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Hierarchy – Status – Class

Hierarchy – Status – Class. Hierarchical relations have governed Japan throughout most of its history. The aristocratic class The warrior class The Tokugawa class system Whether or not one views Japan as hierarchical or egalitarian depends upon the criteria used. Economic criteria?

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Hierarchy – Status – Class

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  1. Hierarchy – Status – Class • Hierarchical relations have governed Japan throughout most of its history. • The aristocratic class • The warrior class • The Tokugawa class system • Whether or not one views Japan as hierarchical or egalitarian depends upon the criteria used. • Economic criteria? • Social criteria?

  2. Economically egalitarian • From the standpoint of economic status, Japan is egalitarian/classless • When surveyed, most Japanese people rate themselves as middle class • Income differentials are relatively small • 16:1 between CEOs and workers in Japanese companies

  3. Economically egalitarian? • However, economic distinctions are beginning to harden • Reflected in increasing disparities in access to quality education (Oshio, in Mak. p. 273) • Social mobility weakening (Satō)

  4. Socially Hierarchical • Hierarchical relations are the rule within groups – paternalism • Status determined by: • Age or length of service • Formal rank (eg. within a company or school) • Merit is not a primary factor • A person’s status in one group usually does not translate to another group • eg. a CEO in a chōnaikai町内会 village association

  5. Oyako親子 relationships • employer – employee • The “lifetime employment system” (Nakane) • Non-specialization • Bureaucratic structure • Company unions • Paternalism; the company as family and family maker • Most companies in Japan are small companies • Close employeer–employee relationships • Sometimes a senior employee will acquire the business

  6. Oyako親子 relationships • Company and supplier • Relationships cultivated at the expense of open competition • Individual and nation • Cultivated especially during the Pacific War

  7. Remaining issues • Regarding class, status, and hierarchy in Japan, what do we see in the areas of: • Education (3/12 and 14) • The disabled (Oshima, Mak ch. 26) • Women (Oshima, Mak ch. 26) (4/9 and 11) • “outsider” groups (4/16)

  8. Summary • Japan is both egalitarian and hierarchical depending on the frame of reference being considered • Economically egalitarian • Socially hierarchical (within a given group) • Status differences are not innate but are based on one’s relative position in the organization or group. • Paternalistic systems are under pressure (Yamada)

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