Japan's New Middle Class: The Salary Man and His Family in a Tokyo Suburb (11 page)

Only partly in jest, Mamachi families talk about wanting the "Three Imperial Treasures," by which they do not mean the three treasures which are traditionally handed down in the Imperial Household (jewel, sword, and mirror) but three new pieces of electrical equipment. Indeed, those who get machines for the first time behave almost as if they were acquiring the Imperial Treasures, and the enthusiasm remains even while the content of the list changes as former treasures become more widely available. Several years ago listings might have included TV sets and electric rice cookers, but newer ones might include a refrigerator or an electric washing machine.
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The same kind of enthusiasm is shown for the latest models of cameras, transistor radios, hi-fi equipment, electric heating devices, and the newest clothes styles from abroad. Garbage-disposal and central-heating units and dishwashing machines are still almost unknown, and cars still are too expensive for the typical salary man. While all Mamachi families have had running water for many years, other modern plumbing facilities like flush toilets and sewers, already common in some areas of Tokyo, have not yet reached Mamachi.

As yet these families have little critical judgment in making their new purchases. For example, a family buying its first refrigerator probably would not look into the number of cubic feet, the size of the freezer unit, or the location of the door handle, as long as it was produced by a "big maker." Japanese advertising reflects a lack of critical public judgment, for it includes almost no details. Many Japanese consider it bad manners to ask a salesman many detailed questions and then not purchase a product. Now consumers generally are interested only in the appearance, the price, and the
meekaa
(maker), but critical standards of judgment are beginning

[1] In a national survey in 1959, 72 percent of city wives had sewing machines, 97 percent radios, 44 percent washing machines, 40 percent TV, 28 percent refrigerators, and 6 percent electric vacuum cleaners. In Mamachi, with a higher standard of living, the percentages would be much higher.

to develop rapidly as people acquire experience using various products.

Because the salary man's income is limited, he has been relatively slow but steady in acquiring new goods. Since future income can be accurately predicted, he can plan when he will be able to afford what machine. He knows that on his limited salary he cannot hope to acquire all desirable machines, but he adjusts his expectations to his salary and hence is never subject to serious disappointments. His salary is even more predictable than that of his American counterpart whose salary may rise appreciably with new assignments or with a change in companies. To a family which has lived through such serious disruptions as depression, war, acute shortages, and spiraling inflation, living according to plan seems highly desirable. The salary man thus develops a measured optimism, and, under present circumstances, there is every reason to expect that his limited dreams will come true.

Since these salaried men, in contrast to farmers or businessmen, do not depend on inheritance for their livelihood, they usually do not worry about saving money to pass on to children, but if they do not plan carefully they may lack even the necessities after retirement. In less extreme cases, planning can make the difference between a miserable and a moderately comfortable existence, a difference more crucial than the distinction between shades of comfort one would have in the more affluent America. On the small income of the salary man, every bit of savings requires sacrifice.

In rural Japan, where one child usually is designated as the heir, he naturally assumes the responsibility of caring for his parents in their old age. But in Mamachi filial responsibility is not so clearly assigned, and many parents want to be financially independent in their old age in order to avoid feeling a burden on their children and to prevent conflicts with daughters-in-law or sons-in-law.

Since retirement from most large companies and government offices is at fifty-five or sixty, since retirement benefits are minimal, and since a man at fifty-five can expect to live about eighteen more

years, families try hard to put aside savings for old age. This is often difficult because of the expense of educating the children. If, for example, the bread earner is thirty-two when his last child is born and supports this child through college to the age of twenty-three, the bread earner may be retiring the same year the child finishes college. This means that while some families may attempt to save for old age, they may have to choose between the children's educational expenses and savings for retirement.

Education is the primary goal and major expense for most families. While children who attend college live at home and commute, admission fees and tuition can be fairly high, and the expenses of food, transportation, and incidentals through college years require planning. One advantage of having a bright child is that he can qualify for a public school and public university, which are inexpensive but of high quality. Indeed, while sending a child to private school is a possibility for salary families, it requires serious sacrifices. The entrance fee and one year tuition at an acceptable private university may be as much as a third of the annual salary of a typical middle-aged salary man. Since many of these families try to send their children to private junior and senior high schools as well as to college, education imposes a financial burden especially if there are several children. While the father's salary will be higher in middle age, he still must budget carefully.

Educational expenses are also likely to occur about the time when a girl is given in marriage. In rural areas, a large dowry, perhaps equivalent to several years of the family's earnings, was usually given to the bride to take with her when she married. Since she ordinarily received no inheritance, a daughter's dowry, in effect, constituted her inheritance. In spite of the fact that salaried families have reduced the amounts given to a bride, still they are expected to cover a large part of the marriage costs. They also are expected to give their daughter enough new clothing to last many years and enough furniture to set up a household. Although part of these expenses will be covered by the gift of money from the groom at the time of engagement, most of the expenses must be met by the bride's family. Since relatively little furniture is required in a Japanese home, furniture may include only a chest of drawers, bedding, linens, a table, cooking equipment, dishes, silverware, and perhaps a sewing

machine and other electrical appliances. Sometimes the bride's family may not give the furniture at the time of marriage, but promise to give it when the young couple is able to buy a home several years later. The husband is expected to pay for everything else and for current living expenses from his own salary. The wife ordinarily does not work after marriage or, at the latest, after her first child is born. It is true that some "modern" couples originally introduced through friends at work or school will set up a household more inexpensively with almost no help from their families, but most parents in Mamachi still try to have enough money to supply the furniture and clothing which their daughter will need to begin housekeeping.

