typical duties of Japanese housewife?

[lilyofthevalley]

I want to write an essay about typical Japanese housewife for Japanese class, generally the chores, what type of food they make, relationship with husband and children, etc. A lot of information seems slightly outdated..so..any pertinent information or links would be appreciated. ^^

 

[GaijinPunch]

I only know the first item on the list.

1: Complain about most things the husband does.

 

[Ewok85]

Ah, what?

I don't see there being anything really different, and I don't quite get the point here...

 

[Mars Man]

I know, I know. . .

Although there are some differences, in some ways, to whatever degrees. For example, it is more common for the average wife to become mother once the child(ren) come(s) along. . .and then, 'wife' goes on the back burner. The 'lover' element of being a young, newly wed wife, goes into pretty much history.

Oh...and they usually want to take care of hubby's full pay. Hand it over !!

(I'm being a little silly with that last comment.)

 

[FrustratedDave]

This is a good one! LOL

I only know the first item on the list.

1: Complain about most things the husband does.

And so is this! LOL

Oh...and they usually want to take care of hubby's full pay. Hand it over !!
(I'm being a little silly with that last comment.)

Seriously, in general it is the male in the household who is expected to be the bread winner. As this being the case in most cases it is then socialy excepted that the wife do most of the house work, cook and look after the kids if there are any. In this day and age however, the single income families are becoming more scarce due to equal rights in regards to males and females( Still has a bit to go yet I may add), anyway this is bringing more and more females into the workforce that are not quiting their job after they get married as used to be the norm( Getting married still means a lot of women will quit work). A lot are takeing pregnacy leave and comming back to work also.

Even though there are more and more dual income families, it is still the norm to expect the wife to cook, clean and look after the kids, however women are demanding more house work and so on to be done by the husband. This trend seems to be slowly changing, but not much I might add.Another thing I have noticed is in the initial stages of marriage there seems to be a lot of men pitching in with the house work and such, but as time goes by this becomes less and less.

There is still a huge difference in ways people think over here in regards to marriage compared to Western culture.

 

[Davey]

My Mother in law;

Doing the wash in the morning, making breakfast for herself and my father in law, playing tennis until 1.00, having a fancy lunch at Marco Polo with her friends, returning home to play with her DS, relax a bit, do some cleaning, going to the Hanshin Tigers game, returns home, and does the same kind of thing the next day with various going out for herself.

Now the kids have left the house, the mortgage has been payed, she is having the time of her life!

 

[TuskCracker]

-
Rock on "My Mother in law"

 

[Glenski]

Make obento (lunchbox) for kids and Dad.
Hang futons to air out.
Do laundry (which may involve hauling water from the bathtub to the washing machine to save money).
Grocery shopping (practically daily because of the small size of many refrigerators and because many perishable foods are sold at the peak of their freshness, so they go bad quickly).
Take an English class.
Watch a soap opera, do the banking and cleaning, get dinner ready.
Do dishes by hand (not many places have room for a dishwasher).
Put out the futons at night.
Soak in the bathtub for 20-30 minutes (before or after Dad and the kids).

Help kids with homework. Deal with any letters from teachers (about events or PTA, not just bad kids). Plan to attend undokai (sports day events) for the kiddies at school (or open campus).

Give Dad his allowance. Feel happy that he actually made it home, even though it may be after a long day, followed by a night out drinking with the staff or clients. Have dinner for him no matter how late it is.

Save your "egg money" in order to make trips with girlfriends around the country or abroad once every couple of years.

Deal with most of the household bills and banking.

Often not even know what your husband does for a living, just that he brings home the bacon.

Deal with buying presents for weddings or birthdays or graduation (or preparing money for funerals or weddings).

Typical foods for breakfast may be grilled fish, rice, and miso soup or some pickled veggies and tea. Could also be fried eggs, toast, and sausage/bacon.

Lunch is usually light. Maybe Mr. Donut or a rice ball (onigiri) or leftovers.

