Birds use their tail feathers for steering. Fish and sea mammals use their tail fins for steering and to propel them through the water. (Fish tails move side to side; the tails of sea mammals move up and down.) Grazing animals such as elephants, zebras and giraffes have long, thin tails with a tuft of hair on the end. These tails function like built-in fly swatters that enable the animals to protect themselves from biting insects.
The current position of women in Japanese society can be attributed to the vestiges of two old philosophies - Confucianism, and Samurai based feudalism. These influences are still strong, however in spite of these influences the public role of women has changed markedly since the beginning of World War II.
The Samurai were not just warriors: they were (in the EDO Period) administrators, Damiyo (lords or noblemen), men and women both (women were not as common), philosphers and teachers, advisers, etc. Being s samurai wasn't a job, it was a sense of who you were not what you were. Westerners cannot conceive of this concept as there has never been anything in our culture to equate that way of life to. You can study martial arts and become really good, but you still go to work to pay the bills. Samurai were devoted to their way of life such that there was nothing else.