“Men Should Stay Out of the Kitchen.” What Happens When Men Enter the Kitchen to Cook?
Japanese have a saying, “Men should stay out of the kitchen.” This shows that men are not encouraged to enter the kitchen to help women. According to OECD research, married-and-working Japanese women are the hardest workers in the world. They do house chores for four hours after their office work is finished. Meanwhile, their husbands are at work or are drinking with their company colleagues and do household chores for only one hour. (OECD, 2016) Japan is also notorious that Japan ranks 111th among 144 countries in the 2016 Gender Gap Index. (The World Economic Forum, 2016)
These days, the most popular hobby for Japanese men is “cooking”.
However, in most cases this cooking is not to help their wives—it’s just a hobby. For single young men living alone, it is a way to save money.
The reasons men learn cooking for leaning basic skill for survival, learning how to make appetizers for beer or Sake, or wanting to be respected by their families.
They usually buy expensive ingredients and kitchen utensils and take over the kitchen for along while making one dish. They don’t want to wash dishes after eating. For these reasons, their cooking is not popular among families but the families encourage them to continue their lessons by saying like, “ Dad, your food is amazing. “ This makes them feel happy and pleased. Japanese women play mother’s roles to please them.
Whey are Japanese men so spoiled and they don’t help house chores when 50% of Japanese married women are working? Obviously, men have some privileges that they are unwilling to give up. Working Japanese over 40’s men earn an average of 40% more than women (OECD, 2016)
Japan used to be quite advanced historically in the 16th century and even under the rule of Shogunate military government, women had a right to divorce and economical independence. However after Westernization in 19th century women lost a lot of rights and the Meiji government encouraged women to have many children and to be ”wise mothers” to strengthen the country for militarization.
In today’s Japan, 46% of married women (mainly housewives) control the household money: in 31% of households the husband and wife share control and in 20% is controlled by men. Therefore, many young Japanese girls think it is easier to stay home and “ control “ the money and their husbands, rather than to suffer the inequities that married-and-working women face in Japan. This popular hobby of men’s cooking reflects the present state of our society.
REFERENCES
Bacon, Alice Mabel (1891). Japanese Girls and Women. Boston: Houghton Muffin and Company.
"Why do young girls want to be housewives?"（なぜ？２０代に蔓延する専業主婦幻想). Excite New, January 13, 2015. Translated by Mari Katsui. http://www.excite.co.jp/News/column_g/20150108/Litera_771.html
Frois, Luis (1590). European culture and Japanese Culture / History of Japan.
"That’s why your wife doesn’t want you to cook in the kitchen"（これがあるから奥さん大迷惑). MAG2NEWS, April 7, 2016. Translated by Mari Katsui. http://www.mag2.com/p/news/170520
"Wives hold the household money, is it too obsolete?"（妻が財布を握る、はもう古い？). My Navi News, August, 2016. Translated by Mari Katsui. http://news.mynavi.jp/news/2014/03/31/460/
OECD (2016). Closing the Gender Gap, Act Now Japan. http://www.oecd.org/gender/Closing%20the%20Gender%20Gap%20-%20Japan%20FINAL.pdf
Sawazu, Hiroshi (1995). A Study on Changes Women’s Legal Rights and Status in Japan (Thesis). Translated by Mari Katsui.
The World Economic Forum (2016). Gender Gap Index. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2016/
