For women, in traditionally male dominated society it is believed that, “Home is public place where private feelings should be forgotten.” Male-female relationship began to change due to influence of Confucianism which had great affect on how people think. Because of many of the paternal aspects of Confucianism, the idea of “men outside and women inside” became widespread, and this attitude is still prevalent in Japanese society today.
A few decades before, in earliest part of 20th century, there was wave of New Women in Japan who spoke language of liberty. One such, Yosano Akiko who went to Paris along with her husband in 1912 wrote something which is still regarded as ignition of new movement leading towards starting of liberation of Japanese women from the custody of traditional customs.
Yosano writes:
“The day the mountain move has come,
I speak but none believes me;
For the time the mountains have been asleep,
But long ago they all danced with me;
It does not matter if you believe this,
My friends, as long as you believe;
All the sleeping women, Are now awake and moving!!!
This woman of modern ideas, a "bluestocking" was born near Osaka, Japan in 1868 just as the country restored the emperor to power. The times, along with the ideas, were changing rapidly and Akiko was in the center of change. Born into a prosperous family of confectioners, she graduated from the Sakai School for Women where she was the foremost poet, evolving into a social critic. She fell in love and openly lived with Yosano Tekkan, a married man and publisher of Myojo, a publication featuring new concepts: the new 31 syllable waka poetry, as well as traditional forms. Akiko was not a woman to restrain her emotions or her voice. She openly criticized the government for entrance into the Russo-Japanese war and, with her colorful vocabulary, condemned them in her writing.
How was ‘new woman’? Just like today’s one…She was not hysterical. She was direct, aggressive and she began to check male counterpart whether he is sexually compatible is or not…She scoffed at chastity… She could be poor but that was not obstacle or damaging reputation for her self esteem, she started feeling liberation from double fetters of class and gender…She was setting trends by being anarchist…
Now moving ahead with this flash back let us land in 21st century Japan ! The Japanese language also has a great many expressions used only for females, which sometimes make fun of women or dictate how they should behave. There are three words explaining this: First is otoko-masari meaning a woman who is superior to men physically, spiritually and intellectually…this even though is positive aspect sounds negative in Japanese because perception is that it lacks “womanhood”. Otenba is applied to healthy and active girls. This word is used negatively when parent feel girl is out of control and hako-iri-musume refers to the ‘daughters in the box’, the parents grow up children as if they are some kind of treasure trove.
Face of New Woman of Japan in a new resurgent spirit was reflected in Symposium ‘Entrepreneurship in Japan’. This was held on 29th May 09 in Todai Hongo Campus jointly organized by Stanford University’s Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (STAJE) and The University of Tokyo. Speaking at this occasion, Charla Brown who is Associate Professor of Technology Management and Innovation in Pepperdine University elaborated on the new wave of Women Entrepreneurship in Japan.
Govt. of Japan has already introduced “Mentor Introduction Service for Women Entrepreneurship”. This was followed by Amendment in Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment i.e. Equal Opportunity Act in 2006. There are some contemporary reasons which facilitated the rise of New Women in today’s time. Here the concept of loyalty and lifetime employment is slowly loosing it`s charm. Also, seniority based payment structure is paving way for quality and competitive compensation mechanisms.- Looking at the shrinking workforce population in Japan the new business leadership is evidently being transferred to highly educated woman who is simultaneously taking care of family, office and new challenges of learning the changing technology and management practices. This is possible here because of lowest cost of connectivity and easily available technological assets in the cluster of people which are easily accessible. For example, internet penetration in Japan has gone up from 37% of total population in 2000 to more than 74 % in 2007. Also this country is cheapest ISP (0.09 $ for 100 Kbps) in whole world not to forget fastest connectivity (26. Mbps).
Starts up are providing safe environment for women to work hard. These start-ups provide anonymity so as to remove prejudice in the minds of male counterparts. As all these new emerging companies are knowledge- ICT bases they are providing flexibility for women to set working hours as per their convenience. This helps them to minimize traditional barriers. More and more new woman could assert themselves and lead start ups in the market place of fierce race. But still some significant problems of society cannot be ignored. Few of the companies which are making their mark as new symbol of rising women entrepreneurship in Japan are: Digimom, Coolgiris, Palias, eSampo, SOHO, Women, Photonet, DeNA, New Year Group etc.
Ownership Facts
- Women in advanced market economies own more than 25% of all businesses · In Japan 23% of private firms are established by women · In Russia women own 64% of firms employing 10 people or more · In China women founded 25% of the businesses since 1978. In Germany women have created one-third of the new businesses since 1990 representing more than one million jobs. In Europe and Newly Independent States Transition Economies women are 25% of the business owners
Above report goes on to say that: Entrepreneurship is a highly personal,subjective process. Becoming an entrepreneur is an evolution of encountering, assessing, and reacting to a series of experiences, situations, and events produced by political, economical, social, and cultural change. These diverse circumstances prompt individual entrepreneurs to modify their personal living conditions. Women who own and operate a business are not a homogeneous group. Cultural and social patterns prescribe whether a woman can become an entrepreneur within her society or not.
Some constraints are obvious; others are disguised in patriarchal heritage within cultures that preclude female entrepreneurship. ...In spite of many obstacles, women somehow find a way to engage in entrepreneurial activities. For the woman entrepreneur, the process of starting and operating a new enterprise can be tremendously difficult in both the formal and informal sector because she often lacks the skills, education, and societal support system to facilitate her efforts. Although women’s efforts may be thwarted in many ways entrepreneurship among women is a vibrant and growing trend internationally...”
Apart from these developments, there is tension between traditional family and changing socio-economic paradigm. Increasingly a higher level of cohabitation of non-married couples is being observed. Birth rates are declining. When I discussed this issue with Chief Priest of Kamakura Shinto Shrine he said that people listen to the government and not to the religion. If government gives incentives for early marriage then only citizen will really start to think about it seriously. When I asked about this to member of UNU Women Association then she said that girls do not wish to lose their privacy. Also majority of the women realize that Man does not know how to behave responsibly like a MAN but women certainly know how to complete the responsibility in any form of relationship.
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