This paper examines the position of Koike Kazuo in sociology and the sociological elements in Koike. First, we use sociological articles as data to identify how Koikeʼs research was referenced. As a result of the analysis, it became clear that Koike was referred to as a previous study in light of the respective research topics in the three main fields of sociology of work, sociology of education, and social stratification studies. In the sociology of work, Koike was referred to as previous study on issues such as the autonomy of workers and unions in the workplace, and the skills and career development of workers. In the field of sociology of education, Koikeʼs research on educational credential was referred to positively as having empirical significance, in the context of unique research theme of “the study of the credential society”. In the field of social stratification research, Koikeʼs study on the Japanese employment system was mentioned as one of the previous studies on the distribution mechanism of social resources in the theme of analyzing the inequality and stratification structure of Japanese society. Secondly, we use Koikeʼs early studies on wages as data to clarify how the concept of social stratification as a sociological element was discussed in them. As a result of the analysis, Koikeʼs wage theory already presented the prototype of the theory of “Intellectual skills” as a factor that defines the wage level of workers, while the social stratification of workers was also discussed as an important factor. However, in the subsequent development of the theory of intellectual skills, these perspectives have been relegated to the background. We think that the consequences of this relationship between Koike and sociology provide a lesson for the current practice of sociological labor research.
