At the Bottom of the Shadow of Looking Strong: A Season When Women Were Forced to Be Strong - 1974

At the Bottom of the Shadow of Looking Strong: A Season When Women Were Forced to Be Strong - 1974
In 1974, Japan was in the midst of a post-oil shock recession, and many women were beginning to go out to work due to tight family finances. However, wage disparities and discrimination in promotions persisted, and women were placed in an unstable work environment while also taking on family responsibilities. Against this backdrop, the conversations between men and women, while seemingly light-hearted, reflect the strains of society as it is. Men casually say, "Women are strong, aren't they? The women respond, "It's not that we are strong, but that we have to be strong," showing the reality that the pressures of everyday life are the source of their strength.
Differences between men and women also appear in their views on love. While men talk about love as a distraction, women were forced to face it as a real problem directly related to their lives. This dialogue overlaps with the atmosphere of the era when the women's lib movement began to spread, and conveys the breath of a transitional period when women's independence and old values were at odds with each other. The contrast between the innocence of the men and the earnestness of the women highlights the tensions and changes inherent in the 1974 season and quietly questions what strength means.