WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
The Japanese woman is trained in subordination to her male relatives and to her husband. She does not rebel against this submission; on the contrary, she respects the teaching of obedience. There is very little active feminine discontent. The women are happy in their protected, but subservient, state, and their chief aim is to please their menfolk. They are deeply attached to their children, and they are excellent mothers and good housekeepers. They are skilled cooks, and deft with the needle.
Although children are not indulged to the extent enjoyed by the children of the West, they are always treated kindly by the parents. Obedience seems to be a natural trait of the women and children of Japan. It is possible that, under European influence, the Japanese women will rebel against the restrictions of their lives. The spread of female education is almost certain to cause discontent and probably rebellion against the harsher conventions. But at present the signs of revolt are few indeed. The Japanese woman is happier than her sisters of the Western nations.
At an early period in the history of Japan there was a powerful "social purity movement." Drastic laws were enforced to promote chastity, conjugal fidelity, and continence. Like all such schemes, when despotic and ill-judged, the crusade utterly failed.[1] The
- ↑ "Japan," Brinkley.
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