Shichigosan: Change And Continuity Of A Family Ritual In Contemporary Urban Japan Hardcover

Melinda Papp

This book presents a case study of shichigosan, an extremely popular childhood family ritual in contemporary Japan. It is an interesting example of a custom with very ancient roots (going back to the tenth century), that has undergone several transformations during the course of its history, adapting to changing socio-economic and cultural circumstances. Within the study, the ritual unfolds as a shared platform where basic social values, views on children and family life, and individual perceptions emerge, are expressed and moulded at the same time. This book offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of a ritual practice in the intensely urbanized context of present-day Japan.

9781137565372

English

Palgrave MacMillan

08 Jun 2016

262

Melinda Papp is Assistant Professor in Japanese Culture and Society at the Department of Japanese Studies, Eoetvoes Lorand University (ELTE) University, Hungary. She has published on themes concerning Japanese folklore religious beliefs, modern patterns of family rituals, and consumption. She has edited the volume Encounters with Japan: Japanese Studies in the Visegrad Four Countries.

The book will be equally valuable to those conducting research on consumption in the Asia Pacific region, especially in comparison with the 'West,' for academics dealing with the history and/or the contemporary pattern of different kinds of festivities, as well as for researchers engaged in anthropological or sociological examinations of contemporary urban societies, or in gender studies. (Ferenc Tako, Journal of Religion in Japan, Vol. 8 (1-3), 2019)