He said this was the Legendary Night - Paul McCartney at Budokan

Background

Budokan, the hall for Japanese martial arts in Tokyo, has special meaning for beatlemaniacs in Japan. It was the place of the first and the last concert of the Beatles in Japan, in 1966. Some Japanese old men criticized, "The foreigner pop stars use the holy place of Japanese traditional sports", however the administrator of Budokan admitted the Beatles to play in the hall. (Actually, at that time Budokan was the largest hall in Japan, and it was suitable for accommodating a big audience)

In 1975, Paul McCartney was scheduled to play there but the Japanese Ministry of Justice banned his entry to Japan. In 1980, Paul entered Japanese Customs for his concert at Budokan but he was arrested for cannabis possession. In 1990, 1993, 2002 and 2013 he played his music in Japan but not at Budokan. He finally released his plan to play at Budokan in 2014, however, he canceled all his concerts in Japan and Korea because of his sudden viral inflammation.

Such history makes this day so special - Paul sings his songs for the first time in 49 years after many incidents.

The Iconic Venue

Wating for the Show to begin

Yes, it is special even before starting. My music lover friend who has been to Budokan over decades said, "This is my first experience to see such big crowd surrounding Budokan four hours before the concert." The crowd is waiting for Paul to come.

The place around Budokan is also like the place of "the reunion party". Many beatlemaniac friends of mine from all over Japan gather here. What's more, I meet a Korean beatlemaniac friend. I enjoyed renewing my friendship. It also makes today more special.


After waiting in a long line, at last I enter Budokan.

All of the audience members find a small device and a explanation sheet on their own seats. The sheet says "Turn on and have this wrist band. This is a surprise for Paul McCartney-san. Thank you for your cooperation from Kyodo Tokyo (promoter) and The Beatles Club (fanclub)" What is this?

Sitting in the stands of Budokan, we are waiting for the show to begin.

Concert

Paul appears on stage.

The first song is, surprisingly, "Can't Buy Me Love". It is different from the other concerts of this present tour. This fact makes us feel impressed. We guess that Paul also might think this gig is special.

Not only the song selection but also other factors make this concert feel exceptional. Obviously Paul is surprised at our eagerness and passion. I realize that from his reactions - his talking on stage, guitar playing and singing. It's different from other concerts. In other concerts, he used many Japanese messages on stage with prepared scenario, but maybe he now talks with his unprepared messages and he concentrates on his music performance.

Our presumption is that "Paul feels this concert is special" turns out to be true when he says "Sekai-hatsu! (The first in the world)" and plays "Another Girl". Yes, it's the first performance! Big surprises from him!

After that, when Paul plays the piano for "Let it Be", suddenly all audience's wrist band light.

Paul seems to be surprised by this. It could be seen on his face. Our turn now.

Our wristbands become more colorful and audience becomes more excited.

Our wristbands show the Japanese flag and the Union Jack.

(photo by Mr. I. Yamano)



In response to us, Paul and his band members are gaining steam.

On the last track, the wristbands change their color every second and Paul, and his band and audience are reaching the high point of this gig.

Paul's face at the last moment of his playing.

The show ends. Paul says "This was the Legendary Night!"

After the show

With my beatlemaniac friends, we talk over this "Legendary Night" till midnight

Newspapers.

My impsession

This show reminds me of a scene in the movie "13 days", which described the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. When the US tried to impose a naval blockade against Cuba, the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said; "This, all this, is language, a new vocabulary the likes of which the world has never seen. This is President Kennedy communicating with Secretary Khruschev."

Like that, Paul McCartney and Budokan audience were communicating together with no words but "new vocabularies" - music, airs of excitement and illuminating wristbands. It made the show unique.

In my opinion, all arts are also communications. Among them, This "Paul McCartney at Budokan" is the best art, aka communication.

Paul's action on the following day of the Budokan night is the symbol of our communication. He revisited Budokan. He must have been impacted from the Legendary night.

(quote from Paul's official Twitter)



It also reminds me of this lyrics of the Beatles song "The End", written by McCartney; And in the end, the Love You take is equal to the Love You make.