Dinner could be anything. Spaghetti, udon, okonomiyaki, fried squid rings, yakisoba, "hamburg" patty, salad (lettuce or daikon), teppanyaki, donburi (beef, pork, chicken, vegetable, shrimp, or eel), fried chicken (karaage), more miso soup, more grilled fish, tofu, etc.

 

[DoctorP]

Wax the pole should be on the list, but sadly I don't think it makes it for most people!

Lunch is usually light. Maybe Mr. Donut or a rice ball (onigiri) or leftovers.

I read that as onigiri leftovers...and was like Damn! Glenski must not eat much if he has leftovers from an onigiri!

 

[Mars Man]

To be a bit more (now I did say 'a bit more') serious here, some good answers have been given. I do still reason that they could all better be summed up under the question, 'what are some of the cultural differences between household-life styles in Japan and America, and what effect would that have on a married woman?'

I hope you will be satisfied, lilyofthevalley san !! Others may post over the course of the next few days.

Wax the pole should be on the list, but sadly I don't think it makes it for most people!

Oh my !! You have a good point there DoctorP !! Since we are talking about 'chores,' and since that far more often than not may come to be seen as 'a chore,' it should, most unfortunately, be on the list too !! ( My hope had been to leave it off as though there were no chore attitude about it. . . )

 

[lilyofthevalley]

thank-you, this was all VERY helpful. ^^

i think you're right mars man about "I do still reason that they could all better be summed up under the question, 'what are some of the cultural differences between household-life styles in Japan and America, and what effect would that have on a married woman?'" It sounds pretty similar though, with more women working but still doing the majority of the housework.

>< i'll probably post what i write on here in a bit to see if my Japanese is correct.

 

[SushiShin]

my mom is japanese and she still cleans the floor with her hands, while we buyed last month a kind of floor-swiffer!

not really helpfull isn't it?

 

[Glenski]

Herbal Shin makes a good point. Not many mops get used here, as far as I have seen with my wife (who doesn't own one) or her mom. Have seen both of them on hands and knees doing the floor, after they have dry-mopped it.

Household gadgets also differ a bit. Oh, sure, there are microwaves and vegetable peelers and coffee makers and such, just like in the west. But, how many American housewives would have to deal with these things...?
1. hot water pot (turn it on in the morning or just before preparing tea during the day)
2. fish grill that is an integral part of the 2- or 3-burner gas stove (which resembles more of a camping stove than a kitchen fixture)
3. rice cooker (with its charming little melodies to let you know it's done)
4. plastic garbage box that sits in the sink (or its accompanying drain filter), both of which get emptied once or twice a week
5. water freshening beads or blocks that sit on the sink over the back of the toilet (for washing hands)
6. an endless supply of square, or misshapen dishes (usually heavy pottery type) to serve each and every morsel of a meal separately and chopsticks holders (hashioki)
7. drying racks for clothes (because many or most homes don't have or use a dryer), including the type you lay clothes on and the type you hang sock from
8. the family butsudan (altar)
9. the crock for making pickled vegetables in fall (tsukemono) with its heavy rock to weigh things down

 

[GodEmperorLeto]

Not many mops get used here, as far as I have seen with my wife (who doesn't own one) or her mom. Have seen both of them on hands and knees doing the floor, after they have dry-mopped it.

Oh God. I don't think I'd be able to live with a wife who does that. I'd have such an horrific guilt complex hanging over me whenever I saw it.

Is it because they are perfectionist about this sort of thing? Do they not really trust mops to clean a floor?

1. hot water pot (turn it on in the morning or just before preparing tea during the day)

Why? Is it better/safer than just boiling water? Actually, I've used my coffee maker (without coffee) to do this before. And I've also microwaved water. So a water pot seems redundant to me.

3. rice cooker (with its charming little melodies to let you know it's done)

You can get them here, if you know where to look.

4. plastic garbage box that sits in the sink (or its accompanying drain filter), both of which get emptied once or twice a week

So... no garbage disposal unit?

