is powerful
within the household (Ueno-san), a woman becomes strong afer
childbirth (Amano-san and Kuraoka-san) suggested that these wives
were confdent in their child-rearing practices. Terefore, these men
readily seem to accept the division of labour. Although they do not
agree with their wives in all respects, they do not feel that they should
criticise or correct their wives, otherwise they might demand assis-
tance with childcare and housework. Tis is perhaps demonstrated
by an unusual case. Realising that his children were overwhelmingly
10
Australian divorced fathers in Winchesters study also stated that fathers can
contribute to the family by providing a male perspective in contrast to the female
perspective of mothers (Winchester 1999: 91). Since the 1970s in Japan, this approach
has been consistently disseminated by psychologists, for example, Hayashi (1996)
(Nakatani 1999: 50).
conclusion 177
infuenced by his wifes way of thinking, Tachibana-san decided to
interact more with his children and give them a diferent perspective
from their mothers. Tis was what other participants avoided doing,
i.e. directing their minds to something other than work. Tachibana-
san was confdent that his children and he had sufcient communi-
cation. He attributed this to his attitudes in which he tried to be a
non-authoritarian father who demoted himself to being a friend-like
father. With regard to Cohort Tree, four participants were in the
middle of infant-care. Amongst them, Hirose-sans involvement in
infant-care was remarkablechanging nappies, feeding his baby and
dandling hercompared with the other participants and with men
in general.
11
Actually, the two-month-old baby girl was present at the
interview.
Whether with embarrassment or regret, many of the participants
believed that their parenting role was to provide fnancial security by
working hard. In the process, they failed to establish close ties between
themselves and their children. Te consequence of sole parenting by
their wives caused great disappointment in some participants hearts,
that is, the alienation from their wives and children.
Finally, most participants in all three cohorts had established a com-
pletely diferent world from that of their wives. While the participants
performed their task as breadwinners, their wives fulflled their role as
homemakers. Lacking time or being too exhausted during their work-
ing lives, the participants spent little time with and paid little attention
to their wives. Consequently, the distance from their wives only wid-
ened. Even most married men in Cohort Tree had already fallen into
this habit of neglecting conjugal communication. Te media terms
big rubbish and wet fallen leaves to describe retired salarymen
retain their currency. Some of the authoritarian and stern fathers in
Cohorts I and II, now experiencing almost no contact with their ado-
lescent or adult children, felt a sense of either embarrassment or regret
at the estrangement from their children. Tis is possibly a lesson for
young men in Japan today. More importantly, the refection of Cohort
One on their contemporary social positions as big rubbish or wet
11
Many young salarymen in Dasguptas study indicate a sign of change in the dis-
course on fatherhood, expressing their desires to become a father and to be involved
in childcare, fatherhood thus becoming cool (Dasgupta 2005b: 180). See also Otoko
mo onna mo ikuji jikan o! Renrakukai (1995) and Ishii-Kuntz (2003) for mens active
participation in childcare.
178 conclusion
fallen leaves challenges the unquestioned hegemony of salarymen
the tight and successful interweaving of heterosexuality, breadwinner
and fatherhood. Te fnal section discusses challenges to hegemonic
masculinity.
Challenges to Hegemonic Masculinity
As my study has shown, there are challenges to the armoury of hege-
monic masculinity which are brought about by economic changes (the
bursting of the Japanese bubble economy), social changes (increasing
discussion of individual fulflment) and changes in gender relations
(the introduction of gender barrier free legislation and policies). In
particular, the operation of the EEOL and the Angel Plan, the rise of
freeters (young casual/part-time workers) in the face of the economic
downturn and the alienation from wives and children represent chal-
lenges to hegemonic masculinity.
Te regulatory challenge to hegemonic masculinityfor example
the introduction of the EEOLis associated with institutional changes
in society which are beyond the individuals control. Te Japanese gov-
ernment has been attempting to reform gender politics by enforcing
the EEOL and promoting the Angel Plan (e.g. the Sam campaign). Te
EEOL has reformed the male-centred employment system, although
not completely, and has succeeded in allowing more women to enter
the workforce and to pursue a career on an equal footing with men.
In addition, while the majority of the participants in this study exhib-
ited ignorance, denigration and trivialisation of sexual harassment, the
sexual harassment legislation stipulated in the revised EEOL has had
some efect in reducing sexual harassment in the workplace. Indeed,
the increasing number of law suits and the actual dismissal of workers
in a few of the participants companies exemplify the limitations of
mens resistance to womens growing entry into the workforce.
Many participants expressed outright rejection of the kind of par-
ticipation in childcare that was envisaged by the Sam campaign. How-
ever, awareness of the importance of paternal childcare is growing in
the public together with the continuing Angel Plan. For example, since
1980, the members of ikujiren have been advocating mens involve-
ment in housework and childcare and the development of mens
sense of responsibility for the household work (Ikujiren 1995: 3; ta
1999: 89). Amongst these ikujiren members, there are salarymen who
conclusion 179
balance their work commitment and childcare responsibilities. Te
presence of such caring fathers, the salarymen in ikujiren as well as
Hirose-san in Cohort Tree in this study who is actively involved in
childcare, demonstrates a challenge to the attitudes of work-oriented
corporate warriors.
Te shifing economic situation, from the devastation of the Sec-
ond World War to Japans economic miracle and the subsequent
bursting of the bubble, inevitably afected the lives of the participants.
Tese economic transformations also indicate that the power of the
company is relevant to the formation and maintenance of salaryman
masculinity, thus implying that hegemonic masculinity is also reli-
ant or dependent masculinity (Wajcman 1999: 102). Without secure
careers in large companies to rely on, freeters have become more
common, providing a negative contrast to the salaryman identity, as
it was described by almost all the respondents. Interestingly, those in
Cohort One appeared to understand the difculties of the present job
market better than did those in Cohort Tree who were trying to fnd
a foothold in that job market. I argue that the defensive response to
and the jealousy of freeters in Cohort Tree emphasise the contrast
between the image of salarymen who are bound to their companies,
and freeters who have fexibility in the management of their time. Te
responses of the participants reveal the way in which freeters chal-
lenge the beliefs and ideas of men who perform hegemonic masculin-
ity. While freeters are not conscious agents of social and structural
change in relation to masculinity, the fact that a growing number of
young men are refusing the path of the company men suggests that
individual choices and practices can also put pressure on structural
changes (Dales 2005: 148149). Not only freeters but also women who
choose not to have a baby or who demand an egalitarian relationship
in marriage can provide viable alternatives to widely accepted social
and cultural expectations.
