Investigating the role of women in modern and traditional Japan

Investigating the Role of Women in Modern and Traditional Japan

Since its opening up to the world during the middle of the 19th century, Japan has gone through tremendous changes that had a significant impact on its culture, economy, and social structure, including the roles and status of individuals within the society. In today’s Japan, the roles of men and women are far more equal than in pre-modern times, yet, social customs and cultural norms still recognize a traditional gender role for each gender.

The roles of women in modern and traditional Japan have a long and complicated history. Historically, there were definite differences between the roles of men and women in Japan, with a male-dominated society preventing women from gaining their rights for centuries. Today, however, there are a variety of roles and lifestyles that are open to women within Japan, ranging from homemakers to CEOs. So, in this article, we aim to explore the role of women in Japan in both traditional and modern contexts.

The Traditional Role of Women in Japanese Society

Prior to the Meiji era, the status and roles of women in Japanese society were deemed significantly lower than those of men. Throughout Japan’s history there were three primary roles that women were expected to play: mother and nurturer, sex symbol and domestic helper, and homemaker and spiritual guardian of the household.

The traditional role of women in Japanese society is defined by the concept of ‘good wife and wise mother’, which was heavily promoted during the Meiji period. This cultural norm formed the basis for the expected roles of women in post-Meiji Japan, with mothers expected to teach their children traditional values within the family, and wives expected to embody loyalty and duty to the husband within marriage.

In addition to the aforementioned traditional roles of women in Japanese society, women were traditionally expected to act in a humble and self-sacrificing manner, reflecting the Confucian values of the time. Confucianism promoted the notion that, within a marriage, women should obey and serve their husbands, with women expected to renounce all forms of individualism and ambition to adhere to these cultural norms.

New Roles for Women in Modern Japan

In the decades since World War II, the status of women in Japan has steadily improved, and today, women enjoy unprecedented levels of freedom and access to opportunities. In 1989, Japan’s new constitution included a clause that stated that ‘women and men shall have equal rights in all spheres’, reflecting a dramatic shift in the role of women in the country. Compact disc
Aleks Dorohovich @ Unsplash

Since then, there has been a massive increase in the number of women with professional careers, with more women now entering higher education and gaining access to previously male-dominated industries, such as technology and finance. Meanwhile, the traditional role of women as homemakers is no longer the only option, and many women in Japan pursue marriage and motherhood while maintaining a successful career.

Despite the rapid changes in the status of women in Japan, certain aspects of the traditional Japanese attitude towards gender roles remain. Although Japanese men are now expected to contribute to domestic labour and to share parental duties and decision-making with their spouses, the notion of the husband being the head of the household is still pervasive and gender divisions within the workplace remain quite strong.

Conclusion

The role of women in modern and traditional Japan is a complex and fascinating subject, illustrating the incredible degree of change that has taken place within the country since the Meiji period. Whereas, traditionally, women were expected to take on a variety of specific roles related to motherhood and marriage, today, women are now able to pursue careers and educational opportunities, ignoring the traditional gender roles in favour of personal goals and ambitions.

From a traditional homemaker to an ambitious entrepreneur, the range of roles taken on by women in modern Japan reflects the rapid changes that the country has gone through over in the past few centuries. Shrike
Ryosuke Yamaguchi @ Unsplash

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