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Calling All Diplo Brats: Can you sympathize with the Crown Princess?

Ayako

Author:
Ayako

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/05/wjapan105.xml

The crown princess is an adult  TCK and I don’t think she’s having too much fun now.   She’s a ‘diplomat brat’ so I’m sure eating out at  ‘expensive’ Mexican restaurants is a rather banal affair for her.

By the way, she’s supposed to be a role model for other females in Japan so anything the press finds wrong with her provides us valuable insights on what society expects from any female.

We can all assume that it’s not considered a good thing in general to:

1.  Not be able to bear a male child

2.  Dine out at nice restaurants

3.  Use a babysitter

4.  Go on holiday to foreign countries <–this one is largely ignored these days by almost everyone, but it’s still not considered a good thing to do!

5.  To be depressed because your life is all about being a good breeding mare and servant of your husband and child - you can overcome this with discipline - if you are depressed it means you lack discipline and aren’t doing your duty to society - because everyone else is doing their duty - how dare you not do yours?

6.. Your job:  There is simply no excuse for not doing your job - which consists of being servile to your in-laws, your husband and your children.  Nothing constitutes a good excuse unless it’s the day of your own funeral!  I’ve seen women in hospital beds apologizing for not being able to do their duty. -_-

Japan is a pretty bad place for repatriation if you’re a female TCK.  There’s no need to marry into the Imperial household to be subject to insults and attacks by both men and women in your adult life, unless you conform totally to the rigid rules outlined above and more.

When I was doing my brief ‘corporate stint’ - which meant working until 1am in the morning quite often - I used to have to listen to male taxi drivers rant at me during the 60 minute journey back home:

1.  You took my job and you’re a disgrace to society.

2.  You don’t have children?  You’re a disgrace to your parents & society.  Besides if you did your DUTY to society and had children you wouldn’t be taking my job.

3.  You are a disgrace to your husband for working this late.  If you weren’t being such a disgrace you wouldn’t have taken my job.

4. blablabla…. (And the rant goes on even if my job required being bilingual and all of the ranting raving men were monolingual)…

I avoided being attacked by hoards of vicious females by not having children.  If I had had children I would have had to socialize with them and would have been attacked viciously had I ever dared to use something so unethical as a babysitter.

Some people wonder why I dropped everything and left japan mid-career five years ago, and sometimes I’ve had doubts about this decision myself…but it really wasn’t very nice working THAT hard and having to do my time listening to rants at 1am in the morning.  Geez.


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April 27, 2008 | Filed Under General Forum 

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Comments

4 Responses to “Calling All Diplo Brats: Can you sympathize with the Crown Princess?”

  1. 1
    mairabay
    mairabay Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 5:42 am

    hey Ayako,
    I know how you feel. It’s like there’s this invisible pressure (or in your case, very visible!) for us to be like our “native” peers.

    And I think you did the right thing ;)

    And btw, those taxi drivers are nosy!!! :P

    so, yes, I can sympathize with the princess :D

    (Is this spam?)

  2. 2
    Unregistered
    omar Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Wow that realy sucks! i cant relate personally but i do know plenty of examples of peer pressures that tourterd the people i knew.

    1. the western woman who married into a Qatari family were constantly restricted and put down for being an american and never fully excepted in thier extended family. Even if they converted to islam!

    2. Alot of Iranieans migrated to the arab gulf for various reasons and mangaged to gain citizenship. But they are constantly told they are iranien and are always made fun of and ostrichised. The ones who were Bhai had it the worst, not only did people have a problem with thire orgiens but also thier relgion

    Theres so many insane rules in some areas to truly belong!

    p.s. yes my spelling sucks!

    (Is this spam?)

  3. 3
    Ayako
    Ayako Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 10:14 am

    I had almost forgotten how horrible it was in Japan but this article brought it all back…lol

    (Is this spam?)

  4. 4
    miyon
    miyon Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Ayako,
    thank you for sharing this article. While reading it, I had the sense of suppressed emotions that struggled with the rules and regulations of the society that are imposed upon the life of those who simply want to live as who they are.

    I once thought of writing a research paper on Princess Masako and the royal family. I think it’s really sad she has to go through all this in a trapped lifestyle.

    She also reminded me of Benazir Bhutto who as an intelligent woman had to suffer the expectations and anger imposed by the society. ::sigh::

    (Is this spam?)

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