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You might have heard that women’s rights are thirty years behind in Japan. That assumption might be correct, but it is not as black and white as it might seem. Like most things you’ll find in Japan, male and female roles take on their own culturally unique characteristics. Male dominance is still the order of the day, however, but this is starting to change, and I’ve seen these changes with my own eyes. I want to talk a little about what I have noticed in those regards.

If you’ve lived in Japan for any period of time, you might have seen these gender roles in action. Boys are considered “Cool” or ???????and girls are supposed to be cute, or ??????Both genders try their best to fit those images, and usually they succeed. For example, it is frowned upon for women to smoke in public, office ladies are also still responsible for the tea duties and are are not usually on the fast track to becoming anything more than said OL. Men, on the other hand, are the ones fated to the working long hours at the office and wearing the cheap gray suits. They also have free reign of the porn and belligerency. We can also see this through the high domestic violence rate, with incidents that often go unreported.

You may see many similarities between these roles and the roles men and women in the U.S and Canada had in the 50’s, But there are some unique differences. Boys, for instance, regardless of how cool they appear to be, embrace the cute culture just as much as women do. I have seen many a boy walk down the hall with his own Winnie the Pooh or stuffed bear of choice. I should clarify that I’m talking about high school boys here. Boys also have a tendency to touch each other, all over. This is something that would surely brand you gay make you a target for ridicule in the west. This is not the case here, however. As for women, they also have many culturally unique traits. In a household for example, the woman usually controls the flow of money in the household. No one can buy anything unless their mother gives them permission. This also includes the husband. So, as you can see, there is a male dominance here, but it does have some interesting exceptions.

Recently, I have been noticing a change in these roles. My first clue came to me as I was sitting in the principal’s room on my first day at an Elementary school in northern Hachimantai. I glanced up at the wall and saw a series of portraits. Each one looking more distinguished than the next. There were about twenty in all, and all of them were of men. This was not too surprising. Many Japanese schools have these and they look pretty much the same. What was surprising, however, was that my school principal was a woman. The first woman principal I have ever worked for here. You can’t tell me that isn’t progress.

Another subtle clue of gender role change comes with the sheer numbers of women who are entering the workforce and choosing not to settle down. It has become so common, that many old and angry men politicians are demanding that women return to the home and start having babies again. Sadly for them, the women aren’t budging, and that is something I am very glad to see. If you need another form a proof, I might also mention that my supervisor is a woman as well, and that there are many women in high places around my city.

So as you can see, even though Japan has been a male dominated society for a very long time, it seems the modern ways of doing things are finally having on impact on some of the archaic traditional cultural strongholds. Of course, this is a course Japanese people must choose for themselves. For me, women have always been a source of strengh and perseverance. If I had relied on my male influences, I might be drunk in some bar today without a future or a prayer. I am very impressed Japan is starting to see women the way I do.

The last few years in video gaming have been a mixed bag for me. But every now and then a few surprises stand out. Take, for example, this neat little video game that I encountered in a little Senmaya game store back in 2004. I was cruising the magazine section, looking for some porn magazines on photography. It was at that moment that I heard it. A very catchy little, “na nana nana nana na nana”. I looked over the divider and saw a bizzare scene on the TV display. There were two cows grazing and a massive ball appeared beyond them in the distance. This ball seemed to be composed entirely of cars, trees and other large objects. I went up to the clerk and asked him about the game. He said they called it “??”?or Katamari Damashi. He explained that the concept of the game was to roll everything into a massive ball, and retstore the Univerise to the way it had been before its creator got drunk and smashed everything to pieces.

I instantly assumed this was one of those games that never leaves Japan. We have a metric truckload of them here in Japan. I can list countless dating simulators, cooking games and pachinko titles that will never touch the hands of the unwashed masses back in Canada. Yet, How was I to know what lay in store for this little gem of a game?

Not two years has gone by and I’ve already heard it used in popular culture and the media. Podcasts have made songs out its soundtrack, and legions of fans have made paintings and crafts as an ode to the king of the Universe. Two sequels have already been made. The most surprising thing I’ve heard from this is that the author of the game isn’t even a fan of video games. In fact, it seems he hates them. I’m surprised they convinced him to make more.

The one issue that still puzzles me from this “Katamari Surprise” is not how the game became a hit, but how it has become a legend. Would I be so bold in proclaiming that Katamari Damashii has now reached the level of “household name.” I wouldn’t be surprised if I were correct on that assumption. I teach over two hundred Junior High and Elementary students here in Japan, and every one of them knows the words “Katamari Damashii.” I am shocked to learn that many people all around the world also know of the game.

From all this, the one conclusion that I arrive at is that games seem to be either really good or really bad. There is no longer any middle ground. In the past few years, games like “Katamari Damashii”, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney”, and others have been injecting countless cc’s of stimulant into an otherwise dull and uninspired industry. I feel have the Japanese to thank for this. If I haven’t said it yet on this blog, I will now. I believe that the Japanese culture churns out some of the most creative people on the planet today. This is bold statment when you look at the way this same culture has progressed over the last oen hundred years. The education system seems to have been created to drain every precious drop of creativity from students. However, I have a feeling there is a renaissance brewing. And that fire is being fueled by the gaming, movie and arts industries. What will spew next from the firey womb of Japan’s artistic community? That is yet to be determined.

In retrospect this also might help to explain the way my life has progressed over the last three years. I’ve developed an artist side that I never ever knew I had. I can only think that living in Japan has helped that. I help help but look back at that quirky little game and feel that we now have a more profound connection. You might call that link Japan.