The Day for National Foundation, not the National Foundation Day of Japan

The 11th of February is a holiday in Japan. Many Japanese people recognize it as The National Foundation Day. However, if you see any calendars in Japan, the precise name of the day is indicated as "The Day for National Foundation." This slight difference has a story as follows:

History around The National Foundation Day

Japan's first official history book "Nihon Shoki" which was written in 720 said that February 11th was the day that Jinmu the first Emperor of Japan ascended the throne in 660BC.

"Emperor Jimmu" Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)

However, it wasn't true history. Almost all of modern studiers of Japanese history think that the oldest existing emperor was in the 3rd century. However, from the 1870s to 1945, the Japanese government had told citizens that it was true history, because the dignity of the old Emperor system was needed to rule Japan smoothly. In 1872, the 11th of February was set as "the National Foundation Day." The government enhanced the dignity of the Emperor by, for instance, educating citizens that the Emperor was the descendant of gods. Using this entitlement, the government began to say that Japan, the nation of the gods, should rule Asia.

Abolition and revival

After WWII, the US occupation army banned the political usage of the Emperor. In 1946, the Emperor Hirohito (the period of his reign: 1925-1989) declared as follows: The tie between citizen of Japan and the Emperor doesn't depend on unreal thoughts, such as, "The emperor is the living god" and "The Japanese race is more excellent than other races, therefore the Japanese race should rule the world."
In 1948, The National Foundation Day was abolished.

As time passed, some diet members of the administration party (the Liberal Democratic Party which it is conservative, and does not live up to the name) submitted the bill of the National Foundation Day. The members of left sided parties were strongly against them. In 1963, when a member of the LDP tried a forcible passage of the bill, opponents tackled him and this LDP man was carried to a hospital.

After that, the LDP members proposed an alternative plan to opponents. "How about we change the name of the February 11th holiday from The National Foundation Day, to The Day for the National Foundation," they said. "This name doesn't mean that the national foundation occurred on the 11th of February. People can think that this day is for thinking of and respecting the nation." In 1966, opponents compromised to this idea. Since 1967, the 11th of February in Japan has been made a the holiday again.

The communist party reacted with slight resistance. The party didn't admit the day as a holiday, therefore members and staff of the party worked on the 11th of February. Some people felt it was a proud act. but some other people didn't like it. For example, children of the staff hated the system because they weren't able to go on vacation on the day like other non-communist families. In 2004, the party began to treat some "controversial" days as holidays -- the 11th of February, the 29th of April (Showa Emperor's birthday, in 2004, it was called "Greenery Day", but now has reverted back to "Showa Day") and the 23rd of December (the reigning Emperor's birthday)

My Opinion

I also don't think the 11th of February as the real national foundation day. On the other hand, I think that the existence of the Day for National Foundation is good. Another date is better, however I can't conceive of a more proper date. The 3rd of May, the day the present Constitution came into effect in 1947 may be the best, but the day is already established as the Constitution Memorial Day, a national holiday.
The 11th of February is the Day for National Foundation - it is not proper, but I reluctantly admit it.

Why is the US military in Japan?

Why is the US military in Japan? Some non-Japanese people seem to think it is because the US monitors Japan. However, most Japanese people don't think this.

Generally, Japanese people think as follows:

Reason 1: The constitution of Japan states that Japan can't have an army. Therefore, Japan needs the US army for its defense. When thinking about if Japan needs the US for it's defense, it is important to look at, "The Constitution of Japan"

The Constitution of Japan, Article 9
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.


According to Article 9, Japan is supposed to have renounced it's right to war. However, as stated by "Global Firepower*", Japan has the Self Defense Forces whose military power ranks 10th in the world, surpassing Israel's.

*Global Firepower (GFP) provides a unique analytical display of data concerning today's world military powers. Over 100 world military powers are considered in the ranking which allows for a broad spectrum of comparisons to be achieved concerning relative military strengths.


Global Firepower -2014 World Military Strength Rankings (nuclear capability is not taken into account)
The GFP Top 10: 1. United States 2. Russia 3. China 4. India 5. UK 6. France 7. Germany 8. Turkey 9. South Korea 10. Japan 11. Israel 12. Italy 13. Egypt

Therefore, Japan does not actually need the US for its defense.

FYI: Why is the Japanese government able to state the Self Defense Force as non-military despite its strong military power?

