May-December Couples
By Yuna Uemura
Which type are you more likely to fall in love with, someone older, the same age, or younger? Let's change the question.
What do you think about chronophilia, (sexual attraction to someone well above or below your age group)? You may not be so worried if there is a slight difference such as a few years above or below your age. However, there are couples whose age difference is like parent and child and couples who have more than a ten-year age difference.
Let’s investigate people who love each other regardless of the obstacle of age difference. For example, on September 28, 2019, TOKIO leader Shigeru Joshima, married Risa Kikuchi, a former pin-up model, who is 24 years younger than Joshima. On July 1, 2020, Hokkaido-born saxophone player and actor Shinji Takeda married Shizuka Manami, who is 21 years younger, and is a model and dental hygienist.
Also, more than 40 years ago, on March 14, 1978, actor Akira Nakao married Shino Ikenami, an actress who was 13 years his junior. One couple that left a big impact in Japan would be the marriage of The Drifters member Cha Kato and the popular celebrity Ayana who was 45 years younger than Kato. In this way, many male entertainers have married younger women. These are just a few examples, and all of the women were younger, but there are many other couples where the women are older, such as the marriage of actors Kenichi Matsuyama and Koyuki and Ichiro and Yumiko.
Nowadays, there are many YouTuber couples. There is also a channel run by a couple of masseurs, Yoshio (male) and Aika (female), who is 13 years younger than Yoshio. They post videos of consultations and advise mostly younger women, who are dating older men or who are attracted to older men.
While there are many people who warmly congratulate women who are older than their husbands, older men often have a higher social status and have more financial stability when they are older. Therefore, it seems that it is often regarded as a Lolita complex for men or getting a “Trophy Wife.” And for women it looks like they are marrying just for financial security. However, when it comes to Mr. Kato's marriage, many people praise them because his wife was a surprisingly good person and Kato-chan was rejuvenated thanks to his wife.
What kind of men and women are defined as a couple of different ages? According to the results of a survey of 391 people from the women's website "Mynavi Woman" in March 2017, 48.8 percent of the respondents had an age difference of between 11 to 15 years with their partner or husband, and 33.8 percent had an age difference of between 6 to 10 years, 8.2 percent had an age difference of between 16 to 20 years, and 5.6 percent said they had an age difference of 1 to 5 years old.
Next, we will look at the psychology of women and men who like older people and men and women who like younger people. It seems that younger girls are attracted to older men, but that may be due to the providence of nature. Females who are refraining from pregnancy and childbirth need strong male protection to survive in nature.
Basically, a mature man is more valuable as a partner than a young man because he has more physical strength, intelligence, and spirit. It can also be said women who do not have a father or who have little or no relationship with their father unconsciously seek older men who will care for them. Older men, on the other hand, prefer younger women because of their reproductive instincts.
Females are strongly attracted to older men until they are in their twenties, but after the age of thirty, they seem to begin to be attracted to younger men as well. The reason is the maternal instinct, so there is an instinct to rely on older men for their romantic feelings and also an instinct to protect younger ones.
The reason why young men prefer older women is that women are now more socially independent than. In the past, women have chosen men to feel financially and mentally protected. But nowadays, there are many women who are financially independent, and the number of men who want to be pampered by older women is increasing.
The advantages and disadvantages of chronophilia
Because of the difference in age, they can learn something new from each other, so they will always have conversations and discover new things every day. For older women, they not only have the advantage of being independent, but also have the advantage of feeling youthful. However, there are also disadvantages in that it is difficult to grasp the timing of marriage because there is a big risk of pregnancy and childbirth, and younger men have less income and savings than women.
When a woman is married to an older man she tends to do her best, but even when she makes a few mistakes she will be forgiven. This may not be true if the woman's husband is around the same age or younger. In addition, since an old man has abundant life experiences and knowledge, he can be a counselor, so his wife can honestly respect the existence of a strong husband. It is easy to build a harmonious marital relationship.
However, if you are in a hierarchical relationship, such as with a former workplace boss or a senior in a club or circle, you may not be able to resist. After many years of marriage, a young and lovely wife is still attractive to her husband, but she may change as time goes on. If the salary of the working wife rises and her financial strength is gained, it may be harder for her to feel the gratitude like before and she may slowly lose respect for her husband.
There are some movies and dramas that may help you to understand chronophilia better. One is "Hotaru no Hikari," which is both a drama and one movie and based on a comic book by Satoru Hiura. It is a romantic comedy. The second is a drama called "May-December Marriage" that was released in December 2020. It's a sweet slapstick but heart throbbing lov, also has a wife who is 13 years his senior. his senio. his seni. his sen. his se. his s. his senoir. his senoi. his seno. his sen. his se. his s. his . his. hi. h. older. lder. der. er. r. . ed "The Reader.” This is a love story in which a woman is older. In the first half, a boy is helped by a woman when he suddenly becomes ill, and from there they deepen their relationship. You will be able to learn many things about chronophilia by watching these dramas and movies.who is his sesenio
Up until now, I've focused on couples of different ages in Japan, but what about couples overseas? According to the French National Institute of Statistical Economics, only 10 percent of women were married to younger men in the 1960s, but since the 2000s 16 percent say women are older couples. Hugh Jackman, famous for the X-Men and The Greatest Showman, also has a wife 13 years older.
By the way, a May-December couple is a couple of the joyful season of spring (May = younger people) and the cold winter season at the end of the year (December = older people). It expresses the difference in age. Depending on the age of the older person, it may be used properly as a May-September couple.
Nowadays, in addition to couples with age differences, there are also couples of the same sex and couples who do not want children, and the range of expressing their love continues to expand. There are certainly people in the world who wonder why they are dating such an older person. Is it for money? Some people may see them and assume that they are parent and child. But no matter how old they are, as long as they are a couple, their love is there.
Why don't you try to understand these couples and expand your friendship with more people in the future? It’s important for everyone to find a loved one and lead a life without regret.
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