Ie (Japanese family system)

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The ie (家), or "household," was the basic unit of Japanese law until the end of World War II: most civil and criminal matters were considered to involve families rather than individuals (Iwasawa 1998:233). The "ie" is considered to consist of grandparents, their son and his wife and their children (Shimizu 1987:85), although even in 1920, 54% of Japanese households already were nuclear families. The system was formally abolished with the 1947 revision of Japanese family law under the influence of the Allied occupation authorities, and Japanese society began a transition to a more Americanised nuclear family system. However, the number of nuclear families only slightly increased until 1980, when it reached 63% and the Confucian principles underlying the ie concept only gradually faded and are still informally followed to some degree by many Japanese people today.

[edit] References

• Shimizu, Akitoshi. "Ie and Dōzoku: Family and Descent in Japan." Current Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 4, Supplement: An Anthropological Profile of Japan (Aug. - Oct., 1987), pp. S85-S90.

• Iwasawa, Yuji. International Law, Human Rights, and Japanese Law: The Impact of International Law on Japanese Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 400 pgs. ISBN 0-19-825912-3.