Ministry of defense: The Government's View on Article 9 of the Constitution
(Extract) The self-defense capability to be possessed and maintained by Japan under the Constitution is limited to the minimum necessary for self-defense.

The specific limit has a relative aspect of varying with the international situation, the level of military technology and various other conditions. It is defined in the Diet, the representatives of the people through deliberations about each fiscal year budget etc. However, whether or not the said armed strength corresponds to "war potential" prohibited under paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Constitution is an issue regarding the total strength that Japan possesses and maintains. Accordingly, whether or not the SDF are allowed to possess some specific armaments is decided by whether the total strength will or will not exceed the constitutional limit by possessing such armaments.

But in any case in Japan, it is unconstitutional to possess what is referred to as offensive weapons that, from their performance, are to be used exclusively for total destruction of other countries, since it immediately exceeds the minimum level necessary for self-defense. For instance, the SDF is not allowed to possess ICBMs, long-range strategic bombers or offensive aircraft carriers.

Reason 2: The location of Japanese islands was, and still is important for the balance of power in Asia. Therefore America, the world's police, needs to have many military bases in Japan.

In the era of the Cold War, it was a probable theory that America needed Japan to police Asia. South Korea and Japan bordered the Soviet Union, China and North Korea, which were communist powerhouses at the time. Japan could therefore have been an important frontline country for the West.

Many Japanese people believed this theory, my father being one of them. I remember a conversation with my father in the early 80s. I was junior high school student. I told him that the US should set up more military bases in Hokkaido, the northern large island in Japan. I knew it was not far from Hokkaido to the nearest island of Soviet Union (only 42km or 26miles). My father said, "Boy, do you know the reason the US never set up a base in Hokkaido? If it does so, the Soviet Union will think it is not a deterrence but take it as a war declaration. Very sensitive topic." To me, this experience represents the fact that Japanese people were aware of the tensions between the West and the East in the Cold War era, and Japan's important role in this conflict.

At that time, many Japanese people believed the US bases were necessary on islands in Japan. Now however, many people think that the current situation with China is the same as Japan's relationship with Russia during the Cold War. Therefore, they think that Okinawa is key for Japan's defense and the balance of power in Asia. The area size of the US bases in Okinawa accounts for 73.9% of all the US bases in Japan*. The large concentration of American power in one area (Okinawa) could be seen by some as America using Japan as a barrier against Asian countries such as China.
*http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/chijiko/kichitai/documents/kadai.pdf (in Japanese)

My opinion differs from this viewpoint. I agree that the US bases in Japan are located in Okinawa because of the Cold War, China and North Korea. However, the Cold War is now over and the likelihood of attack from China or North Korea is much lower than during the Cold War era. I therefore do not think that American still needs US bases in Japan to keep the balance of power in Asia.

My main opinion about the reason of the existence of the US bases in Japan is different from the above reason.

My opinion

The USA does not need Japan to keep the balance of power in Asia. The biggest reason for America's presence in Japan is that it costs less to locate US bases in Japan rather than in other countries. As can be seen in the graph below, Japan contributes more money to US bases and soldier salaries than any other country.

Allied Contributions to the Common Defense (United States Department of Defense 2004)

It can then be seen that Japan contributes more to US bases and soldier salaries than any other country.

Why Japan does this can be explained through events surrounding the establishment of Article 9?

The US wrote the first draft of The Constitution of Japan, including Article 9, in February 1946. At that time, the Cold War hadn't started yet. However, one month later, the Prime Minister of the UK, Churchill, first spoke of "The Iron Curtain", which is famous for signaling the beginning of the Cold War. In June 1950, the Korean War broke out. One month later, the US made Japan establish the National Police Reserve, which would later become the Self Defense Force. In short, I believe the US may have been anxious about Japan's remilitarization at first, but then used Japan as a wall against communist countries. After the Cold War ended, the US continued to take advantage of Japan simply to maintain the US bases at a low cost.

Conclusion: One more question

I believe America's military presence in Japan is not needed for Japan's defense to maintain the balance of power in Asia. It is simply because Japan provides a large amount of money for the US bases and soldier salaries. I must ask, why does Japan continue to support the US bases and provide them with a lot of money? Such policies are decided by the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. They are conservative and many members have a nationalistic mindset, however they choose to be dependent on the US. I can't understand why. I understand only that Japan has virtually been subordinate to the US from the end of World War II.

