| 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.
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