The role of women in Japanese society has changed drastically, with each era marking changes in the social structure, political rights and domestic influence of women. While the myth that Japanese women are demure, subservient kimono-clad ladies following three steps behind her husband is hardly true nowadays, the reason of the emergence of this stereotype is not hard to track down.
During the 14th century, Japan was mostly a matriarchal society, where women ruled the household, but following that, in the 15th century, the combined influences of Confucianism and Buddhism with the military class formed the Samurai code of life (feudalism) became the law of the land, and changed drastically the place of women in society. Their freedom was restricted, and they were forced into complete subordination to men. Women were tools to make children and perpetuate the family. An excerpt from The Tale of the Genji shows this discrimination: "If they [women] were not fundamentally evil, they would not have been born women at all." Also during the feudalistic period, a samurai’s wife, during his absence, was expected to be strong and manage the entire household. Women were expected to be as tough as men, and if needed, to perform the samurai self-destruction.
For the succeeding two and a half centuries under the Tokugawa Shogunate (1602-1868), women were subservient to men. They were not allowed to own any property, and were only allowed to learn how to read and write hiragana [glossary], therefore not allowing them to read political and business transactions. You may wonder why the situation didn’t change and society didn’t evolve, and that’s because of the complete seclusion of Japan by an edict of the ruler in 1637.
After Commodore Perry and the Shogun (1853-1868) [find a link that will give people more info about this] came the Menji period (1868-1912), when power was restored to the Emperor Menji and the Japanese tried to modernize. During this time, women, although ruthlessly exploited, became the key to the country’s success. They were encouraged to be the moral foundation of the country, and to produce more babies. That way, the population will increase and Japan could be on a more equal footing with the Western world. Marriage was their sole destiny. There was also a double moral standard; men could fool around while women couldn’t. An example of that is that a man could have concubines in addition to his wife.
Another important character in this time period that has shaped many a view on Japanese women, especially of the western world, is the geisha. Geishas (literally: "art-person") can be described as a "century old professional entertainer" or "hostess for the big shots." Geishas provide clients in certain restaurants with singing, dancing, conversation, games and companionship. Though commonly referred to with the derogatory term "pleasure woman," being a Geisha was a very honorable profession, which requires many years of training. As Japan mobilized for war in the 1930s, geisha became fewer, and by the early 1940’s, geisha entertainment was outlawed and most of the women went to work in factories. By the late 1970’s the number of geisha was around 17,000. At this time, it is difficult to find a true geisha, though they still exist, though mostly for tourist purposes. Modern, western-style entertainers, the "hostesses", are quickly replacing them.
Japan’s economic success during the Menji period is also due to the females. Hundreds of thousands of women worked in textile factories imported from England. By 1900, 250,000 women worked in the textile industry and they accounted for 63% of the labor force. The conditions at the factories were harsh--they were paid low wages and they lived in crowded and often diseased dormitories.
During the 50 years before World War II the position of women changed very little. In 1887 laws were established which limited women’s rights. Women did not have the vote (universal suffrage for men came in 1924), they were not allowed to own property, and could not divorce their husbands, even though they were subject to easy divorce by their husbands. Marriages were arranged, and people married because of necessity rather than love.
However, during WWII, the role of women changed. With millions of men removed from the civilian work force, women found themselves working in coal mines, steel mills and arms factories. Wives were also in complete control of the home, with their husbands gone. The war, some women said, brought about a "general leveling down...throughout the social structure of Japan." The bombings and total destruction of Japanese cities towards the close of the War disillusioned the Japanese of their military’s might, which moved them from the feudalistic tendencies of their society towards a system more democratic in nature.
With the defeat of the Japanese ending the Second World War, the Americans introduced many reforms to Japanese society, including rewriting the Japanese Constitution. The 1947 Constitution, written by General MacArthur, is explicit about equality of the sexes. "There shall be no discrimination in political, economic, or social relations because of...sex... Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis. With regard to choice of spouse, property rights, inheritance, choice of domicile, divorce and other matters pertaining to marriage and the family, laws shall be enacted from the standpoint of individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes." Women suffrage had come in 1946, and they were also granted the right to run for parliament and enter the national universities. All inequalities in laws were ended, and also, a Labor Standards Law was passed (1947), which had regulations covering equal pay, working hours, maternity leave, menstruation leave and holiday leave. Unfortunately, the provisions of this law are rarely, if ever, enforced.

