ABSTRACT
In the spring of 2006, while researching divorce experiences in contemporary Japan, I joined a lecture series delivered by a popular marriage counselor called “The Basics of Divorce.” Delivered as lively but impersonal monologues with charts and graphs, the lectures highlighted economic and legal tips to make divorce easier, such as standard formula for child support payments and what to expect from the legal system. Contrary to other types of support groups, including some run by the same counselor, this lecture did not include a chance for participants to share marital experiences or even to introduce ourselves to each other. Twelve of us sat in a room that had been converted from its regular, more personal and therapeutic, form. Instead of sitting on the dark leather sofas facing each other in a circle, these participants sat mostly in folding chairs that had been arranged to face a white board, on which the counselor was describing how to understand and deal with the economic entanglements that come with divorce. I was not the only one taking notes, and everyone was eagerly writing down her tips about how to calculate fair child support payments, negotiate the legal system, and separate marital finances.
