Drawing on a unique ethnographic inquiry, Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni explores the complexities of the relationship between socially and culturally constructed roles bestowed on Japanese women by a variety of state agents, including the market and the media, and the 'real' lives of these women.

Autorentext
OFRA GOLDSTEIN-GIDONI is the chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, Israel, where she holds a joint position with the Department of East Asian Studies. She is the author of Packaged Japaneseness: Weddings, Business and Brides.

Inhalt
PART I: A COLLABORATIVE QUEST FOR UNDERSTANDING 'SENGYO SHUFU' Intertext I Entering the Field: Joining Mariko's Introspective Journey Intertext II The Postwar 'Professional Housewife' and the Japanese State PART II: THE WOMEN OF ROYAL HEIGHTS Intertext III On 'Naturally' Becoming Housewives Intertext IV 'Guarding the House': Men as Breadwinners, Women as Housewives Intertext V A New Housewife Is Born? Discourses of Class and Change in Royal Heights PART III: HOUSEWIVES AS WOMEN IN POST-BUBBLE JAPAN Intertext VI The New Happy Housewife of Post-Bubble Japan Intertext VII Wrapping up: Housewives as the 'Winners'? Intertext VIII