 

[Ewok85]

Should now be the time where I mention I'm the one who cleans the bathroom, toilet and floors - on my hands and knees

 

[undrentide]

So... no garbage disposal unit?

Sorry if it is off-topic, but I'm curious.
I've never seen the garbage disposer that is set in the sink - it is very, very rare in Japan, only heard of it.
How does it work? I mean, where does the garbage go after it is smashed?

 

[Mars Man]

It is pretty much pulvarized, then washes down with the water, into the sewage system. (at least the ones I've seen work that way)

 

[FrustratedDave]

Should now be the time where I mention I'm the one who cleans the bathroom, toilet and floors - on my hands and knees

One word, owned! LOL

 

[Ewok85]

One word, owned! LOL

Leaves more time for her to polish the pole - it all works out nicely!!

 

[Glenski]

GodEmperorLeto,

Hot water pots don't use gas, so they save on energy (to boil), and they prepare more hot water than just the cup you need, so they are more convenient in that sense than a microwave.

I realize that people in other countries can buy rice cookers (I had a couple in the USA), but the point is, the majority of homes here have them and use them daily.

Garbage disposal units are very rare, in my experience. Have you not looked under your sink here? Hardly any space for the pots and pans, let alone a disposal unit. Plus, many kitchens are built as "unit kitchens", with the stainless steel sink and counter all built into the cabinet with drawers. We just had our water pipes worked on under the sink, and it was so easy for the plumber to pull out the whole unit and work on it. Perhaps this would not be so easy with a disposal system in place...?

As for perfectionistic moppers on their knees, I'll ask my wife and mom-in-law next time I have a chance, but I expect to get a rolling of the eyes and a smile for my efforts.

 

[undrentide]

It is pretty much pulvarized, then washes down with the water, into the sewage system. (at least the ones I've seen work that way)

Thank you, Mars Man!
It sounds like to pollute water a lot, I mean, more sewage to cope with...

 

[epigene]

Thank you, Mars Man!
It sounds like to pollute water a lot, I mean, more sewage to cope with...

I think that's the reason why it is not commonplace in Japan. By the time the Japanese had disposable income big enough to afford such disposers, there was already awareness toward the environment.

I think there were garbage disposers in the US already in the 1960s... maybe earlier?

 

[Mars Man]

Oh but girls, girls...if I may... Yes, it is true that such may 'dirty' the water, yes, but is mostly natural dirt...if you know what I mean.

Now as far as polluting the water, well, it would be a good thing to check out the soaps used--dishwashing detergent, laundry degergent, shampoo, body soap, and so on. . . ( and that goes for any area in the world, not only Japan)

Not to be condescending in any manner at all, but I have, over the course of time and meditation, found it ashame that social pressure has come to ascribe much that nature is, such as waxing that pole, to the level of some sort of 'pollution.'

Then, did anyone mention the time spent in wearing aprons? (both at home and shopping, and in neighborhood activities?)

 

[GodEmperorLeto]

Now as far as polluting the water, well, it would be a good thing to check out the soaps used--dishwashing detergent, laundry degergent, shampoo, body soap, and so on. . . ( and that goes for any area in the world, not only Japan)

Actually, most sewage systems terminate in a plant (at least where I am from), where the water is treated before being dumped back into the rivers and streams. Besides, most stuff both flushed and thrown down a garbage disposal is inherently organic and decomposes naturally. All garbage disposals do is pulverize food into a water-soluable mash that washes away. Just don't stick your fingers down there when the thing is on! And try not to drop soda-can-tabs or bottle-caps down there, it really fouls things up.

Most diswashing detergent, originally, was composed of naturally occurring stuff anyway, but I don't think they are now, anymore.

 

[SushiShin]

you can call me a sentimental fool, but i still help cleaning the house on hands and knees, and i like to help with cooking.

this is not a joke, but what i think is that there is a little bit of japanese in everyone!