Fusako

               For a very long time, in Asia, women were not viewed as important because they lack the physical strength that mean have. People usually say that men were more desirable because they can handle heavy labor jobs which provide food and shelter for the family, while women are to stay home to cook, clean, bear children and take care of the family. As a result of that, women are view as incapable and vulnerable who are dominated by males. In The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea we are introduced Fusako a widow who is the owner of Rex, Ltd. “one of the oldest and best-known luxuray shops in Yokohoma’s swank Motomachi district” (24). Unlike Yoriko Kasuga, the “gullable beauty” (33) or the “chinese whore” (19) who need a male presence, Fusako is an intelligent, decisive and strong business woman who has no need for a male presence. For five years after her husband passed away Fusako managed “business by herself” (24), she is able to place bids on shipments before other buyers; “her policy is to emphisize quality labels while offering a wide price range in every item”. She is also has precise decisions for example when Yoriko Kasuga asks her to pick out gifts “for about twenty men” (26); Fusako realized that the gifts were supposed to be bought in the summer so instead of picking sweaters which would be in store near fall she picked out “Caldin ties and some polo shirts and a few Jiff pens” (33-34). Not only did Fusako manage the business on her own after her, husband died, she also had to raise her 13 years-old son Noboru, who was 8 years-old at the time. In conclusion, I find that because Fusako was not like the stereotypical hopeless female who is born to serve in male dominate society she is a representation of modern women who are independent.