著者

ノーベック エドウォード

出版者

日本文化人類学会

雑誌

民族學研究 (ISSN:00215023)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.16, no.1, pp.38-45, 1951

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<p>The material presented is drawn principally from one datum area, the fishing buraku of Takashima on an island of the same name in the Inland Sea, lying very close to Kojima Peninsula, in Okayama Prefecture. The buraku studied is thought by the author to represent a cultural blend between Inland Sea island fishing villages and fishing villages of the adjacent area of Honshu. It has been found that there is no aspect of the life of the people of Takashima in which Westernization is not evident in some form either directly or indirectly. The impact of such Westernization varies from a powerful force which has brought about great changes in some matters of living to a relatively pale and weak influence in other sectors. Briefly stated, some of the effects of Westernization evident are : Clothing has become predominantly Western particularly for the young. Permanent waves are the rule for young single and married women. Fishing is almost exclusively by motorized craft. Housing and diet are relatively little affected, but household equipment shows a fairly marked influence. Entertainment for the young is Western, movies, baseball, pingpong, social dancing. The old prefer traditional folk dances and Naniwa bushi. The visiting of shrines as a form of entertainmen wanes in importance year by year. Marriage customs are still fairly traditional and Japanese clothing is always worn by brides. The shimada coiffure has been replaced by wigs as permanents do not lend themselves to the traditional hairdress. Sexual freedom is, for the most part, a thing of the past ; present day sex mores are circumspect, and at least suggest the influence of the West. Theories of disease and treatment of illness or injury are, fot the most part, Western. Some religious and magico-religious methods of curing illness still obtain, however. Religious practices have changed greatly in the past few decades. Visits to shrines and temples have become infrequent, and many old customs have been abandoned by the majority of the people. Many beliefs and customs are regarded by young and middle-aged persons with some degree of scorn as "superstition". Most striking is the dichotomy between the young, in whom Western influence is extremely marked, and the aged, who follow the traditional and non-Western ways. Most old persons have received no formal education. All young and middle-aged persons have had at least elementary school educations. A numer of practices which are in effect today, such as menstrual restrictions for women, are observable only in households in which there are aged parents or grandparents. It seems likely that many of the remaining traditional beliefs and customs will be abandoned as soon as the present generation of old persons dies. Some years ago American scholars devoted considerable effort to consideration of the question of whether material aspects of culture were more quickly and more profoundly affected by acculturation than non-material aspects. It does not appear that material aspects of the culture of Takashima have been more seriously or easily affected by acculturation than non-material aspects. Study of the effect of change of one part of culture upon other parts seems more profitable than attempts to set up and deal with discreet categories of "material" and "non-material" aspects. It seems reasonable to state that no important facet of culture can be seriously affected without concomitant and/or resultant changes in other facets of culture. Religious beliefs and practices of Takashima appear to the author to be one of the sectors of culture most strongly affected by Western influence. It is not immediately evident, however, that the decline in strength of religious belief and the abandonment of old customs are the result of contact with the Western world. The explanation offered by a number of Takashima informants for the decline in strength of</p><p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>