Wife, Children, Car, and Home | Post-war Japanese Family Images in Yamaichi Securities' 1961 Serial Advertisements
Monthly M.I. (M.I. stands for Monthly Investment) was published by Yamaichi Securities for individual members of its cumulative investment program (M.I. Club). Throughout 1961, the back cover of every issue featured a serial advertisement from Yamaichi Securities that depicted the dreams of a hypothetical family of members while outlining the path to achieving them.
The dreams depicted in this serial advertisement were slightly ambitious, yet they were exquisitely realistic rather than mere pipe dreams. The 1960s, in particular, was a period when stock investments were performing well, making it feel as though these goals might be achieved sooner or later regardless of the circumstances.
Looking at this series of advertisements with such a premise, one can get a glimpse of what people in 1961 were dreaming about and what goals they were living for.
Cars, Pianos, and Homes
For example, the June 1961 issue, titled "Our Family Drive," describes the state of mind of a husband who drove to Hakone with his wife and daughter. "Today, Sunday, was a memorable day for our family." What made this day trip to Hakone possible was the fact that he had finally acquired the car he had always wanted.
I had finally gotten a car. Gripping the steering wheel, I drove straight toward Hakone. The weather was beautiful from the morning, and the refreshing early summer breeze brushed against my cheeks. My wife and daughter were excited the whole time in the car, and I felt that buying the car was definitely the right decision.
A car carrying a wife and child, heading toward a destination. The husband gripping the wheel. The "car" represents the family, and the "road" represents the life course. Having finally obtained his own car, the husband sets his sights on the next "stop."
I wanted a car—and what I started was a monthly installment plan for a unit investment trust, but... I never imagined that a dream from three years ago would come true so quickly. The car is done. Now, what shall we do next? My wife wants a new house, and my daughter wants a big piano. I will make a plan for each one and steadily achieve them. And then I want to build the happiness of my family with my own hands I think.
My car, my home, a piano... These are the major items of personal consumption that drove the post-war Japanese economy. At the same time, because these advertisements talk about "dreams," they also candidly depict the gender-based division of labor that lies in the background. "I want to build the happiness of my family with my own hands."
The "Calculating" Mom
The November 1961 issue, "Mom's Calculation," also seems to clearly illustrate a composition based on the gender-based division of labor. It involves a plan to build an extension for their daughter Hatsue's room onto their single-story wooden house. It is "Mom" who handles the financial arrangements.
We thought about building an extension for a child's room when Hatsue was three. The main house was designed from the beginning to allow for extensions, so there were no problems with the site, floor plan, or sunlight. What worried me was how to raise the funds.
Calculating the funds needed for the extension plan and managing the finances was an important role for "Mom." Hence, "Mom's Calculation."
According to the plan, the extension would include a four-and-a-half-mat child's room, an eight-mat room that serves as both a living room and a guest room, an alcove, a closet, and a relatively wide hallway, totaling about nine tsubo of floor space. The architect said that 50,000 yen per tsubo would be sufficient for construction costs. Adding seven or eight thousand yen for exterior work such as gates and fences, the calculation comes to a total of 530,000 to 540,000 yen.
The composition of "Mom's Calculation" was not unique to Yamaichi Securities; in a 1960 advertisement for Mitsubishi Bank from the previous year, a wife watches over her husband as he sits at a desk drawing a floor plan for their new home, holding a savings passbook in her hand.
To build 'happiness'...
Solidify the foundation of your life
with Mitsubishi savings!
Dad draws up dreams—considering floor plans—while Mom holds the financial plan—doing the calculations. Wives were expected to demonstrate the virtue of supporting their husbands, like the 'wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo'.
It has been exactly four years this summer since I started saving with Yamaichi's Open plan. Since it looks like we will reach our goal earlier than planned, I couldn't wait... and started working on the outer fence. On this autumn day, together with Hatsue, I'm painting the gate the white we like. Thinking that the children's room is next makes Mom feel especially happy.
