著者

多田 哲久

出版者

社会学研究会

雑誌

ソシオロジ (ISSN:05841380)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.45, no.1, pp.55-71, 2000-05-31 (Released:2016-11-02)

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This paper examines branches (non-kin) of the Mitsui, a big Merchant Dozoku in urban areas in the early modem era. Dozoku is a wider institution composed of a main ie and its branches. In Sociology,this is placed as a fundamental project in dealing with the generation process of the family enterprise. The argument of ie in sociology has been developed on the basis of certain rural areas. Consequently, ie in urban areas have been neglected in such arguments. Some studies point out that ie in urban areas is different from that of rural areas, but characteristics of urban ie itself have not yet been investigated. It will be examined which of the following three main concepts of ie is the most appropriate framework to investigate the branches (non-kin) of Mitsui. They are concepts of “Ie=family” by KITANO Seiichi, “ie=management” by ARUGA Kizaemon, and “Ie=Kabu” by HASEGAWA Yoshikazu. The characteristics of a big Merchant Dozoku in urban areas are also looked into. In conclusion, it is found that only adjusted “Ie=Kabu” concept, which is a social unit with certain rights and duties based on the external system,is capable of explaining a big Merchant Dozoku in urban areas as a whole. Merchant Dozoku is characterized by its mobility--the formation and the cancellation of the genealogy between the main ie and its branches (non-kin). The “Ie=Kabu” concept can capture these characteristics in its entirety.