Older population and the Rinjuki, active seniors

Abstract

This paper is to discuss Kyosei, living together in harmony, among the active seniors（Rinjuki seniors）and the older seniors. Rinjuki is a Hindu concept of middle age and over. It seems worthwhile to acknowledge the emergence of the active seniors as a new age group and to encourage them to contribute to the society, yet it is not easy to distinguish between active seniors and the older population. What does it mean to be active and not to be active? What is the definition of the active seniors and the older population? How are they different? Several theories concerning the older population are discussed, such as Jung, Erikson, Torstam and Kitwood, followed by examples of Kyosei and intergenerational activities with older people. Four roles of the older generation are proposed. 1) The role to keep active by working or doing volunteer activities 2) The role to pass down their knowledge and experiences 3) The role as consumers 4) The role as shugyosha, getting trained（the original concept of Rinjuki is religious training） The role of the active seniors who are willing to make a contribution to society, may change the world, yet we have to keep in mind that contribution should be based on training by all means. The victims of the earthquake remind us that it is often a challenge to receive services rather than to provide services. The narrative of the victims of the earthquake saying“I do not want to be the receiver of services all the time.I am healthy and I have experiences in life. I want to make use of myself.”is equivalent to an older person saying“I am frail, but I saw a weaker patient over there, I want to sing a song for her. I cannot go there by myself, Would you like to take me there, so that I may sing a song for her? Active seniors may contribute to the older frail population through peer volunteering which has been conducted at the University of Michigan, Turner Clinic for decades. The older people no matter how frail they seem to be, have rich experiences in life, negative or positive, and they feel, think, and express themselves by their presence itself. They can be an active person until the moment they die.