Man Adopts wife’s Surname, Challenges Japan's deep-rooted Sexism

A young Japanese man adopted his wife’s surname in bid to challenge nation’s entrenched sexism. When Shuhei Matsuo Post and his wife decided to marry, none of them wanted to just lose their surnames. So they adopted each other’s names. Japanese man wife surname

Shu Matsuo Post is a businessperson in Japan, considered a very patriarchal society where rigid traditions define man-woman behaviours. For centuries women were not permitted by society to work in professional roles and rise to the top. Many women have stories of how they were attacked for choosing to

I imagine my children or grandchildren laughing about the time when gender inequality existed because their world will be much more equal - Shuhei

Shuhei Matsuo Post was so affected by gender issues, he wrote an entire book about 'taking his wife's name'. Titled, I Took Her Name, the book tries to dispel stereotypes entrenched in society and the need to question them. "I talked about stigmas around feminism and calling myself a feminist as a man. We also discussed how the patriarchy is also harmful to men and what we can do to dismantle it," he notes on his Facebook page.

The 35-year-old businessman, who hopes his children will live in a gender-equal world, says he wants to challenge sexism in society by leading by example

In a detailed interview with South China Morning Post, he talks about how complex a name issue can get. The couple got married in 2017, and chose to keep their own names, because they are such a central part of a person's identity.