Marriage in changing Japan: community & society

1. Historical context -- 2. The community -- 3. The household and married life -- 4. The mechanics of making a match -- 5. The union : ceremonial and celebration -- 6. Further ceremonial : some of the wider implications of marriage -- 7. Conclusion : the pivotal role of marriage.

This book approaches its subject from two angles. First, there is a detailed and descriptive analysis of the social organisation of, and place of marriage in, one community in Kyushu. To this extent, the study is a regional one and provides valuable ethnographic information. The second angle, however, is to analyse this material in the light of other historical ethnographical writings on Japan, which puts the regional material in a national context, and brings together a great deal of information about Japanese marriage hitherto unpublished in English.