The image of a Japanese wife as a quiet, loyal and selfless servant was epitomized at the turn of the century by the "Madame Butterfly" story and myth that lies at the heart of Western perceptions of Japanese women as passive, selfless, and dedicated completely to their husbands and willing to die for their families. The original story, which was written by an American, John Luther Long in 1898, made into a play in 1900 by dramatist David Belasco, was transformed in 1904 into operatic form by the widely respected Italian dramatist Giacomo Puccini widely considered to be the best opera he ever wrote. Since then, the continued world-wide success of the opera has elevated the story of the te

This unlikely reason has had western men for ages come to Japan, and despite all the ramifications that come with it, settle in Japan, in their quest for the perfect partner, the ideal Japanese woman. Most of these sojourners are sadly, Asiaphiles suffering from Orientalism.

Although the main culprits are white males, being the original perpetrators of Asiaphilia, this is not to excuse the same behavior in other non-asian Asiaphiles, especially black men. The issue of black males brings yet another twist to the long tale of stereotypes, that of the hyper-sexed primitive servant. We'll skip that for another day though. This article is not meant to embarrass white men, just posing a challenge for another round of inner reflection, the betterment of the self. We should not stereotype people on the basis of their race, color or ethnicity.

A short walk down memory lane will reveal numerous heroines in Japanese history.

These and other present day heroines are the real Japanese Woman.

It is a bit of a shocker to find that there are still women who idolize this stereotypical image and strive to achieve perfection a

Some topics in this essay:
Japanese Woman, Asian Japanese, Giacomo Puccini, Sheryl WuDunn, Madame Butterfly, Amaterasu Omikami, Asiaphilia Orientalism, Murasaki Shikibu, David Belasco, Islam Muhammad, japanese woman, japanese women, stereotypical image, ideal japanese, asian japanese, female deities, ideal japanese woman, image japanese, japanese wife,