The Research Committee of the Japan Sociological Society conducted in 1952 a sample survey of social stratification and social mobility in the six large cities of Japan (cf. Japanese Sociological Review, No.12, 1953). In order to supplement the defects of the 1952 survey, and to make some experiments with new techniques of data collection and analysis, the Committee undertook a second survey in 1955. This time the survey was not limited to the six large cities ; a national sample was taken, and in addition, an attempt was made at detailed analysis of the ranking of occupations, class self-identification and social attitudes in a few selected communities (Tokyo metropolitan area, Kanazawa City, and two rural communities in Okayama and Iwate Prefectures). This interim report, prepared primarily for the Third World Congress of the International Sociological Association to be held at Amsterdam in August 1956, is confined to an outline of the data on social mobility only emerging from the tabulation and preliminary analysis of the 1955 survey. (Ch. I Introduction.)
In the present survey, as in the previous one, social mobility was defined as change in the hierarchical structure of a society by virtue of change in the social status of its individual members, either in their own lifetimes, or between the generations within a single line of lineal succession. In measuring social status, three different approaches were used : 1) an objective approach in which social status was measured based mainly upon respondents' ranking of occupations ; 2) a subjective approach in which individuals were ranked according to their own subjective evaluations of social status ; and 3) an approach similar to W. Lloyd Warner's Evaluated Participation. As measures of delineating social mobility, an Index of Succession, an Index of Association and an Index of Persistence were used. Another analytical tool for the study of occupational careers was a series of patterns - “rising, ” “descending, ” etc. (Ch. II The Measurement of Social Status and Social Mobility.)
The date on social mobility outlined in this report are divided into the following three parts : 1) those on inter-generation mobility ; 2) those on mobility within the individual's lifetime ; and 3) those on the relation of the patterns of mobility with various social attitudes of respondents. The aspects of inter-generation mobility considered are : a) occupational mobility, b) changes in educational background, c) respondents' subjective evaluations of the relative statuses of themselves, their fathers and grandfathers, and d) the relation between objective occupational mobility and respondents' subjective evaluations of changes in status. (Ch. III Inter-generation Social Mobility.)
The forms of mobility within the individual's lifetime dealt with here are : a) respondents' own occupational careers, b) their own subjective evaluations of changes in their social status over a period which includes the upheaval of the recent war, and c) the relation between the occupations respondents desire for their children and patterns of their own occupational careers. (Ch. IV Social Mobility within the Individual's Lifetime.)
With regard to the relation between mobility patterns and social attitudes, the following problems are discussed : a) inter-generation mobility and attitudes, b) subjective evaluations of status changes and attitudes, and c) occupational career patterns and attitudes. (Ch. V Social Mobility and Attitudes.)
Finally, the results of the present survey are compared with those of our 1952 survey and the 1950 National Census. (Ch. VI Comparison with Other Similar Studies.)

View full abstract

The number of communities of the East and West Tonami County, Toyama Prefecture, produced as the result of the amalgamation of cities and villages, which was carried out in the Showa Era, was just in accord with that of the “Gun-go-System” (the system of counties and villages which was put in operation in the 8th century).
Before the “Gun-go-system” was put in operation, 40-60 natural villages are supposed to have existed in the area, but under the Ritsuryo Constitution they were organized to twelve administrative villages. Afterwards, however, as the Ritsuryo Constitution gets loose, changes were introduced. The number of villages had grown up to more than 700 just before the reorganization of communities in 1889. And as its result, the whole area was organized to 81 towns and villages. Today, however, it is again to be organized to 12 cities, towns and villages.
These changes of cities, towns and villages reveals the conflict between the substantive and the formal area, as J. A. Quinn points out. In order to establish local administrative organization, adequate units are required, into which political powers can easily permeate. Thus arise so-called formal areas. But actual communities bring about residential segregation of inhabitants independent of the political order, and expand their cultural areas. Thus grow so-called substantive areas, which proceed the formal areas.
How these two were adjusted to each other in our Middle Age under the Ritsuryo Constitution? What kind of investigation were made on this point in the process of amalgamation in the Showa Era? This note is intended to make some analysis on the materials about these points.
The natural villages under the “Gun-go system” as substantive areas were homogenious in their construction, and their cultural areas were quite narrow. So the transformation to the formal areas could be performed quite mechanically on the basis of numbers of households. Fifty households formed a unit administrative village.
But the case of the amalgamation performed in the Showa Era is not so simple. The population of the cities, towns and villages themselves are much heterogenious because of the coniplex socio-economic construction. That is, the economic construction had to transform from one which depend chiefly on the pre-modern agricultural production to capitalistic agricultural, commercial and industrial enterprise. Thus the natural and industrial conditions of communities gradually fixed the regional order and the substantive areas are being formed. The social construction on the other hand changed also. The development of communication induced the contact areas of people to expand and various social groups to be formed to the extent that they destroy the formal areas organized in 1889.
Under these conditions the recent amalgamation project was set forth, and new formal areas are established. But to what extent are they adjusted to the substantive areas? In order to answer this question, I present such data as the industrial population, population mobility, commercial areas, ownership of houses and so on.

