Young 1 Virginia Young Dr. Lawrence Wheeler Honors 101 13 November 2013

Informal Fictive Kinship in Japan: A Summary of Argument This essay will review the use of informal kinship within Japanese culture, as explored by Edward Norbeck and Harumi Befu. Through careful examination I shall analyze the central arguments as presented by Norbeck and Befu, the evidence used to support these arguments, how the evidence and argument complement one another, and the previous training and experience had by the authors that allows them to write a successful article. Together Norbeck and Befu examine how the Japanese use of kinships terms can often give non-relatives the status of relatives. Their process of exploration on this topic of the range for the usage of kinship terms are examined throughout four distinct sections in the article, with subsequent sections found within each. This use of division helps to frame the argument of Norbeck and Befu in a manner that allows the reader to clearly understand the cultural usage of the varying forms of kinship and how it helps to define relationships among people. The first section, “Background Consideration” describes the methods in which Norbeck and Befu gathered information - personal experiences, fieldwork, and thirty informants. Further reading introduces the general rules of kinships and how the method of kinships has been obtained from other cultures. Based on the research conducted by Spier, the Japanese system of classification is similar to that of the one practiced in the Eskimo culture. This questions the idea

Young 2 of whether current systems of classification can be maintained as many systems are adapted from cultures different from their own. The second section, “Fictive Usages Among Relatives” focuses on the two types of usages within the terms among related people. The first denotes genealogical statuses which