Virtually no homes in Mamachi are for rent, so that couples unable to make the down payment on a house are likely to rent in Tokyo and move to Mamachi a few years later. Before large apartment projects were developed, it was more common for a newly married couple to live at the home of one of the parents for a few years or perhaps even in housing provided by their company until they were able to afford a down payment on their own home.

Mamachi homes are generally constructed inexpensively of wood so that a middle-class family can build a comfortable house for four or five thousand dollars. A public agency provides standard loans for seventeen years' duration if the couple can make a down payment of about one-third. This payment may be the equivalent of about two years of the husband's salary, and may take many years to accumulate. Immediately after the war, war damage, the lack of wartime home construction, and the return of soldiers and citizens living overseas, created housing shortages and considerable movement from one household to another. Although the acute housing shortage in the immediate post-war period has eased, the lack of availability of good housing often requires several moves on the part of a young couple until they find adequate facilities. Once a family makes a down payment on a home, they are likely to live in the same home all their lives. Generally they will have completed paying for the house before the beginning of the heavy expenses for the education and marriage of their children.

Thus a typical life pattern is roughly as follows: at the time of marriage a couple sets up housekeeping with the furniture provided

by the wife's family, the rent or housing facility provided by the husband or his family. In the early stage of marriage they may live in a small apartment or with in-laws while saving for a down payment on a house. Having made this payment, they then begin saving for their children's education, for their daughter's dowry, and for their own retirement.

The general pattern of savings may be similar to that of the American middle class, but the difficulty in obtaining loans and saving enough money to meet later expenses, the early retirement age, and the small size of stipends after retirement, all require the Mamachi family to be more cautious in spending, to plan more carefully, and to put aside a comparatively larger proportion of savings.

During the inflation immediately after the war, savings that had required years of sacrifice were reduced to virtual worthlessness. At that time people tried to save by buying stock, real estate, or durable goods. In the last few years, however, with the stabilization of the value of the yen, families have been increasingly willing to save money. Many families deposit small amounts into post-office savings accounts or banks, and purchase stocks of real estate only if they accumulate sizeable sums.

Generally budgeting is on a monthly basis since the husband receives his pay monthly. The monthly pay is usually divided into three parts, one for the husband to use for spending money, one for the wife to use for the household, the children, and herself, and one for savings. An average husband may be allotted perhaps ten dollars or so (with a buying power perhaps comparable to twenty or thirty dollars in the United States) for all monthly expenses. In addition he may be entitled to a small expense account because of his position in the company.

By far the largest part of the monthly income, however, is managed by the wife. Even if she does not keep a budget, she will have some idea how much money is left at various stages during the month, and she may cut down expenses toward the end of the month if she sees she is running short. She will purchase most food items from the same places with little variation from day to day.

Most wives use little, if any, of their money for their own pleasure. In addition to household expenses, they must provide for the children's school supplies, school lunches, clothing, and spending money. Most salaried families cannot afford a maid, but if they have one, the household account will be used to pay her salary.

Except for "modern" young people, most couples make a sharp separation between money allotted to the wife and money allotted to the husband. Although the husband may ask the wife for more money, the wife is reluctant to ask the husband for more even if she does not have enough money toward the end of the month. They rarely inquire about each other's use of small amounts of money, and in some cases, there is mutual secrecy and some deceit about the amount of money spent. Not every wife knows exactly the amount of her husband's income. While she knows approximately how much he makes, he may not tell her the precise amount of his bonuses. Similarly the wife, though generally honest and forthright to her husband, may not tell her husband precisely for what she is using money and may even overstate some of the household expenses in order to have some extra money. Especially if the husband frequently asks her for spending money, the wife may put aside a small amount telling him she is already out of money when in fact she has a little available. Many a wife feels so dependent on her husband for money and subject to his whims, that she feels it necessary to hide a little money from him. This practice makes it possible for her to get by for a short time in case of marital difficulties, or, more commonly, buy something on which her husband is reluctant to spend money.

These minor deceptions are used at times to increase the area of financial freedom, but generally the couple plans together for major purchases. They may even consult with their children and neighbors. When children are small, they may go together on Sunday to a department store shopping for pleasure items as an entire family.

Almost all salary men receive sizeable bonuses twice a year which may total as much as from two to six months of the husband's total salary. The regular smaller monthly salary serves to limit regular expenditures, and the large bonuses, in effect, constitute a forced savings which the families then use to buy larger items of equipment or put into savings. Yet planning and saving are so heavily

ingrained in their outlook that one has the feeling that most of them would be saving even without the bonus system.
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Although Mamachi residents look at their habits simply as customs, in comparison to America, many seem to be the epitome of frugality. For example, in the home the same room will be used both in the daytime and at night, eliminating the necessity for separate living and bedrooms. Generally the mattresses for the bedding are kept in a closet and pulled out at night. A table used in the daytime can be folded up at night to make room for the bedding. Using cushions and bedding on the floor obviously is cheaper than the beds, chairs, and davenports that Western families must buy. Since company is usually greeted only in one room, simple and less expensive materials can be used in the "family rooms" which receive the greatest wear. Fuel is conserved by heating only the immediate sitting area in only the coldest months. When bath water is heated, the same tub of water is used for the entire family (sometimes including nearby relatives), everyone having cleaned himself with a small pail of water before getting in the tub. Paint is rarely used even on the outside of wooden houses. Some kitchens still have dirt floors, no houses have basements, and all houses have very simple foundations. In the more modern homes, a kitchen containing modern electrical equipment may become a display room open to guests, but in most houses the kitchen facilities are crude and closed to guests.