Organizer: Marilyn Levine, Lewis-Clark State College
Virginity and Its Power in the Telugu Culture of India
Sree Padma, Bowdoin College
In this paper, I examine in detail social and religious perceptions of the powers associated with virginity within Telugu cultural regions (Andhra Pradesh) of India. My intention is to determine how these perceptions are related to the social status of women primarily within traditional rural agricultural contexts. My primary material consists of stories or local myths connected to the cults of local goddesses (deified women), stories which I have personally recorded during the course of recent field work.
Each of these stories relates how a young virgin girl died prematurely, usually in tragic circumstances, and serves as a type of charter for the establishment of a local cult of propitiation. These "virgin goddesses" are worshipped by devotees for various purposes of protection and to elicit their maternal or "motherly" qualities of power. Therefore, one of the central problems I explore in this paper is concerned with the dynamic of how relatively powerless girls (in their this-worldly social contexts) were transformed into powerful and protecting "mother" figures following their deaths.
In probing this question, I have discovered at least two basic, sometimes contradictory conceptions of virginity forces at work. In the first, I find the continuation of pre-patriarchal conceptions of virginity in which "independence," renewal and rebirth are emphasized. In the second, I find the superimposition of pan Indian/Hindu/Sanskrit values in which virginity is understood as a sexually innocent being.
Though I realize that every culture is unique, I will also try to take comparative notes, where appropriate, with the substance and dynamic of this problem as it may appear in other cultures, South Asian and beyond.
Student Attitudes Toward Japanese Language Classes at the Introductory College
Level for Non-Native Speakers
Noriko Fujioka, Ohio State University
A questionnaire was mailed to 158 subjects who were enrolled in Japanese language introductory classes for non-native speakers at eight universities in the United States. In this study, nine questionnaire items, some portions of the mailed survey, were analyzed to reveal the general attitudes of non-native speakers of Japanese toward their language classes. The questionnaire items attempted to investigate students' attitudes toward class activities, instructors' explanations and organization, as well as textbooks, content levels of textbooks, and objectives of courses. The survey data was statistically analyzed using a software entitled "Facets" developed for the purpose of analyzing qualitative observations (e.g., strongly agree/agree/neutral/disagree/strongly disagree) based on "many-facet Rasch analysis." The results of this study showed positive attitudes toward Japanese language classes. However, closer examination of the data analysis showed that the subjects whose attitudes were more positive responded slightly negatively to three items: (1) the organization of the instructors' explanations of subject matter; (2) the clearness of textbook explanations; and (3) the appropriateness of the content level of textbooks. The results of this study suggest two issues. First, it is necessary for instructors to make an effort to improve their teaching clarity. Second, explanations in Japanese textbooks written for non-native speakers should be made clearer and should consider the learners' abilities.
Racism in the United States and Japan
Richard B. Parker, Hiroshima Shudo University
This paper is a comparison of racism in the United States and Japan. I try to explain why both Japanese and Americans tend to consider the other society more racist than their own. I divide racism into racism based on bloodline, racism based on appearance, and racism based on ethnicity or culture. I argue first that racism in the United States has become, over the last few decades, more a matter of ethnicity or culture than of bloodline or even appearance. In Japan, on the other hand, racism is primarily a matter of bloodline. The two major distinctions that collect discriminatory practices in Japan-Japanese versus non-Japanese and Burakumin versus non-Burakumin-are almost completely a matter of bloodline. The different grounds for racism in Japan and in the United States produce disagreement and confusion when Japanese and Americans discuss what racism is, why it is wrong, and how it can be cured. Finally, I consider the suggestion that being Japanese is not a matter of bloodline, but rather a matter of "sharing a common fate." If true, this may be a way to distinguish between racism and communalism.
Literary Treatments of Old Age in Modern Japanese Fiction
Patricia L. Parker, Salem State College
This paper will consider the subject of old age, since WWII, treated in Japanese literature in a variety of ways. Some works rely on traditional images of old age; some take the form of social criticism in the guise of fiction.
In 1947, Niwa Fumio's The Hateful Age broke with tradition to present a picture of old age and senility (now seen as Alzheimers) as metaphor for a social problem that indicated sickness in society.
Two novels from the 1950s (Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain and Ariyoshi's The River Ki) use tightly controlled narration to trace the aging process as parallel to a decline in tradition. Short stories by Ariyoshi Sawako (The Ink Stick, 1961) and Hayashi Fumiko (The Late Chrysanthemum, 1948) use standard literary devices to portray aging female protagonists who draw sustenance from the traditional importance placed on beauty. Ariyoshi's The Twilight Years (1972) and Inoue Yasushi's Chronicle of My Mother (1964-74), use traditional literary forms to present aging as a social issue.
So far as I know, these and other literary works have not been examined for what they indicate about changes in Japanese society and literature.
Before Armageddon: Aum Shinrikyo as a Benign Religious Movement in 1988
Daniel A. Metraux, Mary Baldwin College
The shocking attack allegedly made by Aum Shinrikyo assailants on three Tokyo subway lines in March 1995 that killed twelve commuters and injured nearly 6,000 raises many questions but few answers. A religious organization basing many of its teachings on compassionate doctrines of Buddhism and Hinduism became a terrorist, criminal group that sought to wage war on Japan, fleeced millions of dollars from its followers, and kidnapped and/or murdered several dozen innocent citizens. Paradoxically, Aum attracted thousands of young Japanese seeking direction in life, as well as a group of brilliant young scientists and engineers who abandoned traditional career tracks to serve a charismatic and shamanistic leader, Asahara Shoko, who offered them nothing in return.
