Women and Family in Contemporary Japan

This book draws on in-depth interviews and extensive data to examine why contemporary Japanese women are postponing marriage and bearing fewer children.

Susan D. Holloway (Author)

9780521192279, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 May 2010

256 pages, 6 b/w illus. 4 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.55 kg

"Holloway (education, Berkeley) provides a very detailed look into the lives of Japanese women in the context of family.... Holloway also breaks some new ground, including an exploration of some interesting data on husbands, uncommon for books dealing with Japanese women. She also does well to contextualize the ways the lives of women intersect with public policies. Overall, this solid addition to the literature on Japan does a nice job of integrating qualitative and quantitative forms of data.... Recommended."
– J.W. Traphagan, University of Texas at Austin, CHOICE

Japanese women, singled out for their commitment to the role of housewife and mother, are now postponing marriage and bearing fewer children. Japan has become one of the least fertile and fastest aging countries in the world. Why are so many Japanese women opting out of family life? To answer this question, the author draws on in-depth interviews and extensive survey data to examine Japanese mothers' perspectives and experiences of marriage, parenting, and family life. The goal is to understand how, as introspective, self-aware individuals, these women interpret and respond to the barriers and opportunities afforded within the structural and ideological contexts of contemporary Japan. The findings suggest a need for changes in the structure of the workplace and the education system to provide women with the opportunity to find a fulfilling balance of work and family life.

1. 'Good wives, wise mothers': parenting and family life in cultural context
2. Locating the research in space and time
3. What is a wise mother?
4. Hansei: the process of self-reflection
5. Memories of childhood
6. Husbands: crucial partners or peripheral strangers?
7. Shitsuke: the art of childrearing
8. Maternal involvement in children's schooling
9. Balancing work and family life
10. Women and family life: ideology, experience and agency.

Subject Areas: Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology of gender [JMG], Psychology [JM], Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Gender studies, gender groups [JFSJ]