Interdisciplinary Study of Fast-Aging Society of Northern Japan : Rapidly On-Going Process of Aging in Tsugaru Area

(1)研究目的本项目旨在通过深入的田野调查，阐明日本北部青森县筑路地区当地社会的生活世界、社会结构和文化的变化过程。研究团队由社会学、社会心理学、文化人类学和护理学等不同学科的成员组成。(2)研究对象：主要关注三个主题：1)当地社区的老龄化过程2)当地社区的人口减少和老龄化过程3)当地社区的个案研究(3)结果：1)“护理员”被困在客户需求和地方政府要求之间的“双重约束”位置，而他们被认为控制着护理计划的制定。2)与其他地区相比，60岁和70岁以上人口流出量相对较小。在广崎市的居民中，可以明显地看到市内的迁移模式。3)在大正和昭和时代一直保持的外出工作的德卡塞吉习俗，被证明是控制当地人口外流的主要原因之一，使村民能够返回家园并获得现金收入。合作社组织的特点表现为多元社会网络支持下的灵活对位，使老年村民将传统变成一种更新的地方文化。

(1)The purpose of researchThis project aims to clarify the changing process of the life-world, social structure and culture of local societies in Tsugaru area, Aomori prefecture of Northern Japan through the method of intensive fieldwork. The research team is interdisciplinary organized of those members of different disciplines such as sociology, social psychology, cultural anthropology and nursing study.(2)Research subjects :3 main subjects were focused as follows :1)The process of aging in local communities2)Depopulation and aging process of local communities3)Case studies of local communities(3)Results :1)The "care-managers" are caught in a "double-bind" position between clients' needs and local administrations' requirements, while they are thought to have a control over making nursing plans. It is important to create a "nursing culture" in order to settle the nursing activities into the daily life of ordinary people.2)Population outflow of the aged 60s and 70s were relatively small compared to those of other prefectures. Intra-area migration pattern within the city is obviously seen among the Hirosaki-city residents.3)Dekasegi custom, working away from home, which was maintained through the Taisho and Showa era, turned out to be one of the primary reasons to control the local population outflow, allowing the villagers to return their home as well as securing cash income. The characteristics of cooperative organization shows the flexible alignments supported by multiple social network, which enabled the aged villagers to make the "tradition" into an updated local culture.