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| Japan's Princess Nori's fiance
Yoshiki Kuroda and his mother Sumiko bow as they arrive at the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo to meet Emperor Akihito and Empress
Michiko March 19, 2005. (REUTERS/Yuriko
Nakao) | |
The only daughter of Emperor Akihito has been
formally betrothed -- at 35
years old, one of an increasing number of Japanese women who have chosen
to wait for their wedding bells.
Princess Nori's betrothal on Saturday to Yoshiki Kuroda, 39, who works
in the urban planning department at Tokyo city hall, was sealed in a
ceremony when a messenger from his family brought traditional gifts --
bolts of silk, rice wine and sea bream --to the Imperial Palace.
A senior courtier accepted the presents, met the Emperor, Empress and
Princess Nori, and conveyed their message of acceptance. Similar gifts
were to be delivered to Kuroda's family later.
A date for the wedding has not been set, but it is likely to take place
this autumn.
It used to be said in Japan that an unmarried woman was like Christmas
cake: no good after 25.
But Nori joins the growing ranks of Japanese women who are choosing to
get married later, reflecting changes in society and the workplace and
worrying policymakers concerned about a falling birthrate.
Census figures showed that in 2000, some 54 percent of Japanese women
in their late 20s were unmarried, compared to only 24 percent two decades
earlier.
Couples are also opting to
have fewer children, or none at all. The average number of children a
Japanese woman gives birth to in her lifetime fell to a record low of 1.29
in 2003.
Among women Princess Nori's age -- 35 to 39 -- 13.8 percent were single
in 2000 compared to a scant 4.4 percent in 1980.
"Nobody in Japan thinks badly of Nori because she took until 35 to get
married, though," said Harueko Kato, a professor at Tokyo Women's
Christian University. "It merely reflects Japanese society these days."
Analysts said much of the change was due to the 1985 Equal Employment
Opportunity Law, which opened more jobs to women. As a result, more
females have entered the work force and become economically self-reliant.
But with few Japanese men offering to do housework and a shortage of
daycare, many women find
balancing work, home and children too much.
A survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper recently showed 7 in 10
single women preferred to stay unwed.
Princess Nori, also known as Sayako, will have to leave the imperial
family and the quiet palace in central Tokyo for good, about which she has
expressed some anxiety.
But like other women her age,
Nori insists she will keep her part-time job, at an ornithology institute east
of Tokyo.
（Agencies) |
日本明仁天皇唯一的女兒在她35歲的時(shí)候正式訂婚了。現(xiàn)在越來越多的日本女性選擇耐心等待結(jié)婚典禮上的鐘聲響起，她也是其中的一位。
紀(jì)宮公主和黑田慶樹于上周六（3月19日）舉行了“納彩之儀”，現(xiàn)年39歲的黑田慶樹任職于東京市政廳城市整備局。在訂婚儀式上，來自黑田家族的一位“使者”來到皇宮并呈上了傳統(tǒng)彩禮——幾匹絲綢、清酒和新鮮的大鯛魚。
一位宮內(nèi)廳長官收下這些彩禮后去晉見天皇、皇后與紀(jì)宮公主，然后向“使者”轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)了皇室的意思，表示接受黑田慶樹對(duì)紀(jì)宮公主的求婚。隨后，皇室也向黑田慶樹家回贈(zèng)了相似的禮物。
婚禮的日期目前還沒有確定，估計(jì)會(huì)在今年秋季舉行。
過去日本有這樣的說法：待嫁的女人就像是圣誕蛋糕，過了“25”就不新鮮了。
但是，紀(jì)宮公主加入了選擇晚婚的日本女性的大軍，這反映了日本社會(huì)和職場所發(fā)生的變化，也引起了決策者們對(duì)人口出生率不斷下降的擔(dān)憂。
日本的人口普查數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在2000年大約有54%的日本女性在快三十歲時(shí)還沒結(jié)婚，而20年前這一數(shù)字只有24%。
婚后，夫婦們也選擇不生或少生小孩，2003年，日本女性在一生中平均只生育1.29個(gè)小孩，這個(gè)數(shù)字是有史以來最低的。
在紀(jì)宮公主所屬的年齡段（35到39歲）中，2000年有13.8%的日本婦女是單身，而1980年只有將近4.4%。
“然而在日本，沒有人因?yàn)榧o(jì)宮公主拖到35歲才結(jié)婚而對(duì)她有看法。這只不過是當(dāng)代日本社會(huì)的折射而已?！睎|京女學(xué)館大學(xué)的加藤春恵子教授說。
分析家們表示，這些變化主要?dú)w功于日本政府1985年制定的《平等雇傭機(jī)會(huì)法》，這一法案為婦女爭取到了更多的工作機(jī)會(huì)，于是越來越多的女性加入上班族，獲得了經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立。
但是，由于日本男人很少愿意干家務(wù)活，又缺少日托服務(wù)，很多日本女性發(fā)現(xiàn)要平衡工作、家庭和孩子之間的關(guān)系太吃力了。
《讀賣新聞》最近的調(diào)查顯示，每10個(gè)單身女人中有7人更愿意保持未婚狀態(tài)。
本名叫清子的紀(jì)宮公主（婚后）必須脫離皇室，永遠(yuǎn)離開那座位于東京中心的安靜宮殿，對(duì)此她表示有些擔(dān)憂。
但是和其他這個(gè)年齡的女人一樣，紀(jì)宮堅(jiān)持要繼續(xù)她在東京以東的鳥類學(xué)會(huì)的兼職工作。
（中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-03-22 10:13