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odily movement” 166 or, in other words, those subjects considered most
suitable for raising “ladies”, rather than perhaps mathematics or sciences.
According to Benedict, though, the very young girl-child, except for
having a few more “duties” around the house than her brothers, was initially
“trained” in the same way as a boy. 167 She “played in the streets with the
boys”, and “fought with them”…. She too, as a child, ‘knew no shame’”. 168
Then between the ages of six and nine girls and boys were segregated;
from that moment on, girls had to learn their “responsibilities ‘to the
world’”. 169 Childhood therefore ended very abruptly and traumatically. It is
no surprise that little girls were to have generally “become sullen and
withdrawn and hard to teach”. 170
After going into household service as children, girls usually had only
their arranged marriages to look forward to, whereby they would become
*
the servant to a husband often in their early teenage years.
This traditional upbringing of children continued to be practised until
quite recently. In 1996 Ritsuku Matsumura was still maintaining that
“Japanese parents raise sons and daughters differently”. 171 “Moreover”, she
said, “they still have the traditional idea that boys should be strong and
intelligent; girls should be lovely and kind”. 172
* Note that the age of consent, except in the case of a few regional variances, was, and still is,
thirteen.
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