General Image of Woman and her Status in Various Societies of Past and Present with Reference to Japan

Abstract

Every society, however primitive, has a social organization i.e. a system by which the tasks necessary for its continuing existence are distributed among its members. Division of labour forms the basis of a social stratification, which in its simplest form assigns roles according to the physical distinctions of sex, age and kinship. Men and women, the young and old, and the various members of an extended family not only have to fulfill functions considered appropriate to their respective status, but each has a clearly identifiable position in relation to others within the general framework of the social system.