Comparing Japanese Women to gForeignh Women
\We Are All Different, We Are All the Same \
Robert Clinton Hovis (Center for Japanese Language, U. S. A.)
as well as many other
students here at Doshisha
University will always
remember stepping off the
plane and into Japan.
Absolutely hoping the
Japanese we had studied at
our own Colleges would serve
us well. As any student of
language soon realizes, it
doesnft ever seem to be enough. While there is no
doubt that knowledge of the
basics helps incredibly, how
can anyone really know what
vocabulary is essential for
real life? That in itself is one
of the many reasons people
all over the world choose to
take the plunge and immerse
themselves in a language and
culture different from their
own. No other form of
learning a language is as
difficult or as captivating, as
actually going to the country
itself. I think many students
planned to do much more
than the verbs they
memorized.
Of course language is not
the only aspect of culture
there is to experience.
Language is just one way in
which we get to do something
really remarkable; getting to
know the people that make
up the world we now find
ourselves in. This world
having roughly 128 million
people in it, all have stories
to tell and something to
belong to. The dynamics
between men and women is
also another story within
itself. When my good friend
and head of the Chinese
Student Union Joe here at
Doshisha asked me to write
an article comparing Japanese
women to gForeignh women,
I thought it seemed very
amusing if nothing else. I
told him I would give it a
shot.
When looking at Japanfs
history with women in mind,
one canft help but mention
the Shaman Queen Himiko.
She alone governed her
people during the Yoyoi
Period (300 BC to 300AD) in
peace and also with an
enchanting sense of magic.
Needless to say the presence
of women in Japan has
always been extremely
significant. That being said,
many Japanese women feel
that while their role is
important, it is also
categorized.
Many Japanese women I
spoke with on this issue
referred to turning on the
TV or looking in a magazine
only to see women in slightly
domestic or gcuteh rolesthough
this is not always the
case it seemed to have an
effect on many of the women
I spoke with. Another issue
that seems to be different
between Japanese and non-
Japanese women is their own
sense of individuality verses
belonging to a kind of group.
Many American women for
example, feel that their own
lives must reach a certain
level, before choosing to start
a family or pursue other
goals entirely. This sense is
what some women said drove
them to come to Japan at all.
Many expressed the will to
discover something while
here in Japan, something
they felt could only be found
after leaving their own
country. This is also
becoming the case here in
Japan- recently with women
who have decided to continue
working or traveling even
while their peers might opt
to quit in order to marry.
The more traditional choice
of marriage is often thought
of as noble and is sometimes
done out of a sense of duty
or belonging. But as with any
society-all women are never
strolling the same trail.
Being given the chance to
see a new culture has shed
light on many things. One
being that in no culture is
everyone the same. This is
an important realization in
any language, and I am truly
looking forward to learn
more.
