History of Gender Roles

At the very heart of Japanese history and philsophy regarding gender roles and relationships lies the Confucian system of priciples. It is important to note is this basic tenant regarding male-female relations: men are superior to women, who are expected to attend to their "every need" (Hendry).

In most of Japan's history, arranged marriages were the standard for those Japanese men and women who were ready to be engaged. Affairs outside of marriage were accepted for men, however they could be deadly for women. It is interesting to note that as late as 1908 women could be killed "with impunity by a husband who discovered" her affair. After the Occupation, this custom changed for the most part, but strict attitudes regarding marriage and male-female relationships continue to exist.

Traditionally, a woman's main duties in life were in this order: to her father, to her husband and his parents, and when widowed, to her son (Hendry). Married women were submissive quite often to their mothers-in-law, as well as the rest of the males within their families. Young wives especially were traditionally at the service of everyone ion the family and responsible for the care of the children as well as the elderly (Hendry). (It is interesting to note that marriages in the more rural areas of Japan are today, and have been historically, based on mutual attraction and do not follow these ideals).

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