MMario — your mother was right about the eldest woman having the last word in the home.

But the key words there are "in the home," which is the place of women's responsibility. They are left there to raise the MEN's sons while the men go galavanting as they choose.

I was in Japan for two years in the early days of the transition, when the first post-war generation was reaching university age, and it was very interesting to watch the clash of the generations. Some of the adults who had fought in WWII wanted desperately to westernize their society and many of their kids agreed — but a lot of others reacted against what they saw as the loss of their cultural identity. Made for an interesting dynamic.

cheers,

david