The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the division of labor and social conditions in Japanese manufacturing factories during the period from World War I to the end of World War II. Using data gained through interviews, this paper deals with the production system, rationalization of organization (scientific management and methods of mass production), and status system within Ikegai Ironworks. Ikegai Ironworks had a favorable reputation nationwide for its production of machine tools and engines before and during World War II.
Engineers introduced scientific management and methods of mass production into Ikegai Ironworks. With this new management system, engineers conducted work studies and concluded that some foremen's tasks had been reduced. The limit gauge system was widely introduced as means of mass production and produced positive results. Some foremen were appointed as staff members for production management. The limit gauge system reduced processing and fitting work. This type of work did not disappear completely, however, remaining even during the mass production process when using scrapers. For product design, design engineers exchanged information with Koshi (overseeing foreman without specialized duties), foremen and group leaders. Koshi and foremen played a significant role in daily manufacturing and were “treated as white collar” (shokuin taigu) by the company status system.
According to the research results, the division of labor of Ikegai Ironworks had some similarities with the flexible division of labor in the current Japanese manufacturing industry. The technical and social conditions on which the division of labor was based, however, were very different from the current system.

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Empirical studies of the structures of national political influence are rare due to the lack of direct measures of influence. This study analyzes personal relationships with influential people as an indicator of political influence. Using male data from the 1975 and 1995 SSM surveys (the national surveys of Social Stratification and social Mobility), I found that (1) there was a definite regional difference in the possession of relational resources in 1975. (2) In 1995, a regional difference still remained but the association between possession of relational resources and the scale of urbanization was not linear ; the residents of small cities (under 10, 000 residents) had more relations with assemblymen than those of rural areas and of large cities. (3) Determinants of relational resources were age, property, and self-employed occupational status. (4) In 1995, variables relating to achievement such as higher education and holding a managerial post had strong effects on the possession of relations with influential people, and the effect of region had decreased since 1975. This indicates that the structure of regional difference in Japanese political influence has changed in recent years.

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The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of incorporating women into the study of social mobility on the understanding of class structure and mobility pattern which is based on the “conventional” approach to mobility studies. The comparative analysis with European industrial societies is also discussed here.
In order to investigate the effect of women on mobility pattern in the society, we resort to the two types of comparisons; (1) the comparison of intergenerational moblity through employment between men and women and (2) the comparison of the complete mobility table, created by the dominance approach, with the men-only mobility table. When we focus on the absolute mobility rates such as outflow rates from different class origins, we witness explicit gender differences in mobility pattern which derive from the persistent gender differences in employment status and occupation. However, when we focus on relative mobility rates, relative mobility chances by class origin, we find very little gender difference in mobility rates. The difference between the complete mobility table including men and women and the men-only mobility table is negligible, and this means that the extent of contribution of women in determining the family's class position is not large enough to impose a major revision to the “conventional approach” to mobility studies. These results based on the Japanese society can be replicated in European nations. If we consider relative rates as one of measures of openness and fluidity in a society, the conclusions drawn from the “conventional” approach to mobility studies which excludes women do not necessarily seem to mislead the degree of openness in a society.

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Japanese American women are members of a multiple minority whose experiences are shaped by more than two systems, mainly gender and ethnicity. Since 1980s, discussions have been continuing on the limitations of monocausal approach (ethnicity-only or gender-only) and additive approach for analyzing minority women by minority feminist researchers. They argued that the micro level experiences of minority women should be understood from an intersection of various social locations and that we need to conceptualize a simultaneity of race, gender, and class which are interrelated, axes of social structures. Taking these arguments into consideration, this article discusses an identity of Japanese-American Christian women as an on-going process of self-definition which is simultaneously affected by gender, ethnicity, and religion. It suggests that the process of self-definition is on its way by reconstructing existing discourses in feminism and ethnic studies, and Christian teachings.

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The purpose of this paper is to examine a significance of the concept of pure experience of W. James, in relations to discussions of stereotype.
James's thoughts having contributed to some sociological works, such as Mead's, Schutz's and so on, it can not be said that the concept of pure experience has adequately been discussed in the sociological literature. In fact, it is difficult to clarify its utility in sociological analyses, because it expresses a realty before becoming social meanings. The core of James's empiricism, however, exists in paying attention to realities before meanings. Then, this paper, clarifying its theoretical characteristics, will revaluate the concept of pure experience in discussions of stereotype.

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This paper shows how sociological knowledge of the family supported specific representations of the Japanese family.Family Sociology in the United States has been examined by the historian Ronald L. Howard and others. In Japan, however, little research has been done in this field. Despite its long history, there are few historical reviews of Family Sociology. This paper reconsiders Family Sociology in Japan, focusing on the theoretical and sociological context in which sociological knowledge has been produced.
In Japan, Family Sociology assumes an important position in the social sciences since studies of the Japanese family have often been considered as a key to an understanding of the formation of Japanese society. A critical examination of Family Sociology in Japan, therefore, has far-reaching implications, as it leads to a reconsideration of a key paradigm in the Japanese social sciences. This paper provides a historical outline and critique of theories in Family Sociology in Japan focusing specifically on the notion of the Japanese “ie”.

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[in Japanese]

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