Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
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Volume 58, Issue 1
Displaying 1-8 of 8 articles from this issue
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Articles
  • Interaction Rituals and Self-Identities
    A short ethnography of a private support institution for social withdrawal
    Tatsushi OGINO
    2007 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 2-20
    Published: June 30, 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: March 25, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.58.2
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Since the 1990s, Hikikomori (social withdrawal) has become a social problem in Japan. Hikikomori implies that the young people withdraw from most social activities. Moreover, most of them have extremely negative self-identities to the extent that they often retreat into their houses or rooms to avoid meeting other people. Subsequently, one of the goals of support institutions dealing with this problem is to change these young people's self-identities into positive ones.
    First, this article argues the social conditions involved in changing the users' identities on the basis of participant observations and interviews in an institution. In particular, the interaction rituals that are always used by the staff and the users in their daily lives have been examined as important conditions involved in changing the users' identities. According to Goffman (1967), I describe two rituals, referential avoidance and invitation to join collective activities, practiced particularly in such institutions.
    These rituals enable the users to ease their anxiety concerning human relationships and gradually speak about themselves to each other. The rituals provide such conditions that enable the users to alter their self-image regarding sociability as well as provide opportunities that help the users reconstruct their self-narratives.
    Subsequently, I examine the negative effects of these interaction rituals. Highly developed rituals in such institutions paradoxically prevent the users from completely rewriting their self-narratives. Self-narratives obtain their realities from the acceptance given by "others." However, the stringent rules of these rituals deprive the users of "otherness." Furthermore, being conscious of rituals that facilitate inner development makes the users fear that they will inevitably lose face in society. Consequently, they hesitate in approaching society, and as a result, they maintain their simple and negative image regarding society.
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  • The Ethnography of the Boxing Subculture in Japan
    From the perspective of the strategies of identity constructions among the youth at a time of social change
    Junichi IKEMOTO
    2007 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 21-39
    Published: June 30, 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: March 25, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.58.21
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Since the 1990s, Japan's economy has experienced depression. In this context, the labor market and the education system for the youth have changed. This study aims to describe the strategies of identity constructions among the youth at a time of social change by examining the boxing subculture in Japan. For this purpose of this study, fieldwork was conducted in three boxing clubs in Japan for two and a half years; further, 38 members of these clubs were interviewed.
    This paper proposes the following arguments:
    1) Focusing on how prospective boxers join a gym, I first argue that the stereotypical image of the hungry fighter does not hold for boxers in Japan. Secondly, I clarify the relationship between gyms, the media, the community, and other professional sports.
    2) Based on the activities of boxers at a gym, I first analyze the commonalities in the gym members with respect to their character traits and lifestyles as well as their past problems. Secondly, I describe the gym subculture that is suited to the members' disciplined and productive ethos.
    3) Focusing on the life of professional boxers in a gym, I examine socialization and job identity as well as their physical and mental growth.
    4) Considering the retirement options of boxers, I describe the conditions for a satisfactory retirement and clarify how complete devotion to the profession provides the boxers with a positive identity.
    Finally, I argue that the cases studied in this gym ethnography provide a model for restoring the views of life and labor in present-day Japan.
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  • Body Techniques in a Train
    Publicity and deviation in urban traffic during the prewar period
    Daisuke TANAKA
    2007 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 40-56
    Published: June 30, 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: March 25, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.58.40
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper aims to analyze the behavior of commuters in trains in Tokyo before World War II and reveal the different forms of publicity in urban traffic by referring to resources such as the laws, customs and novels that existed at the time.
    From 1900 to 1920, the train was an arena of crowd riots that were rebelling against the rise in the train fare; consequently, various norms pertaining to train travel were constituted. The purpose of these norms was to restrain the behavior of commuters by controlling their five senses and enabling them to use their eyes relatively, for example, they were able to read books and bills in a train, which is something that many commuters do. In this paper, this situation in a train has been referred to as the "order of eyes." Although this order of eyes was stringent, the commuters devised a way to playfully steal glances at each other. Such behavior established a subtle and unrecognized, albeit definite, boundary between the publicity (or correctitude) that must be maintained in urban traffic and the deviation (or vulgarity) that inevitably stems from the excessive proximity of commuters in a train. In this manner, the Metropolitan Railway ensured that the commuters not only passively accepted the rigid regulations but also positively dealt with the excessive proximity in trains.
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  • From Emphasis on the Determination of the Causes of Birth Defects to Emphasis on the Daily Life of Parents and Children
    Association of parents of children with congenital limb defects in the 1970s and 1980s
    Tomohisa HORI
    2007 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 57-75
    Published: June 30, 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: March 25, 2010
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.58.57
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper aims to reexamine the activities of the Association of Parents of Children with Congenital Limb Defects in order to explore the manner in which the assertions of parents have changed.
    The Association of Parents of Children with Congenital Limb Defects was established in 1975. This was a time when attention was being focused on the various problems involving environmental pollutants; it also marked the beginning of movements towards determining the cause of disabilities in children. Parents perceived themselves as victims, and while urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other government agencies to identify and eliminate teratogenic substances, they also held symposiums, photo exhibits and other activities to educate society and prevent their recurrence. These movements that aimed at determining the cause of the disabilities in children had the effect of releasing parents from their burden by confirming that the disabilities in their children were not the result of familial or genetic factors, and hence, they were not responsible for these defects.
    Beginning in the 1980s, however, appeals to determine the cause of birth defects by the association began to diminish. In particular, the manifestation of the sense of incongruity with activities to determine the cause of birth defects and the assertion that having a disability does not necessarily prevent a disabled person from leading a prosperous and fulfilling life resulted in a fundamental transformation in the nature of these movements. Subsequently, parents noticed differences in the relationships that they shared with their children, and the association began to carry out movements that emphasized the daily life of parents and children. Events such as symposiums and vibrant photo exhibits of children with disabilities suggest that "they are as happy as ordinary families."
    This paper attempts to clarify the differences in the nature of these movements during the 1970s and 1980s by examining their execution.
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