Ie (Japanese family system)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The physical ie: a Japanese House

Ie (家) is a Japanese term which translates directly to household. It can mean either a physical home or refer to a

procreation.[1] The symbolic ie refers not only to blood lines, however, but also to economic and socioreligious functions that take place within the family.[2]

Family registration and status

The ie is a

patriarchal household and is considered to consist of grandparents, their son, his wife and their children.[3] In a "traditional" Japanese household, the eldest son inherits the household property as well as the responsibility of taking care of his parents as they age. The eldest son is also expected to live with his parents when they grow older.[4]

Today all households are obligated to record their information in the

Japanese Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law, noting that women could use their maiden names informally, and stating that it was for the legislature to decide on whether to pass new legislation on separate spousal names.[9]
Even with the death of a koseki, the family will keep the name as long as they are listed in the system as part of his koseki. One to two generations can be included in a koseki, a couple and their children. If a household consists of grandparents and children, then the grandparents must start to have their own koseki. This system has been noted to be particularly strict in that it excludes any families who do not fit into the patrilineal structure encouraged by the koseki. Another important aspect of the ie is the role of dead
Buddhist
rites. In contrast, if an ancestor does not qualify as a "generation dead" then they are considered "juvenile dead" and are destined to be forgotten.

Butsudan used in the ie for ancestor worship and offering

Arranged marriage

Marital and affinial ties are of great concern to the identity of an ie and therefore arranged marriage was very common in Japan prior to World War II.[10] Studies have shown that families in the middle and upper classes are more committed to arranged marriages than those in lower classes because they are most concerned with the security of the household and recognize that “romantic love, ren’ai, cannot be counted on.” [11]

Household duties

The ie is often defined by the gendered roles within a family. These roles are most often exemplified by the household duties that each family member is expected to uphold. Until recently, wives took on the duties of cooking, cleaning, and raising the children, while the typical husband served as a salary man and earned the income for the family. While this familial structure is still in place, it is changing as more and more women join the workforce. Among the lower class society, a rising number of women are achieving economic independence and good career prospects leading to a shift in the typical patriarchic society.[12] Today, the Japanese government has encouraged working fathers to become Iku-men (or

stay-at-home fathers),[13] and in 1992, the Japanese government passed a law that allowed for time off for both the mother and the father of a newborn child.[14]

See also

References

  1. S2CID 145009679
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-924304-50-7
    .
  3. S2CID 145009679
    .
  4. ^ Hamabata, Matthews Masayuki (1990). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 33–34. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ "住民基本台帳法". Archived from the original on 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  6. ^ "Koseki". CRNJapan. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  7. ^ Sugimoto, Yoshio (1997). An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 156.
  8. ^ Sugimoto, Yoshio (1997). An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  9. ^ "Japanese women lose surname law case". BBC News. 2015-12-16.
  10. ISBN 978-0-924304-50-7
    .
  11. ^ Hamabata, Matthews Masayuki (1990). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 135. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ Sugimoto, Yoshio (1997). An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 162–163.
  13. ^ Schott, Ben (8 July 2010). "Iku-Men: Stay-at-home fathers in Japan". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  14. ^ Mutsumi, Ota (1999). "Dad Takes Child-care Leave". Japan Quarterly. 46 (1): 83–89.
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