Aum's descent to violent criminality and consideration of Armageddon began in 1989, but it had already existed several years as a rather benign religious organization. Its publications in 1988 portray it as a small religious group led by an enlightened holy man who could help followers resolve their various spiritual and physical problems. Testimonies by selected members indicate that Asahara had indeed led them to happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. Indeed, Aum in 1988 overtly differed little from many other smaller shinshinshukyo ("new new religions") in Japan.
The goal of this paper is to analyze Aum in 1988 before it overtly shifted to a path of violence and plans for Armageddon. Did the shift to criminality take place in 1989 or were there indications in 1988 of its future path? Despite its benign image in 1988, had Asahara and other Aum leaders shifted their plans for the future? Why did Aum make such a radical shift in direction in 1989-90?
Contesting Meanings, Creating Alternatives: The Kimodameshi Festival of
Chayamachi, Tokyo
Thomas Hardy, Tamagawa University, Japan
Gardens in urban Japan are usually closed spaces, aesthetized relics of an earlier way of life. When they open for occasional public festivals, alternative understandings, uses, and possibilities of the space can emerge. These emergent responses contest the users' ordinary relationships to the space and to each other, creating the possibility of alternative understandings and relationships. The concepts of hegemony and emergent cultural structures help us make sense of the form and expression of alternatives raised by participants.
Based on ethnographic observations of a downtown Tokyo garden, I outline the issues of class and hegemonic structures facing organizers of a summer ghost festival as they make use of the park. Their responses to these matters illustrate the power of dominant appreciation of the space, the ways participants contest these received meanings, and the ways alternative understandings-personal and collective-can emerge. Participants see alternative forms of social action as historically possible; a possibility raised and enhanced by the consciously shaped space of a Japanese garden.
Giving-Up-Spirit: Coping Style in Japan
Chiya Ikemi, Baruch College, City University of New York
The purpose of this study is to gain a clearer understanding of the Japanese coping style of "giving-up-spirit" (akirame no seishin) and the tendency of Japanese living in the United States to relinquish this style as a result of longevity in and acculturation to the United States. It was hypothesized that the longer Japanese reside in the United States, the more acculturated they become (i.e. the higher they score on the SL-ASIA Scale); the longer Japanese reside in the United States, the less they use the Japanese coping style of "giving-up-spirit" (i.e. the less externally directed they score on Rotter's Locus of Control scale); and the more acculturated Japanese become, the more internally directed they score on the Rotter's Locus of Control Scale. A positive correlation was found between longevity and acculturation level: r = .34, p < .05. A negative correlation was found between longevity and external locus of control: r = -.21, p < .05. The results confirmed two of the hypotheses: the longer Japanese have resided in the United States, the more acculturated they have become; and the longer Japanese have resided in the United States, the less externally controlled they have become. These findings are consistent with previous studies of Japanese that have concluded that increased exposure to Western culture leads to higher internality of locus of control. Future study should be concerned with visa status as well as age at time of migration when investigating changes in acculturation level and locus of control as a function of longevity in the United States.
Aging Among Japanese Immigrants in the United States: The Later Stages of
Acculturative Process
Itsuko Kanamoto, Heian Jogakuin College
The population of Japanese elderly, not only in Japan but also in the United States, has been dramatically increasing over the last decades. The rate of increase in the ratio of Japanese-American elderly to the total population of Japanese-Americans is remarkably large-66.7% when comparing the 1980s and the 1990s Census.
The Japanese-American community has already identified the cultural problems of their elderly and is aware of the need for special health services. In Los Angeles, three specialized facilities for Japanese-American elderly were established for those who share similar ethnic backgrounds, life experiences, language, and food preference to live together. It is significant that a great number of Japanese-American elderly have been waiting to move into these facilities.
Despite this fact, Japanese-American elderly have been less likely to be the subject of anthropological research because they are perceived as a "model minority" which has been quite successful in assimilating to the host culture and in achieving a solid middle class status in American society. However, if Japanese immigrants have been fully assimilated into American society, why do these elderly prefer to live in an age-and-ethnic homogeneous community? It is hypothesized that an ethnic group's cultural heritage becomes more critical to a person's security and sense of identity in the adjustment to old age. This paper explores what has happened in the later stage of acculturating process of Japanese immigrants to American society. (This study was funded by the Toyota Foundation.)
Women and Work in East Asia
Yin-wah Chu, University of Hong Kong
This paper examines the past changes and present structures of female employment in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. Two general tendencies have been found. The manufacturing industries, which have generated the bulk of female employment in the early phase of industrialization, have declined in relation to industries in the tertiary sector. As a corollary, women have begun to exit from production and enter into clerical occupations. The general trends conceal a number of marked inter-societal variations. To give an example, older women in Hong Kong have started to leave the labor force during the last ten years, while women in the same age group in the other countries have increased their levels of labor force participation. Without going into all the details, one may summarize by saying that the four cases have differed in the speed with which manufacturing has declined, the relative import of the service sector for female employment, as well as the impacts of age and marriage on the levels of female labor force participation.
I will argue that the structures of female employment can be explained by the interaction of two factors: the paths of development and patriarchy. In these societies, female employment has been given the most support when it contributes to the financial security of the family without impairing the familial responsibility of the woman. This gender specific expectation on work and family has continued to provide normative guidance for employers and female workers alike. In turn, the pathways of development, which differ tremendously among the cases, have determined the industrial structures and the employment systems of these societies. These factors decide the ease with which women can gain employment opportunities.