ABSTRACT
Home in Japan is usually seen as both a place to live and a space for families. For growing numbers of people, however, home may only be a place to live. This is because in Japan, as in many societies around the world, the number of people who live alone is rising due to divorce, widowhood, and the rising age of marriage. In recent generations, for example, most women in Japan married by an expected age (Brinton, 1992: 80; Coleman, 1983: 184; Lebra, 1984: 78). In contrast, women today may spend many years of their adult lives single, and increasing numbers of women may never marry. In 2005, 33 per cent of women aged 30–34, 18 per cent of women aged 35–39, and 12 per cent of women aged 40–44 were single ( Sōmusho tōkeikyoku, 2005). This raises the intriguing question of what constitutes family for these women. Do single women see themselves as part of their natal family or do they see themselves as having no family at all? Can human beings have a satisfactory home without a family? These are questions of global significance as the age of marriage is rising in many industrialized societies. The situation in Japan differs from North American and European societies, but is similar to other Asian societies, in that most single women in Japan do not have children. In 2004, only 2 per cent of births in Japan occurred outside of marriage ( Kōsei rōdōsho, 2005). Single women in Japan may thus be women without families. My research focuses on the perspectives of women ranging in age from 25–45, who have never been married. Because single Japanese women are located outside of conventional housing arrangements and family relationships, and because they defy expectations that they marry and care for families, I believe their experiences and choices provide valuable insights into the changing meanings of home and family in Japan today.
