Two old lefties who could never agree with anybody... Neither with the communists and definitely with those on the right. de Beauvoir was filled with loathing and hatred for her own country during the Algerian conflict. In the end thewy had to side with somebody and so it was the communists that they found the most common ground despite Stalinism and suppression of the facts about the camps. Trips to Cuba in the early 1960s helped give them faith in the goals of political solidarity. In 1966, however, they visited Japan for a three month period and were feted from one end of the country to the other (as they had been in Cuba). All Sartre's and de Beauvoir's books had been translated into Japanese and The Second Sex had been a best-seller. On a boat to Beppu, de Beauvoir observed that Sartre was travelling with a camera for the first time in his life and "plied it with the ardour of a Japanese." Elsewhere she noted that Sartre had told reporters at a press conference that he held a very high opinion of the works of Tanizaki. Tanizaki's relationship with his wife had been as unconventional as that of Sartre and de Beauvoir. For a while, with her late, first husband's consent, she had been Tanizaki's mistress. When Sartre met Tanizaki's widow, he questioned her about her late husband's sexual life. She told him that, "Tanizaki had wanted them both to try out some of the some of the practices described in his account of the blind female musician; at first she had refused, but then, because she admired him so, she agreed."
In her account de Beauvoir speaks about many aspects of Japanese life including the economy, religion, society and the arts. She writes about Japanese temples and shrines, the Eta, sumo wrestling and both Noh and Bunraku theatre. In terms of her meetings with Japanese woman, de Beauvoir observed that women at one port did the work of unloading cargo from the boats. Questioning them she learned that as well as working seven days a week they also did all of the house work and were paid less than men. This was a widespread phenomenon in Japan; women received on average sixteen thousand yen a month compared to men who received thirty-five thousand yen. At that time, women represented thirty-five per cent of the Japanese work force. In the little town of Komamuto, de Beauvoir observed some men accompanied by geisha and noted that compared to other geisha that they had seen, these were "less stiff" and "sang cheerful songs, laughed a great deal, and put up with having their bottoms slapped." The author of The Second Sex did not seem to feel the need to make any adverse comment about this frivolous behaviour.
In her account de Beauvoir speaks about many aspects of Japanese life including the economy, religion, society and the arts. She writes about Japanese temples and shrines, the Eta, sumo wrestling and both Noh and Bunraku theatre. In terms of her meetings with Japanese woman, de Beauvoir observed that women at one port did the work of unloading cargo from the boats. Questioning them she learned that as well as working seven days a week they also did all of the house work and were paid less than men. This was a widespread phenomenon in Japan; women received on average sixteen thousand yen a month compared to men who received thirty-five thousand yen. At that time, women represented thirty-five per cent of the Japanese work force. In the little town of Komamuto, de Beauvoir observed some men accompanied by geisha and noted that compared to other geisha that they had seen, these were "less stiff" and "sang cheerful songs, laughed a great deal, and put up with having their bottoms slapped." The author of The Second Sex did not seem to feel the need to make any adverse comment about this frivolous behaviour.
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