More on men
and ikigai (that which most makes life worth living). From Men and Masculinities in Contemporary Japan, Chapter 7:
A corporate executive in his fifties said:
For the past thirty years, my ikigai has been the companies I've worked for; they've been more important to me than my family. I don't expect much from my family; they don't expect me to be at home on weekends anymore. Yes, I can't say that I'm a family man. I have more human communication with the young girls (onna no ko) in my office than I do with my own daughters...
A high-school teacher in his fifties said:
Maybe Americans can separate business and private life, but I can't, and most Japanese can't. If you don't have business, you can't have any private life... In my house, my wife was like a widow; I was busy, even on Sundays, with my school clubs. So now, if I'm not home, everyone feels more relaxed!
There is an undercurrent of regret in these men's statements... Now that these men are close to retirement, they realize that they must surrender their ikigai of work; and this makes them feel considerable unease. None the less, these men expressed no doubt as to the wisdom and propriety of the gender division of ikigai, and neither did their wives... This pride is reflected in their harsh criticsm of younger Japanese men for not sharing the single-minded devotion to work...
As the company executive said,
There are fewer and fewer company men like me these days; there are many more 'my hom' types - these kind of people aren't at all happy if I tell them to come to the office on Sudnay! I've never said no to any of my job assignements - I was always there when they needed me. I like men who do that: manly man [sic] (otoko rashii otoko), like Western cowboys! Men living for their companies are better than those who live for their families; that's why Japan's developed! I get upset when I see a young man with dyed hair driving around in a fancy car with a pretty girl. Fifty years ago, people his age all died in the war; they didn't have the chance to enjoy their youth! I want to drag that young man out of his car and put a judo hold on him, teach him a lesson!
A corporate executive in his fifties said:
For the past thirty years, my ikigai has been the companies I've worked for; they've been more important to me than my family. I don't expect much from my family; they don't expect me to be at home on weekends anymore. Yes, I can't say that I'm a family man. I have more human communication with the young girls (onna no ko) in my office than I do with my own daughters...
A high-school teacher in his fifties said:
Maybe Americans can separate business and private life, but I can't, and most Japanese can't. If you don't have business, you can't have any private life... In my house, my wife was like a widow; I was busy, even on Sundays, with my school clubs. So now, if I'm not home, everyone feels more relaxed!
There is an undercurrent of regret in these men's statements... Now that these men are close to retirement, they realize that they must surrender their ikigai of work; and this makes them feel considerable unease. None the less, these men expressed no doubt as to the wisdom and propriety of the gender division of ikigai, and neither did their wives... This pride is reflected in their harsh criticsm of younger Japanese men for not sharing the single-minded devotion to work...
As the company executive said,
There are fewer and fewer company men like me these days; there are many more 'my hom' types - these kind of people aren't at all happy if I tell them to come to the office on Sudnay! I've never said no to any of my job assignements - I was always there when they needed me. I like men who do that: manly man [sic] (otoko rashii otoko), like Western cowboys! Men living for their companies are better than those who live for their families; that's why Japan's developed! I get upset when I see a young man with dyed hair driving around in a fancy car with a pretty girl. Fifty years ago, people his age all died in the war; they didn't have the chance to enjoy their youth! I want to drag that young man out of his car and put a judo hold on him, teach him a lesson!
posted by Bibhatsu at 01:37
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