12
Te emergence of freeters thus indicates
the potential for changes in hegemonic masculinity in association with
socio-economic circumstances as well as refecting an individual pur-
suit of happiness or ikigai.
12
Dales also applies this idea to parasite singles (single young people in their
twenties and thirties who are (ofen) employed and live with their parents) (Dale
2005: 134).
180 conclusion
In contrast to the above challenges to hegemonic masculinity brought
about by an institutionally and economically changing society, what
Connell (1995: 159) calls individualised projects of reform in gender
relations also emerged in the life-course of some of the participants.
For example, Kasuga-san in Cohort One, who used to have patriar-
chal attitudes towards his wife, changed his attitudes and began to do
housework during his retirement when his wife became ill. Yoshino-
san in Cohort Two also followed his personal desire to reform his
assumptions concerning masculinity when he was enlightened by a
public lecture on mens issues. As a result, he began to participate
in a mens group and school events. However, Kasuga-sans involve-
ment in housework and Yoshino-sans participation in therapeutic
practice do not generate changes in the Japanese gender order (Con-
nell 1995: 159). Even so, their personal transformation did change the
micro-politics of their households. For example, actively participating
in school events, Yoshino-san presented an alternative not only to his
wife but also to other mothers who assumed that men were the bread-
winners and that they would not, therefore, attend school events such
as meetings of the Parent-Teacher Association.
Moreover, even though Tachibana-san and Kuraoka-san in Cohort
Two are comfortable with the conventional division of labour in their
households, their comment that the household pattern may vary
according to individual choice demonstrates the existence of compet-
ing discourses in contemporary Japanese society, and these challenge
the absolute gendered division of labour. In fact, Hirose-san, who is
fully involved in childcare, Shimizu-san, who gave his wifes demands
for his participation in childcare priority over his job, and Take-san,
who does most of the housework, represent actual practices of the new
discourses in Cohort Tree.
Te loyal devotion to companies brought many participants disap-
pointment and anxiety in their post-retirement life as well as regrets
and embarrassment in their post-child-rearing life. Te lamentation
of failed husbands and fathers results not only from lack of individ-
uals eforts but also from structural forces in the wider society; for
example, long working hours. Teir inability to meet their wives emo-
tional requirements and to establish meaningful relationships with
their children undermine the completeness of the salaryman mascu-
linity. Moreover, the fact that corporate warriors lose their sense of
self and power when they retire from their company and that they
result in being called wet fallen leaves or big rubbish indicate the
conclusion 181
dark facets of being a salaryman. Tat is, salarymen are so dependent
on their company for their identity that many of them cannot adjust
themselves to the post-retirement life. For example, some salarymen
develop large corporation disease or a reliance-upon-a business
card syndrome, a salarymans morbid fear of meeting people if he
should lose his business card (Toyoda 1997: 138139) and some for-
mer salarymen pretend to go to work every day afer their retirement.
Indeed, Hirose-san in Cohort Tree expressed the view that he felt
emotionally and physically sick, as nothing satisfed him in his retire-
ment. Te post-retirement life discloses the dependence of salarymen
on the company, thus challenging hegemonic masculinity.
In closing, socio-economic changes challenge dominant salaryman
masculinity as a family man, exposing the fact that the disguise of the
corporate warrior hides the experience of the company-tamed submis-
sive salaryman. Te men in my study cannot be classifed into either
the distinct category of the corporate warrior or the contrasting cat-
egory of the company-bound salaryman because, as their narratives
have demonstrated throughout this book, there are contradictions,
doubts, dilemmas, anxieties and resignation behind the faade of their
confdence and pride. In other words, power and pain coexist in the
participants experiences, and these are mens contradictory experi-
ence of power (Kaufamn 1994: 142). To be sure, these positive and
negative facets difer among the participants according to their per-
sonal attributes, their interaction with others and their social and per-
sonal circumstances.
Nevertheless, while we should not dismiss the persistent resistance
to gender equality as a warning, there has been change over time.
Tus some participants in Cohort Tree are drawn into the vortex of
unconventional gender relations in the private sphere, their partners
infuence being forceful to the extent that these men are adjusting
themselves to the new social and economic milieu. Te life histories
of the participants over a half-a-century evince signs of change in the
hegemonic masculinity of the salaryman. Indeed, the terms corporate
warrior and company man may be replaced by other appellations as
time goes by, and not just in the negative parlance of freeter or wet
fallen leaves but possibly in positive terms that convey the valida-
tion of, for example, the full-time caring father or of men who are
openly gay.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX ONE
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE PARTICIPANTS (IN ALPHABETICAL
ORDER WITHIN EACH COHORT)
Cohort One
Hirose-san, one of three children, was born in 1941 in Gunma. His father was
a bus driver. His mother was a housewife. He worked for a steel company
afer completing vocational high school. He married for love and has two
children. He became a grandfather in the year of the interview. He has retired
from work but he is eager to work again.
Honda-san, one of six children, was born in 1936 in Tottori. His father was
a public servant. His mother was a housewife but did farming for self-suf-
ciency. He worked in heavy industry afer completing vocational high school
and met his wife in the workplace. He has two children. Afer the due retire-
ment age, he worked for two diferent subsidiary companies of his former
company until he was sixty-six years old. He enjoys playing go (a board game)
and taking charge of various go clubs.
Ishihara-san, one of two children, was born in 1941 in Kchi. His father was
a salaryman before the Second World War, self-employed during the war
and a civil servant afer the war. His mother was a housewife. He worked in
heavy industry afer completing vocational high school and met his wife in
the workplace. He has three children. Since the due retirement age, he has
been working part-time for a subsidiary company of his former company. He
also enjoys various hobbies, participating in community clubs.
