Father's Day, Sunflowers, and Child-Rearing: Exploring Fatherhood in Japan

Summer is well and truly here, with temperatures already edging towards 35℃ - anything over that is officially known as a mōshobi (猛暑日) or a "fiercely hot summer day" - although the start of the rainy season on June 21st has brought some respite. Nevertheless, unusually high temperatures are forecast for this summer, bringing increased heatstroke warnings. Shops are already full of goods to help people tackle the heat, including traditional fans, battery-driven neck and handheld fans, and long black gloves and tops that cut UV (pictured).

Another summer tradition is the summer greeting card or shochū mimai (暑中見舞い) comprising the words "height of summer" and "to check on someone's health" (also to visit someone in hospital). Compared to the UK, greetings cards are less common in Japan - sending a birthday or anniversary card is still rare - but sending a card during the hot and humid summer months to wish the receiver good health has a long history. Interestingly, as this site explains, these cards typically feature refreshing and cooling images such as goldfish, shaved ice, wind chimes, and various flowers like morning glory (asagao). This year sunflowers (himawari) seem particularly prominent, as the display in my local stationery store shows.

As the photo shows, the traditional postcard has been replaced by elaborate 3D and laser cut cards. Japanese do seem to have a particular penchant for the sunflower - Van Gogh's sunflowers series are much loved - and they apparently symbolise hope, adoration, longevity, and positivity. Interestingly, sunflowers have also become a popular gift for Father's Day in recent years: the Japan Floral Marketing Association (JFMA) poster for this year featured a father holding a sunflower with the caption, "On Father's Day, why not let dad too hold some flowers once in a while?" (父の日　たまには、父さんにも花を持たせてくれませんかね).

© JFMA 2024 (link here)

Like many other countries, Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in Japan. Father's Day is called chichi no hi (父の日): chichi is the humble form, used when speaking about one's own father to others; in contrast, the word otō-san (お父さん) with the honorific "o" is used when talking about someone's else's father or when talking to one's own father. In the latter case, tō-san without the honorific, is also possible, though more casual, like in the poster; even more casual is papa, but this is usually only used by small children. Finally, the more colloquial form oyaji (親父）is also used, typically by men, to refer to their own father when speaking with others (much like "my old man" in English), but is sometimes used when addressing one's own father directly. An oyaji-gyagu is a dad joke!

© FDCJ (buy online here)

Father's Day in Japan has a relatively short history, first emerging around the 1950s but only becoming well know after the establishment of the Father's Day Council Japan (日本ファーザーズ・デイ委員会=FDCJ) in 1981. Today, there is an annual "Father of the Year Award" (known as the "yellow ribbon prize") and just over 50% of people send a Father's Day present, though only 22.1% say they celebrate together (here). The FDCJ initially promoted gifts with yellow ribbons for Father's Day and this later developed into the custom of yellow roses. However, with yellow roses coming to be associated with jealousy, sunflowers have become more popular. Nevertheless, only 1% of people say they want to give flowers on Father's Day: the most popular gifts are food (33.2%), alcohol (26%), and health/lifestyle goods (9.4%). In contrast, 20% of fathers said they wanted "words of thanks or a handcrafted item or letter," followed by 18.9% who chose "spending time with family" (survey here). The same survey also asked about child-rearing and found that while around three out of four dads were fully or fairly involved in looking after their children, almost 50% noted the existence of barriers for fathers involved in child-rearing in Japan, particularly long-working hours.

"Thank-you for working dad" ©Canva

Encouraging fathers to be more involved in child care - seen as one of the keys to increasing the birthrate - has long been a feature of government campaigns. In particular, the government has made strenuous efforts to increase the number of men taking paternity leave - Japan has one of the most generous systems in the world - with some success: the percentage of men taking paternity leave increased from 1.89% in 2012 to 17.13% in 2022 (the UK, in contrast, is said to have one of the least generous systems). The flipside is that the actual time taken is relatively short compared to other countries - an average of 46.5 days in 2023 - and long working hours, especially for those in management positions, together with deep-rooted gender role stereotypes, remain a key barrier. The reality is that the burden of child-rearing remains with the mother, even if she too is working: the term wan-ope ikuji (ワンオペ育児) meaning "one person child-care operation" (solo child-rearing and housework in a two-parent family) is commonly heard. For a detailed overview of the evolving nature of fatherhood in Japan, check out the article here.

On a final note, Japan recently passed a law to recognise joint child custody (kyōdō shinken=共同親権) after divorce. Perhaps surprisingly, Japan has up to now had a system of solo custody - almost always by the mother - after divorce. This meant that many fathers had no access to their children with the result that many refused to pay childcare support. I had interpreted the reform as a step forward, a chance for fathers to contribute more to the upbringing of their child even outside of marriage. However, I found some of my students had a surprisingly different take - they saw it as making marriage more of a "risky" proposition, making them more reluctant to marry. This reflects the view that solo custody serves as a safeguard against domestic violence and child abuse; indeed, a 2022 survey found that 80% of single parents in Japan had a negative view of joint custody. What do you think? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the COMMENTS!