抄録
In recent years, a number of empirical studies have been carried out regarding the processof cultural and social reproduction in Japan. However, we are still confronted by many difficulties in applying the French theory of Pierre Bourdieu to the social realities of the Japanese educational system. This paper attempts to reexamine the possibilities of this prominent theory in the context of Japanese society's focus on academic credentials (the so-called “gakurehi, shahai”), using the data of the National Survey on Social Stratification and Social Mobility (the SSM national survey).
We began by analyzingthe characteristics of the “objectified” and “embodied” states of cultural capital, according to the possession of higher education degree which represents the “institutionalized” state. In Japan, cultural capital tends to be gained in school education regardless of where it originated from, and Western modern cultures have a great influence upon these types of properties. We term this catching-up cultural capital.
Next, we focused on the relationship between cultural and social reproduction using thisredefined concept of cultural capital. An intergenerational accumulation was observed for women. However, for both men and women, the social class of origin had little effect on the production of catching-up cultural capital compared to the effect of the educational levels of respondents and their parents.
We therefore conclude that in Japan's credentialssociety, catchingup cultural capital depends on the school culture rather than the class culture. It follows from this that a sort of status inconsistency may be seen with culturalcapitalvis-à-viseconomic and social capital. In this structure of distribution between the different kinds of capital, individuals or families can practice “reconversion strategies” in order to maintain or improve their position in the class structure.
