FAMILYFAMILYJapan Japan and and

United StatesUnited States

John HadfieldJohn Hadfield

FocusFocus

Evolution of the family systemsEvolution of the family systems Roles of the members in the familyRoles of the members in the family Family valuesFamily values

JAPANJAPANFamily SystemFamily System

•Traditional Family System

•Modern Family System

JAPANJAPANTraditional Family SystemTraditional Family System

•Traditional Family System

•Also know as ie

•Preserve household resources

•Hierarchy

JAPANJAPANRoles of the FamilyRoles of the Family

•Eldest son

•Get married and live with parents

•Become head of household

•Inherit everything

JAPANJAPANRoles of the FamilyRoles of the Family

•Adopted son

•Occurs when a family has no sons

•The daughter’s husband becomes head of the household

JAPANJAPANRoles of the FamilyRoles of the Family

•Wife of the eldest son

•Housewife (shufu)

•The mother-in-law would teach her the ways of the family

•Take care of husband’s parents

JAPANJAPANRoles of the FamilyRoles of the Family

•Other sons

•Fend for themselves

•Marry into a family

•Daughters

•Marry into other households

JAPANJAPANTraditional Family SystemTraditional Family System

•Marriage

•Arranged marriages

•Daughter-in-law needs to prove herself to the family

•Divorce was fairly common

JAPANJAPANDecline of the Traditional Family SystemDecline of the Traditional Family System

•More and more nuclear families

•Ie system abolished in 1947

JAPANJAPANModern Family SystemModern Family System

•Similar to US family system

•Consists of parents and children and occasionally grandparents

•“The Japanese way”

JAPANJAPANModern Family SystemModern Family System

•Marriage

•Marriage based on choice

•Low divorce rate

United StatesUnited StatesColonial Family SystemColonial Family System

•Patriarchy

•Family essential for survival

•Family dependent on each other

•Everyone did their part

•Extended Family

United StatesUnited StatesColonial Family SystemColonial Family System

•Marriage

•Average marriage lasted 10 years

•Marriage based on material goods

United StatesUnited StatesIndustrializationIndustrialization

•More people working outside the house

•Marriages based more on love

•A shift to a nuclear family system

United StatesUnited StatesIdeal FamilyIdeal Family

•In the 1950’s the ideal family was portrayed on TV

•Two parents with one or two children

United StatesUnited StatesToday’s FamilyToday’s Family

•Typically nuclear families

•High divorce rate

•Working mothers

•Let kids make mistakes

United States and JapanUnited States and JapanContrastingContrasting

Differences in Japan

•Men work much longer hours

•Women are mostly housewives

•Lower divorce rate

““It is a parent’s duty to see that his/her It is a parent’s duty to see that his/her child receives a good education even if child receives a good education even if

it entails sacrifices.”it entails sacrifices.”

United StatesUnited StatesDisagree Strongly: Disagree Strongly:

.1% .1%

Disagree Somewhat: Disagree Somewhat: 2.2%2.2%

Not Sure: Not Sure: .8% .8%

Agree Somewhat: Agree Somewhat: 21.3%21.3%

Agree Strongly: Agree Strongly: 75.5%75.5%

JapanJapanDisagree Strongly: Disagree Strongly:

28.6%28.6%

Disagree Somewhat: Disagree Somewhat: 35.5%35.5%

Not Sure: Not Sure: 2.4%2.4%

Agree Somewhat: Agree Somewhat: 22.3%22.3%

Agree Strongly: Agree Strongly: 11.2%11.2%

““It is best to leave as much property as It is best to leave as much property as possible to one’s children.”possible to one’s children.”

United StatesUnited StatesDisagree Strongly: Disagree Strongly:

11.6%11.6%

Disagree Somewhat: Disagree Somewhat: 28.0%28.0%

Not Sure: Not Sure: 4.9%4.9%

Agree Somewhat: Agree Somewhat: 35.1%35.1%

Agree Strongly: Agree Strongly: 20.4%20.4%

JapanJapanDisagree Strongly: Disagree Strongly:

28.3%28.3%

Disagree Somewhat: Disagree Somewhat: 33.6%33.6%

Not Sure: Not Sure: 2.7%2.7%

Agree Somewhat: Agree Somewhat: 24.5%24.5%

Agree Strongly: Agree Strongly: 11.0%11.0%