Pickles Might Be an Enemy of Women

 Most of the leaves have fallen in my garden and the autumn sunlight brightens the garden now. We have a lot to do before winter.

 My husband cut the firewood and brought it near the house. Today most of the people in Japan don’t use the bare fire to heat the house, but we use wood stove (also floor heating with kerosene), so preparing the firewood is an important work in this season.

 We have to harvest the vegetables for winter like turnips, Chinese cabbages, and many kinds of beans. People in this area make a lot of pickles in huge kegs, and enjoy all through the winter. Almost all the women of my age make great pickles.  I’m making dried sweet potato and dried persimmons which my family love as snacks.

 Today only old people living in country do these kinds of things. Younger people work so hard and they are living very busy lives. When they need some food, they just go to the supermarkets. Those old works are really time consuming. But as a retired person, I do such works enjoying the gifts from the soil and the sun.

  But on the other hand, those works might have shut the women up in the kitchen, I think. Even now many people think cooking, cleaning, and raising children are woman’s job. Women’s role is staying home and not talking about politics or other difficult matters. It’s a shame that Japan has only a few women leaders.       

 Pickle mi