Interesting. Some of those points I've seen suggested elsewhere, but it's nice to see this organized as a system of behavior.

Personal diaries and book-style calendars (desk calendars? schedule books? what are they called in English??)

Anyway, those kind of books are very big in Japan, at the new year, there are always huge displays in bookstores of all kinds of calendar/schedule diaries, and when I lived in Japan, I always would search for the kind I liked best. And there was always a huge display for kakeibo as well. It never occurred to me that kakeibo itself was "created" by someone in particular, I just assumed the popularity of them was an extension of the popularity of diaries in general.

I also always felt like kakeibo were gendered. They were clearly marketed towards women, and in particular married women. Both in terms of the design of them and how they were marketed. After I got married, someone suggested I start using one (a kakeibo) instead of a "business diary." I resisted and as a result, I have never bought one.

But it makes sense that kakeibo are geared toward women. Unlike previous American custom, in Japan, managing the household finances has always been the wife's job. It used to be done like this: the husband worked outside of the home, and when he got paid, he would give all of the pay to his wife. She would then give him a monthly allowance, and take care of all household expenses, including not just food and utilities but also purchasing decisions about large and expensive items like appliances etc. This gave Japanese women a measure of power that American women didn't have maybe until after the 1970s or so. So kakeibo was an important tool to ensure that the wife was running the household well.

A quick look on Amazon Japan comparing kakeibo and other kinds of book-calendars suggests that kakeibo are still primarily geared at women.

That's no reason not to use one, of course!

/threaddrift