A STUDY ON FAMILY IDEAS IN JAPAN

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1. The traditional family idea of Japan was shaped in "IE" in the early modem period. Although "IE" had characteristics of patriarchy, it was fundamentally supported by the idea of egalitarianism and "WA" (a spirit of unity) among members of "IE". It was also idealized as the official unit in the community and the society, and in it developed the idea of longing for permanency of "IE". "IE" idea had some different, but much more common properties among different social positions in those days. And "IE". idea was offered several conformable thoughts and values by the Japanese ancestor worship and the Confucian ethics.2. As the "Japanese" system, established in the early modem period, was maintained and reorganized in the modernization process of the Meiji era, "IE". idea also continued. Even in the period of the high economic growth after the World War 2 the "Japanese" system was reorganized into the Japanese "company-based society" , and so the present day is just the era of transfiguration.3. Under this historical premise, today's family ideas exist. First, the contemporary transfiguration and the persistency of tradition coexist. For example, people attach importance to emotional and sentimental ties in the family, but at the same time the generational permanency of "IE" is expected. On our research data we cannot prospect a straight process from the dissolution of traditional family idea to the establishment of "contemporary family" idea. Second, the factor of depopulation influences family ideas in the rural area. As a result we cannot apply to rural families the hypothesis that the rural society is backward as compared with the urban, and that the rural society has traditional social and cultural characteristics.