Gender Roles In Japanese Women

The roles of Japanese women have changed dramatically in history and are similar to what was expected of females in America and English societies of that time. The common western ideas of Japanese women are obedient, shy, and have no ideas of their own. This is an issue because it shows gender discrimination on men who expect these gender roles in today’s society for all women. Most of the gender roles expected by women can be traced back to a certain religion of that country. Like China and Korea, Confucian religion shaped Japanese society and made women’s roles negligible.
“Japan was a fairly equitable matriarchal society until Confucian ideas emigrated from China. Men were expected to be loyal to their lords; women were to be loyal to …show more content…
The theory of yin-yang claims that women are yin and men are yang. Yin relates to the moon and the earth while yang relates to the sun and the heavens. This belief meant that, “one is high and the other is humble, and there are many men who take this idea as the absolute rule of nature. Confucian ideas kept women out of schools and they were expected to wed and have heirs for their husbands. A normal Japanese household would hold up to three generations of families. If women couldn’t have an heir for their husbands they would be divorce and chastised. During this time there were many books to define the Gender roles of women. Fukuzawa Yukichi played an important role in helping these gender roles progress from the Tokugawa Period to the Meiji Restoration and beyond. He was the first influential advocate of women’s rights in modern Japan and worked to liberate women from their traditional ideas and …show more content…
Women should get just as much equal rights of men and the same opportunity. Women have empowered themselves with the last century and should continue to do so until we are as equal to the man. I hope that Japanese women aren’t constrained by their past. Having already achieved a dominant role in issues involving the household it will only be a matter of time till women start acquiring public power.
While the modern japanese woman still enjoys cooking, cleaning, flower arranging, and raising children, she can still aspire to do greater things outside the home. Like most roles of women, there are some traditions that should be left in the past. I should be the women’s decision on what she wants to be in life and who should she marry. Gender roles were only relevant during times of unfair governing. Gender roles should continue to stay in the past. We all,as humans, have a universal right to do what we want with our lives. Women can be just as strong, smart, and powerful as men. As the World is changing, I hope we can grow from this primitive way of thinking to be better people. There should be no gender roles and greater equality for