Forum - View topicSleeping arrangements
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BellosTheMighty
 Posts: 767 |
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Issue 3 of Yotsuba&! shows Yotsuba and Kowai's sleeping arrangements- apparently, they sleep in adjoining futons in the same room. The image is slightly disturbing for Westerners who are used to sexualizing the bedroom. (Actually, the entire Yotsuba manga could serve as an example of how different child-rearing is in Japan. Yotsuba roams the streets alone, treats her neighbor's house like her own, and noone seems to have any trouble with it. In one chapter, she has a conversation in the park with an older guy she's never met, which is also disturbing. In another, played more for laughs, she goes on a rampage with a squirt gun after watching a gangster movie.)
Anyway, my question is how common is this kind of arrangement. I get the impression that mothers and father share futons with their newborns in Japan, and I've seen anime that suggest that it's not taboo for the entire family to share a single bedroom. But I had thought it was associated with poor families that can't afford enough living space for everyone. Yotsuba and Koiwai appear to live in the Japanese equivilent of a brownstone, so I can't see that being a problem. Further, their neighbors have a seperate room for each child. Is this an age thing? Yotsuba is six- perhaps it's one of those things that's acceptable up to a certain age, then at some point you have to grow up a little? Or, perhaps it's NOT normal, and is meant to be perceived by the reader as a little strange... |
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CloverKuroba
 Posts: 506 |
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You found parts in Yotsuba& to be disturbing? I'm sorry, I think that's a bit funny considering how harmless this manga is...I'm a Westerner too and I don't find Yotsuba& to be disturbing at all. But I respect your opinion.
In Japan, it's not unusual for young children and their mom or dad to sleep in the same bed. Yotsuba is 6, that's still pretty young, so I personally don't find it unusual. And it's in no way meant to be in a sexualized nature. The Ayase's children (Yotsuba's neighbors) don't sleep with their parents because they're much older than Yotsuba. As for some of your examples like Yotsuba talking with a stranger...they're all meant for laughs and I think you may be taking the manga a bit too seriously. It's not a realistic depiction of a child's life in Japan at all. It's just a comedy, and a good comedy at that. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Like Clover, I didn't find it disturbing at all and feel that you may be taking the series a little too seriously. And like she said, Yotsuba&! is supposed to be a light-hearted comedy about a girl that the characters find to be strange at first, but then they realize that she's rather charming.
It's all for the laughs. 
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Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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It's probably a bad idea to base cultural idioms on manga. While manga are a reflection of society, they are not actually society. They may give a few insights, but take everything with a grain of salt. There was an anime I saw (or manga I read?) where two girls were making fun of a friend of theirs, another girl in the class, because she only stopped taking baths with her father at the age of 12. So, who can say what the real situation is except for a born and bred Japanese. Although, I don't see what the problem is with a six year old, sleeping in the same room as her father? That may just be me, but I've never though it was weird for up to young teens to sleep in their parents bed. Also, much of it may just be in place as a plot or story element than of anything that's really significant to pay attention to. It's like Rugrats. How often did you see parents in that show? How much trouble did those babies get into? While some of it may very well be a true reflection, keep in mind it is also a fictionalized story.
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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That's the X anime, first episode I believe (or maybe the second). Absolute Boyfriend also depicts a young girl taking a bath with her father. For the sleeping thing, I've also seen a Korean live action drama (The Snow Queen) in which a single mother and her son slept in the same room, in adjoining futons. I would expect that it's more a sign of closeness than anything else. Plus, just financially space is at a premium because there are so many people and not that much room available in Japan. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Sometimes, it occurs to me that Americans are perhaps the most dirty-minded people on Earth. "Sexualizing the bedroom", indeed.... what a bit of mindless prudery.
Sleeping in the same bedroom (or even in the same bed) as your child, even into the preteens, is common throughout the world -- and in many places, private bedrooms are a ridiculously rare luxury. I remind you that it wasn't until the late 19th century that single-person beds became common in the West. - abunai |
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BellosTheMighty
Posts: 767 |
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What the hell, people?! I ask a simple question, and I get attitude and snide remarks about my "prudery"? Geeze... I was just trying to satisfy my curiosity and stimulate discussion. That's what message boards are FOR. And the response I get is people looking down on me for no reason?
Christ... It was just a question, people. Don't tase me... |
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Not a Jellyfish
Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
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I thought it might have been X, but I didn't remember it in the manga, so I didn't know if it was that series or not. Thanks.
 HAHAHA, that was great. I think we were all trying to be helpful and I don't think abunai's comment was directed specifically at you, but more at the idea in general. But you made me happy with your last comment. 
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