SOCIAL CONCEPTS

Family Structure

It has been said by some social scientists, that Japanese lack a word for "family" since the basic unit of society is rather difficult to deal with. The local residence group is generally known as dozoku. This word generally refers to a group of people who work and live together. It may include "non kin" as well as kin. An example given by Harumi Befu is a small store run by a husband, wife, their children and perhaps a clerk who works there.

ie: The stem family. All those people who commonly reside together and share a social and economic life. It
       may include both near and distant kin as well as non-kin. It also is a coporate body - that is it has an
       existence outside of its membership and exists beyond the life span of any of its members. After the head
       of an ie retires or dies, it constinues through succession and inheritance, generally, but not always,
       through the eldest son (primogeniture) who stays with the parents. Younger siblings start their own ie
      which are junior branches (bunke of the family as opposed to the main line (honke). The terms oya and
      ko which today are taken to mean "parent" and "child" were originally words for a work group leader
       and its members.

dozoku: A collection of ie the heads of which are desended from a common ie.

kazoku: "family" - a collection of kin. A concept introduced by the west.

setai: "household"

Normative Values

on: A debt or obligation incurred by being given something one needed and could not get one's self. Hence a
      debt that is impossible to repay. "One can not return even one ten thousandth of an on. This is what
       creates a debt between, for example, parents and children. Children owe an on to their parents which
       can never be repaid. giri: something akin to "social obligation".

ninjo: natural inclinations, "emotions"

jingi: "Moral" (humanity and justice). However, since this word was commonly used during the pre-modern
      period,appreciation of patronage and paying respect to the social order of pre-modern society were very
       important. Yakuza groups have kept using this word even to the modern day. And in the colloquial, ordinary
       people still (though not often) use it in a similar sense.

amae (noun); amaeru (verb): literally "sweet". Generally to demand or presume on another's good nature.
       A child may amaeru to its parents. A friend may be asked to spend the night to avaoid going home in the rain.
       The "guest" might say "Thanks for letting me amaeru to you".

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