Present

It’s been 50 or so years after the new Japanese constitution was written, and the women of Japan have made remarkable advances. The Japanese woman of today, unlike one from 80 years ago, is no longer following her husband deferentially a pace behind, encumbered by whatever babies or bundles that needed to be carried, while her husband strides forward in a lordly grandeur. Now, the wife has caught up with her husband, and now is walking alongside him. If they have a car, the woman is as likely to drive it as the man.
Marriage in Japan is becoming increasingly love based, rather than convention based. In Japan, marriage and falling in love are two completely different things, and love in a marriage is mostly likely to develop after the marriage. However, arranged marriages, which used to be at 81% in a 1955 poll, have dropped to almost 40% in 1982, and now is lower than 30%.
Once a Japanese woman is married, however, she finds herself in a completely opposite role than the perceived sex role in Japan--the female is dominant. The reason why that is so is because the husbands are not often at home. Their working hours are extremely long, compared to western standards, and including the long commune between home and work, men would arrive home at 11 p.m. Therefore, the woman is in charge of all household affairs and the children. Ironically, Japanese wives often regard their husbands contemptibly; they treat their husband as an oldest son, one to be trusted with little tasks, but nothing delicate.
Women also have been marrying later, in her mid to late twenties. In 1990, the average age for first marriages for women was 25.8 and 28.5, one year later than a decade before. Also, the percentage of women marrying in their early twenties (20-24) has dropped from 32% in 1965 to 14% in 1989. This is due to the fact that there is an increase of respect for the unmarried woman.
Many women in Japan marry at a later age because they want to pursue a higher education and/or career. Education is compulsory through the 9th grade, and 94% of girls go through 12 years of schooling. Despite the high female high school graduation rate, only 20% of the university population is female, and it drops to 10% in the best universities. However, there are many junior colleges and women’s universities where females can get a higher education--women usually go to two-year institutions though. Despite the Education Act of 1872, which made education open to both boys and girls, girls were still a minority in schools until the latter half of the 20th century. Education is continuing to become less sexist, and more and more classes are being offered to girls. Another important factor in women’s education is that the ones who are educated through secondary school or beyond teach their children, so that they can get into better schools and succeed in the highly competitive Japanese education system. The kids’ education is extremely important in the Japanese family, so the mother has to be highly educated also. In fact, Japanese women are among the best educated in the world.
Generally, in the workplace, better educated women generally find jobs as "office ladies"--although some are menial jobs, like pouring tea for the males, and secretaries, while less educated women find jobs as salesgirls, waitresses and elevator attendants. Most of the jobs women take on are temporary, because they leave to have kids, and usually don’t come back to the workplace; instead, they stay home as a full-time mother/housewife and "retire". However, in recent years, women have been working longer until "retirement." In 1949 a woman could expect to work 3.2 years, by 1975 she was working for 6 years. In spite of that, they are denied a lifetime of work and constantly raising salaries like the men. The Labor Standards Law of 1947 which decreed equal pay, but women get paid around 65-70% of what men get paid for the same amount of work and they constitute around 40% of the work force. A male working the same amount of years as a female will be promoted more times than the female. There is only a certain amount of promotion available to a woman; she might have the same rank as a male colleague but have been working at the company longer and have more experience. Females rarely, if ever, get executive or top ranking positions in companies. Therefore, there are few women who would mix a full professional career with motherhood, this level being 10% or less. Educated career women do exist in Japan, but in few numbers. They are prominent in education and research. Half of the teaching force is female, (in elementary, middle, high schools and junior colleges) some in women’s universities, and research institutions, but extremely few in 4-year universities. Some women own small family businesses, and there are few judges, and of course, very few in the government (2%).
Japanese women do not exercise a whole lot of political power. Even though they were granted full suffrage in 1946, they generally do not vote on national issues. In 1973 Prime Minister Tanaka said, "Women don’t vote on big national issues but on things which affect their daily lives." Ironically, his daughter, Makiko Tanaka, is one of the few active members of the Japanese Diet (legislature). Many few women are politically active; Japan, in fact, ranks below any other developed country in terms of its percentage of female politicians at a national level. However, in 1986, Ms. Doi Takako was elected to the post of chairwoman of the Socialist Party. Later, she became the Speaker of the House, and is the leader of The Socialist Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) now.
Women, in the past decade, have taken strides in terms of their political involvement. These strides do not amount to a highly visible increase in the amount of women in government, but it represents a growth in mindset--recognition of the call for female political involvement. However, it is extremely hard to break into the historically male-dominated parliament; it is so deeply established as a male institution that it is virtually impossible for women to break into it.
There has never been a "violent revolution" against the government for Japanese women’s rights. There are many reasons for this. First, it doesn’t fit their self-image or "lady-like" style. Next, they already dominate the home and are psychologically stronger than their male counterparts (and they know it!). They enjoy that kind of control over the household and also supervising the raising of the next generation. However, after the children grow up, the mothers are stuck into a life of inactivity, but they accept that and even like it. Another reason for the lack of the violent revolution is that they sense that, "while the bitter underdog attitude of western women may fit their traditional role as the 'weaker sex,' it is not becoming for the Japanese women who are actually the stronger sex." Also, Japanese women have made so many advances in the recent decades that they are still busy digesting them. There might be a violent revolution, but the women of Japan seem to be enjoying their slow but steady progress rather than clamoring for rapid change. Who knows? Only time can tell.

Sources:
1) The Decline of the Geisha Institution? (July 2000)
http://www.hhs.se/eijs.anomaly/JGeisha.htm

2) The Changing Role of Modern Japanese Women (March 2000)
http://www.andover.edu/history/h46/japan/women/home.html

3) Wanderings--Japanese Women
Glenn Hughes (July 2000)
http://members.tripod.com/~GlennH/wa_jpn_fwmen.htm

4) Japanese Women: Myth vs. Reality (March 2000)
http://www.andover.edu/history/h46/japan/projects/simeone/home.html

5) Women in Japanese Society: Their Changing Roles
Seth Friedman, 1992 (July 2000)
http://www2.gol.com/users/friedman/writings/p1.html

6) Patricia Morley, The Mountain is Moving Japanese Women’s Lives
New York: New York University Press, 1999