Family Values Between
Japanese and American Cultures
Brandi Young
Anthropology 101
Leslie Ruff
April 4, 2008
As a society we strive to have a sense of community when interacting with others. In that community, values are taught initially through family. However, with each society comes a precedent on how families interact into social standards. In the United States for example, it is more likely to have your elderly parents or grandparents living in retirement communities or nursing homes. It is also more likely that divorce rate is much higher, and the percentage of children whose parents are or were ever married is low as well. There are other communities in the world that operate on a different social standard for their families. Japan for instance, traditionally believes that every family should be responsible for their own. So the elderly is not as likely to be placed in mental homes unless there was a medical issue. Secondly, children would be less likely to be subjected to single-family homes or homes of non-married couples. It is apparent which country places the value in placing family as a priority.
The Japanese culture is steeped in a long history and has had several religious influences that molded Japan into the country that it is today. The Japanese believe that if children are taught early on that a strong sense of family is the most important aspect of community then a strong society would prevail. They believe that to be religious it is not only to have a sense of devotion to a deity but also a civilized and tranquil devotion to society and nature. That these two things given in equal proportion would equal the one. In addition to rearing for the young Japanese also believe in taking care of their elderly. For example the welfare system in Japan had been reported to pay out $1500 US dollars to its elderly citizens, which is less than what the elderly in the US currently receive. In fact, the Japanese culture...