While women in Japan share the same legal rights as men, they're still largely subdued by a patriarchal society, not unlike the United States. In conclusion, no singular analysis will provide the understanding and knowledge gained from a multi-faceted approach. Just as a human being is shaped and molded by the world around them, so too is a nation and a culture changed by known and unknown forces. The selected bibliography seeks to provide the reader with as wide an approach as possible. Amagi, Yumiko. "Women and Political Institutions in Japan." JSTOR. June 2001. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. .

Beasley, W.G. The Rise of Modern Japan. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.

Buckley, Sandra. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.

"CIA - the World Factbook." Welcome to the CIA Web Site -- Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

Huffman, James L. Modern Japan: an Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism. New York: Garland Pub., 1998. Print.

"Japan." U.S. Department of State. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

"Japanese Culture." Nihongo.org: A Guide to Japan and Its Culture (English Version). Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

"JAPANESE RELIGION." University of Georgia. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

Louis-Frederic, and Kathe Roth. Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2002. Print.

Marioka, Masahiro. "What Do We Learn from Japanese Feminist Bioethics?" Lifestudies.Org:: Philosophy of Life, Death, Nature, and Technology. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

Matsui, Machiko. "Evolution...

The John's Hopkins University Press. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. .
"The MIT Encyclopedia of the Japanese Economy, 2nd Edition." IDEAS: Economics and Finance Research. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. "The Invention and Reinvention of "Japanese Culture" the Journal of Asian Studies 54.3 (1995): 759-80. Print.

Napier, Susan J. "Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira." Journal of Japanese Studies 19.2 (1993): 327-51. Print.

Nelson, John. "Household Altars in Contemporary Japan: Rectifying Buddhist "Ancestor Worship" with Home Decor and Consumer Choice." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 35.2 (2008): 305-30. Print.

"Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet." Web. 07 Dec. 2010. .

Richie, Donald. A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: a Concise History, with a Selective Guide to Videos and DVDs. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2001. Print.

Schilling, Mark. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. New York [u.a.: Weatherhill, 2004. Print.

Silverberg, Miriam. "Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: the Mass Culture of Japanese Modern times." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 16.1 (2010): 190-91. Print.

Smith, Robert John. Japanese Society: Tradition, Self, and the Social Order. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985. Print.

Varley, Paul H. Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, 2000. Print.

Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2000. Print.