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基本説明
Despite the institutional and ideological continuities over four centuries, divorce perceptions and practices have been transformed in adapting to new social roles of men and women, changing views of marriage and parenting, and changes in intergenerational relations.
Full Description
Historians have paid little attention to divorce in Japan, even though until the mid-twentieth century Japan had one of the highest divorce rates in the world. This book shows that the high prevalence of divorce was made possible by a regulatory framework condoning consensual divorce. Spouses and their families were usually free to negotiate dissolution with little interference from public authorities. Only in the rare cases of intractable conflict did parties seek legal adjudication, a situation that holds true to this day.
Despite the institutional and ideological continuities over four centuries, the perception and practice of divorce have been transformed in adapting to new social roles for men and women, changing views of marriage and parenting, and changes in intergenerational relations. Married couples across all social groups have more control over initiating and terminating their marriage than ever before. Wives now have the same legal rights to sue for divorce as their husbands. The author shows, however, that not all changes have been to the women's advantage, nor were traditional practices as detrimental to women as is often assumed.
Contents
Contents Acknowledgments xiii Note on Japanese Names xv 1. The Forgotten History of Japanese Divorce 1 When Japan Led the World in Divorce, 1--Competing Interpretations of Traditional High Divorce Rates, 6--A New History of Japanese Divorce, 9--Changing Definitions of Marriage and Divorce, 11--Sources, 15 2. For the Sake of the House: Edo-Period Patterns, Perceptions, and Precedents 18 Divorce Across Status and Domain Boundaries, 21--"No- Fault" Divorce in Popular Plays, 25--Magistrates in Support of Household Authority, 29--Merciful Buddhist Temples: An Alternative Venue for Divorce Negotiations, 39--Household Status Versus Sex, 44 3. Testing a Spouse: The Trial Marriage System 47 Meiji Marriage Ambiguities, 48--The Frequency of Divorce in the Meiji Era, 57--Multiple Remarriage Opportunities, 67-- The Trial Marriage System and Household Survival, 72 4. Unsuitable to the Family Tradition? Popular Divorce Customs in the 1870s 75 Obtaining a Customary Consent Divorce, 76--The Terms of Customary Consent Divorce, 82--Life After Divorce, 96-- Evidence of Female Divorce Initiatives, 96--Early Modern Divorce Revisited, 98 5. Between French Law and Japanese Customs: Codifying Divorce in Meiji Japan 100 Intellectual Interpretations of Divorce in the 1870s and the 1880s, 102--The Napoleonic Code and the Early Codification Process, 1873-1887, 105--The Backlash Against "French" Divorce, 1887-1892, 109--Reaffirming the Dual Divorce System, 1892- 1898, 110--The Civil Code of 1898: Divorce, Family, and Gender, 114 6. When Marriage Was on the Rise: Declining Divorce Rates, 1898-1940 119 Legislation and the Precipitous Drop in Divorce, 1897-1899, 120--The Gradual Decline, 1900-1940, 128 7. Forward to the Past: A Historical Perspective on Japanese Divorce After World War II 144 Legislative Reform During the American Occupation, 145-- The 1960s Revolution in Japanese Divorce Behavior, 152--The Return of the Divorcing Society in the 1990s, , 161 Appendix 169 Notes 175 Select Bibliography 211 Index 223 Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Divorce Japan History, Domestic relations Japan