Kasuga-san was born in 1925 in Ngata, one of fve children. His father was
a naval ofcer; however, he became a property custodian because of the dis-
bandment of his unit in the Navy. His mother was a housewife. He lived with
another family as a shos from the age of thirteen until eighteen. He changed
jobs until he found a job in the manufacturing industry and worked until he
was ffy-nine years old (the due retirement age was ffy-seven at that time
but he worked for another two years for the same company afer retirement).
He met his wife in the workplace and has two children. He went to a train-
ing school for golf for a year when he was sixty-three and still enjoys playing
golf once a month.
Katagiri-san was born in 1942 in Hiroshima. His mothers sister and her hus-
band adopted him when his father died in the Second World War. He has a
186 appendix one
sister; however, he became an only child in the new family. His father was
a salaryman and his mother a housewife. He worked in the manufacturing
industry afer graduating from university. He married through the arranged
marriage system and lived with his parents until they passed away. He has
two employed children living with him. He retired from work at the due
retirement age of sixty. He enjoys various hobbies.
Kishida-san was born in 1936 in Kchi, the youngest of four children. His
father was a salaryman. His mother ran a boarding house for university stu-
dents. Abandoning high school, he went to a training school for sailors and
became a seaman. He was at sea for most of his working life. He married
through the arranged marriage system and has two children. He retired vol-
untarily from his work at the age of ffy-three because of restructuring and
worked onshore as a part-timer for a few years. He attends various commu-
nity clubs and enjoys his hobbies.
Nishida-san was born in 1937 in Hygo, the youngest of seven children. His
father became a teacher afer returning from World War II. His mother was
a housewife. He worked for a steel company afer graduating from university.
He married through the arranged marriage system. He has two children. He
enjoys attending community clubs.
Sasaki-san, one of six children, was born in 1940 in Aichi. His father suc-
ceeded the family business afer returning from World War Two. His mother
assisted his father and most of the housework was done by a maid. He worked
in the heavy industry sector afer completing a masters degree and met his
wife in the workplace. He has two children. He worked for a subsidiary com-
pany of his former company for two years afer the due retirement age. He
serves as a volunteer teacher of a computer class in a community club.
Shiga-san was born in 1935 in Chiba, the youngest of eleven children. His
father ran munitions factories but he became bankrupt at the end of World
War Two. His mother and his older brothers assisted his father. He worked
for a bank subsequent to working as a resident help for one year afer com-
pleting high school. He married for love. He has two children. He enjoys
various hobbies.
Sonoda-san was born in 1930 in Hygo and is one of four children. His
father was an artisan. His mother was a housewife. He completed com-
pulsory education (equivalent to todays primary school) and went on to a
vocational school for three years. He changed jobs until he found one in the
manufacturing industry. He married through the arranged marriage system
and re-married when his frst wife died. He lived with his mother until she
died. He has a child from the frst marriage. He worked on secondment for
another company for eleven years afer the due retirement age. He enjoys his
hobbies.

biographies of the participants 187
Uchida-san was born in 1938 in Kagoshima, the youngest of fve children.
His parents were farmers. He worked for a cement company afer completing
high school. He attended evening courses and obtained a bachelors degree
while he was working, receiving a subsidy from his company. He married
through the arranged marriage system. He has two children. He has been
working on secondment for another company afer the due retirement age.
He enjoys working and wants to work until he becomes seventy.
Yanase-san was born in 1939 in Yamagata, one of six children. His parents
were farmers. He worked in the manufacturing industry afer completing high
school and met his wife in the workplace. He has two children. He worked
for a subsidiary company of his former company afer the due retirement age.
Afer retirement he has been helping in his wifes business.
Yoshida-san, one of four children, was born in 1943 in Tokyo. His father
was self-employed but became a civil servant afer the Second World War.
His mother was a housewife. He worked in the manufacturing industry afer
completing high school. He met his wife in the workplace. He has two chil-
dren. He has been working for the same company as a contract employee
afer the due retirement age.
Cohort Two
Amano-san, one of three children, was born in 1961 in Kagoshima. His par-
ents were farmers. His mother also had a part-time job. He has been work-
ing for an oil company since he completed vocational high school. He met
his wife in the workplace. He has two teenage children. He lives next to his
wifes parents. He coaches a community soccer team. He had received an
order of transfer shortly before the interview and decided to go to the new
post alone.
Ashida-san, one of three children, was born in 1956 in Kagoshima. His father
was a public servant. His mother was a housewife. He has been working for
an oil company since he graduated from university. He met his wife in the
workplace and has three children.
Fukuda-san, one of two children, was born in 1953 in Kanagawa. His father
was a salaryman. His mother was a housewife. He has been working for an oil
company since he completed commercial high school. He attended evening
courses and obtained a bachelors degree while he was working. He met his
wife in the workplace and has three children. He and his wife attend tennis
lessons on weekends.
Hamada-san, one of three children, was born in 1954 in Hiroshima. His
father was a salaryman on weekdays and a farmer on weekends. His mother
was a farmer. He has been working for a securities company since he
188 appendix one
completed high school. He met his wife in the workplace. He has two chil-
dren. He was in the middle of tanshinfunin (going to a distant post unac-
companied by families) at the time of the interview.
Hino-san, one of three children, was born in 1956 in Aichi. His parents were
farmers. He has been working in the manufacturing industry sector since he
graduated from university. He met his wife in the workplace and has two
teenage children.
Kuraoka-san, one of three children, was born in 1953 in Kochi. His father was
a self-employed watchmaker who was assisted by his mother in his shop. He
has been working in the manufacturing industry sector since he graduated
from university. He met his wife in the workplace. He has two children.
Matsuzaki-san was born in 1948 in Hygo and is one of two children. His
father was self-employed but became a public servant afer World War Two.
His mother was a housewife and farmed for self-sufciency. He has been
working for an electricity company since he graduated from a corporate
school run by his company. He attended evening courses and obtained a
bachelors degree while he was working. He married through the arranged
marriage system and his wife kept her full-time job afer marriage. He has
two children.
Minami-san, one of fve children, was born in 1953 in Ibaragi. His father
was a public servant. His mother was a housewife. He has been working in
the manufacturing industry since he graduated from university. He has not
married.
