Japan may have few babies (of course many fewer than the authorities would like), but that does not mean that caring for them is easy. Especially for families for whom conciliation is difficult. To solve it in some locations in the country, an idea has begun to take shape: the yonakigoya or “cry night cafes”, places where parents (basically mothers) can go when their babies won’t let up and make them spend a sleepless night crying and lonely.
In the yonakigoya Not only do they find places to sing lullabies without disturbing other family members who will have to get up early to face exhausting days of work. The idea is that they also serve as support networks and reach places where administrations do not.
“Crying coffees”? Exact. They sound like science fiction. And it makes perfect sense that this is the case because the concept came from a manga published in 2023a work that talks about a place called Yonakigoya (‘House of Night Cry’) that serves as a refuge for mothers who are overwhelmed by the crying of their little ones. Straits Times assures that the author was speaking from her own experience and that she shared the idea for the first time online in 2017. The reception there was so good that she decided to reserve a place for it in her work.
Something more than fiction. Beyond when, how and where the idea arose, what is undeniable is that the concept of yonakigoya It has penetrated Japanese society enough to make the leap from fiction to reality. It has revealed Kyodo Newsone of the most popular news agencies in the country.
A few days ago, its reporter Maki Shinozaki published a report on how the phenomenon of late-night “cry coffees” is expanding throughout the country. The piece has been echoed by media around the world, from newspapers the Sanyo News either Sankei Shimbum to the british The Times.
Between toast and books. The yonakigoya They seem to have more of a support network than places that seek to make money from the cries of babies and the anguish of their parents. In fact, in Hokkaido The service is provided in a cafeteria specializing in French toast that has decided to open certain nights a month to help mothers, in Tokushima there is another support center that organizes “coffees for crying children” every month and in Aichi a bookstore has decided to join the bandwagon by organizing evenings for babies.
In the first case (the cafeteria) the premises open for free between 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and 6:00 a.m. on Monday and in the latter (the bookstore) the service is provided with the help of volunteers such as teachers or midwives from 8:30 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. Although Kiodo News and the Japanese media report only certain specific cases (which suggests that it is not a mass phenomenon), a quick search on Google shows that the concept generates interest and expands.
For babies… and adults. At the French toast cafe in Hokkaido they have installed mats for babies to crawl and (hopefully) sleep, as well as spaces reserved for breastfeeding and diaper changes. However, usually yonakigoya They only look after the children. They also do it for the adults who arrive with them.
The idea is that they serve as support for parents, mainly women, who are those who use them the mostespecially during their maternity leaves, while their husbands sleep before facing long days of work.
Although the country has taken steps towards a labor model that allow conciliationat the end of 2024 the Government published a report which revealed that 10.1% of men and 4.2% of women work more than 60 hours per week. In the country it has even become sadly popular ‘karoshi’ conceptdeath from overwork.
“A refuge”. Madoko Nozawa, owner of the toast cafe that is converted into yonakigoya Sunday mornings, has explained to Kyodo who decided to embark on the project inspired by her own experience. She is also a mother and in her day, she remembers, she spent sleepless nights because her baby wouldn’t stop crying and her husband had to get up early the next day. “I want this to be a refuge where people can feel like they are not alone in their struggles,” share.
“While I was trying to put my children to sleep, I couldn’t move and felt totally overwhelmed,” points out another mother to whom the newspaper Chunichi Shimbun interviewed in the bookstore-yonakigoya from Aichi Prefecture. “I still don’t have many people I can talk to naturally about parenting. A place like this is a source of support.”
A critical note. Although the yonakigoya They demonstrate Japan’s ability to create support networks, their success also leaves some critical readings. To begin with, the fact that those who use them are mostly women reveals that parenting still falls largely on them.
It’s nothing new. In 2022 the Association of Medical Colleges of Japan published a study on childcare among doctors that revealed a significant gender gap: 31.8% of female doctors with children acknowledged that they shouldered 100% of the childcare and 55.2% estimated that they assumed more than 80% of the tasks. Among men, these percentages were respectively 8.4 and 14.5%.
In the middle of the crisis. Another critical observation brings it Kaori Ichikawa, professor at the Tokyo University of Information Sciences, who points out the paradox that in the midst of demographic crisis and despite the huge amount of resources that the Government is allocating to promoting births, it must be the private and community initiative that cares for mothers at night.
“Government support is often limited at night, weekends and holidays, so the public and private sectors must work together to create places like late-night cafes, where they can seek help when they need it,” claims.
Images | Pema G. Lama (Unsplash), Kishor (Unsplash)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings