日本等级制度英文

English name: Estelle Chinese name:何琼（He Qiong）Student number:2012010235“ Taking One’s Proper Station ”——Japanese Hierarchy The term “Taking One?s Proper Station” is from the American female cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict?s book “The Chrysanthemum and The Sword”. “Taking One?s Proper Station”means that everyone can set his mind at rest to stay on the level of their own, be not insurmountable, and only do the duty, which will ensure good order. This is also one of the most important connotations of Japanese hierarchy. Japanese hierarchy penetrated into every corner of Japanese politics, family and etc, affecting Japanese values.

Japanese hierarchy has been one of means to be taken to maintain good order in Japan and to ensure the safety of people. Even though it looks like two things generally north and south poles, Japanese treat order and hierarchy the way just as the Americans trust the freedom of faith and peace. For the US, it is very difficult to regard the hierarchical system as an appropriate social mechanism, but the Japanese believe in the role of the hierarchy. It is the basis of understanding the relationship between persons and the relationship between people and countries. In order to fully understand the Japanese hierarchy, this article will briefly summarize the Japanese hierarchy into three aspects: class role, social and family roles and international role, and from the three roles to understand the influence of hierarchy on politics, society and family and so on.

1. Class role

Hierarchical class role is mainly played in Japanese politics. Government leaders during each period have made use of hierarchy to maintain social stability and enhance people?s sense of security.

From the seven century to the eight century, Japanese officials and private introduced a large number of Chinese cultures. The emperor and his court also used Chinese culture to reform the

Japanese society. But Japan did not completely follow the Chinese culture and the transformation was in order to adapt to the culture of hierarchy. Chinese class status combined with the identity, occupation and other various factors, with strong comprehensive while Japanese class status is relatively “simple”. They didn?t accept the concept of the Chinese emperor secular and thought that the royal family was detached from the secular and only royal family would inherit the throne. Compared with China the change to the throne, the Japanese throne are much more stable.

Civil strife continued in 16th century. After decades of civil war, the generals Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated all opponents and became the first Shogun Tokugawa family in 1603. During the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa clan took measures to strengthen the feudal system. The main measure to enhance centralization was division level. It was very complex for Japanese feudal society to divide the feudal hierarchy. Everyone was fixed by means of hereditary position. Tokugawa clan strengthened this system, and regulated specific acts of everyone in their level. Under the royal palace and noble, Tokugawa also divided four castes. The sequence was chevalier (samurai), agriculture (farmers), industry (workers), business (merchant). Besides, there was minimum level was untouchables. They included beggars and many people who worked various occupations other tabooed, such as Scavenger, Who buried death, Stripping the dead skins and tanner etc. These people were ranked outside the formal social organization. The status of the merchant class was just a bit better than untouchables, because traders were seen as the destroyer of feudal system. In the seventeenth century, the Tokugawa clan implemented of the policy of seclusion. The policy provisions were that the people whose boat exceeded construction or drove over a certain number of people were to be sentenced to death, which was purposed to stop the development and expansion of the merchant class. Other related law emphasized the businessman

with low social status. For example, “Luxury ban order”provisions was businessman dressed, wore an umbrella, made arrangements for weddings, funerals when the amount spent and so on. Tokugawa Shogunate fixed these two classes of samurai and farmers to maintain feudal social stability. Tokugawa confiscated weapons for farmers, and only samurai has the power of the sword. Samurai could not work as other classes could do, totally dependent on Daimyo, relied on rice as a salary each year from taxes extracted farmers to earn a living. There was also a huge difference between samurai and other three classes. Three classes were the “common people” while samurai swords also showed their privilege. Tokugawa decree provides: “the common people who were rude for samurai or misconduct of noble should immediately be headed”. For farmer class, they had to deliver to the government heavy taxes every year, which was used to feed samurai, government agencies, as well as the royal family. In a state of extreme poverty, farmers would also rebel against the feudal lords and shogun authorities. However, its resistance process is orderly. Generally peasant leaders submitted a petition up to feudal lords. If the feudal lords denied, the peasant leader could submit the petition up to shogun. Then the judgment would be half benefited to farmers. However, farmers leaders had been destroyed the basic law “must be loyal”by the behavior of the insurgents. No matter how right the insurgents starting point, they must be sentenced to death. These insurgents or farmers also thought these inevitable without complaints to accept. This showed hierarchical class role was played deeply in the heart of Japanese.

The core of maintaining order of the four classes was different laws for each class, which led the four classes “Taking One?s Proper Station”. However, the difference between four classes was not insurmountable. As long as the different classes of individual resources complementary, lower-class people could, through marriage, adoptive, adoption and other ways,

obtain a higher status, thus changing their social status. This could enhance to social mobility to reduce conflicts between classes. For example, business class tried to use these ways to make their sons or posterities become samurai to change social status. But this did not destroy the hierarchy, because these people recognized the gap between the classes. However, this flow was difficult for most people, and even unable to conceive of it. In general, hierarchy was benefited to Tokugawa shogunate.

In 1868, Japan entered the modern period, the Meiji restoration period. For the establishment of what kind of Japan, Japanese Meiji government politicians Kido Takayoshi who Ito Hirobumi dispatch to the United Kingdom to hear Spencer?s comments. Spencer, referring to Japanese hierarchical wrote: “Japanese society, there was a national of rich basis that any country was incomparably -- the …elders?traditional obligations, in particular obligations to the Emperor of Japan, would was a valuable resource for Japan. The Japanese would be under the leadership of the …elder? steady progress, and overcome inevitable difficulties in many countries individualism”. In the political field, the Meiji government clearly divided obligations between the country and the people. Meiji government took measure “Abolition of the han system”, which cancelled each Daimyo lord qualification and hereditary system, with “county” instead of the administrative units of the “fan”. Buckingham was still a royal family. The ruling class of nobles, lords, daimyo unity called “Chinese family”, samurai to “Nobles”, industrial and commercial including untouchable unity to civilians. Noble?s class privileges were canceled. Such division just simplified the hierarchy, the ruling class and civilians still had the very big difference. Until Japan defeat after World War II, the U.S. military occupation of Japan, Japan government just passed a law to achieve the personality equality. Japan?s rulers could rule the country powerfully and did not

have to be fully accepted about public opinion and the government only required the support of “the public”, that was huge different from the United States. The government was run by elites while elected characters would not be included. House of Representatives elected by universal suffrage represent views of voters, only to criticize and question of senior officials, but no real say in the appointment, removal and decision-making, the budget and so on. That is a reflection of a caste system to ensure “Excellency” to lead Japan. Past experience that the Japanese had got into the habit of “obedience” and this habit has been solidified in their moral system and etiquette. As long as these “Excellency” occupying their place, their level of privilege would be respected by Japanese.

Hierarchical class role was played in the field of political affecting Japanese, making people gradually get used to the hierarchy, trusting hierarchy could protect their safety, which has gradually formed this kind of psychological “Taking One?s Proper Station”. Even in the process of learning from the West, Japanese leaders did not give up the hierarchy. Japan?s leaders happily see the formation of this “Taking One?s Proper Station” psychological, because it would be helpful to rule and to reduce unnecessary friction between classes.

2.Social and Family roles

Hierarchy not only plays a significant role in the political, but also penetrates into the field of society, family life in Japan. Hierarchy gradually contributed to the formation of Japanese etiquette and manner. “Taking One?s Proper Station”has become a rule of life the Japanese believe in. How to respect the hierarchy is a kind of art. It also requires that the Japanese etiquette could reach to it.

In Japan, the family is a place where people can learn manners and observe the etiquette

carefully. Hierarchy based on seniority in the family, gender and primogeniture is an important part of family life. Each member in the home should be “Taking One?s Proper Station”. It is really important for children to learn manner and etiquette at home. When the baby was carried by his mother, his mother would press the baby?s head with the hand and teach children etiquette. In Japan, bowing is one of the most common etiquette. Children need to make a bow to theirs? father and wife needs to make a bow to her husband. Litter brothers also need to make a bow to old brother while girls need to bow to her all brothers. From these bowing, the seniority, gender and primogeniture in the family all play an important part in deciding a person?s status in the family. Bow is not just the form of performance, but also has a deep meaning. If a man made a bow to another person, he meant that he recognized the recipient and the recipient was entitled to intervene in the things they were dealing with. The recipient also knew that he bore some responsibility commensurate with their duties. Father as male elders was privileged because of meal or bath he could enjoy first. All other members of the family made a bow to him, he only replied with a nod. In the past the parents also could decide the marriage rights of children. But now the phenomenon still exists in some of the big family. For the Japanese, the eldest son should keep his brother?s boldness of vision as natural as the fish in the water of life, as the eldest son is the heir. The eldest son needed to stay at home while the younger brother might be out of their homes to the society and to accept more education especially in countryside or town. So sometimes the litter bothers would earn more than the eldest bother. Now this phenomenon still existed in Japan.

It is really important for children to learn manner and etiquette at home because people need to use manner and etiquette through the family learning in society. To make distinction of

hierarchical differences between two persons requires proper consideration of gender, age, family relationship and friendship with each other in the past and so on in society. It is also very important that hierarchical differences are often recognized through appropriate behavior such as honorifics and bow or bow down. When someone makes a bow to other, he needs to figure out not only who should be made a bow to but also the extent of a bow. This is a standard of dealing with interpersonal relationships. Japanese only do this, they can survive in society.

In Japan, the hierarchical social and family roles can help Japanese develop hierarchical thinking, which can make people more orderly and also benefit to playing a role in the political hierarchy.

3.international role

Japan also tried to this hierarchical thinking “Taking One?s Proper Station”to think about international relations. The hierarchical thinking played a important role during World War II.

In 1940, Japan, Germany and Italy three signed alliance treaty. In alliance treaty foreword, the Japan government declared: “Great Imperial Government of Japan, the German government and the Italian government is convinced that the premise condition of maintaining permanent peace is to obtain their own appropriate location”. On the day of Japan attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese ambassador delivered the United States Secretary of State Hull a clear statement, in which it wrote: “The Japanese government policy is to ena ble all countries to firmly adjust our position in the international community. The Japanese government can not tolerate is existing which runs counter to the basic policy of the Japanese situation”. Japanese think about the cause of the war also come from the hierarchy consideration that “as long as all countries have absolute sovereignty, the whole world will be in a state of anarchy. Thus Japan must establish a hierarchy

while this hierarchy can only be achieved by the Japanese, because Japan is the only country to really establish a top-down hierarchy and only Japan knows the importance of “Taking One?s Proper Station”. According to hierarchical thinking, Japan wanted to build up a big circle of common prosperity in East Asia. The first step was to help backward China. Then Japan would tried to driven out of the United States, followed by the UK and Russia. Japan was the top of the big circle of common prosperity in East Asia. This idea of international order could not be recognized by the countries they occupied, because this was contrary to national sovereignty equality thoughts. Japan with this idea was strongly resisted by other countries. It was impossible for Japan to achieve the final victory of the World War II.

Hierarchical international role did not help Japan achieve goals in international society. But Hierarchy is beneficial to the domestic order and stability through class role, social and family roles.

(Sources mainly comes form Chinese version of “The Chrysanthemum and The Sword” written by Ruth Benedict and translated by Liu Feng whose main translated works such as “The U.S. energy bill”.)