View full abstract

This Paper attempts to analyse the social stratification in rural communities. Social stratification, needless to say, means here the differential grading of the human individuals who compose a social group, but it varies from group to group. It is because each group has its own value system by which individuals may be differentiated. Although the purpose of this article, therefore, is to consider the stratified phenomenon in a rural community as an accumulative society with many social ties for its unity and solidarity, such an analytical approach may be compelled to meet with crucial difficulties due to the fact that it has the very complex social values which form the basis of social stratification. As it is almost impossible for us to establish a general classification of standards of social value involving social superiority and inferiority, so this paper only intends to help the interpretation of the problem in question, through empirical research of a special case.
There are, in fact, such established customs as a quasi-relation (Yobosi-Oyako) in many places of The Simokita Peninsula, Aomori Prefecture. The writer will describe, therefore, the actual state of these customs in Okunai village (Buraku), Tanabe Town, Shimokita County. Considerations of these customs readily show what significance they have and what roles they play in the structure of rural village. Answers to these questions will help the approach to the analysis of rural stratification. Since stratification is, in one dominant aspect, relevant to the consequences of social unity and conflict, Yobosi, as a social relation underlying it, must be clarified in terms of those two social factors.
In this case, seen from the point of view of the social unity, the kinds of old common customs, such as kinship relation, old cooperative systems, and sense of territorial isolation, constitute the mechanism by which individuals become integrated so as to form social unit as a rural community, but, from the other point of view, political and economical conflict relations which are brought about with the process of shifting of common land ownership from a village unit to special individuals, are aspecially worthy of notice. Vocational differentiation, the gulf between rich and poor, and consequently class-tension, etc. are fundamentally relative to the characteristics of this common ownership system. Nevertheless, such opposite elements as above mentioned remain only to be a crack within a village, and do not result in its disorganization. What does Yobosi mean in this situation? By examining Yobosi in its relation to such tow aspects of the Buraku, we shall be able to throw light on the true nature of rural stratification.

View full abstract

This study, focussing on the problem of the stratification, intends to clarify the structural characteristics of a confectionary quarter.
1. The object of this study is the confectionary quarter at West district in Nagoya City, where ultra-small confectionaries aggregate densely around the whole sale shops. The origin of this quarter is old, but the change and mobility of shops have been so high, that there ramains few old established shops.
2. The problem of the stratification is the difficulty to deduce the indices of stratification from the concrete laws concerning the socio-economic conditions of those complicated and fluid small and middle businesses. So, we attempted to synthesize the stratum factor which the inhabitants conscious of, and to induce the stratum each confectionary belongs.
3. The proprietors of confectionaries were well aware of the existence of strata, and as the main stratum factor they mentioned capital, property, income, number of employees, years of experiences as confectionary, and the area of business connection. But their conception of the strata attaches too much importance to the economic factor and underestimate the social conditions.
4. We examined the correlation of those factors by the results of a sample survey, and pointed out one central factor common to producer as well as whole-saler, that is, the number of empoyees.
5. In order to clarify the strata distinguished by the number of employees, it became necessary to find out the stratum distinction line. So, we made the prorietors of the confectionaries judge the stratum demarcation line, upper, middle and lower, by the number of employees.
6. Logically, the strata thus distingnished by main factor of the number of employees represent approximately the reality of the strata in the inhabitants' subjective evaluation. So, whether the strata distinguished by the number of employees coincide with the strata distinguished by other factors, we attempted to verify statistically by the data of the sample survey and by the comparative rating method. Thus we proved the representativeness of the factar of number of employees.
Then, we studied the structural characteristics of the strata of the confectionaries distinguished by the indices of the number of employees, focussing on their ultra-smallness, fluidity on the whole and about each case.
8. Finally, as the starting point for the further research, we mentioned the theoretical remarks on the problem of the stratification and the relation of stratified position and social status.

View full abstract

The most striking and radical changes during the transformation period of Japanese society after the World War II concerned management and labor. They included not only changes brought about by emancipation from the absolute restrictions enforced before and during the war but fundamental changes which followed after the rapid post war social changes.
It is impossible for the managerial organizations to ignore the existence of the labor union today. Therefore a new forming of labor administration has been introduced by the establishment of the so called joint committee in accordance with American practice ; however the strong traditional class system of the pre-modern labor administration is still firmly rooted in the small and middle size enterprises. The labor union in Japan has been developed to almost the highest world standards, but at the same time it retains someaspects of the traditional class system. This is entirely due to the peculiar characteristic of Japanese union organization which is based on the industrial union. It should be observed that during the decade after the war the laborers of the modern proletarians' movement have been opposing this paternalistic type of labor administration.
Thus in Japan after the war, management has been greatly modernized on the one hand while on the other the labor union has achieved remarkable development. These developments owe much to American democratic policies which were introduced into Japan after the war. However, it should not be overlooked that the political and economic conditions of post war Japan also drove the laborers into activity in pursuit of their basic democratic rights. These facts will promote the democratization of Japan and will guide her overcoming the difficulties of achieving her special destiny.

View full abstract