Independent : 'Demon wife' earns husband a fortune
Uncle Yap
Published: 15 October 2006
'Demon wife' earns husband a fortune
By David McNeill in Tokyo
Like any hen-pecked husband, Japanese office worker Kazuma considered
the time-honoured solutions to domestic hell - more work, the golf
course or the comfort of the local bar. Unlike most, he opted to pound
out his frustrations on his home computer and put the results online.
Six years and three million hits later, in oni-yome nikki ("demon wife
diaries") Kazuma has created one of the most famous characters in
Japan's blogland, and the monster he spawned has been turned into a
best-selling book, a TV series, a video-game, and now a movie.
In his blog, "Kazuma" - a pseudonym: the author still lives in
anonymity - is victimised by a pitiless shrew who forces him to eat
his daughter's leftovers, sleep in a separate room when he falls ill,
and hunt for her favourite radish in a storm. "She said I was wet
anyway so I might as well just keep looking," he told The Independent
on Sunday. "I suppose she had a point."
The TV demon wife is worse. In one scene she sends her husband
shopping for their daughter's underwear with the word "knickers" on
the back of his hand while she lounges in a beauty salon. When he
can't find the right product, she orders him to take pictures of
panties, and he is arrested as a pervert by a store security guard.
Millions of Japanese men squirm with Kazuma as he is put through the
wringer, but his wife has become a cult feminist heroine. Some women's
magazines have created "demon wife" sections with stories by
housewives who compete to tell how badly they treat their husbands. "A
lot of women think it is funny to see the man being bullied and his
wife being so blunt and strong," said a spokeswoman for Ameba Books,
publisher of Demon Wife Diaries.
It is one more sign that the once dominant corporate Japanese
salaryman is losing the war of the sexes. The magnificently surly
beast, who took pride in his ability to communicate his needs in
barked, one-word commands, is on the end of a growing backlash. Many
are preparing for what the media have dubbed the "2007 divorce shock",
when 6.8 million male baby-boomers retire to less-than-ecstatic wives
next year.
But Kazuma, who met his wife in high school, says his marriage is
safe. "I love her," he says. "Anyone who has been married for a long
time will understand."
Kazuma's wife has never been tempted to take revenge in her own blog.
"She doesn't know how to use a PC," says her husband. "She prefers the
TV." Their domestic tensions have been smoothed over by the estimated
£175,000 in royalties, but life for the family is the same as ever.
"She still nags; I still go to work every day. Nobody around here even
knows who we are."
Like any hen-pecked husband, Japanese office worker Kazuma considered
the time-honoured solutions to domestic hell - more work, the golf
course or the comfort of the local bar. Unlike most, he opted to pound
out his frustrations on his home computer and put the results online.
Six years and three million hits later, in oni-yome nikki ("demon wife
diaries") Kazuma has created one of the most famous characters in
Japan's blogland, and the monster he spawned has been turned into a
best-selling book, a TV series, a video-game, and now a movie.
In his blog, "Kazuma" - a pseudonym: the author still lives in
anonymity - is victimised by a pitiless shrew who forces him to eat
his daughter's leftovers, sleep in a separate room when he falls ill,
and hunt for her favourite radish in a storm. "She said I was wet
anyway so I might as well just keep looking," he told The Independent
on Sunday. "I suppose she had a point."
The TV demon wife is worse. In one scene she sends her husband
shopping for their daughter's underwear with the word "knickers" on
the back of his hand while she lounges in a beauty salon. When he
can't find the right product, she orders him to take pictures of
panties, and he is arrested as a pervert by a store security guard.
Millions of Japanese men squirm with Kazuma as he is put through the
wringer, but his wife has become a cult feminist heroine. Some women's
magazines have created "demon wife" sections with stories by
housewives who compete to tell how badly they treat their husbands. "A
lot of women think it is funny to see the man being bullied and his
wife being so blunt and strong," said a spokeswoman for Ameba Books,
publisher of Demon Wife Diaries.
It is one more sign that the once dominant corporate Japanese
salaryman is losing the war of the sexes. The magnificently surly
beast, who took pride in his ability to communicate his needs in
barked, one-word commands, is on the end of a growing backlash. Many
are preparing for what the media have dubbed the "2007 divorce shock",
when 6.8 million male baby-boomers retire to less-than-ecstatic wives
next year.
But Kazuma, who met his wife in high school, says his marriage is
safe. "I love her," he says. "Anyone who has been married for a long
time will understand."
Kazuma's wife has never been tempted to take revenge in her own blog.
"She doesn't know how to use a PC," says her husband. "She prefers the
TV." Their domestic tensions have been smoothed over by the estimated
£175,000 in royalties, but life for the family is the same as ever.
"She still nags; I still go to work every day. Nobody around here even
knows who we are."
*************From Uncle Yap**************
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