Abstract

A 44-year-old business scholar becomes obsessed with matchmaking. While candidly sharing his own experiences, both joyful and sorrowful, he calmly observes the market dynamics from an academic perspective. Analyzing the background, current state, and challenges of the concept of matchmaking, and depicting his own experiences as if the reader were reliving them, he considers the pros and cons of spouse hunting and marriage itself, as well as the future of the matchmaking business. Chapter 1: The Birth of the Marriage Hunting Concept and Its Beginning to Take on a Life of its Own (Causes of Increasing Unmarried and Delayed Marriages; The Birth of the Marriage Hunting Concept and Its Own Path) Chapter 2: The Establishment of the Marriage Hunting Market and the Runaway of Marriage Hunting (The Legitimization of Marriage Through Arranged Meetings and Matchmakers; The Romantic Marriage Ideology and Changes in Marriage Agencies, etc.) Chapter 3: Marriage Hunting Parties—My Powerlessness in the Marriage Hunting Market (Searching for Marriage Hunting Parties; Being Blocked by the 44-Year-Old Barrier, etc.) Chapter 4: Using Comprehensive Marriage Hunting Service Companies—My Commodification (Invitation to Join—Being Enchanted for Marriage Hunting; Membership Registration and Training—Being Wrapped as a Product, etc.) Chapter 5: A Marriage Hunting Strategy for You (The Dynamics of the Marriage Hunting Market—Women Reclaiming Their Lives Through Marriage Hunting, Men Being Commodified Through Marriage Hunting; Possibilities for Marriage Hunting Strategies for Men and Women, etc.)

Author’s Information

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Tokyo Metropolitan University (2018-present). Specializes in entrepreneurship studies and social innovation theory. Recipient of the 4th Japan Venture Society Kiyonari Tadao Award (Main Prize) in 2009. Recipient of the 17th Japan NPO Society Award (Excellence Award) in 2019. (This data reflects the information available at the time of publication of this book.)