CONTEMPORARY JAPAN: THE JAPANESE FAMILY Contemporary Women |
| Although Japanese family roles have changed considerably in the 20th century, aspects of the traditional ie, or “continuing family,” still remain. The Japanese have a saying that even if an extended family does not live together, parents and grandparents should live near enough to carry over a bowl of hot soup. In this video series, Harvard University professors Theodore Bestor and Helen Hardacre describe the enduring importance of traditional family values in Japan. |
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Theodore Bestor :: The expectations on women’s roles in contemporary urban life really mean that most women can’t work outside the home. They’re responsible for the education of their children; they’re responsible for managing the household; they may in some cases have responsibilities for aging parents. And so culturally, as well as just in terms of the allocation of time, a woman is expected upon marriage to essentially give up her career and devote herself full time over the next fifteen or twenty years to raising children and all of the other household responsibilities that appear, so that occasionally you find women who do attempt to have a career outside the home, but it is very difficult and certainly much less common than it is in the United States. |
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