The intense involvement of Japanese mothers in their children has been considered as one of the critical ingredients of the nation's educational success. This chapter aims to illustrate the Japanese mothers' steadfast involvement in their children as a manifestation of cultural values, which are not exclusive to but strongly associated with the maternal role, within the current socioeconomic conditions. The first part of the chapter will be devoted to theoretical discussions of the above view. The second part will provide empirical data drawn from a questionnaire survey and individual interviews with mothers to substantiate it. Closing thoughts will be given in the third part.

New Notion of Japanese Mothers

To conceptualize the centrality of their children to Japanese mothers, I have proposed calling the Japanese mother's role that of kosodate mama (childrearing mother). Because kosodate literally translates into English as childrearing, the term kosodate mama may appear to be redundant. The wording, however, serves well for the purpose of highlighting Japanese mothers' commitment, not exclusively to examination-geared education as manifested in the kyoiku mama, but to the whole welfare of the child, and the recent breed of mothers who can afford and are expected to concentrate their energy and time on childrearing.