Top 10 Reasons Why Japanese Loathe Gaijin (foreigners) …
10. Little Boy
9. Fat Man
8. Missionaries
7. Unfair Trade (!)
6. Cruelty to Women
There are a few proud moments in the history of Japan when women fought bravely against their foreign conquerors who lived privileged lives that were made comfortable with the service of about 100 native slaves per family.
“[The native women] were not allowed to refuse the demands of their T’ang Chinese and Korean masters, and had no choice but to give birth to children of mixed racial origin. They brought up their children, but were never legitimized by their masters. Perhaps this is the reason we call ourselves shomin (the illegitimate people), even under today’s democratic system.” Notes Toshihiko Abe, in Japan’s Hidden Face.
The T’ang Chinese invaded Japan in the 7th century (664 CE). They created the Japanese social order, which formed the origin of today’s vertical society in Japan [see note]. The Chinese separated the society into two classes: ryo, T’ang Chinese or Kudara court nobles (aka, Tou, or Fuji-wara), and sen, the humble slaves, comprising all other races—Kogoryoe, Silla, Ya, Gen (aka,Yottsu), Zoshiki, joined later by Khitan (aka, Kitsu), Heike (aka, Pei), Sanka (a mix of Ya and Yottsu).
[“The origin of racial discrimination in Japan also began in the 7th century. It was generally recognized by the Japanese intelligentsia and the ruling class till the Meiji reform that only nobles of either T’ang Chinese or Peakche (Korean) blood had the legitimate right to rule Japan.” Notes Abe.]
In the 8th century, aboriginal rebel armies that emerged in northeastern Japan revolted against the T’ang Chinese and threatened their power base in Yamato. The armies “consisted of many clans, each commanded by a bold female leader or okami (woman general). Female leaders trained male corps, but dissatisfied with men’s fighting spirit, organized special corps of women only.”
Masako Hojo (1157-1225), one of the most remarkable women in Japanese (and world) history, married the head of Yottsu people, Yoritomo Minamoto, who established the Kamakura Bakufu (the military government was called Bakufu meaning tent government because the soldiers lived in tents). Masako gathered an army of 190,000 fighters and defeated the imperial forces after the imperial court had declared war against the Bakufu in 1221. She ousted the imperial families and confiscated their lands. Masako’s victory was regarded as a Ya woman’s revenge on the Chinese conquerors, the Fujiwara (Japanese name for the T’ang Chinese conquerors).
“During the civil war age women showed courage and resourcefulness by fighting as bravely as men. To appear more formidable, they shaved off their eyebrows, painted horrible, frightening ones with ink, and died their teeth black to scare enemies when they opened their mouths. Female daimyos and samurai proliferated until after the age of the Tokugawas, when female succession was prohibited.”
After Buddhism became Japan’s national religion, women were prohibited from becoming daimyos (feudal lords). “Buddhism was introduced from China via Korea, both countries being ‘men first’ races.”
“The fate of women in the countryside was cruel. Priests had the right to rob a woman of her virginity before sending her into prostitution, where she would be forced to serve numerous men until death. In the family of the daimyo or samurai, all female servants were vassals of the lord; if the lord wanted a female servant’s chastity she could not refuse.” Writes Abe.
As the tide of ultra nationalism and militarism grew stronger in the prewar Japan, “women’s standings slipped further, until women came to be seen only as instruments to breed men for the military, or as the objects of man’s sexual desire.”
In the late 19th century, cotton and yarn spinning factories employed many female workers who worked long hours in adverse labor conditions for very low pay. Many died as a result and many more were stricken with disease and fatigue.
The lives of farming families were equally miserable. Brokers sold young daughters of indebted tenant farmers to houses of prostitution to settle their debts.
The women’s suffrage movement in Japan emerged during pre-war days, centering on the Women’s Suffrage League. Ironically, the Japanese women’s right to vote and be elected was conferred on them after the war ended in 1945.
[Note: “Vertical Society. In Japan, a vertical chain of submission begins with the emperor and then moves downward to the president and members of the Liberal Democratic Party; the prime minister & cabinet; president, directors, executive offices, and managers of companies; and finally the workers.” ~ Toshihiko Abe, Japan’s Hidden Face.]