Ono-san, one of three children, was born in 1945 in Kagoshima. His parents
were farmers. He has been working for a securities company since he com-
pleted commercial high school. He met his wife in the workplace and has two
children. He became a grandfather a few years before the interview. At the
time of the interview he was preparing for retirement, obtaining a license for
a boat for fshing and cruising. He retired from work in 2005.

Sugiura-san, one of two children, was born in 1959 in Chiba. His father was
a salaryman. His mother was a housewife. He has been working in the infor-
mation technology industry since he graduated from university. He married
for love. He has a child and his wife has a full-time job. Tey live with his
parents.
Tachibana-san, one of two children, was born in 1954 in Kagoshima, a descen-
dant of a samurai family. His father was a public servant and his mother was
a housewife. He has been working for an oil company since he graduated
from university. He met his wife in the workplace and has two children. He
succeeded to his parents ie. He lives there with his mother as he has always
done, his father having died a while ago.
biographies of the participants 189
Toda-san, one of three children, was born in 1951 in Kanagawa. His father
was a salaryman. His mother was a housewife. He was scouted by an oil
company for his talent in baseball and played in the companys baseball team
when he was younger. He has been working for this oil company since he
graduated from university. He met his wife in the workplace and has two
children. He lives with his parents as well as his wifes mother.
Tsutsumi-san, one of two children, was born in 1961 in Kagoshima. His par-
ents ran a business. His father died when he was seven years old. He has been
working for an oil company since he completed vocational high school. He
met his wife in the workplace and has two teenage children. He coaches a
community baseball team as a coach.
Ueno-san was born in 1951 in Saitama and is one of three children. His
father was a self-employed fsh shop owner. His mother assisted his father.
He has been working for an oil company since he completed commercial high
school. He married for love. He has two children and was in the middle of
tanshinfunin (going to a distant post unaccompanied by families) at the time
of the interview.
Yoshino-san, one of two children, was born in 1958 in Fukuoka. His father was
a self-employed tailor. His mother assisted his father. He has been working in
the manufacturing industry since he resigned from his former company and
returned to his hometown. He married for love. He has two children. Since
he attended a public lecture on mens issues, he has been attending meetings
of a mens group.
Cohort Tree
Ebara-san, one of two children, was born in 1973 in Hygo. His father is a
car mechanic and owns a garage. His mother assists his father. He worked in
the information technology industry for several years but was forced to resign
due to restructuring. He was studying hospitality in Perth, Australia at the
time of the interview. He is single and has a girlfriend. However, he cannot
consider getting married until he fnds a job.
Hirose-san, one of two children, was born in 1969 in Saitama. His father,
Hirose-san in Cohort One, was also a salaryman, and his mother is a house-
wife. He has been working in the information technology industry since he
completed vocational college. He married for love. He has a child, who was
born shortly before the interview. He participates in childcare as much as
possible.
Kusuda-san, one of three children, was born in 1977 in Kagoshima. His father
owns a small business and his mother assists his father in the business. He has
been working for a bank since he graduated from university. He is single and
190 appendix one
has a girlfriend. He would like to marry in the future, expecting marriage to
give him peace of mind and support.
Miura-san was born in 1978 in Tokyo and is one of two children. His father
is a salaryman. His mother is a housewife. He has been working for a con-
sultancy since he graduated from university. He is single and would like to
marry in the future.
Nakama-san, one of three children, was born in 1971 in Kagoshima. His
father is a salaryman. His mother is a housewife. He has been working for
an oil company since he graduated from university. He married for love and
has no children.
Noda-san was born in 1970 in Tanegashima and is one of four children.
His father was a salaryman, who died before he entered primary school. His
mother raised all the children, working as a cook in a hospital. He has been
working for an oil company since he graduated from university. He married
for love and has three young children.
Okano-san was born in 1971 in Fukuoka and is one of three children. His
father runs a business. His mother assists his father. He has been working in
the manufacturing sector since he completed vocational college. He is single.
He has a girlfriend, who was present at the interview with him.
Segawa-san, one of three children, was born in 1970 in Tokyo. His father was
a salaryman. His mother was a housewife. He was lef in a relatives house at
the age of thirteen. He became a freeter when he graduated from university.
He has been working for a securities company since he resigned his post in
an insurance company, where he initially worked part-time then became a
full-time worker. He married for love and has no children. He is studying to
become a professional property advisor.
Shimizu-san was born in 1976 in Fukuoka and is one of two children. His
parents are school teachers. He has been working in the manufacturing
industry since he graduated from university. He married for love. He has
two very young children.
Take-san, one of two children, was born in 1967 in Shizuoka. His father was
a salaryman. His mother worked for the same company as his father. He has
been working for a real-estate developer. He married for love and has no
children. He does most of the housework.
Tokuda-san, one of two children, was born in 1975 in Kagoshima. His parents
were divorced when he was nine years old. He lived with his mother who ran
a small restaurant but who died twelve years ago. He has been working for
an oil company since he completed high school. He married for love and has
two young children.
