Japanese Language and Culture 1
This essay will explain how the Japanese family structure has been changing since the early years of last century and in particular in the period since World War Two. It will cover the main differences between the traditional Japanese attitude towards family and the current, more modern attitude towards family, child rearing and education. In pre-modern Japan, before the Second World War the traditional concept of a family was the 'ie' (this is now the word for house or home). This concept is very different from the modern western idea of immediate family. The traditional ie did not simply consist of the living members of the immediate family, it also included their dead ancestors and unborn descendants. The ie was very spiritual as the living members of the family were expected to put the interests of the family before their own, to please the dead ancestors and bring fortune upon the living and unborn family members. The structure of the family was very hierarchical and authoritarian. The head of the house, usually the father, enjoyed special privileges made the rules and everyone elses had to obey them. When the head of the family passed away the eldest son would usually inherit all of the property and the position of he
Discipline usually takes the form of ridicule or ostracizing, a lengthy process that continues until the child is in kindergarten or school. The people of Japan are leaving the beautiful, mountainous country to find easier and more profitable lives in the coastal cities. The living family members would also be expected to pray for the souls of their dead ancestors to be at peace, and in return the dead ancestors would protect the family from bad luck. The typical Japanese family has taken a big step into the 21st century since the end of the Second World War, it is now much more western in structure and adaptable in attitude. This is the main reason that the Japanese education system is questioned and looked down upon. Around 90% of all students go on to high school, which is not compulsory, considering the competition for places in these schools, and the intense entrance exam process western education systems seem quite tame in comparison. In most cases of nuclear families in Japan the older generations live in the family home in the country while the younger generations rent of if they can afford it, buy houses apartments in the cities. The younger generations are still expected to care for their parents when they become too old to care for them selves in return for all care they received while growing up. With each passing generation the younger sons who inherited nothing tended to move towards the big cities, thus beginning urbanization and the growth of modern Japans mega-cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Sapporo and Kyoto. They were almost always married off and would become part of the ie that they married into. Traditionally the entire family lived under one roof which made mutual responsibility fairly easy but smaller modern houses make this much more difficult. They believe than all children are basically 'good' when they are born. The eldest son also received privileges much like those of the head of the house did. Although the Japanese education system often looked down upon by many western countries it is in fact one of the main reasons for their dramatic economic growth since the Second World War. The only drawbacks of modern housing are cost and safety; a solid wall causes much more damage than a fusuma in an earthquake.
Common topics in this essay:
World War,
Japan Daughters,
Sapporo Kyoto,
,
education system,
dead ancestors,
world war,
japanese family,
japanese education system,
eldest son,
marry families,
japanese education,
traditional ie,
family structure,
head house,
attitude towards family,
houses apartments cities,
living family expected,
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Acceptance Essays
