This photograph was taken in early 2012 which was a time of experimentation of sorts, as after switching to a Leica, I was thoroughly enjoying the relatively unobtrusive nature of a compact camera system. It was also a time when elevator girls were a regular sight in Tokyo, and elevator girl was the actual job title. It still is in fact, as while considerably less common these days, the role persists — a sign in some respects of Japan’s slow progress when it comes to gender equality. Of course there are exceptions, such as the current governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, but the higher floors remain unattainable for most women, and the roof a rarified realm deemed fit only for old men.
ellen says
I looked at the pic before reading and the mask made me think it was taken recently! 🙂
Lee says
Yeah, definitely makes it look more contemporary. Masks have long been a familiar sight, just a lot more of them these days…
cdilla says
On our first trip to Japan (2015) we were, and still are, amazed and grateful for the friendliness and helpfulness of the Japanese people we encountered. No more so than the many store workers whos sincerity and level of proactive helpfulness even when no sale was involved certainly shames that which we have here in the UK. However, one such class of store employee did make us consider what it must be like to work in the bigger stores, and that was the elevator girls we saw in the Kinokuniya book store in Shinjuku. Always masked, and for the most part standing facing a corner of the lift away from the customers, it wasn’t something we could ever have seen ourselves being happy to do in any circumstance.
Lee says
Funny you should mention Kinokuniya, as that’s exactly where this was taken. Back when the English book section used to be on one of the upper floors. But yeah, I’ve always thought exactly the same. The sheer repetitiveness of it, and having to stare constantly at those buttons must be truly soul destroying.
Richard says
Despite Abe’s Womenomics only 9% of corporate executives are women. They are still a disproportionate number of pâté time, temporary employees whose salaries are lower. Patriarchy still rules in Japan….as in many other so called developed countries.
Lee says
Yeah, Abe said a lot but did very little, and like you said, so many women are part-time or on temporary contracts. The increase of such work work over recent years has been huge, and with companies relieved of the need to pay people properly, cover benefits etc., it’s only going to get worse. Also, certain government rules that are supposed to encourage companies to make temporary workers full-time employees have actually made the situation worse. A sign of how detached lawmakers are in regards the real world…
Richard says
Abe was a master at announcing programs like Womenomics or Equal Pay for Equal Work with supposedly great goals. But there were loopholes which allowed corporations to continue to exploit their employees so that little really changed.
Lee says
Yes, that’s sadly all too true.
LAObserver says
Photos like this one have their own intrinsic value. Fifty years from now younger viewers will look on with some interest at how things were done so long ago.
A pretty girl whose sole object of employment is to provide a measure of customer service was one of my most significant memories when I first visited Asia twenty years ago.
Lee says
Thanks. I do hope so.
I’m with you on that. Remember the first time I saw them myself and was quite taken aback. A lot of jobs are awful, I know that, but this just seems like a job that is awful and also completely unnecessary.
john says
Evidently then, more for the minor elation of being chauffeured to one’s chosen floor than for obtaining ‘perfect fullness’ during busier times.
Perhaps this had been considered as an alternative to a career in music…
‘Hey lady, are you going up or down?
No matter what you say or what you do
You’re going down’
Elevator Girl – Babymetal
I’m intrigued by the in focus eyes and face and the slight blur of the hat and hand – must be that unobtrusively larger than average sensor!
Lee says
Haha, not quite. Think it was more the combination of a slightly slow shutter speed and the woman moving at just the wrong (or possibly right) time.
I got an interesting reply on Twitter about this from a former management consultant that fits nicely with the Babymetal line. Hired by a department store, he and his team pointed out that by getting rid of the elevator girls, prices could be cut slightly. Something that the department said no to, but when polled, customers overwhelmingly chose cheaper prices.
Anyway, taken through the elevator girls break room one day by a senior executive of the store, he recalled them all sat there smoking and cursing. A fantastic image that I also find strangely reassuring.