Sylvia Junko Yanagisako

Transforming the past : tradition and kinship among Japanese Americans

1. The analysis of kinship change Part I. Marriage: 2. Issei marriage 3. Nisei marriage 4. The transformation of marriage Part II. Filial Relations: 5. Two generations of filial relations 6. The interpretation of filial relations Part III. Siblinghood and Kinship: 7. Issei siblings, Kazoku and Shinrui 8. Nisei siblings, family, and relatives 9. Conclusion: transforming the past Appendix Index.

Two Processes of Change in Japanese-American Kinship

Two processes of change in Japanese-American kinship are analyzed using a theoretical framework which differentiates the cultural structure of kinship (kinship as a system of symbols and meanings) from the social structure of kinship (the patterning of actual interaction between kinsmen). The first process, which follows Parsonss model of structural differentiation, entails a normative reorganization that leaves higher order values and the symbolic system intact. The second process, however, goes beyond the limits of Parsonss model and demonstrates one manner in which fundamental change can occur in an ideological system. Comparison of the two simultaneous processes of change leads to several findings relevant to the question of the interdependence of kinship behavior and kinship ideology.

Households in Anthropology

Anthropologists use the term household loosely to refer to a residential unit, whose members cooperate in some activities of production, consumption, or child rearing. They differentiate the household from the family by defining the former as a residential unit and the latter as a kinship unit. Close scrutiny of this distinction reveals key assumptions that have shaped the way anthropologists and other social scientists have conceptualized and studied not only households, but also families, domestic groups, and kinship.