ABSTRACT
Japanese architecture differs from that of the West in that the roof of a traditional Japanese building rests upon pillars rather than upon walls, creating a pavilion-like structure. The central pillars of the Japanese family business world are its women. The stereotype of the Japanese woman is of the person in the background, never speaking unless spoken to, her husband’s obedient servant, fulfilling his every wish, decorative and demure. Society is slow to recognize overtly the influence of the women, but their “keystone” status in family businesses is an open secret. Most of the larger businesses in Japan today had their origin in small family businesses during the Tokugawa period. This was the period when the merchants, although considered the lowest class under feudal law, were becoming powerful because of their control of the country’s wealth. Many women in Japan are working without pay in family businesses.
