Hasta La Gadget!

The Best Surprise, a Japan based “proposal support” company, has come up with their own product aimed at twisting the arm of a reluctant boyfriend into marriage. The “Proposal Pressure Kit” inverts the traditional idea of men proposing to women and is taking a new turn as women in Japan are becoming impatient of simply waiting and decide to take the initiative themselves. Marriages are perhaps one of the most exciting moments in a person’s life, as well being the most difficult and time consuming, but for some men, it’s on the bottom of their priority list. We have recently talked about the emergence of “soushoku-kei danshi” (herbivore males), who are more passive in their approach to women, and with that, the term “nikushoku-kei jyoshi” (carnivorous females) was derived. These type of girls are more likely to be more active on their “konkatsu” (hunting for marriage) and are much more aggressive than their male counterparts.

The kit combines a clever range of marriage support goods including a temporary engagement ring, a marriage promise form, and a cute piggy bank that stores up to a hundred 500 yen coins (equivalent to US $5), symbolizing the patience that the girlfriend has gone through and the money being saved for their wedding. Aimed on making the reluctant boyfriend more aware of the idea of marriage and bringing the proposal to the front of his conscience, this set is delivered to his house and is disguised as a special gift that he has “won” through a random prize selection system.

There are obviously a number of flaws with this concept, such as what would happen when the boyfriend finds out that he’s just been slyly maneuvered by his girlfriend to propose to her, or that the engagement ring has already been bought by her. (I can imagine a horrible scenario where he seizes this opportunity and uses the ring to propose to a different woman) Nonetheless, this idea of women almost “forcing” their boyfriends to pop the question is quite fascinating and definitely a new concept in Japan, where tradition plays a huge role in the culture.

Given its fair amount of recognition and success, The Best Surprise has recently released a second product, the “Forced Engagement Kit,” intended for those who have reached their peak of patience and feel the need to “put a ring on it” as soon as they can. This second version includes all the features of the previous product, but adds an actual legal marriage registration form, signet stamp (the recognizable form of signing official documents in Japan), and even a count down clock, signifying that “this relationship is running out of time.”

These products illustrate the pressure to get married that Japanese women are experiencing in this age of gender equality. Typically females in Japan receive an increasing amount of pressure to get married and start a family as they approach their 30s. Although the tradition of men proposing is not necessarily broken, it is definitely being bent and creative ways of putting pressure on passive boyfriends are being thought up.

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