APPENDIX TWO
CHRONOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PARTICIPANTS
Miura-san
Kusuda-san
Shimizu-san
Tokuda-san
Ebara-san
Okano-san Cohort III
Nakama-san
Noda-san
Segawa-san
Hirose-san
Take-san
Tsutsumi-san
Amano-san
Sugiura-san
Yoshino-san
Hino-san
Ashida-san
Hamada-san
Tachibana-san Cohort II
Minami-san
Kuraoka-san
Fukuda-san
Toda-san
Ueno-san
Matsuzaki-san
Ono-san
Yoshino-san
Katagiri-san
Ishihara-san
Hirose-san
Sasaki-san
Yanase-san
Cohort I Uchida-san
Nishida-san
Kishida-san
Honda-san
Shiga-san
Sonoda-san
Kasuga-san
Recession
1925
Te
Pacifc
War
High Economic
Growth Period
Te Bursting
of the Bubble
High Economic
Growth Period
Age of
Participants
Te Bursting
of the Bubble
Name of
Participants
1945 1955 1973 1993 2004
Te End
Of War
Te End
Of War
1941
APPENDIX THREE
TABLES AND CHARTS
Table 1. Particulars of the Participants
Cohort One Cohort Two Cohort Tree
Total Number 13 15 11
Company size
(employees)
10002000: 4
20005000: 4
Over 5000: 5
10002000: 0
20005000: 9
Over 5000: 6
10002000: 2
20005000: 6
Over 5000: 3
Company type
Heavy industry: 2
Oil: 0
Steel: 3
Manufacturing: 5
Construction
material:1
Financial: 1
Securities: 0
Real-estate: 0
Transport (ship): 1
Electric power: 0
Information
technology: 0
Consultancy: 0
Heavy industry: 0
Oil: 7
Steel: 0
Manufacturing: 5
Construction
material: 0
Financial: 0
Securities: 2
Real-estate: 0
Transport (ship): 0
Electric power: 1
Information
technology: 0
Consultancy: 0
Heavy industry: 0
Oil: 3
Steel: 0
Manufacturing: 2
Construction
material: 0
Financial: 1
Securities: 1
Real-estate: 1
Transport (ship): 0
Electric power: 0
Information
technology: 2
Consultancy: 1
Position of
Interviewees*
Director: 0
Department
manager: 5
Deputy Dep.
manager: 1
Section chief: 6
Subsection chief:
No title: 1**
Director: 0
Department
manager: 4
Deputy Dep.
Manager: 3
Section chief: 6
Subsection chief:
No title: 2
Director: 0
Department
manager: 0
Deputy Dep.
Manager: 0
Section chief: 0
Subsection chief: 3
No title: 8
194 appendix three
Location of
interviewees
Tokyo: 2
Chiba: 3
Saitama: 1
Yokohama: 1
Hyogo: 5
Fukuoka: 0
Kagoshima: 0
Tokyo: 2
Chiba: 2
Saitama: 0
Yokohama: 2
Hyogo: 1
Fukuoka: 1
Kagoshima: 7
Tokyo: 3
Chiba: 0
Saitama: 1
Yokohama: 0
Hyogo: 0
Fukuoka: 0
Kagoshima: 6
Australia: 1
Marital status
Married: 13
Never married: 0
Married: 14
Never married: 1
Married: 7
Never married: 4
Notes: * Te promotion system is not uniform among the companies in my study. In this table,
I used a basic classifcation of positions: namely, a director as a Japanese yakuin or jyaku,
a department manager as buch, a deputy department manager as jich, a section chief as
kach and a subsection chief as kakarich. However, some companies abolished the title
of subsection chief.
Some companies call the section chief gurpu manj (group manager) instead of kach.
** He is a sailor.
Table 1 (cont.)
Cohort One Cohort Two Cohort Tree
Table 2. Changing ie System amongst the Participants
Cohort I Cohort II Cohort III
Multi-generational households in
their childhood
38% 33% 0%
Eligible participants who succeeded
to the ie or lived with their parents
67% 50% (0%)
Brothers of non-frst-born participants
who succeeded to the ie or lived with
their parents
100% 43% (0%)
Table 3. Participants Participation in Housework during
their Childhood
No Housework Some Housework Farmwork when
required
Cohort One 10 (77%) 3 (23%) 2 (15%)
Cohort Two 10 (77%) 5 (33%) 3 (20%)
Cohort Tree 8 (73%) 3 (27%) 0
tables and charts 195
Table 4. Academic Achievement Levels of the Participants
High School Post-Secondary
Institution
University
Cohort One 9 (69%) 0 (0%) 4* (31%)
Cohort Two 5 (33%) 0 (0%) 10** (66%)
Cohort Tree 1 (10%) 3 (30%) 7 (60%)
Notes: * One participant attended evening classes while he worked during the day.
** Two participants attended evening classes while they worked during the day.
Table 5. Major Fields of Study of University Graduates amongst
the Participants
Field of Study Engineering Law Business,
Commerce &
Economics
Sciences Languages
Cohort One 1 (25%) 2 (50%) 1 (25%) 0 0
Cohort Two 6 (60%) 0 2 (20%) 1 (10%) 1 (10%)
Cohort Tree 0 4 (57%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 0
Table 6. Marriage Patterns of the Participants
Arranged
Marriage
Company
Marriage
Love
marriage
Never
Married
Cohort One 5 (39%) 6 (46%) 2 (15%) 0
Cohort Two 1 (7%) 13 (86%) 1 (7%)
Cohort Tree 0 0 7 (64%) 4 (36%)
196 appendix three
Table 7. Participants Reasons for Marriage
Cohort One Cohort Two Cohort Tree
Family Reasons
Parental infuence/pressure
Continuing the ie/looking
afer parents in old age
6 (46%) 4 (29%) 0
Work Related Reasons
Gaining occupational
Advancement
Someone to be professional
housewife
2 (15%) 1 (7%) 0
Personal Reasons
Falling in love
Personal fulfllment/
development
5 (39%) 9 (64%) 7 (100%)
Table 8. Occupations of Wives of the Participants
Professional
Housewife
Part-time work Full-time Work
Cohort One 8 (69%)
(3 wives
piecework)
0 3 (full-time)
2 (self-employed)
(31%)
Cohort Two 6 (43%) 6 (43%) 2 (14%)
Cohort Tree 5 (72%) 1 (14%) 1 (14%)
tables and charts 197
Table 10. Ikigai of the Participants
Work
and
Company
Work Work
and
Family
Self-realisation
Family
only
Leisure,
Travel
etc.
Trough
work
Trough
something
else
Cohort One 31% 54% 7% 8% 0% 0% 38%
Cohort Two 0% 60% 13% 13% 0% 13% 40%
Cohort Tree 0% 54% 27% 0% 0% 18% 36%
Note: Percentages add up to more than 100% as participants could be classifed into multiple catego-
ries. With regard to Cohort One, while the percentages are based on the participants perception of
ikigai in the past, except for two participants who currently work, the percentage of Leisure refects
their current post-retirement lives.
