A Study on Social-Cultural Backgrounds for Image of Aging

Research Project

Project/Area Number	02451030
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	社会学(含社会福祉関係)
Research Institution	Waseda University
Principal Investigator	WADA Shuichi Waseda University Dep. of Sociology, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (30106215)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	MORI Mototaka waseda University Dep. of Sociology, Associate Professor, 文学部, 助教授 (50182209) INUZUKA Susumu Chiba University Dep. of Liberal Arts, Professor, 教養部, 教授 (70009752) 山嵜哲哉武蔵大学人文学部, 講師 (40220298) 海野和之早稲田大学, 人間科学部, 非常勤講師 (20203614)
Project Period (FY)	1990 – 1991
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1991)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000) Fiscal Year 1991: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000) Fiscal Year 1990: ¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Keywords	Aging / Images of ageing / Folklore / Cultural comparison / Historical analysis / Data archive / Patgernalism / Inkyo (a traditional institution opf retirement in Japan) / 「老い」のイメ-ジ / デ-タ・ア-カイヴ / 家父長制 / 長老支配 / 国際比較
Research Abstract	In this study did we, with a moparative method with another cultures, find several important social-cultural elements which construct the social and cultural backgtounds for images of ageng. Among tlie elements, an ethical code of oaternalism seems to be most important. to approach to the images in historical contexts. The code has been devalued in Europian or American historical contexts, but it still works in many social situations in human relationship to make, as a result. ati image of ageing perculiar to Japanese culture. The modernization ptocess has not dismissed entirely the code from Japanese value ethics, and this seems to contribute to make a remarkable, and also sometimes felt strange. side of the Japanese characteristics. Retirement is not only an ecomomic counterpart to the old's contribution to Japanese society, but it has something to do with the respect to the old who occupy the social position of the retired. These are just afew of the things which we discussed in this study of ours, but on the other hand, we admitte that we still have some tasks remained. The st ructure of the data archice which we want to make should be detailed more from the perspective of efficiency. The image of ageing for woman wei-e not fully treated in this study.