Why is Japan's unemployment rate so low?

Japan's unemployment rate and the recession

Japan's unemployment rate is lower than other developed countries.

United States Department of Labor "International Unemployment Rates and Employment Indexes, Seasonally Adjusted, 2009-2013"

People say that Japan has been experiencing a long recession, called "the lost twenty years", since 1992. If in a recession, then why is Japan's unemployment rate so low?

Japanese workers may be employed under harsher circumstances than unemployed people in the other developed countries

The reason why, has a strong relationship to the following chart.

International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies) 2009
The Financial and economic crisis: a Decent Work Response P.16

In 2009, to receive unemployment benefits, you would have had to have worked for over one year, have paid for employment insurance, be willing to work as soon as a company offers you employment and now be seeking a job. The amount of benefits received is about half of the amount of the applicant's former salary.
The period of receiving benefits is as follows: for applicants who quit his/her job, they can receive a max of 150 days pay. For applicants who were fired by a company, they can receive a max of 330 days pay. Disabled applicants can only receive a max of 360 days pay.
Labor Department of Japan, Osaka To persons intending to receive unemployment benefits of employment insurance system

Considering the bad conditions for those seeking unemployment benefits in Japan, many job seekers have no choice but to apply for a company which has bad (sometimes illegal) work conditions.

My opinion: The Reasons why Japanese society doesn't like to help unemployed people

Many young people, who feel the harsh reality of employment, never participate in elections. In the election for the lower diet of Japan in 2012, the ratio of people voting in their twenties was 37.89%. For voters in their seventies, the ratio was 74.93%.

Japanese people in older generations – in my opinion, over about 60 years old －　have tendencies to think "If a young person is in good health and yet unemployment, he or she is idle. Why do we have to pay our tax for such lazy people?" They spent their youth in the 60s to 80s. At that time, Japanese society kept the unemployment rate at 2%, while in European countries the unemplyment rate was 10%. That generation of Japanese citizens could get jobs easily. I got my job in 1993 (the first year of Japan's "lost twenty years"), after 6 job interviews for the same company. Three people, including me, got a job in my company out of 300 applicants from my university. After starting my job, an older co-worker in my office said; "I can't understand why my company is now "the narrow gate". He said he found it easy to get his job, "I only found a recruitment ad in a newspaper, applied, got this job. Maybe almost all of the applicants at that time could get jobs."

However, people from older generation have experienced other harsh realities. In their youth, Saturday wasn't a holiday. The words and concepts, "abuse of power" and "sexual harassment", didn't exist. More than in modern Japan, older people had absolute power – if a boss said something irrational, young people couldn't object, and had to simply obey him. Now such harsh realities have gone and people work under more favorable conditions. Therefore, people from older generations often think, "modern young people work in such favorable conditions, but they can't get jobs. They must be lazy."



My opinion about Japan's low unemployment rate can be explained through the following example. Miki Watanabe is the founder of a big pub-chain company. The company is notorious for its bad labor conditions. For example, their corporate identity is: "Work 24hours a day, 365days a year, till you die." A worker of this company committed suicide. Her work condition were: 140 hours overwork per month. On her designated "holidays", the company forced her to receive training from 7am, do "volunteer activities" and write a report about the "volunteer activities".

Watanabe, despite being such a notorious executive, was surprisingly elected for the upper diet in Japan. Among people in my generation (under 40 years of age), it was unbelievable. Many people from older generations feel the same way. However, some people from older generations wanted Watanabe to be in power. They thought modern Japanese society needed a severe leader, who says, "Work hard, don't be a spoiled child". In the end, 1 million voters voted for Watanabe, showing support of this work ethic. Clearly, older generations who supported Watanabe participated in the election, however younger people who were against Watanabe did not.

Japan's low unemployment rate compared to other developed countries', never means Japan's economy is in good condition. It means there is a big generation gap in understanding the real possibility of getting jobs in modern Japan and about their voting rates.

