Will the issue of separate surnames for married couples change the concept of family in Japan?The issue is not gender equality but the concept of ``home'' that is unique to Japan.
2021-11-04
Category:Japanese culture
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Is it gender discrimination for married couples to have the same surname
The issue of selective marital separation has recently become a hot topic in Japan. Japan is the only country in the world that has a family registration system that stipulates husband and wife status by law.
A growing number of people are arguing that this is gender discrimination and that it is acceptable for couples to have different surnames. The origin of the problem is that when a woman gets married, she usually takes the man's surname, so it is difficult to use her maiden name at work, or to change information in social procedures, banking, and various other contracts.
However, it is logically incorrect to view this as gender discrimination. This is because under the current law, equality is guaranteed because the surname must be chosen from either a man or a woman. The question becomes what it means for a husband and wife to use the same surname.
The concept of the traditional Japanese house
In Japan, the concept of family has been around since ancient times, and when you get married, you move into a family. A married woman moves into a man's house and becomes part of his family. There is a cultural background that makes her a member of the family, including her ancestors. The child born there will take the family name of that family. Uji means belonging to the same group, and dates back to the surname system in ancient times.
Japanese people are taught to respect the concept of home and to act in a way that lives up to the name of home. A family crest is a symbol of a family.
In the West, the idea seems to be a little different. Children seem to think that they belong to both the father's and mother's families. In this case, there are four grandfathers and grandmothers, and they belong to the four people. I wonder if the next idea will be to belong to eight people. If you go back in time, you will belong to 100 people.
In other words, the way of thinking about Japanese houses is completely different. In Japan, people search for their ancestors by tracing one family line. In this respect, the opinion that we should refer to Western countries seems to be a rather wild opinion.
Symbol of Japanese house
Japan has the imperial family as a symbol of the family. The issue of separate family names for married couples and the issue of male lineage inheritance seem to be unrelated, but they are closely related.
The imperial family has stubbornly protected the traditional Japanese concept of home. Joining the imperial family means joining the imperial family. As a unique entity, the imperial family does not have a clan. When a male member of the imperial family marries, the woman he marries loses his family name.
This is stipulated in the Imperial House Law, but when a female member of the imperial family marries and becomes a commoner, like Her Imperial Highness Princess Mako, or a former female member of the imperial family says she does not want to take her husband's name, she is considered a commoner. If current laws are followed, will women remain members of the imperial family? Or will they live a normal life without having a surname?
Can we discuss the family system apart from the imperial family
The Liberal Democratic Party is reluctant to promote separate marriages. This is also because we see it as a problem not with gender equality, but with Japan's unique cultural background and the concept of the Japanese home, which is the foundation of society. Japan has an imperial family that has been connected uninterrupted since recorded history, unlike any other country in the world. Japan has a history of following this model of inheritance.
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Japanese cuisine that brings out the taste of ingredients.Japanese unique evolution without spices.
Japanese food is said to be unique.Japanese food uses very little spice.The West colonized Asia for spices.In Western cuisine, pepper is a magic powder used to eliminate the smell of meat, and pepper is indispensable for preserved meat such as pancetta.It is said that Japan did not have access to spices because it was closed to the country at that time, but since the Meiji Restoration, there have been no dishes that use a lot of spices.South Korean food is rich in chili peppers, which came from Japan when Hideyoshi went to Korea.Soy sauce comes from China.The distinctive difference between Chinese and Japanese cuisine is that Chinese cuisine uses a lot of oil, but the Japanese don't like it.As a result, it led to the longevity of the Japanese.
The basis of Japanese cuisine is soup stock.In Japan, umami ingredients derived from seafood are historically used.Glutamic acid, the ingredient of Ajinomoto, was discovered by a Japanese, Ikeda Kikunae, and is said to have made world cuisine delicious.Glutamic acid is one of the delicious ingredients, which is also derived from the exploration of the taste and ingredients contained in Japanese ingredients.