The wife and daughter paint the gate of their house, their expectations for realizing their dream growing. They beautifully decorate the gate that welcomes the husband home from work. Furthermore, the absence of the dad in the advertisement also represents his position as the breadwinner.
For example, this photo, which is also published in 'Children's Life ②' (Chiseisha, April 1961) from the same year as these advertisements, shows Mom with their eldest son and eldest daughter. However, it is implicitly understood that this is not a single-mother household and that Dad is still at work. Or rather, let's take off our school bags before drinking juice.
The man who carries the family on his back and faces the outside world
Focusing on the dad (who is absent/at work) and the son, 'Mom's Calculations' was followed by 'Seeing Dad Off...' in the October 1961 issue (though they are not the same family). The narrator is a son whose father is a trader. At a time when travel abroad was not free, the son sees off his father who is going to San Francisco for work.
I went to Haneda to see Dad off as he went to America. They say it takes 12 hours to get to San Francisco by jet. (Omitted) When I grow up, I will definitely travel to countries all over the world, too. (Omitted) Have a safe trip, Dad!
It might be a bit too cynical, but the contrast between 'Seeing Dad Off...' and 'Mom's Calculations' is too intense. The dad working outside (and in San Francisco, no less) and the son who intends to inherit the global dream of 'When I grow up, I will definitely travel to countries all over the world.'
In contrast to this active 'dream,' the mother and daughter painting the gate white while waiting for Dad's return are extremely passive. It goes without saying that 'My Family's Drive,' which speaks of 'wanting to build my family's happiness with my own strength,' exists on the same plane as the 'Father/Son - Mother/Daughter' composition seen here.
The May 1961 issue is 'First Boys' Festival.' The narrator is a husband who is taking photos of his wife and child to celebrate his eldest son's first Boys' Festival. 'This May is my eldest son's first Boys' Festival; I want him to grow up freely, like the carp streamers swimming in the refreshing breeze... I really feel that way when I have children.' And the husband also says this.
When I point my camera at 'my wife and child,' I feel deeply happy that I, too, have a family—a modest one, but a family nonetheless. Not only that. When I think that this family is also on my shoulders, I feel a sense of responsibility.
To fulfill that 'responsibility,' the husband uses 'Yamaichi's Saiken Open.' He says, '5,000 yen a month is painful right now, but I'll get used to it eventually. That's just how monthly installments are...'
Note that there are no grandparents in any of the advertisements introduced. They are all nuclear families. These second and third sons who came from rural areas to urban areas became 'masters of their own castles' and started families. And the process of the 'Modern Housing Sugoroku' (board game) of acquiring or trying to acquire a home of one's own. In 1961, before housing loans from private banks were widespread, they pushed forward toward their dreams using the savings mechanism provided by Yamaichi Securities.
In Mr. N's case. He is thirty-four years old. A father of two, ten years of experience as a salaryman, a monthly income of 42,000 yen, and a section chief at a trading company. He is a representative player of the so-called 'new middle class,' his career is in full swing, and he has no anxieties about his life.
The image of 'Papa' appearing in the September 1961 issue of 'Isozuri' (Rock Fishing). The main target for securities savings was the 'new middle class.' Fathers earned money at the company, mothers 'calculated' toward the realization of dreams, and children became the glue of the family. 'Papas,' who were the second or third sons of farming families, attained the position of 'master of one's own castle' that they could not have achieved at their parents' homes, and 'Mamas,' free from the control of mothers-in-law, gained the autonomy to manage their households.
However, the freedom gained there to build their own families gradually created new conventions. How a husband should be, how a wife should be. A board game for acquiring the items one should have—wife, children, car, and home—in the appropriate manner was gradually being organized and refined. 'Monthly M.I.' serves as an excellent resource for reflecting on the society, families, and 'my homes' of the early 1960s.
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