‘That’s Not Very Manly’: Debating Japanese Masculinities on Terrace House

ABSTRACT

On the Japanese television show franchise Terrace House, six people live in a large home together and cameras record their interactions, with the key addition of a group of comedians and television personalities who watch the show together and comment on it. In its ongoing discussions of which housemates and behaviors are the most ‘manly’, Terrace House offers a window into contemporary debates about masculinities in Japan. In examining in-show incidents and commentary related to the housemates’ sexuality, aggression, passivity, maturity, and attitudes toward money and labor, we begin to see how certain norms surrounding masculinities in Japan are shifting (and how some remain static). Focusing on the 2017–2019 iteration of the show, ‘Opening New Doors’, this paper examines how the interactions of Terrace House’s young housemates, the reactions of the show’s (mostly older) commentators, the responses of fans, and the show’s editing and structural choices reveal conflicting ideas about what it means to be ‘manly’ (as well as to be a responsible adult) in contemporary Japan.

Notes

¹ Unlike many US- and UK-based reality television programs, which frequently isolate their cast members and make it difficult (because of the timing of episode releases) for participants to see themselves on the show while it is still being filmed, Terrace House cast members are free to continue their jobs/education and use the internet while the show is being filmed. Participants can also watch episodes of the show only a few weeks after they were filmed, and in some instances even watch themselves on television while they’re still living in the house.

² The question of what constitutes ‘staging’ in reality television is debatable. Most English-language reality television, for example, may not make use of scripts, but as former producer Sarah Gertrude Shapiro notes, ‘drama’ is often created via producers, who frequently lie to contestants and manipulate them into crying or reacting a certain way, and then carefully edit the footage to get the narrative they want (Max, 2016).

³ For more on the Terrace House aesthetic, see Jin (2020).

⁴ On 23 May 2020, Terrace House cast member Hana Kimura committed suicide, likely as a result of severe online bullying. In the weeks after her death, cast members, Kimura’s mother, and former Terrace House staff have provided further evidence to suggest that the show is heavily staged. See ‘Kimura Hana-san …, ’ 2020.

⁵ The Terrace House commentators, not surprisingly, mostly denigrate any male behavior that might be considered ‘herbivorous’, frequently criticizing the male housemates for not being assertive enough or not focusing enough on their careers. At one point when the normally assertive Takayuki appears hesitant to pursue the younger Ami, commentator Reina Triendl specifically says that men need to ‘shape up’ and the herbivore ‘trend’ needs to end.

⁶ For more on Japan’s shift from full-time to contingent and part-time labor, see Standing (2011) and Rosenbaum (2015).

⁷ It should be noted, of course, that a link between certain kinds of labor and masculinity is not unique to Japan – many cultures equate masculinity with being the sole or primary breadwinner, and with certain kinds of labor-intensive jobs. In Japan, though, there continues to be more focus on the idea of men sacrificing themselves (working extremely long hours, even to the point of death or collapse, known as karōshi) and the idea that a masculine man is one who is mostly absent from family life, even if shinjinrui salaryman masculinity has promoted the image of the salaryman as a more involved father and partner.

⁸ As the oldest housemate, pro snowboarder and restaurant worker Takayuki Nakamura is initially praised by the commentators for his maturity and confidence (which is often presented in contrast to the peevishness of Yūdai and the awkward passivity of Shōhei), and for presenting a more old-fashioned, ‘older brother’ model of casual, straightforward, uncomplicated masculinity. He frequently gives career or relationship advice to the younger housemates, for example, and does not seem to be ‘wishy-washy’ in deciding whether or not to initiate dates. Over time, though, he is revealed to have similar problems (in the eyes of the commentators) with not ‘taking charge’ enough, and with saying insensitive or awkward things to women. By the time he leaves the show he has become less desirable to the show’s female commentators, especially Reina Triendl, who says that it is acceptable for very young men to be shy and uncertain with women, but that older men should know better. If anything, Takayuki’s downward arc further reveals how easily the ‘manly’ label can be applied and then taken away.

⁹ The acquittal in question hinged on the fact that the daughter did not physically fight against her father’s assault, which led to a petition calling for revisions to Japan’s outdated sexual assault laws (which define rape in narrow terms that include violent intimidation on the part of the rapist). The ‘flower demonstrations,’ organized by journalist and activist Minori Kitahara, have been well attended, and the acquittal of the father who raped his daughter was overturned in 2020 in favor of a ten-year prison sentence. In general, though, while some women say they have been inspired by Shiroi Ito and other #MeToo stories to come forward and seek justice after being sexually assaulted or harassed, the majority still fear the backlash and the very real possibility that speaking out will only make the situation worse. See Caputo (2018) and Kato (2018).

¹⁰ Shunsuke repeats that he ‘might be bi’ several times in the beginning of his time on the show. By his final episode, though, he says that he feels more confident in his bisexuality, telling housemate Sota that the next time they meet, he ‘might have a girlfriend or a boyfriend’. In an unaired scene, he also visits a bar in Tokyo’s gay district of Shinjuku Ni-chome and has a conversation with two drag performers about his struggle to come to terms with his sexuality. In the final episode of Opening New Doors, he returns to the bar with Sota (as a friend) and confirms that he still identifies as bi and feels more comfortable and ‘open’ about his sexuality.

¹¹ My thanks to Grace En-Yi Ting for pointing out this particular detail about You’s reaction to Shunsuke.

¹² Compared to non-Japanese reality television programs, Terrace House has not shown much physical intimacy on screen (only kissing and the very occasional make-out session). This is in line with mainstream Japanese television dramas and comedies, which are usually chaste in their depictions of on-screen intimacy (depending on the network and the time slot of the television show in question). Moments of intimacy between characters, either same-sex or opposite sex, are framed as big, anticipatory events, as in the kiss between the main characters in the popular drama Long Vacation or the highly anticipated kiss in the New Year’s special of the drama What Did You Eat Yesterday?, which features a central gay relationship.

¹³ Numerous public figures in Japan have made comments about the dangers of homosexuality being ‘normalized’. In 2010, in response to a bill to place further restrictions on pornographic anime and manga, Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara expressed dismay that homosexuals ‘appear on TV casually’ and that Japan is becoming ‘too unregulated’ about the issue (Human Rights Watch, 2011). In 2018, LDP lawmaker Mio Sugita wrote an article for the magazine Shincho 45 in which she criticized homosexuals for being ‘unproductive’ and argued that a society that is accepting of homosexuality will ‘increase the numbers of unhappy people’ (McCurry, 2018). These types of comments frequently focus on the idea that queer men and women are somehow betraying their adult responsibilities (by being ‘unproductive’ and not bearing children) and that their lives disrupt the traditional ie family system. This thinking is similar to criticisms of young men (like Yūdai) who refuse to ‘grow up’ and take on adult responsibilities. The criticism is specifically that homosexuality encourages people to shirk their adult responsibilities by not marrying and producing children. Still, the negative reactions to these kinds of comments are increasing. Numerous LGBTQ advocates and politicians condemned Sugita’s article, and the LDP also distanced itself from Sugita and stated that it was ‘committed to supporting the rights of sexual minorities’ (McCurry, 2018).