Table 9. Participants Experiences of Transfers and Tanshinfunin
Transfer Tanshinfunin Transfer &
Tanshinfunin
Never
experienced
Experiencing
Either Transfer or
Tanshinfunin*
Cohort One 2 (16.6%) 2 (16.6%) 2 (16.6%) 6 (50%) 50%
Cohort Two 3 (20%) 6 (40%) 5 (33%) 1 (7%) 93%
Cohort Tree 5 (45%) 1 (10%) 0 5 (45%) 55%
* One of the participants in Cohort One was a seaman who was at sea most of the time in his working
life. He was not counted in this table.
198 appendix three
Chart 1. Types of Freeters Based on Reasons for Becoming a Freeter
Type Sub-type Description
Te Moratorium Type
Te moratorium type
afer leaving school
Tose who become freeters afer
completing or leaving education
without any future prospects
Te moratorium type
afer leaving a job
Tose who become freeters when
they resign full-time positions
without any future plans
Te Dream-Pursuer Type
Te dream-pursuer of
talent-based
professionals
Tose who have dreams of
becoming talent-based
professionals such as artists and
entertainers.
Te dream-pursuer of
skill-based professionals
Tose who have dreams of
becoming skill-based professionals
such as artisans and free-lancers
Te Inevitable Type
Te inevitable type with
a strong intention of
becoming a full-time
worker
Tose who become freeters as an
unfortunate result of their job-
searching
Te inevitable type who
works as a freeter only
for a limited period of
time
Tose who work as freeters only
for a limited period of time while
they are between educational
institutions
Te inevitable type
who works as a freeter
because of private
matters and troubles
Tose who become freeters
because of problems in their
family, workplaces and relation-
ships
Sources: Kosugi (2003: 1315); Uenishi (2004: 5859)
Te JILPT divides freeters into seven sub-groups within three groups. Te
principal distinction amongst the three types is contingent on their lack of
employment prospects in the current, more difcult economy, or on their
pursuit of professions that require employment fexibility until they secure an
opening, or on inevitable misfortune. Te presence of the last categorythe
inevitable typeeven in the ofcial typology, refects the presumed ideal
transition from education to full-time work without a gap in Japan.
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INDEX
capitalism 3, 30, 41, 57, 149
career guidance 104
Chan-Tiberghien, Jennifer 71 n.4, 115,
125, 126, 129
childcare
as work 147, 156159, 161, 165
leave 120, 153154
paternal 24 n.14, 150154, 158,
178
chnan (frst-born son) 15, 17, 1821,
26, 27, 86, 87
Civil Code
new 1617
old 15
class endogamy 80
Cockburn, Cynthia 66, 67,119, 121,
122, 123, 127, 136
collective practice 66, 130
company
loyalty to 140145, 147, 166
power of 2, 92, 179
training 1, 105, 116118, 120,
127129
welfare 6, 7, 21, 106
complementarity of incompetence
8485
computer games 39, 4041, 164
Connell, R. W. 1, 1 n.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10,
15, 41, 43, 47 n.3, 53, 55, 56, 57, 62,
64 n.22, 65 n.26, 66, 72, 72 n.5, 93,
130, 136, 157, 163, 164, 174, 180
corporal punishment 29, 5156, 164
see also, physical punishment
corporate
culture 67, 99, 103, 110, 121, 123
ethos 7
ideology 133
Japanese transnational 1
knowledge 41
masculinity 3, 39, 41
school 46, 82
soldiers 7
warriors x, 90, 101, 133, 135, 137,
139, 140, 142, 158, 161, 163, 164,
170, 173, 179, 180, 181
cult of physicality 72
adolescence
dating 7478
discourse on 69
puberty 7074
Allison, Ann 3, 5, 31, 169
American
adolescents 70
afuence 7
Angel Plan 155, 178
Askew, Sue 15, 35, 43, 47 n.3, 48 n.5,
51 n.7
Atsumi, Reiko 31, 80, 84, 116
Australian
divorced fathers 176 n.10
gendered diferences in teachers
control 51 n.7
iron man 62
men and masculinities 3, 75 n.7
mothers guilt 152
pornographic fantasies of young
men 73
authority
of the father 2223, 24 n.13, 26, 41,
164
of the head 17, 22, 26
of male worker 122
patriarchal 16, 160
baseball 57
Tokyo roku daigaku 62
birth rate
declining 78, 155
body
as weapons 58
pubescence 7173
womens 7273
boys disadvantage 43, 67
Broadbent, Kaye 116, 117, 117 n.12,
117 n.14, 165
Brod, Harry 1 n.1
Buckley, Sandra 28 n.16, 47, 116
bukatsud (club activities) 61 n.16,
62 n.20
see also, extra curricular activities
Bulbeck, Chilla x, 3, 73
bullying 14, 55, 56, 134
220 index
daikokubashira 78, 78 n.13, 85, 8993,
100, 112
ideology of 89, 91, 93, 158
Danjo kyd sankaku kihon h (Basic
Law for Gender Equal Society) 115
dankai (baby boomers) 7, 155 n.9,
Dasgupta, Romit xi, 1, 2, 3, 9, 72 n.5,
83, 84, 103 n.1, 115, 163, 177 n.11
Davies, Bronwyn 35, 36, 48
desexualisation 66, 123, 136
discourse
on the absence of the husband 81
on the meaning of life in the U.S.A.