Paul McCartney in Japan, 2013

Preparation

Paul McCartney's concerts were a rare opportunity for Japanese fans. Paul has only held his or his band's concert in Japan 5 times in the 51years since The Beatles debut to this year, 2013. Therefore, I prepared something special for his concerts in November, 2013.

First, I did my best to take time off in order to attend all six concerts in Japan. The first and second concerts were held in Osaka Dome, which is located near my office. However, the other venues are a long way from my office. Fukuoka Dome is 500km West of my office, and Tokyo Dome is 500km East of my work place. It is almost the same distance as from London to Edinburgh, or New York to Niagra Falls. Therefore, I had to take days off. It isn't easy to take days off during the working week for Japanese businessmen. Fortunately, I could take enough day off to see Paul's concerts with my co-workers and clients understanding and smiling.

Then, 38 fanatical friends of mine and I, made red T-shirts which you can see below. They express our delight at Paul's first visit to Japan in 11 years.





The "McCartney weeks", as I like to call them, from the first concert on 11/11/2013 to the last one on 21/11/2013, have come and gone. I have written down my personal impression and experiences from these weeks.




General Impressions

Paul is so young and energetic. He sung his songs, in the same key as he did 50-years ago, with no water and very little rest. He depends not only on his talent, but also his good health. I recognize that good health is an important base for good work.

If his condition was not so great, his concerts would still be fantastic, because the songs he composed were fantastic.

He has a tremendous numbers of fans. Some of them are very good friends of mine. His concerts were a rare and precious opportunity to see them. My group of friends included people who hadn't seen each other since Paul's last concert in Japan, in 2002. What's more, Paul gave me a new opportunity to meet new friends at these concerts. Paul's music makes me happy, not only by how good it sounds but also because I can socialise with many amazing people. I think this is great.

I really appreciate Paul's consideration. He made many speeches in Japanese. One of his first speeches in Japanese was, "I will manage to speak in Japanese on this stage, but actually I'm good at English". In addition to this, he spoke in different Japanese dialects according to the area where the venue was located. Sometimes he spoke English, but at that time, Japanese subtitles appeared on big screens on stage. I have never known any other foreign musician to make such an effort. We enjoyed his showmanship and appreciated his consideration, along with his music. I think that he is taken for granted and should be more popular worldwide.




Special Memories

November 12th: 2nd concert in Osaka

I went to this concert with my six-year-old son. He lives with me, and since I frequently play Paul's CDs and DVDs, he has become a fan of Paul. When I asked him, "Do you wanna go to Paul's concert?", he quickly replied, "Yes! Yes!". Therefore, I got two tickets for that night. However, I had thought that the concert would be too long for him. After all, it wasn't for children. I had thought my son would get tired or bored and say, "I wanna go home."

However, my son enjoyed Paul's songs from the first to the last (so he could get a good nights sleep for going school the following day, I had to go with him before the encore). He jumped up when Paul began to sing his brand new single, "NEW". He also enjoyed, "All Together Now", because of his memories of when he first saw the animated movie, "Yellow Submarine". My son was astonished at the flames and fireworks on stage for the 007 theme song, "Live and Let Die". On his way home, he said, "I enjoyed the concert! I love Paul!!", repeatedly. Because of his comments and smile, I was on cloud nine.








November 15th: 3rd concert in Fukuoka

I got a close to look at the Tour Trucks.



Shaking hands with Paul's bronze hand made my day on my first visit to Fukuoka in 1993.



Paul shouted, "saiko!", again and again on stage that day. 'Saiko', does not mean 'psycho'. It has similar pronunciation, but means, terrific/fantastic.




November 18th: 4th concert in Tokyo

Tokyo is located closer to Fukushima than the other concert venues. Even now, 140,000 people who once lived in Fukushima had to evacuate and cannot go back to their homes after the big earthquake and nuclear plant accident in 2011. Paul gave a message to people from Fukushima and sung, "Yesterday".



Subtutile: "I dedicate the next song to Fukushima people…"

A friend of mine who lived close to Fukushima (the roof of his house was broken by the earthquake) said he was moved by Paul's message.




