Man arrested over fatal beating of wife

he went too far

'Fatal beating'? I think you'll find the word you are looking for is murder.

I shouldn't have read this! It just made me peeved! I can NEVER think of raising my hand to my wife! When she makes me angry, I go play video games for a bit and I'm fine after a bit! I don't yell, scream and surely not beat the shite out of her legs like this are-ol of a human!

No, it's just the word used in modern language to describe a man who is married to a woman.

I agree. It's just a word. But it seems some like to dig into the origin of Japanese words in a way they don't for English words.

Doesn't the word "husband" also carry the meaning of "house master"?

If you interpret the kanji literally, it means something like "head of the house." In the past, men were the head of the house in Japanese society, so that's where the word originates. The English word "husband" also has similar origins - the old Norse word "hus" meaning house and "bondi" meaning someone who owns and uses land were combined into "husbondi," meaning master of a house. Is the English word "husband" also a misogynistic term? No, it's just the word used in modern language to describe a man who is married to a woman.

And while you are arguing about vocabulary, remember that a) 'husband' means head/master of the household; and b) somewhere in many countries in the world including yours, another man is using his fists because how dare she talk back?

It is just a word that means "husband."

Doesn't the word "husband" also carry the meaning of "house master"?

The man killed the woman he was married to. This happens in every country, far too often. Look up the statistics for the country you are from, to find out how often a man kills his partner or ex-partner. Wherever you are in the ranks, it is horrific, and happens because these men think they have the right to beat women.

Was this attack the first time? Absolutely not. It's never just once, and domestic violence never begins with an attack so brutal that the woman dies. That is how it ends though.

HBJ wrote:

The point stands - that the norm dictates the husband is referred to as ‘ご主人'. 

’ご主人’ is only used when the man is referred to by a third party. For example, when a friend of your wife is talking about you with your wife, the friend may refer to you as that.

When your wife refers to you in front of a third party, she uses ‘主人’.

Anyhow, I find it a little comical that a couple of posters seem to have concluded that incidents like the one in the article happen more frequently in Japan.

Living in Japan you don't need to have read treatises on psychology to understand that all humans, but especially Japanese (and their Asian brethren) are prone to violent outbursts when they can no longer contain the emotions they have been culturally conditioned to repress. 

What we actually need is data, not impressions of having lived in Japan. I'm not saying that this isn't a situation that is worse in Japan, but it is very difficult to remove our own cultural biases.

The fact that Japan is a low crime country means that crimes are disproportionately reported. People also tend to view their own country with rose-tinted spectacles.

Data suggest that Japan is not more prone than other countries:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/vaw_prevalence_matrix_15april_2011.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj-pdKx6_jnAhW2SRUIHUjjAaUQFjAFegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2MT4Y1YYhPQuaMcvMFp-d-

However, domestic abuse does make up a disproportionately high percentage of the crimes in Japan overall, but this is perhaps more a function of the low crime rate in non-domestic settings.

This seems to be very common fight between many couples around the world. In this case cooler heads should have prevailed.

husbands are still commonly referred to as ご主人 (goshujin), or ‘master’

Your knowledge of Japanese is just incorrect. ご主人 is a respectful way to refer to someone else's husband, as in, ご主人はお元気ですか？ (Is your husband well?)

Women do NOT refer to their own husbands as ご主人, they do use 主人 without the honorific ご as in うちの主人は元気です (My husband is well)

In NEITHER context does ご主人 or 主人 carry any semblance of the nuance of the English word "master." It is just a word that means "husband."

Not true. No Japanese wives would call their husbands ‘master’ at HOME.

Maybe I should’ve written ‘treating their husband as a master’ instead.

The point stands - that the norm dictates the husband is referred to as ‘ご主人'. For some men it clearly goes to their heads and they expect a level of servitude and deference from their wives.

Its almost like it’s been designed as a trade off from the deference they have to give at work:

‘I don’t get respected at work so by god I’ll be respected at home’

HBJ wrote:

they’d all end up going home and calling their husband ‘master’.

Not true. No Japanese wives would call their husbands ‘master’ at HOME.

Chip Star Today  07:14 am JST

A lot of Japanese people don’t know how to deal with their anger in a healthy manner. It couldn’t be because they are taught to bury deep inside, could it?

A lot of people in general don't know how to deal with their anger in a healthy manner.

Why are Japanese people being singled out in your comment, in a manner that would be deemed inappropriate or even racist if directed at other nationalities or ethnic groups?

"The hospital notified police about bruises on the upper part of Mitsuko’s legs"

Ah Yokohama ...no doubt

The Upper part of legs is where pimps, used to beat their women, back in the day, so the damage was not so visible, (like in the face) and also with a bag of oranges; which was claimed left no bruises Perhaps old dude was a former gangstar.

Do you think that this type of incident(husband killing his wife) happens more frequently in Japan?

Not necessarily, but probably for different reasons than other countries.

But violence like this in not just confined to our host nation

True.

I think the fact that husbands are still commonly referred to as ご主人 (goshujin), or ‘master’, says a lot about the expected relationships between men and women as well as their expected role in society.

Women are clearly still treated as second class citizens in Japan, be that in business, education, or at home.

Women are expected to be subservient. Men on the other hand are, by default, masters of the household - which in most cases is in direct contrast to their roles in the workplace where they are expected to be subservient to their bosses. Therefore when they get home, and they are called ‘master’ and kowtowed to, they suddenly have the power and it becomes a conduit for all their pent up frustration and stress.

It’s the social hierarchy that is so ingrained and defined in Japan that causes the bullying culture. The older over the younger, the superior over the junior, the male over the female.

It’s no coincidence that Japan never really had a MeToo movement of any substance. Women could march in the millions, but they’d all end up going home and calling their husband ‘master’.

Living in Japan you don't need to have read treatises on psychology to understand that all humans, but especially Japanese (and their Asian brethren) are prone to violent outbursts when they can no longer contain the emotions they have been culturally conditioned to repress. From the little information in this article it is unlikely that there was any intent to kill, but now the husband has learned, too late, how fragile our bodies can be.

So you do you think that Japanese husbands are more likely to kill their wives compared to the ones in non-Asian countries?

Sometimes divorce is the only answer.

An horrific murder.

But violence like this in not just confined to our host nation.

People in glass houses and all that.

I’m curious how you have gotten such information.

Living in Japan you don't need to have read treatises on psychology to understand that all humans, but especially Japanese (and their Asian brethren) are prone to violent outbursts when they can no longer contain the emotions they have been culturally conditioned to repress. From the little information in this article it is unlikely that there was any intent to kill, but now the husband has learned, too late, how fragile our bodies can be.

A lot of Japanese people don’t know how to deal with their anger in a healthy manner.

I’m curious how you have gotten such information. Do you think that this type of incident(husband killing his wife) happens more frequently in Japan?

since counseling the youth and adult is kind of taboo in Japan, this is what happens when everyone looks the other way. yes, keep your feelings inside, don't let it out until it's too late,

when will Japanese society make counseling part of the culture, there is no shame in talking to professionals .

the article does not go in depth so don't know if wife have been abuse for long time or this is an isolated incident, just feel bad for the woman.

These news particularly affect me. And as said by @Chip Star, people should learn the ability to deal with anger in healthy ways.

A lot of Japanese people don’t know how to deal with their anger in a healthy manner. It couldn’t be because they are taught to bury deep inside, could it?

All couples argue over money at one time or another. That does not mean you beat your wife to death.