In 1907, Ikeda Kikunae succeeded in extracting sodium L-glutamate from kelp.
In the West, the concept of soup stock includes French cuisine using consomme soup.In Italy, fish and shellfish are boiled down or fried as toppings, so you can get soup stock as a result.Boil down the ingredients in soup and you'll get the soup stock.The world-famous soups are Borscht and Tom Yum Kung.
Many foreigners say that Japanese sushi is delicious because it is fresh, but that's not the case.At high-end sushi restaurants, tuna is matured with the restaurant's technology for a reasonable period of time and sushi is made with ingredients that bring out sufficient flavor.Since there were no spices in Japan, it is the present state by pursuing technology and harmony that fully brings out the taste of the ingredients.This is one of the unique dishes in the world.
Japanese food has developed into its own style because spices did not enter Japan during the long period of isolation.
A celebration of shadows, a blend of Japanese and Western Japan.The continent abolished writing and destroyed its past.A completely different approach to history.
Japanese culture and shadow worship
Beautiful Japanese lacquerware in the dim light
Japanese aimed for balance and harmony
What was done on the continent was the denial of the past
Kanji abolished in Korea
The introduction of simplified Chinese makes it difficult to read the past
If you can't read past documents, you can't read history
Learn ancient Japanese and Chinese texts
A continent that burns the past and creates history
Japan's imperial family continued to exist
When I think about Japanese culture, I sometimes think of Junichiro Tanizaki's ``In Praise of Shadows.'' He remembers that during his junior high school Japanese class, he encountered some difficult sentences and had trouble understanding them. He talked about how you can rediscover the wonders of Japanese culture by learning about the background in which that culture was born.
Japanese lacquerware is based on black, and Japanese lacquerware was created in an era without electricity to create a beautiful appearance on a dimly lit dining table lit by candles. It was explained that.
White plates and glass cups became prized, perhaps because black dishes didn't look good in the light of a light bulb. However, if you eat on Japanese tableware in the dim darkness of candlelight, you will notice something beautiful about it.
To put it simply, in Japan there is a term called fusion of Japanese and Western styles. During the Meiji and Taisho eras, a large amount of Western culture flowed into Japan, but the Japanese strived to balance and harmonize with Japan's ancient culture. This is inheritance based on compatibility and harmony.
Yukichi Fukuzawa described Western culture as being like an epidemic. He preached that resisting these things would not prevent them from becoming infected, so we needed to think in terms of accepting them.
Japan sought compatibility and harmony not only in vessels and cultural customs, but also in the letters and documents that conveyed them.
On the other hand, what happened on the continent seems to be different. What is China's Cultural Revolution? In introducing socialism and communism, it was a movement to destroy the historical Chinese culture that they were proud of, and they actually destroyed cultural properties and slaughtered the people who had protected them.
What about in Korea? After becoming an independent country after the war, in 1948, it was decided that official documents should be written in Hangul under the Hangul Special Law, and in 1970, the abolition of Chinese characters was declared, and Chinese characters began to disappear from textbooks one after another. It seems that there is no problem with using Hangul as the national script, but by abolishing Hanja, it became impossible to read past documents. Efforts to abolish writing are incomprehensible to Japanese people.
The same meaning applies to simplified characters (current Chinese characters that have been simplified and symbolized), which were introduced during China's Cultural Revolution. By replacing Traditional Chinese (old Chinese characters) with simplified Chinese, people who received subsequent schooling were unable to read documents written in Traditional Chinese in the past.
Currently, traditional Chinese characters are used in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This was because he wanted to be influenced by the Cultural Revolution.
Particularly in South Korea, historical perceptions change so freely that one major reason can be said to be the inability to approach past documents.
Documents from the Japanese colonial period and even earlier were written in Chinese characters, and modern Koreans are unable to read any of them. You probably don't even want to read it. Does it mean that history does not already exist in documents?
As an Asian, this is truly deplorable and pitiful. Is it possible to foster national consciousness and culture in this way? Both of these are unthinkable in Japan.