November 19th: 5th concert in Tokyo

I purchased a Sound Check ticket for this day. I was able to see Paul's rehearsal and was guaranteed front rows seats in the same venue as the main concert. The price was 80,000yen (800 dollars / 480 pounds / 560 euro). It was expensive for me, but I think it was worth the price.

The rehearsal was the same quality as the main concert. Paul and his band played some different songs to the main concert. The set list of the rehearsal changed every day, and many songs played on that day were old rock n' roll and blues songs. He seemed to be relaxed while singing and playing songs that he had listened to in his teenage years.

On this day, he was late for the Sound Check because of heavy traffic. He said, "Sorry, it's Kennedy traffic". His way from the hotel to the venue was affected by cars being controlled because of the new-appointed U.S. ambassador of Japan, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the slain president. He gave all of us guitar picks as a token of apology. It was a special token given only on this day, a small one, but nonetheless a big souvenir for me and other fans.








My seat was in the midst of the 55,000 seats of the gigantic Tokyo dome! I was in the 4th row!




I had a great experience and cannot explain it in words.

I saw a halolike light when Paul was alone on stage and sung "Blackbird", which was explained by Paul as a song of support for the civil-rights movement for black Americans in the 60s.






November 21th: the last concert in Tokyo

In the morning, my wife made these sandwiches even though she isn't Paul's biggest fan. Her lovely idea and concern made me even happier.



(below is Paul's brand new album , "NEW".)

The promotion company for this concert gave red bar-shaped lights to all 55,000 audience members. This present included a piece of paper that said: "This is a surprise present for Paul. When he begins to sing "Yesterday", pick it up and wave it. Never use it before this. Thank you for co-operating."



Paul was obviously surprised at this scene.

The last song "The End", made me sad and moved me. I decided to stamp the scene forever in my mind. When he stop playing the guitar,his guitar was pulled to his body. It was the last of his playing. When he went downstairs off to the side of the stage, his hands were raised up to his breast. I wish it was not the last scene of Paul for me.



I drunk with many fanatical friends after every concert. In particular, the last one was the most impressive event. I saw close friends, friends I hadn't seen in a long time, and foreign fans. When a Korean fan and I talked together we both said, "Between the Korean government and the Japanese one, the relationship isn't good these days. However, we can both enjoy talking about the same musician peacefully". I felt the great power of his music!








I'm grateful to Paul, the members of the band, the stage crew, promoters, my co-workers and clients. In particular, all my fanatical friends, fans who I met for the first time, and my family. These "McCartney weeks" were a special memory in my life.

I don't agree with the article "Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?"

Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex? - Guardian

I sometimes see such articles about Japan from only one viewpoint. The contents of this article may be true, however, only about a few young Japanese people, not all of them. I'm disappointed that such an article appeared in a respected newspaper.

Whenever I see such articles and opinions, I recall the book;
Edward W. Saïd "Orientalism" (Wikipedia)　(Amazon)


I understand that it is easy to read and trust information from trusted news sources such as the Guardian. I also wonder, if I myself, have some prejudice towards people from foreign cultures and wish to be aware of this. I think it's important to do thorough research before forming opinions about a culture and hope people who read about Japan will do the same.


FYI: I think that the following links are proper comments for the Guardian's articles.
The Guardian's (Mis)guide To Japanese Sex Trends - Global Voices
Sex myths without substance: Mislabelling Japan - The Independent

Why some people say that Japanese and German people are similar in character, and not Spanish people?

Introduction

Some people say that Japanese and German people are similar in character. For instance they are both punctual, diligent, and having had totalism government during the WWII, became mass producers of products after the war. I only partially agree with this view, however it raised an important question. I wondered why Japanese and German people are similar, and not Spanish people.



I have found the answer to this question through Emmanuel Todd in the book "Sekaizou Kakumei" which roughly translated means, "A revolutionary way to understand how the world works" This is a book designed for Japanese readers. It contains Emanuel Todd's basic theory and Japanese social scientists commentary on his theories about social structures. This book asks questions such as why communism is more widely accepted by Russia and China and not by Western European countries and the Far East. It also resolved my question, family structures affect the ideological tendencies of countries and thus explains why certain countries are similar to each other ideologically. In order for you to understand this theory, I will describe four family structures, how their structure affects them ideologically, and state in what parts of the world you can see these structures.