137
on maternal childcare 157
on OLs 118
on womens education 30
discrimination
against women at work 115123,
136
sex 115123
division of labour
amongst teachers 47
gendered 12, 30, 41, 47, 84, 86, 88,
9195, 101, 151152, 157, 159160,
176, 180
divorce rate 168169
dominance
male 56, 130
masculine 70
of men 1
economic miracle 3, 4, 16, 179
Edo period 30, 76 n.10
education
co- 4850, 165
hidden curriculum 53
physical (PE) 50, 5860, 164
sex-segregated 48
womens 26, 28, 3031
Equal Employment Opportunity Law
(EEOL) 112, 115117, 125, 136, 167
revised 118, 125, 128 n.26, 130, 167,
178
egalitarian
gender ideologies 152
relationships in marriage 99, 179
egalitarianism 47, 56, 67
electronic games 36, 3941
see also, computer games
Emperor 6, 81 n.19
employment
culture of 99
dual-track 116
examinations 106
full-time 104, 109110, 113114
lifetime 7, 117, 131, 145
service 105106
system 41, 115118, 178
enjo ksai (schoolgirl prostitution, paid
dating) 71
estrangement
in marriage 81
from children 177
examination
hell 44
system 35
executive-track 116, 122, 131 n.31, 167
extra-curricular activities 6061, 67
family
business 15, 2122
head of 16, 19, 22, 26, 29, 41, 93
modern 22, 29, 41
patriarchal 2, 25, 78, 96, 99
Register Law 16
father
absent 2425, 174
as disciplinarian 25, 148149, 160, 174
as educators 149
as the head 22, 2526, 41, 93
caring 154, 158, 179, 181
discourse on 154
domineering 2526
nurturing 150, 154
fatherhood 148, 159, 163, 165
discourse on 177 n.11
hard 159
new 147
restoration of 148149
feminine subjects 47, 51
femininity 58, 70 n.1, 99, 122
feminism 2, 174
feld of study 51, 105, 195
flial piety 17, 1923, 86, 132
fexi-time 146, 166
frt (freeter) 103, 106107, 107 n.5,
108, 108 n.8, 109114, 136, 166, 167,
178, 179, 181, 198
discourse on 109
Fuess, Harald 78, 168, 172
gakidaish (king of the kids) 5556
gaman (endurance) 57, 6364, 66, 113
gariben (grinder) 65, 76 n.11, 77
gay men 3, 9 n.6, 74, 84 n.23
Genda, Yuji 104, 105, 106, 109, 117
n.14, 130
index 221
gender
emotional relations 1, 80
equality 11, 28, 47, 50, 100, 118119,
174, 181
identity 15, 5860
ideology 150, 163164
order 35, 180
power relations 1, 9, 101
production relations 1, 31
regime 43, 4647, 164
relations x, 1, 7, 8, 26, 43, 57, 66, 70,
94, 163, 173174, 178, 180181
roles 25, 53, 92
segregation 41, 69, 164, 168
socialisation 35
symbolic relations 1
theory 1, 10
Gender Equality Bureau 31 n.19, 92,
115, 117 n.13, 151, 154
general-duties grade 116, 117 n.14, 120
Gilbert, Pam 15, 39, 43, 47 n.3, 51 n.7,
65 n.28
Gilbert, Rob 15, 39, 43, 47 n.3, 51 n.7,
65 n.28
Gill, Tom 2, 3, 89
globalisation 16, 108
gkon (joint party by students) 77
Hamabata, Matthews M. 16, 83, 85
hanmenkyshi (person of a bad
example) 25
Hendry, Joy 15 n.1, 16, 23, 26, 79, 80,
80 n.17, 83, 83 n.21, 169
heterosexual complementarity 2, 41
heterosexuality 2, 69, 70 n.1, 165, 178
hierarchy
age 3738, 41, 67, 164
among boys 3639
gender 37, 41, 52, 67, 164
in Japanese organised team sport 63
matrimonial/marital 9596
patriarchal 29
in school 52, 5556
social 39
high economic growth x n.1, 7, 18, 24,
81, 90, 103, 139140, 156, 191
homophobia 74 n.6
homosexual
encounter/incident 14, 7374
men 74 n.6, 84, 84 n.23
relationships 74, 84
homosexuality 74
homo-social
fraternity 121
male friendships 14
male territory in the workplace 115
world of men 4041, 57, 164
Honda, Yuki 32, 108 n.6, 109, 110,
111, 113
honorary men 122
human rights
education 129
womens 125, 128, 130
ice hockey 58
ichininmae (fully-fedged adult) 8487
identity crisis 93
ie system (family system) 1530, 41,
164
ikigai 137147
American couples 139
de facto 139, 142143, 147, 160
defnition 137
discourse on 137138
ikuji (infant rearing) 147
Ikujiren 152 n.5, 154, 177 n.11, 178179
intra-group surveillance 6364
irori (open hearth) 23
Ishii-Kuntz, Masako 2, 147, 149, 150,
151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 174, 177
It, Kimio 25 n.15, 43, 56 n.13, 76
n.10, 124
Jolivet, Muriel 78, 83 n.21, 84, 155
kach (manager) 130, 194
kach (paterfamilias) 16, 22
kaisha ningen (company men) 7, 158,
179, 181
Kaminari oyaji no kai (Tunderous
Fathers) 148
kamiza (seat of honour) 22
karoshi 7, 104, 130131, 136
karui (sexually unrestrained) 7677
Kashiwagi, Keiko 71, 79, 80, 84, 148,
149, 153, 154, 157, 160, 169, 174
kata tataki (pat on the shoulder) 117
kateinai rikon (unofcial divorce) 81
Kaufman, Michael x, 1 n.1
kekkon (marriage) 7879, 164
kigysenshi x, 7, 137, 173
see also, corporate warrior/soldier
Kimmel, Michael A. 1 n.1, 43, 57, 63,
122 n.19, 123 n.20
kha (hard school) 7677, 164
kminkan (community centre) 170
Kondo, Dorinne K. 15 n.1, 16, 20, 26,
34 n.22, 83, 85, 117
222 index
koseki (family register) 16
kosodate (child rearing) 147
Kosugi, Reiko 105, 105 n.3, 107, 108,
108 n.6, 108 n.7, 108 n.9, 109, 110,
198
kurisumasu kki (single women over
twenty-fve) 83 n.21
kyiku mama (education mum) 31,
3435, 94, 97
Lam, Alice 115, 116, 117
Lamb, Michael E. 147
