hoyateach
Oct 26, 05, 11:22 pm
Two of Japan's English-language daily newspapers, the Mainichi Daily News and The Japan Times, feature the Tokyo Confidential column which covers the odder news items that regular news sources tend to ignore.
This article covered the title question.
Couples tie knot with sexual clause
I'll tell you what," said Mai, 26, to her 24-year-old fiance last year. "We'll enter into a one-year marriage contract." One year? said the fiance. How about three years, or five?
No, Mai was adamant. One year, no divorce in mid-contract, and then they'd see.
The notion is gaining ground, says Aera (5/30). Marriage has always been a contractual arrangement, but couples are lately discovering how many variations can be contrived to suit individual circumstances. The documents they draw up may or may not be legally binding, but that is largely beside the point. Their main purpose is to serve as a kind of marital Constitution, to be appealed to in times of crisis.
Mai's fiance, for instance, has a tendency to get visibly annoyed if dinner consists of fewer than three dishes. His annoyance ticked Mai off. She was working too, after all. What did he want, a wife, or a servant? Well, ok, conceded the fiance; two dishes. Good, said Mai, writing it into the contract.
There are as many possibilities as there are couples, Aera finds. Husband and wife might agree, for example, that in the event of a quarrel, the apology will come from him if it's an even-numbered day of the month, from her it's an odd-numbered day.
A fat spouse might be a turnoff, in which case a clause might read something like this: "The weight differential between husband and wife shall not exceed 20 kg, nor shall the wife's weight equal or exceed the husband's."
What about sex? If left to the impulse of the moment, anything might happen. Here's Aera's suggestion, modifiable of course: "Sexual relations will occur the night before a holiday, both parties bathing prior to said relations. An illuminated lamp on the bedside table will mean that one of the parties desires sexual relations. In that event, sexual relations may occur regardless of whether or not the following day is a holiday."
Let's not forget in-laws and other relatives: "Neither husband nor wife shall direct verbal abuse at the other's family members."
Wiser in the ways of the world than their parents, to say nothing of their grandparents, young lovers know what a precarious state marriage is, and are familiar with its deepest pitfalls. Infidelity, for instance. That's one marriage-corroding temptation Hiromi, 32, and her husband are determined to steer clear of. How determined? When they took out a housing loan they composed a written agreement to the effect that if either of them is caught in an adulterous relationship, the guilty party not only forfeits the right to live in the new condominium but also agrees to pay off the entire loan singlehandedly.
It's a 35-year, 40-million yen loan, and Hiromi's husband, having been transferred out of town by his company, will be living on his own for the next two years.
"I just saw a TV law program which makes me nervous," says Hiromi. "I don't know to what extent our agreement is legally binding. Anyway, though, it's a kind of insurance at least, isn't it?"
Maybe. Perhaps Aera will revisit the couple in two years and let us know how it worked out.
May 30, 2005
This article covered the title question.
Couples tie knot with sexual clause
I'll tell you what," said Mai, 26, to her 24-year-old fiance last year. "We'll enter into a one-year marriage contract." One year? said the fiance. How about three years, or five?
No, Mai was adamant. One year, no divorce in mid-contract, and then they'd see.
The notion is gaining ground, says Aera (5/30). Marriage has always been a contractual arrangement, but couples are lately discovering how many variations can be contrived to suit individual circumstances. The documents they draw up may or may not be legally binding, but that is largely beside the point. Their main purpose is to serve as a kind of marital Constitution, to be appealed to in times of crisis.
Mai's fiance, for instance, has a tendency to get visibly annoyed if dinner consists of fewer than three dishes. His annoyance ticked Mai off. She was working too, after all. What did he want, a wife, or a servant? Well, ok, conceded the fiance; two dishes. Good, said Mai, writing it into the contract.
There are as many possibilities as there are couples, Aera finds. Husband and wife might agree, for example, that in the event of a quarrel, the apology will come from him if it's an even-numbered day of the month, from her it's an odd-numbered day.
A fat spouse might be a turnoff, in which case a clause might read something like this: "The weight differential between husband and wife shall not exceed 20 kg, nor shall the wife's weight equal or exceed the husband's."
What about sex? If left to the impulse of the moment, anything might happen. Here's Aera's suggestion, modifiable of course: "Sexual relations will occur the night before a holiday, both parties bathing prior to said relations. An illuminated lamp on the bedside table will mean that one of the parties desires sexual relations. In that event, sexual relations may occur regardless of whether or not the following day is a holiday."
Let's not forget in-laws and other relatives: "Neither husband nor wife shall direct verbal abuse at the other's family members."
Wiser in the ways of the world than their parents, to say nothing of their grandparents, young lovers know what a precarious state marriage is, and are familiar with its deepest pitfalls. Infidelity, for instance. That's one marriage-corroding temptation Hiromi, 32, and her husband are determined to steer clear of. How determined? When they took out a housing loan they composed a written agreement to the effect that if either of them is caught in an adulterous relationship, the guilty party not only forfeits the right to live in the new condominium but also agrees to pay off the entire loan singlehandedly.
It's a 35-year, 40-million yen loan, and Hiromi's husband, having been transferred out of town by his company, will be living on his own for the next two years.
"I just saw a TV law program which makes me nervous," says Hiromi. "I don't know to what extent our agreement is legally binding. Anyway, though, it's a kind of insurance at least, isn't it?"
Maybe. Perhaps Aera will revisit the couple in two years and let us know how it worked out.
May 30, 2005