This paper aims to describe the way of life of contemporary
urban families in Japan through an investigation of their household
goods. The investigation was carried out from two different
approaches; one was quantitative employing questionnaires and the
other was visual using photographs. Questionnaires asking "owned
or not owned", "bought, given or unknown" and "use often, use
seldom or do not use", for 1957 items, were handed to the householders
of 140 homes in the Tokyo and Osaka areas. The answers
were analyzed according to (1) living space-4 categories : A. 2
rooms, B. 2 rooms, C. 3 rooms, D. 5 rooms. Category A included
a kitchen and B to D had a dining-kitchen, (2) incomes-4 categories
below 2,000,000 yen and above 2,000,000 yen increasing in intervals
of 500,000 yen and (3) age (the age of the household head and the
eldest child). The data were processed by computer, the programs
being written by the authour.
An average of 36 pictures was taken of the same area in each of
88 houses in order to examine the interior of the residences and the
placement and arrangement of household goods.
The data obtained from these approaches were combined in the
overall analysis. Modern urban families, according to the results,
show the following cEaracteristics ;
1) Modern urban families are nuclear families having 3 to
4 members.
2) They live in a limited space characterized by several
standard lay out patterns.
3) They keep a great many household goods (the mode was
800 items).
4) Most of these goods are acquired from the beginning of the
marriage with the bride making a sizeable contribution.
5) Among the household goods, electrical appliances are
considered important to ease the burden of housekeeping.
6) Small items such as room ornaments and accessories are
also plentiful. Most of them are female oriented.
7) Large sized properties are confined to limited areas.
8) There is a significant correlation between the number of household goods, the living space and the income. The way of life
changes as the income increases.
物質文化から見た現代家庭
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