The
Role of the Japanese Children
Role of the Son
One child, usually the eldest son, remains
in the household to take over the family business and care for his aged
parents. If the eldest son died young or was considered lacking proper
qualifications to succeed the family head, another member of the family
replaced him. It was either another male member of the family, another
son, an adopted son or husband of one of the daughters who succeeded. Adoption
of sons (young or adult) was very common compared to their Western counterparts,
in order to secure qualified successors to the family. The other sons moved
out and sometimes established branch households, which remained in a subordinate
relationship to the main family. One of the most important factors in a
boy’s life is his education. His future depends solely upon entering the
right university.
Role of the Daughter
The education of girls was not considered to
be as important, but girls who graduated from select junior colleges or
women's colleges were viewed as prime candidates in the marriage market.
Therefore, a good education could assure a daughter's future. Daughters
married into other families, and the position of the bride of the eldest
son was the lowest in the household. Her primary function was to produce
heirs, and she was expected to learn the ways of her new household under
the tutelage of her mother-in-law. She was also expected to engage in the
family business and ultimately to be the primary caretaker for her aged
parents-in-law.
During the 1970’s there began a trend where
more and more young women graduated from junior colleges (two year colleges)
and four-year colleges and universities Women’s liberation movements abroad
influenced some; others simply wanted to earn money by putting their education
to use. More women entered and stayed in the labor force. As the service
industry began expanding in the late 1960s, the opportunities for women,
married or single, to work both full-time and part-time increased. Japanese
women began seeing marriage as one of many alternatives. The ways by which
women secure their livelihood have increased. This affected both the marriages
and divorces.
In more recent days, women are eager to
establish their own identities, economically and psychologically. And many
are successful Today more wives can relate to their husbands as equal partners.
A survey conducted by a private research group observed that the higher
the income the wife earns, the higher the status she has in the family.
Even if the wife does not work and earn an income, she feels free to express
herself as an equal partner to her husband.