Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
their role as sengy
-
shufu. This silence about the role of the father is hardly
surprising in the Japanese context, but it stands out against the huge amount
of material on the importance of a caring mode of being in the world that is
being promulgated in Soka Gakkai.
Given the background and context of the lived experience of these young
female Soka Gakkai members, their support for Komeito seemed a good
option as it meant supporting a party the policies of which promote gender
equality and practical ways to try to transform patriarchal organisational
patterns in Japanese society. Support for and thereby discussion of such poli-
cies creates chances for raising awareness among Soka Gakkai members.
While young women and men found themselves in many ways emerged in
typical patriarchal attitudes and practices, it was Ikeda
s many writings about
and meetings with women famed for their social activism that e
'
ected new
expectations in the current generation of young people. The ideal promul-
gated of women as active societal players necessary to create a culture of
peace and human rights certainly helped to create a tension with the typical
work situation and patriarchal attitudes in Japan, re
ected in Soka Gakkai
as well.
However, if most female politicians, as seems to be the case at both the local
and national level, remain within their gender-de
ned realms, does support
for Komeito then improve political representation for more feminist-aware
female Komeito supporters? Will their support for Komeito help young female
supporters achieve their dream of a more gender-equal society including a
change in the way politics is often conducted in gender-speci
c ways? Will the
continued katamaru of women and female politicians, while it may create a
strong
(Gilligan 1993), ever become a more prominent way of
being in a world where
'
voice of care
'
politics of competition for power and
resources is paramount? Alternatively, could changing gender katamaru
habits that tend to foster an
'
masculine
'
(ibid.) in women, qualities that
have been sidelined in the public sphere because they have been embodied in
women, paradoxically further decrease in prominence?
It is di
'
ethic of care
'
find women in Soka Gakkai who would disagree with the
notion that women should play a wider role in society and politics. However,
it is also di
cult to
find women who expect childrearing and domestic duties
to be shared equally among men and women, a change arguably necessary if
women
cult to
is wider participation in society is to take place, and if the birth rate is
not to decrease further. I have discussed how the organisation re
'
ects the
values and employment practices of gender division of labour in wider
society, and how Ikeda
is constant referral to the greatness of women is inter-
preted both as a call for maintaining women
'
'
s role as homemakers and
'
active
'
Buddhists
, as well as for a way to challenge them. Although young women
may dream of
finding an ideal husband who will share domestic tasks, they
Search WWH ::
Custom Search