Sociology Japanese culture essay
Sociology Japanese culture essay
【Instructions】
Please write three to four page papers—a total of six to eight pages double-spaced,
addressing two prompts below. Make sure to include a clear thesis, clear points supporting your
argument(s) and a clear conclusion. Please include citations (any style), one-inch margins all
around and a bibliography of works cited on an additional page; use eleven or twelve-point
Times New Roman, Times, Calibri, Ariel or Cambria fonts (please choose just one).
I also attached two PDF below, and they basically cover the main answers of the following two questions. You just need to combine those key ideas with some of the readings that I list from bottom to support the main argument.
【Prompt 1】
How did the religions of Japan (please name the religions) support the ascetic lifestyle of the samurai, buttress the central feudal government, help cement social relations (between elite social actors, and between elites and commoners), assist in the move from feudalism to capitalism during the Meiji Restoration, and form a foundation for militarization during the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods? Make sure to discuss Kokutai. What of the contributions of Christianity?
【Prompt 2】
Discuss the similarities and differences of policing in Japan and the United States. Focus your response on social history—the difference between honor-based and contract-based social systems. Also, discuss how honor-based criminal enterprises exist in both Japan and the United States. Finally, reflect on Yakuza as functional to socio-economic relations, sociopolitical relations, and more generally to societal relations in Japan.
Reading reference for question 1:
• Bellah. Tokugawa Religion. 51-70
• Nukariya. The History of Zen in Japan. 28-51 (pdf can be found online –
https://archive.org/details/religionofsamura00nuka)
• Griffis. The Religions of Japan. 37-58 (pdf can be found online –
https://ia800307.us.archive.org/30/items/religionsjapanf01grifgoog/religionsjapanf01grifgoog.pdf)
Reading reference for question 2:
• Hill. The Changing Face of the Yakuza. 97-116
• Bayley. Forces of Order: Policing in Modern Japan. 126-67
