Oni-yome/demon wife is a Japanese mega-hit

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]

How Demon Wife Became a Media Star
And Other Tales of the 'Blook' in Japan
WSJ.com, October 5, 2006; Page B1
TOKYO --Six years ago, a Japanese businessman went online to vent about his domineering wife. Blogging daily under the pen name "Kazuma," he detailed how she grabbed food from his plate, sent him shopping in a typhoon, and made him sleep in the living room when he caught a cold....
....Books based on blogs -- which some people have dubbed "blooks" -- appeal to Japanese who rarely go online as well as to heavy Internet users. "Even people that are on the Internet regularly buy books to read on trains," says Taichi Kogure, a marketing specialist for Ameba Books Ltd., which published "Demon Wife Diaries."
Book publishers were among the first of the old media to grasp the potential. The biggest hit so far has been "Train Man," about a shy young man who rescues a girl from a drunk on a train....more...

[Captain Japan]

I remember seeing this, in which the lead seems have been cribbed by Taro's story, last year...
WeekendBeat/ VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: Japan lets it all hang out in the blogosphere
Asahi

`You wouldn't die if you didn't take a bath, but you wouldn't feel good. The same goes with blogs. I think posting something on your blog every day adds rhythm to your life.' KAYO FUKUDA Award-winning blogger

His wife is an untamable shrew, an oni-yome ``bitch wife'' in the Japanese lexicon. She takes away his salary and feeds him bread crumbs rejected by his daughter. There is seemingly no indignity she will not suffer upon the 32-year-old salaryman who goes by the name of ``Kazuma.''

But this victim does not keep his misery to himself. He is one of the most popular Internet bloggers in Japan. His blog-the term originated when someone squished the words ``Web'' and ``log'' together-is a haven for thousands of male readers who write in to say their lives are just like his.

More incredibly, he has many female fans who aspire to be just like his wife. One can only smile, imagining these harpies-in training reading Kazuma's blog-``Jitsuroku Oni-yome Nikki'' (True story about my bitch wife) < yugure.ameblo.jp > to pick up tips.

Indeed, Kazuma's blog is turning into a gold mine for the henpecked husband. In only four months he's nabbed 1.34 million yen in awards from his blog hosting service, and last month the diarylike blog was published in book form....more...

[Samurai_Jerk]

I've got no sympathy for any man that allows himself to be treated like that.

[cstaylor]

I've got no sympathy for any man that allows himself to be treated like that.

Why? He probably enjoys it, otherwise he'd leave.

[Greji]

Why? He probably enjoys it, otherwise he'd leave.

If he did, he'd just got to an SM joint out of loneliness! You wondered why they were so popluar in J-land. The wives are always training new customers!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Why? He probably enjoys it, otherwise he'd leave.

Uhhhh ... I said I have no sympathy for them, so I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

[American Oyaji]

SJ, what would you do, beat her into submission? In front of the kids?

[Mulboyne]

SJ, what would you do, beat her into submission? In front of the kids?

Why on earth is that the only option you offer?

[American Oyaji]

Why on earth is that the only option you offer?

Because it sounds like the only thing HE'D think of.

[Samurai_Jerk]

SJ, what would you do, beat her into submission? In front of the kids?

What would you propose, bend over and let her use the broom handle on you?

You don't marry a bitch like that in the first place. This applies to women marrying total assholes too. People that claim their partner totally changed after marriage and there were no warning signs are full of shit. Yeah, I'm sure there are exceptions, but generally you know who you are marrying and are choosing to ignore the obvious. Besides, this kind of shit doesn't happen overnight. People let themselves get beat down and over time. If you don't accept that kind of treatment from the start it will never be an issue.

But if you do find yourself in a situation where a woman (or man) is trying to totally dominate your life and turn you into servant you basically tell the it's not going to fly ... period. And if they call your bluff it's over. You know the old joke: Why is divorce so expensive? Because it's worth it.

[cstaylor]

Why on earth is that the only option you offer?

Freudian slip perhaps?