Women as Mothers in Japan: The Effects of Social Structure and Culture on Values and Behavior

Abstract

Combining data gathered in a survey of Japanese women's attitudes toward their various roles with the findings of a comparative study of childrearing and child behavior in Japan and the United States, the present paper examines how social structural and cultural variables affect Japanese women's maternal values and behavior. We find that the maternal role is considered the central one for women, who emphasize it at the expense of their conjugal role, fostering in the process a high degree of interdependence with their children. However, our findings provide evidence of a