Download - Japanese Life Cycle Rituals
![Page 1: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Japanese Life Cycle RitualsRobert Croker, Nanzan University
1
![Page 2: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Defining Ritual
![Page 3: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Defining RitualRituals are taught and practiced from a young age.
![Page 4: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Defining Ritual• Rituals are sequences of formal actions and
utterances, more formal than usually used in everyday casual interaction.
• ‘Formal’ means having extra rules and restrictions about behavior and language.
• Rituals include both social and religious practices.
• Rituals can be public and private.
![Page 5: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Defining RitualActions: the actions in a ritual do not usually have meaning – meaning is given to them by the participants. Rituals presume that participants have some shared understanding of those meanings. Religious rituals – one participant may be an entity such as a kami (deity or god) – but they are treated like real participants, perhaps by embodying them in a person or object.
![Page 6: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Five Types of Rituals
1. life cycle rituals2. seasonal cycle rituals3. exchange and communion rituals4. fasting and feasting rituals5. affliction rituals
Source: Bell, C. (1997). Ritual: Perspectives and dimensions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6
![Page 7: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
1. Life Cycle Rituals
7
![Page 8: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Life Cycle RitualsDefinition: Rituals which accompany and dramatize major life events.
Purpose: 1. Give cultural meanings to natural biological processes e.g. birth, marriage, death. These are culturally universal.2. Recognize the transition to new stages of life e.g. entering school, becoming 'an adult', job-hunting 就職活動, becoming a 社会人. These are culturally specific. 8
![Page 9: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Life Cycle RitualsTypes:one-time only events (e.g. birth)
vs. recurring events (e.g. birthdays)
lucky ('auspicious') events (e.g. marriage)vs. unlucky events (e.g. yakudoshi, 厄年)
note that almost all events are 'gendered'i.e. women and men celebrate these events differently e.g. different clothes and roles 9
![Page 10: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Task: Write a list of the major life cycle events that are important in your culture, from birth.1. Divide them into culturally universal events and culturally specific events. 2. Note if they are one-time only events, or recurring events.3. Note if they are lucky or unlucky events.4. Think about how they are 'gendered'.
Life Cycle Rituals
10
![Page 11: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
1. start before birth, and continue long after death2. reflect quite set stages in life, with relatively little overlapping between stages3. often an extended set of related activities4. different people play different roles; roles that are often invisible become visible during these rituals5. many rituals are very gendered; they reinforce gender roles
Life Cycle Rituals in Japan
11
![Page 12: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
6. change over time – sometimes gradually as time passes, sometimes quickly at critical junctures (beginning of the Meiji era, beginning of the postwar period)7. generational differences – older people continue traditional rituals, younger people create new rituals8. regional differences – many are the same across Japan, but many differ depending upon the region
Life Cycle Rituals in Japan
12
![Page 13: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
9. life-cycle events are increasingly marked by money ('commodified') e.g. renting clothes at 7-5-3, holding marriages at wedding halls and funerals at funeral halls, paying people to write a marriage proposal10. are usually accompanied by gift-giving to mark relationships (and how these relationships change because of this event); there are many rules for gift-giving
Life Cycle Rituals in Japan
13
![Page 14: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
birth in Japan
14
![Page 15: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
帯祝い
15
![Page 16: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
帯祝い
16
![Page 17: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
17
![Page 18: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
腹帯
18
![Page 19: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
帯祝い
19
![Page 20: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
お守り
20
![Page 21: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
お守り
21
![Page 22: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
お守り
22
![Page 23: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
お守り
23
![Page 24: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
お守り
24
![Page 25: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
お守り
25
![Page 26: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
出産
26
![Page 27: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
出産祝い
27
![Page 28: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
28
![Page 29: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
内祝い
29
![Page 30: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
お守り
30
![Page 31: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
出産後に行う8個の手続き
31
![Page 32: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
出産後に行う8個の手続き
32
![Page 33: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
宮参り
33
![Page 34: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
宮参り
34
![Page 35: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
宮参り
35
![Page 36: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
1. start before birth,continue long after death2. often an extended set of related activities3. different people play different roles4. change over time – sometimes gradually, sometimes at critical junctures (beginning of Meiji era, beginning of postwar period)5. generational differences – older people continue traditional rituals, younger people create new rituals
Life Cycle Rituals in Japan
36
![Page 37: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
6. many are the same across Japan, but many differ depending upon the region7. many are very gendered8. life-cycle events are increasingly marked by money ('commodified') e.g. 7-5-3, marriages, writing marriage proposals9. are usually accompanied by gift-giving to mark relationships (and how they change), and there are many rules for gift-giving10. shrines often sell talisman お守りfor them
Life Cycle Rituals in Japan
37
![Page 38: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
7-5-3
38
![Page 39: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
7-5-3
39
![Page 40: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
7-5-3
40
![Page 41: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
千歳飴
41
![Page 42: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
entering and leaving school
42
![Page 43: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
the schooling system
43
![Page 44: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
becoming an adult
44
![Page 45: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
就職活動
45
![Page 46: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
getting married
46
![Page 47: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
getting old
47
![Page 48: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
death
48
![Page 49: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
after death
49
![Page 50: Japanese Life Cycle Rituals](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022021918/58a2cb041a28ab217a8b6901/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
Homework Tasks: A. Write a list of the major yearly cycle events that are important in your culture, from January to December.1. Divide them into culturally universal events and culturally specific events. 2. Note if they are lucky or unlucky events.3. Think about how they are 'gendered'.B. Complete the reading, make notes.
Yearly and Seasonal Cycle Rituals
50