social hierarchy | JAPANsociology

The process of labeling is at the heart of our communication, because labeling, or naming, is about differentiating one group from the rest (male and female, up and down, right and left, arms and legs, etc). The names help us to share the context of what we want to convey, and makes our communication efficient. In fact, the power of label is so strong that it could have a strong impact on how we perceive the world.

In terms of society, we have a horrific history of creating social hierarchy based on racial labels. Japan is no exception, where the society is segmented and ranked, and social labels categorize us by means of appearance, by profession, hobbies and so on. Also, social groups are often given labels in order to separate the majority and the minority. For example, being called a Japanese-Peruvian is not saying that you are Japanese AND Peruvian, but rather categorizing you into something other than Japanese or Peruvian. I believe that today, such labels are used for discriminatory purposes in a very dangerous way.

Many experts such as Alexander, the author of “The New Jim Crow”, suggests that poverty and incarceration are integrated into certain community in the United States and Britain through forming a social structure where target community is easily oppressed under the name of “law and order”, and blinding the rest of the society through deliberate negative connotation to target cultures. Both in Britain and United States have stereotypes that connect violence, crime and drugs to Black, Latino, Arab and young communities (Alexander, 96). It is not only the ethnic profiling by the police that is spreading the negative image to certain people. It is the underlying recognition penetrating through the society that makes society blind and slow to react to the condition that these communities face.

I believe a similar pattern can be seen in Japan as well, where we discriminate against certain social groups only based on the group they belong to. For example, Chinese are seen as extremely wealthy or extremely poor, Zainichi Koreans has a long history of being blamed for all types of crimes, and these images are subconsciously reminded through news media and rumors. Of course, many of us know that such prejudice is false but I believe that the collective stereotypes are rooted deep inside our society, and it will not go away overnight. At the same time, I am not a believer of under-labeling. Calling all Zainichi and Peruvian-Japanese as just “Japanese”, and treat them as if they are no different, is disrespecting their background and oppressing their identities. We must continuously recognize the strength of labels, and try to assess the positive/negative connotation that is attached to it. This may not be the best solution, but I believe the society could only change when each member is consistently trying to change. Perhaps we will someday be able to accept differences in social groups as a fact, rather than treating them as “exceptions” of our society.

Works Cited
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow. New York: The New Press. 2010. Print.

by Nanako Kurioka

In many social minority groups, the group members are not necessarily equal, and there is social hierarchy within the communities. By analyzing the previous readings, “the Mechanism of Ethnic Retention: Later-Generation Japanese Immigrants in Lima, Peru” and “the Chinese Social Dance Party in Tokyo: Identity and Status in an Immigrant Leisure Subculture,” this post proves that minority groups tend to create hierarchic structure in their society and differentiate people.

First of all, Japanese-Peruvian immigrants in Lima formed hierarchy based on socioeconomic standards, and they were mainly divided in three ways: peasants or intellectuals, Okinawans or non-Okinawans, and rich or poor.

1, In the Japanese-Peruvian communities, there was a border between peasants and so-called intellectuals such as embassy officials, businesspeople, and emigration company personnel. Ayumi Takenaka claims, “the poorer immigrants continued to be treated by Japanese bureaucrats and businessmen as ‘second-class citizens’” (471). Therefore, the poor peasants were subordinate to the intellectuals.

2, These Japanese-Peruvian immigrants were also separated between Okinawans and non-Okinawans. “Okinawan immigrants tended to have a lower level of education, occupy lower-rung economic positions in Lima, and speak a distinct dialect of their own” while many of non-Okinawans were members of intellectual classes (471). Hence, the Okinawans were discriminated and excluded from the community by the rest of Japanese immigrants.

3, The immigrants established a community called Japanese-Peruvian Association (APJ), which allowed all Japanese to join. However, there was also hierarchy and exclusion. Although economically privileged immigrants always occupied leadership and important positions of the community, the other poorer immigrants were excluded from the association because they could not afford to pay high membership and activity fees.

Next, Chinese immigrants in Tokyo had similar hierarchic structure in their dance party as Japanese-Peruvian community. They were separated by region, and the level of education.

1, As Japanese-Peruvians were divided into Okinawans and non-Okinawans, the Chinese immigrants were mainly separated into two groups: Northeasterners and Fujian people. Gracia Liu Farrer joined the dance party herself and explains, “Regional grouping was the strongest among the less educated and socially stigmatized who could find no more advantageous status distinctions” (663). Since Fujian is notorious for illegal immigrations and human trafficking, the people from Fujian are discriminated by the rest of Chinese immigrants.

2, Also, the immigrants made groups by their levels of education. Farrer contends that better-educated people were more privileged by higher status while less-educated immigrants were not in their dance party.

In these ways, both Japanese-Peruvians in Lima and Chinese immigrants in Tokyo composed hierarchy to separate immigrants. As the result, the excluded people were subordinate to the others in better and higher positions. Each member was not equal at all, and in particular, hierarchy and separation based on socioeconomic reasons are obvious within the communities.

Works Cited

Farrer, G.L. (2004). The Chinese Social Dance Party in Tokyo: Identity and Status in an Immigrant Leisure Subculture. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 33 (6), 651-674.

Takenaka, A. (2003). The Mechanism of Ethnic Retention: Later-Generation Japanese Immigrants in Lima, Peru. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 29 (3), 467-483.

by Masayuki Tanaka