Japan continued to utilize the writings of the past, reinforcing the sounds with hiragana called Manyogana and inventing Japanese writing.
Texts from the past also have different phrasing and adjectives, so in Japanese education, we study classical and Chinese texts and try to read past documents. This is to experience the way of thinking and cultural customs of Japanese people who lived in the past.
To begin with, the history of the continent is one in which kings kill other kings due to wars, and dynasties change. At that time, many things built by past dynasties will be destroyed, creating a structure in which a good king reigns after defeating a bad king. At that time, something called ``book burning'' is performed. Documents from the previous dynasty were burned and destroyed. The destruction and fabrication of history is not new.
The only dynasty in Japan exists outside of the imperial family, and the Japanese imperial family has been protected and maintained through all eras. The Japanese never thought of abolishing the imperial family in any social change. For this reason, we can know that Japan existed with the Emperor even during the #Imperial Era.
In other words, the continent's approach to the past and Japan's approach to the past are fundamentally different.
Hideki Tojo's grave is located in Migane, Aichi Prefecture - China and South Korea's opposition to visiting Yasukuni Shrine is cultural interference born of ignorance.
Hideki Tojo rests in Migane, Aichi Prefecture
What are China and South Korea demanding
All graves are in separate locations
Shrines are not graves
I think Yasukuni Shrine is a graveyard
South Korea, a country that digs up graves
Yasukuni Shrine throughout Japan
The photo I posted is of the Mausoleum of the Seven Martyrs of Japan, located on Mt. Mt. Mt. Mt. in Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture. It enshrines seven soldiers and politicians who were executed by the Tokyo Tribunal.
Those enshrined are Hideki Tojo, Kenji Doihara, Seishiro Itagaki, Hyotaro Kimura, Iwane Matsui, Akira Muto, and Hiroki Hirota. The remains of these seven people are said to be buried under this mausoleum. In other words, the graves of Hideki Tojo and others are located here.
So what exactly are China and South Korea saying? They say that the Prime Minister should not go to Yasukuni Shrine because war criminals are enshrined there. The German Chancellor is loudly shouting that he will visit Hitler's grave.
As mentioned above, the grave is in a different location. A shrine is a shrine. It is said that there are over 2,466,000 heroic spirits enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine, and each of their graves was probably erected by their local community or family members.
I wonder if the Japanese Prime Minister went to visit the Mausoleum of the Seven Martyrs of Japan in Aichi Prefecture.
A shrine only has a divine seat, which is said to be the place where the god appears and sits. A shrine is not a grave. It is essentially impossible to separate the divine throne. If there is a division, it is a branch shrine.
China and South Korea demand that the Yasukuni Shrine be separated for war criminals, but this is probably also the idea of graves. The remains of the heroes are not buried anywhere in Yasukuni Shrine. They mistakenly think it's some sort of mass grave.
In South Korea, the grave of a Korean War hero buried in South Korea's national cemetery was recently dug up because he had served in the former Japanese army. From Japan's perspective, it is a country with a culture that is extremely abnormal. In the first place, shrines are not graves, and that is also the extent of our understanding of graves.
In conclusion, if Yasukuni Shrine is enshrined in two parts, there will be two Yasukuni Shrines, and if it is enshrined in ten parts, there will only be ten Yasukuni Shrines. It might be a good idea to have Yasukuni Shrines all over Japan. It may be a talisman to keep people who flirt with you away from Japan.
The Rose of Versailles is a Japanese work that was a big hit in Western Europe - Lady Oscar in France.
Beautiful Oscar in male clothing
A fictional story that doesn't exist
The Rose of Versailles became very popular in Europe
The royal family was the axis of opposition to democracy
Japanese culture focuses on the enemy
Former President Moon Jae-in says South Korea started the French Revolution
The Rose of Versailles is a manga that was serialized from 1972 to 1973. It was adapted into a stage play by the Takarazuka Revue Company and became a big hit, attracting attention and being made into an anime. The story takes place on the eve of the French Revolution. The main character, Oscar, is a woman, and as a beautiful woman dressed as a man, she is beautiful and strong, and is as good as any man. She later serves as the commander of Marie Antoinette's bodyguard when she is executed.