Emmanuel Todd (from Wikimedia Commons)



1. Authoritarian Families

-Parents have the authorities in the household. Their sons and daughters are unequal status.
Ex- The chosen successor will stay in their parent's home while the other sibling must leave the home.
Ideology tendencies: authoritarianism to their own citizens
Area: Japan, the Korean Peninsula, German language areas, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the east coast of England, Rwanda and Jewish communities.


2. Community based Families

Parents have the authorities in the household. Their sons and daughters have equal status. All sons and daughters stay in their parent's home even after marriage. Therefore, family structures that are community based are usually large. Heritage is divided between all sons and daughters equally.
Ideology tendencies: Communism
Area: Russia, China, Vietnam, Northern India, Finland, Tuscany (Italy), Bulgaria, ex-Yugoslavia
*Arabic households are structured similarly to community based families. However, in Arabic families, marrying cousins is popular.


3. Egalitarian Nuclear Families

Parents don't have strong authorities over their children. Sons and daughters are equal.
Ex- When sons and daughters come of age, they will leave the household and having their own families. Heritage is divided between all sons and daughters equally.
Ideology tendencies: Egalitarian individualism
Area: Northern France including Paris, most of the Iberian Peninsula, Northwest Italy, Poland, Romania, Greece, and Latin America


4. Absolute Nuclear Families

Parents don't have strong authority in their homes. Their sons and daughters are unequal in status.
Ex- When sons and daughters come of age, they will leave the household and have their own families. The sons and daughters heritage will be decided based on their parent's will.
Ideology tendencies: Liberal individualism
Area: Large parts of England, the Netherlands and Denmark. This structure can also be seen in Bretagne, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa


This theory convinced me, in particular, about Community based families. It's structure is similar to the structure of communism. However, I have a question. Tuscany has Community based families and yet Italy is capitalist. It seems a contradiction. Actually, until recent years, the strongest communist party in the western world was in Italy. In 2006, a member of this party was elected as the President of Italy. Also the strongest supporters for the Italian Communist Party were in Tuscany. Todd's theory can once again be applied in this case.



The history of the family structures

What is the history of the family structures? Unexpectedly, I found out that Community based families are the newest because they are located in the center of the continent Eurasia and Nuclear families are on the edge of the continent. Todd says that family structures are born in the center of the world and spread to the edge. The locations of the family structures show us their history. He also said that Community based family structures are suitable to construct strong armies therefore this family structure can easily overcome other family structures.

I don't agree with the former idea presented here, that the newest family structures spread from the center of the world. However, I agree with the later. However, nowadays, the countries which have the Absolute Nuclear families seem to be the strongest in the world. The later theory of community based families being the strongest in the world is suitable when applied to the past. In the modern world, one of the most important things to survive is quick adaptation to new situations, not strong power. Absolute Nuclear families are hence, the bases for the world's modern strongest countries, while in the past, the world's strongest family structure, was the Community based families.



People's senses of values still remain

Will Absolute Nuclear families conquer the other family structures? Will all people's senses of values become the same? Todd says this will never happen. He emphasizes that people's senses of values will remain the same.

For instance, this can be seen in 1990 through the marriage of natives and immigrants.
French (Egalitarian Nuclear families) and Algerian: 25%
German (Authoritarian families) and Turk: 2%
England (Absolute Nuclear families) and Pakistanis: unmeasurable little

In France, it is more popular to marry immigrants than in German and England. The author may want to say that French people think that equality is more important than their uniqueness, or that people from Germany and England are not interested in foreign people.

I think that the French way of thinking results from their style of colonization. France controls through "direct ruling" or "assimilation" - the French government gives the same rights to its mainland citizens as to people from its colonies (however, people from the colonies rights are usually imperfect). On the other hand, England's control of its colonies is through "indirect rule" - England controls its colonies through administrators, not through controlling the people directly. This style means that English people are not interested in people living in their colonies and don't thrust their culture on people in those colonies.



The last and biggest question

Through reading this book, I have come to have one last and very important question: Why did family structures occur in the first place? For example, why did people from Tuscany construct Community based families, unlike any other Italian states? There is no answer to my question in this book which was released in 2002. Has Todd found the answer already? I will seek out his new book which has the answer.