Social Structure of Village Community in Okinawa

1988 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 61301022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Co-operative Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
• Research Institution: KOBE UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: KITAHARA Atsushi Professor, Faculty of Letters, Kobe University, 文学部, 教授 (30107916)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): FUJII Masaru Lecturer, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagoya University, 教養部, 講師 (20165343) ; TAKEUCHI Takao Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Kinjo Gakuin University, 文学部, 助教授 (40105747) ; GODA Toh Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Kobe University, 教養部, 助教授 (00106593) ; IWASAKI Nobuhiko Associate Professor, Faculty of Letters, Kobe University, 文学部, 助教授 (20086052) ; HASEGAWA Yoshikazu Professor, Faculty of Letters, Kobe University, 文学部, 教授 (50030507)
• Project Period (FY): 1986 – 1988
• Keywords: Okinawa / Village Social Structure / Monchuu / Ya Family / Communal Land Tenure of Premodern Age Unstable Employment / 不安定就業 / Uターン

Research Abstract

1. The research of social structure of village community in Okinawa has generally been done with special reference to Monchuu kinship organization. Monchuu, which has a limited function of ancestral worship, was initially formed in the End of edo era in the southern part of mainland Okinawa island and after Meiji era in the northern part of it and the remote islands around. The anthropological studies in the 60s contributed to tracing the formation proccess of Monchuu.
2. Monchuu is composed of ya family as its member. Ya has almost the same character as ie on the mainland Japan from the viewpoint of the ceremonial lineage with the hierarchical order. But ya is also the politico-jural member of the communal village organization with the egual status. It makes new ya establish easily and extends the branche of Monchuu quickly. This aspect of village social structure makes Monchuu different from Dozoku kinship organization on the mainland Japan.
3. The present occupational structure in Okinawa has a continuity from that of the occupied years in the unusually big rate of the third sector industry laborers. On village revels there have appeared more non-agiricultural employees than agiriculturalists. Their conditions of labor are generally unstable, but it is not so difficult for them to find jobs there. There have been a certain number of U-turners from the mainland Japan in spite of the unstable employment in Okinawa.