[russianstallian]

Housewives and Japanese women...

Confound, in a number of earlier posts you have referred to Japanese women as stupid or "air-headed" or something along those lines. I think you are missing something. The submissiveness, lolita-like, perpetual sumimasen is not what it appears to be. It is a sophisticated cultural exchange in which some people can be better than others (brains help). People often make mistakes re. Japanese culture when looking for an "essence" whereas it is the "periphery" that counts for most. Watch "gift giving" if you want to see real stuff. Likewise, as an young acquaintance here lamented "the Japanese are clueless. They wear all these clothes and listen to music and have no idea as to its real meaning." He is assuming that the meaning he ascribes is the real one. Other cultures do work in different ways (fortunately). This doesn't mean they are all equally valid or "good", just that it takes a lot of examination of one's own assumptions to begin to understand 'em.