Search Results

Ancestors: Constructing Inherited Charisma

Takie Sugiyama Lebra

in Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility

Members of the hereditary elite, by definition, owe their status to their ancestors. Kazoku life histories are indeed shaped by the weight of ancestors, which is still felt in one way or another. It ... More

Members of the hereditary elite, by definition, owe their status to their ancestors. Kazoku life histories are indeed shaped by the weight of ancestors, which is still felt in one way or another. It is fitting, therefore, that this analysis begins with images of ancestors held by descendants. By linking the living generation to bygone generations, this chapter exhibits the continuous aspect of life experience, keeping it more or less separate from wartime and postwar events that dislocated all Japanese, including the kazoku.Less

Successors: Immortalizing the Ancestors

Takie Sugiyama Lebra

in Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility

This chapter looks at kazoku families in terms of succession: what is involved, who the successors—or descendants—were, how they related to the predecessors, and what contemporary successors did and ... More

This chapter looks at kazoku families in terms of succession: what is involved, who the successors—or descendants—were, how they related to the predecessors, and what contemporary successors did and do to keep their ancestors alive. Inevitably, the discussion leads us to explore more fully the structure of the ie (stem-family household), a central element of Japanese social organization. The chapter consists of two parts. Part One is concerned with succession itself, which again calls up the central issues of this book: opposition and collusion between structure and practice, or culture and nature. Part Two turns to rituals and symbols that memorialize and celebrate ancestors, thus perpetuating them. The perspective here extends to the post-Meiji state of religion, especially the relationship of Shinto and Buddhism, to show how that history affected the ancestor rites for the kazoku more than for commoners.Less

Socialization: Acquisition and Transmission of Status Culture

Takie Sugiyama Lebra

in Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility

The kazoku status, to be hereditary, had to have its culture carried on by successive generations. Chapters 3–6 conveyed what that status culture was like; this chapter considers how it was acquired ... More

The kazoku status, to be hereditary, had to have its culture carried on by successive generations. Chapters 3–6 conveyed what that status culture was like; this chapter considers how it was acquired by or transmitted to kazoku members, with a main, but not exclusive, focus on the child. To the extent that “what” cannot be separated from “how,” some redundancy, particularly with Chapter 5, will be unavoidable, especially in regard to who socialized kazoku children. The socialization influence flows both vertically—downward from superiors or seniors, or upward from inferiors or juniors (as when a kazoku master was influenced by his servant, or a parent by his or her child)—and horizontally, between peers or age-mates. Kazoku sometimes felt such multidirectional flows of influence in striking ways. The diversity of socializing agents, indeed, may account for the fact that socialization not only reproduced but also on occasion modified or even created status culture.Less

Status Careers: Privilege and Liability

Takie Sugiyama Lebra

in Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility

This chapter examines the adult careers of kazoku children, and, in so doing, becomes more in touch with the public realm, which so far has been treated largely as the ground for private, domestic ... More

This chapter examines the adult careers of kazoku children, and, in so doing, becomes more in touch with the public realm, which so far has been treated largely as the ground for private, domestic life. By placing kazoku in the public arena, and by paying attention to institutional as well as individual biographies, we gain a better idea of how the upper layer of Japan's social structure as a whole was shaped. The main question here is whether kazoku status in any way affected one's career: whether it provided career opportunities and propelled advancement, or, conversely, whether it limited a career repertoire and put a ceiling on how far one could go. In other words, we want to know whether and how ascription and achievement agglutinated or repelled each other. Did personal aspirations match career choice?Less

Conclusion

Takie Sugiyama Lebra

in Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility

This concluding chapter attempts to pull together salient features of the hereditary status and hierarchy that have appeared and reappeared across the preceding chapters. The introduction provided a ... More

This concluding chapter attempts to pull together salient features of the hereditary status and hierarchy that have appeared and reappeared across the preceding chapters. The introduction provided a series of oppositional concepts presented for interpretational purposes; here these oppositions will be useful again for drawing some generalizations. The second half of the chapter sums up the relationship between emperors and aristocrats—for, as we have seen, the emperor is an important focal point for the aristocracy. It reconsiders the idea that the kazoku served as a sort of hanpei (bulwark) for the imperial house.Less

Introduction: Melodrama and the Family in Meiji Japan

in An Age of Melodrama: Family, Gender, and Social Hierarchy in the Turn-of-the-Century Japanese Novel

This introductory chapter discusses the depiction of family in Japanese melodramatic fiction of the Meiji era. This volume examines four novels initially serialized in daily newspapers at a time of ... More

This introductory chapter discusses the depiction of family in Japanese melodramatic fiction of the Meiji era. This volume examines four novels initially serialized in daily newspapers at a time of burgeoning circulations. These include Hototogisu, Konjiki yasha, Chikyōdai, and Gubijinsō. This volume explores how these melodramatic fictions responded to the concept of ie-seido and kazoku kokka kan (the family-state concept) and investigates the cultural impact of Meiji melodramatic novels. It also argues for the modernity of Meiji melodramatic fiction because of its specific concerns.Less