Lebra, Takie S. 17 n.7, 80, 81, 137, 138
lifestylers 76, 76 n.11
Light, Richard 57, 58, 64, 64 n.23
Long, Susan 17 n.7, 19
Louie, Kam 41
Lunsing, Wim 3, 78, 83, 84, 85, 113,
114, 143, 146, 165
Mac an Ghaill, Mairtin 36 n.24, 65
n.26
Mackie, Vera 3 n.3, 16, 116
MacKinnon, Catharine 124, 125, 127
male gaze 75
marriage
arranged 7883, 164165, 174
see also, miai kekkon
company-cum-arranged 79, 81
company-cum-love 79
masculine norm 12
masculinity
Chinese 41
dependent 2, 179
dominant ix, 41, 57, 58, 163
hegemonic ix, 14, 67, 10, 41,
113115, 154, 163167, 171, 172,
178181
hierarchy 57
ideal 6, 114
subordinate 3, 56, 59
test 5355, 164
masculinizing practices 53
Matanle, Peter 104, 117, 132, 140, 145
maternity leave 119120
Mathews, Gordon 105, 107 n.5, 109,
110, 137, 138, 139, 146
McLelland, Mark 3, 83, 84, 103 n.1,
115, 163
mechanism of contradiction 67
Meiji period 2, 15, 16, 24 n.14, 30, 45,
76 n.9, 124, 149
Meiji University 62, 66 n.29
mens
group 180
liberation x
Mens Non-No 77
meritocracy 35, 44, 80
Messner, Michael A. 1 n.1, 57, 58, 59,
60, 62, 63, 65 n.26
methodology 4
egalitarian relationship 8, 10
insider 10
life history 4, 181
outsider 910
snowball method 5
miai (arranged meeting/date) 78, 86
miai kekkon (arranged marriage) 78,
164
middle class 1, 2, 71, 149
Miyamoto Musashi 76 n.10
M-shaped curve 117
Molony, Barbara 116, 117
Nakane, Chie 103, 103 n.1
Nakatani, Ayami 98 n.27, 149, 153,
154, 155, 176 n.10
nakdo (go-between) 79
nanpa (sof school) 76, 76 n.9, 77, 164
nureochiba (wet fallen leaves) 168171,
173, 177, 180181
ochakumi (serving tea) 118
Ofcial Development Assistance
(ODA) ix
Ogasawara, Yuko x, 3, 117, 117 n.14,
118 n.15, 131, 133 n.34, 137
OL (ofce ladies) 118
on the job training 105
pain principle 57
parenting 2, 5, 18, 119 n.17, 147154,
158, 160, 165, 167, 177
patriarchal dividend 56, 104, 114, 123,
130, 136, 167
patriarchy 1, 41, 136
peer
culture 43, 56
hierarchy 5556, 164
physical punishment 29, 54
see also, corporal punishment
physical-strength-test 59
play
boys 15, 3541
girls 3839
Pleck, Joseph H. 150, 151, 152, 153
index 223
Popeye 77
Pringle, Rosemary 66, 122, 124
recession 2, 108, 130, 157, 157 n.11, 191
renai (love) 78
reproductive
body 116
husband 3
responsibility
as a breadwinner 9091, 146
collective 63
for continuation of ie 1722, 27
for flial piety 1718, 20, 86, 132
restructuring
company 2, 5, 8, 113, 114, 132, 143,
145, 157 n.11, 166 n.2
economic 108
family 172
retirement 142, 146, 166173, 180181
Roberson, James E. 2, 3, 89
Roberts, Glenda S. 78, 149, 153, 155,
155 n.8
Rohlen, Tomas P. 78, 79, 79 n.16, 80,
113 n.10
romantic love 80, 83
rnin 44, 45
Ross, Carol 15, 35, 43, 47 n.3, 48 n.5,
51 n.7
rugby 58, 61, 64, 65
rysai kenbo (good wife, wise
mother) 3035, 41, 94100, 164
educational ideology 30
state ideology 30
sbisu zangy (unpaid overtime
service) 30
Sabo, Donald F. 57, 58, 62
Sam Campaign 154155, 155 n.10, 178
sansaiji shinwa (myth of the three-year-
old) 149
sararman (salaryman)
defnition 1
masculinity 13, 163, 165, 170,
179181
discourse on 23
School Education Law 53
seishin kyiku (spiritual education) 65
n.25
sekush(u)aru harasumento (sexual
harassment) 123130
American companies 126 n.24
sekuhara 124
sex role spillover 126
sengy shufu (professional
housewife) 13, 31, 92, 95, 98
seniority based wage system 7, 95, 117
sex role 53 n.11, 126
shakaijin (social person) 104, 104 n.2,
112, 113
shanai/shokuba kekkon (intra-company
marriage) 7879
shos 33, 45
shshika (declining birth rate) 155
shshoku-katsud (job seeking) 104
socially theorized life history 5
sodaigomi (big rubbish) 168, 168 n.3
sport 5658
discourse on 58
feminine 65
hard 65
masculine 65
non-professional 62
sof 65
sporting boys 65 n.26, 76, 76 n.11,
77
violence in 58, 6465
subject
feminine 47
masculine 47
sex-segregated 4748
subordination of women 1, 136
suicide 56, 131
suppressed intimacy 81
symbolism
in textbooks 164
of subjects 4748, 5051
Taga, Futoshi xi, 1, 3, 149, 154
tanshinfunin 130136, 146
teishukanpaku (domineering
husband) 25
tekireiki (marriageable age) 83
tenkin (transfer) 131
therapeutic practice 93, 180
Torne, Barrie 35, 48 n.5, 70
Tokugawa period 24 n.14, 149
toshikoshi soba (noodles to see out the
year) 83 n.21
Ueno, Chizuko 22, 29, 31 n.18, 39,
41, 80
umeyo, fuyaseyo (reproduce, multiply)
31
underground friendship 35, 38
Uno, Kathleen S. 2, 24 n.14, 30, 31, 32
n.21, 149
224 index
Vogel, Ezra 3, 15 n.1, 16, 26, 79, 79
nn.1516, 80, 103, 131
Vogel, Suzanne H. 75 n.8, 80, 101
wkahorikku 7
Walby, Sylvia 1, 31, 130
wen-wu (scholarly attributes and
military strength) 41
white-collar 1, 3 n.3, 6, 16, 39, 41, 130
White, Merry 16, 31, 71, 80
women
as educators 30
education for 26, 28, 3031
in the workforce 109, 112, 115123
objectifcation of 70, 72
Yamada, Masahiro 78, 81, 82, 155
yamato-damashii (Japanese spirit) 6
yokoza (seat of honour) 22
see also, kamiza
Yoneyama, Shoko 34 n.23, 44, 53, 55
n.12, 56