I was trudging home the other night with a dōryō (同僚, colleague) after another in a series of sābisu zangyō (サービス残業, unpaid overtime) sessions, debating whether to skip dinner or stop off at the nearest 24-hour sūpā (スーパー, supermarket). Out of the blue, my colleague asked me, "Ima ichiban hoshiimono wa nani?" (「今一番欲しいものは何」"What are you craving right now?") and before thinking about it, I blurted out "Yome ga hoshī. Dekireba sengyō shufu" (「嫁が欲しい。できれば専業主婦」 "I want a wife. Preferably a stay-at-home wife").

Actually, that translation is a bit off, as the Japanese "yome" is different from the Western concept of a "wife." A wife is married to her spouse while a yome is married to the household. The wife expects to be treated as an equal but the yome's unwritten job description specifically states her underling position. Her boss is the household, not her husband.

Let me tell you the real reason fewer Japanese women are willing to settle down to marriage — they have a gnawing fear that if they do tie the knot, their husbands will morph into the tenkeiteki Nippon danshi (典型的日本男子, typical Japanese male) who takes it for granted that the yome will cook, clean, raise the kids and tend to their elderly parents. All this, while wielding the supposed Japanese male birthright to spend inordinate amount of hours at the office and uwakisuru (浮気する, have affairs) at every opportunity.