A Cohort Analysis on Life Course of Okinawan People

Research Project

Project/Area Number	09610188
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	社会学(含社会福祉関係)
Research Institution	University of the Ryukyus
Principal Investigator	ANDO Yoshimi University of the Ryukyus, School of Law and Letters, Associate Professor, 法文学部, 助教授 (60232104)
Project Period (FY)	1997 – 1998
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1998)
Budget Amount *help	¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000) Fiscal Year 1998: ¥100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000) Fiscal Year 1997: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Keywords	life course / life history / cohort analysis / Okinawa / social history / family / 職業 / コ-ホ-ト
Research Abstract	1. Objective and Method Objective : Using both quantitative data on the timing of the life course events and qualitative data on the oral life history, comparison of Okinawan peoples lives between two different birth cohorts was used to depict the impact of social change on their life course, i.e. the timing of life course events such as school completion, starting work, leaving home, marriage, birth of children, empty nest, and death of family members. Method : Intensive interview on oral life history of fifty-two men and women born in 1914-1918 and 1924-1928 was undertaken in 1997 and 1998. Research area was the middle and south area of Okinawa Island. 2. Findings (1) Transition to adulthood of Okinawan people born in the Taisho and Showa era was shaped under the traditional rural Okinawan socio-cultural background. (2) Also, people's disastrous experiences during the World War II and Japan-US battle on the Okinawan Islands was characteristic of their transition to adulthood. Above all, many lost their family members who were killed in the war. (3) After the war, people lived their lives under the new social and economic conditions, such as large employment in the US military base camps and the other economic opportunities.