Enthnography Of Japan Essay, Research Paper

Ethnography of Japan

There are many distinguishable qualities that come together to form Japan. These qualities are examined by forming a case study of Japan. A case study, developed by Franz Boas is a type of fieldwork done on another culture. Case studies can be broken down into five perspectives including territory, composition, membership requirements, modes of conduct and function. Each of these terms will be defined in the following case study of Japan.

Territory describes the location of the study. In this case, the territory is that of Japan. Japan is a series of islands off the coast of Asia that add up to the size of California. Most of the area is so mountainous (about 75%) that it is not suitable for industry. The climate of Japan can be compared to the climate of the East Coast of the United States.

Japan sits on four plates, which explains it?s many earthquakes. There are at least 60 tremors in Tokyo each day. One major earthquake in Japan that took many lives occurred in 1923. The latest major earthquake, called The Great Hanshin, occurred in 1995. There are also many typhoons in the summer as well as tremendous snowfall in the winter. In fact, the eldest son?s job in the winter months is to clear the snow off of the roof of the family home before he goes to school. (Lecture notes)

Four major islands make up Japan?s territory. These islands include Hakkadio, Honshu, Skikoku and Kyuishu. Hakkadio is the northern most islands in Japan. Also called the land of the North Sea, Hakkadio is the least Japanese of all the islands. The Aino, who are the original inhabitance of Japan, occupies Hakkadio. The Aino are treated in the same way that we treat the American Indian. (Lecture notes)

The next island, Honshu, has a population of 14 to 18 million people. It includes the site of Kyoti, which is the only major city that was not bombed by the United States during WWII. Honshu also includes Hiroshima where the first atomic bombing took place. The bombing took place on August 6, 1945 at 8:15AM. This bombing left 350,000 victims behind in Hiroshima. (Video-?A Mother?s Prayer?) A current study found in the Daily Yomiuri states that Hiroshima is now free of any unsafe substances or poisons that would be due to the bombing. (www.yomiuri.co.jp)

Another island, Shikoku, means four provinces. This island includes 88 Buddhist temples. The island of Shikoku is known for its agriculture and also its citrus growers. (Lecture notes)

The last island, Kyushu means nine states. This island includes Mt. Takachiho, which marks the birthplace of Japan. It is believed that the Great Jimmo came to Takachiko in 660 BC. All Japanese are said to be able to trace their ancestors to Takachiko. (Lecture notes)

Composition describes the social stratification or the divisions within society. In Japan, the population is around 125 million with 99% of it being Japanese. Within this population are several Japanese minorities, which include the Aino, Burakumin and the Hibakusha.

People say that the Aino are really not Japanese. In the recent past, they were not allowed to preserve their culture in the schools by teaching their language. Today the Aino are trying to preserve their culture in Japan. They are presently permitted to teach their language in schools today.

The Burakumin are known as the ?village people?. They have jobs that are associated with death. These jobs, for example, include killing animals, tanning hides and cremating corpses. The Burakumin are considered to be substandard in society because of these jobs that are associated with death.

The Hibakusha are the survivors or descendents of survivors of the Atomic bomb. They have an extremely rough life as we saw in the video. The Hibakusha have little marriage possibilities and also experience many genetic problems. One problem that they experience is the development of leukemia. In ?A Mother?s Prayer?, we saw a young girl die because of developing leukemia associated with the bombing.

One of the Non-Japanese minorities includes the Chinese, which the Japanese tend to exhibit a positive attitude toward. On the other hand, the Japanese have a negative attitude toward the Koreans. The Koreans are labeled as the ?scape goats? of Japan. Another Non-Japanese minority would be the ?Shadow Workers?. Japanese do not care much for these people. The ?Shadow Workers? are from the Middle East and South East Asia. Gaijins are another Non-Japanese minority. They include the Caucasian and also black foreigner. Japanese have a mostly positive attitude toward Gaijins. The last Non-Japanese minority includes women, which may be questionable. Women in Japan walk a half a step behind men and rarely attend meetings with their husbands. It is questionable that women are minorities because of the fact that they take care of all of the finances in the home. (Lecture notes)

Membership requirements can be defined as the acceptance requirements in a society. Japan has some very basic membership requirements. The first membership requirement is that the individual?s parents must be Japanese. The next is that the individual must speak Japanese. The last requirement states that the individual must have a Japanese phenotype. With all of these requirements in hand, an individual may become part of the Japanese society.

Modes of conduct can be defined as the identifying behaviors or the distinguishing factors of a society. There are several modes of conduct in Japan. The first distinguishing factor would be with the homes that the Japanese live in. As seen in the video, ?A Working Couple?, the homes are very small, especially in the Danchi. The Danchi is a group of low-income houses which are grouped together to form a small community. Another mode of conduct expressed by the same video would be the fact that the Japanese buy their food on a daily basis. As seen in ?The Working Couple?, it was the females job to buy the food being as she handled the money. The Japanese also tend to be very clean. Cleanliness is like a religion to the Japanese. An example of this was seen in the video when the mother would hang out the bedding every morning and wash clothes every night.

The last perspective in a case study is function, which can be defined as the community purpose. In Japan, function tends to be broken down into three categories. These categories include the family, occupations and also Japan. In Japan you are to take care and provide for your family. You are also expected to work hard for your company. In the video, the company that you work for should be as important to you as you family. In the handout, we see that this may no longer exist in Japan. The last function of the Japanese is to take care of Japan.