This is a work that frankly depicts his relationship with Andre, a man who is in love with Oscar, and his personal and romantic relationship with Marie Antoinette, who is protected by Oscar. What is surprising is that the main characters Oscar and Andre in the worldview of this magnificent work do not actually exist.
As you know, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were publicly executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. In other words, this work depicts the French royal family, who were the enemy of the people at the time. The animated work has been broadcast in Europe and is extremely popular. Of course, it was also very popular in France.
This work was created by Japan, an island nation in the East that has little cultural or historical contact with the West. On the other hand, if a Westerner created a work depicting the Edo period, would it be appealing to Japanese people?
The French Revolution was a major event that transformed France into democracy, and had the energy to change world history. In that sense, the French royal family at the time could be said to be war criminals in World War II and Hitler in Germany.
Steven Spielberg's ``Schindler's List'' is a work that depicts the human condition from the perspective of Hitler and the Nazis. In other words, The Rose of Versailles can be said to be a magnificent piece of work that shines a spotlight on what is considered evil in history.
Why don't the Korean people, who have the highest human rights consciousness in the world, condemn works such as Schindler's List and The Rose of Versailles? The Korean people who are familiar with the Nazis and Jews should be educating the people of the world. Former President Moon Jae-in told former President Macron that ``Korea started the French Revolution'' regarding the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.
Have tattoos been common among Japanese people since ancient times? When did the current tattoo culture disappear? fashion?
You may hear people say that Japan does not have a culture of tattooing, but tattooing is actually an ancient Japanese culture. In Gishi Wajinden, it is written that Wa people liked tattoos, and both men and women had tattoos on their faces and all over their bodies. People in China and the peninsula don't have tattoos. It is said that these things are not done due to Confucianism. This is not a recommendation. People who don't want to don't have to.
Many cultures were introduced to Japan from southern China, and there were people living in what is now Southeast Asia in the southern part. The method of preserving fish in vinegared rice, which is the origin of sushi, is said to have come from Southeast Asia, where tattoos are common. Sake is said to have originated from southern China's Shaoxing wine, which was originally made from sake-brewing technology that was brought to Japan. Northern China has a field farming culture, and southern China has a rice farming culture.
Tattoos began to be banned in Japan due to the influence of Confucianism. Even so, Toyama Kinshiro Kagemoto of Toyama Kin-san had a tattoo. Even judges had tattoos back then. It is said that tattoos were completely banned after the Meiji Restoration. The reason is for westernization. Even in the West, some people got tattoos, but they were only one-point tattoos, and they were not tattoos that covered the entire body like in Japan at the time. Amid these regulations, Japan's tattoo culture was inherited by the world of chivalry.
Due to this background, tattoos came to be considered anti-social forces. This is now called Japanese culture. Furthermore, in Japan, the anti-organized crime law was enacted in 1992, placing significant restrictions on the activities of anti-social forces in general society, and these groups are currently on the decline, with public baths now being sought after in the city. You no longer see people who were once members of organized crime groups.
Young people in Japan now have tattoos as a fashion item. In other words, they seem to be trying to create their own individuality by drawing something on their bodies, just like the Japanese of old. The pattern is a so-called tattoo that looks good on clothes. Tourists coming from foreign countries are told that if they have a tattoo, they won't be able to go to the traditional Japanese hot springs that they were looking forward to, so they wrap them in some kind of cloth to hide it, but they are told that the cloth is also bad. It seems that there are cases where the application is refused. On the contrary, it is said that young Japanese people with tattoos cannot go to hot springs, which is a part of Japanese culture.
You may be wondering what I'm trying to say, but Japanese people need to protect the culture of public baths, which is unique to Japan, in a healthy manner. Nowadays, it seems that men who are women at heart are thinking about how to bathe women.