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ANTH 2230 Regional Ethnography: Japanese Society
11/3/23
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Today’s topics:
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Life Course/Aging (III)
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Religion (1)
Announcements
Today at 5:30 - SOAN Grad School Night!
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Interdisciplinary Hub (Mackinnon 019) & Zoom
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https://csahs.uoguelph.ca/soan-grad
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Jet Programme - The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme
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Life, Work, and Teach in Japan!
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Application Due on Nov 14
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https://jetprogramme.ca/
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Lecture Overview 11/2
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The Life Course and Aging in Contemporary Japan
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Religion (I)
Diverse choices for the elderly
(the 2000s-)
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There are more public and private nursing homes
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From Welfare to Care Services
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In postwar, there was a negative look at going to a nursing home cause it was
seen that you had no family to take care of you.
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Globalization - foreign care assistants
Some older persons choose not to live with their adult child and live as couples or alone
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They do not want to be a burden
Contemporary Public Nursing Homes
(Images)
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Single rooms
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Rooms for 2 persons
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Rooms for 4 persons
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https://www.h-sunrise.com/hinode-home/
Contemporary Private Nursing Homes
(Images)
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Sakurabia Seijo (Tokyo)
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https://www.sacravia.co.jp/
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Life Course in Contemporary Japan: Summary
1. Student  worker
– Postponed transition due to the longer period of schooling
– Transition to full-time, permanent employees may not occur
– “Freeters” & the hikikomori (The withdrawn)
2. Unmarried married parent grandparent
– The number of unmarried men and women growing
– More women have their first child in their thirties
– See the Kawano chapter (Ch9) and the Long chapter in CCJ
3. Worker  retiree
– Rising retirement age
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Aging: Summary
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More diverse patterns of residence in late adulthood
– Self-sufficiency – living alone or as couples in late adulthood more common
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Diverse family and non-family caregiving options backed by the Public Long-Term Care
Insurance
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Increased institutionalization of the elderly – The notion of generational
interdependence challenged to some extent due to macrostructural changes
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Religion
Religion
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Historical perspectives: Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity
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Theres a strong relationship between Buddhism and Shinto
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Religion in Prewar Japan
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Religion in Postwar Japan
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Religion in Contemporary Japan
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Shinto, kami (deity), purity, and rituals
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Shinto rites in everyday life
The relationship between
Shinto and Buddhism (I)
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Shinto: Native Japanese Religion
– Kami (deities) (they hold power over parts of nature)
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Buddhism
– The introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century
– Accepted among the elite class and emperors
– Became the state religion in the 8th century
– Diverse Buddhist schools
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Blending Shinto and Buddhism
– Continued until 1868 (the Meiji period)
– Theologies reconciling Shinto and Buddhism developed
The relationship between Shinto and Buddhism (II)
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The Tokugawa/Edo Period
– Danka Seido (The Family Parishioner System)
– Obligatory Buddhist Temple Membership
– Shinto--Subordinate
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Source: Kawano (2005), Ritual Practice in Modern Japan, Chapter 1 (Kami, Buddhas, and
Ancestors)
Christianity in Japan
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The Introduction of Christianity (1549 AD)
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Jesuit missionary activities in Kyushu (the southern island)
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1579 – Six feudal lords became Christians (estimate: 100,000 Christians)
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The era of internal warfare – Toyotomi Hideyoshi turned against the Christians
Hidden Christians in Japan
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The Tokugawa Shogunate – Isolation Policy, suppressed Christianity
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Some Christians joined Buddhist temples but continued their rituals by becoming
“hidden” Christians
Religion During the Meiji Period
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The Official Separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Legal separation)
– State policy
– Socially Shinto and Buddhism were still blended
– Example: Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura
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State Shinto as the national ideology
– Not a religion
– Tied to Ultra-Nationalism
– Patriotic duty (not religious duty)
Religious Minorities in Meiji Japan
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Tensions and conflicts between faith-oriented religions and the state Shinto
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What happened to hidden Christians?
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The rise of new religions
Religion in Postwar Japan
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Religious freedom granted by the state
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Shinto became a type of religion
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Many people were affiliated with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines
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Buddhist temples – family-based membership to care for ancestors
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Shinto shrines – family based membership as neighborhood residents
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% of believers in national surveys
– 30% --->20%
Religion in Contemporary Japan
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For many Japanese people, religion is often about:
– A sense of belonging (family, community, or nation)
– Well-being of significant others and groups
– Doing (ritual) and feeling (as opposed to reading & thinking)
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Individual “belief” & “faith,” sacred scriptures, explanations, and religious philosophies
are less important
The Cultural Importance of Purity
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Higher/Lower Areas and Purity
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Shoes
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Cleaning the floor more important than cleaning the walls
Deities’ Altar (Kamidana)
(Image)
Neighborhood Festival
Yagumo Shrine in Kamakura
– Community’s protector deity is enshrined
– The role of a Shinto priest
– The role of community members
– Occupation and patterns of ritual participation
– Annual Festival: Portable shrine and ritual procession
The Neighborhood Festival (II)
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What are the social functions of the festival?
– Solidarity among neighborhood residents
– Ritual violence and social control
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Ritual and Social Change:
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How are festivals changing?