Message from ckurtz

[Anonymous]

This was an interesting session because of all the topics so far, I think this is the one I knew the least about. One standout subtopic was the fact that if a Japanese family didn't have a son, they would "adopt" one into the family to marry the daughter and/or take over the family business. It made me wonder about the modern women's role in Japan.

I went to Tokyo, Japan with my family on a mini-vacation when I was in grade school, and my mom pointed out how many women walked a few steps behind their husbands. (We even ran into an American "woman of the night" who was so happy to speak English with us--she probably shocked the heck out of my missionary parents, but that's a story for another time!) Granted, this was in the early '80's, but this wasn't so long ago. I was in Osaka only overnight about 10 years ago on the way to Guam (I don't recommend Guam!), so I didn't get a real feel for what the average Japanese woman's life was like. One interesting thing--at my hotel in Osaka, they sent a female hotel employee up with me in the elevator to cart my suitcase and show me the room, even though there were more male bellhops around.

Even in movies and TV shows, the business people in Japan are always men. Is it still a pretty traditional society?