Since time immemorial, going back to the genesis of human creation, according to the Western conception, the first men on earth are: Adam and Eve, in which the inferior condition of women with respect to men is explicit. Would this have been the divine plan such that man is the master and lord of the earth and is the one who governs the destinies of the world? Eve, as the sacred book says, was created from Adam's rib to establish dependence and that she must be subordinate to him, as a husband. That historical or perhaps mythological trajectory had spread throughout Western civilization, whose conviction extends even among Nikkei women who have been raised and educated on the American continent.
However, there is an intra-history of creation that is different from the original version, not revealed among the relevant documentation, perhaps it was hidden by a logic of convenience of the ideologues or ancestral theologians, woven on the basis of the evolution of history. of humanity and gave rise to male hegemony.
The other story consists of the existence of a woman called Lilith, before Eve who had been created by God from the same clay as Adam, he gave them both life and lived in the earthly paradise. The creator had ordered Lilith, as a woman, to submit to her husband, and he in turn demanded that she obey the divine provision. Lilith, far from being an obedient woman, had transgressed the command by saying that she would also have the same privileges as Adam, so the two had been created from the same material on the same day and demanded equal rights as human beings and inclusive He stated that he would like to have the same wisdom as the creator. Lilith, upon seeing the impossibility of achieving her aspirations and her right as a woman, preferred to leave paradise and prayed in the darkness. Some theologians considered her to be a diabolical woman, placing her on the dark side of life. And God saw fit to give Adam a new company and created Eve
This way; The model of woman was personified in the figure of Eve, including her perversion in seducing men to commit mistakes. Eve's sin is like a stigma that human beings carry with original sin.
Even though this religious and cultural questioning is not given in other religions, especially in Eastern beliefs, the importance given by the figure of Eve is important: “a woman must be subject to man and subordinate to him throughout her life.” The mission of women was to be domestic and reproductive, that is, to get married, form a home and educate their children, for which higher education or professional careers are not necessary, much less knowing one's rights as a woman. It is interesting to observe how this universal consciousness covered the earthly surface in such a way that she even lost her own surname like the Japanese case and used her husband's name, and the American custom was to put Mrs. David Taylor and in Latin America, Maria de Llanes as if the “de” depended on her husband
So that this modality impregnated from the core of both men and women were not easy tasks to modify culturally and politically. There were so many struggles of a few women trying to win rights for women. In the 18th century, Olympie de Gauges, who published “the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizenship” was sent to the guillotine. Eleanor Roosevelt within the United Nations changed the “right of man” for “human rights.” “human rights” so that in that context there is reciprocity between women and men, and many other fighters had worked to achieve their rights. Already in the 20th century, they began with the world summits of women in the search for equal rights, little by little the tasks of the activists and the concerns of the generality of women in the world were recognized.
As for Japanese women, they were highly valued for the characteristics of “being submissive, with a low gaze, docile and industrious.” Still in the second half of the 1990s, the men of the international jet set said. “The greatest happiness of a man is to have a Japanese wife, an American salary, living in Paris and having a French lover.” This was a kind of objectification of the feminine being.
We will see the Nikkei women and their mothers who came to the Americas, they did not always live in optimal conditions. Many arrived as yobiyose (engagement by photography) where each of the candidates sent photos and the meeting took place only at the port of disembarkation. The encounter several times, far from being cordial, was unexpected and sometimes traumatic. In practice, these women stoically accepted their fate as a duty and tried to build exemplary families in the new lands. Whose descendants are proud of their grandparents who together fought for the well-being of their homes.
It is important to highlight the virtues of Japanese women of fighting alongside men, many worked in the field alongside their partner throughout the entire process of cultivation and harvesting, the manufacture of homemade food and, at the same time, household chores. and raising their children. Each one had a range of tasks, the multiplicity of assignments perhaps provided a harmony of enthusiasm even when it was all routine.
The Japanese woman was and continues to be the support of her partner. Many of them even abandon their profession to dedicate themselves to the house. The phrase, “Behind every successful man there is a woman” was very common and it was like a duty to support and support so that the other could succeed and this, in turn, benefited the entire family and they would have to sacrifice and always maintain in the background, following the daily routine. And that rhythm of life continues to be practiced to this day in almost all Nikkei homes.
Most Nikkei men in Paraguay prefer to marry another Nikkei, perhaps because they preserve the traditional culture of Japanese women. Submission has become relative and they enjoy a certain independence in their activities and true leaders and competent professionals are emerging.
We are in the 21st century, for God's sake. Women, wake up, it is our era and let us seek achievement as the women that we are. Let's walk next to the man and not behind. Valuable and deserving women are emerging in the world and let us re-emerge the figure of Lilith as a symbol of the fight for gender equality and dignity as a woman.
© 2007 Emi Kasamatsu
