Jacek Splisgart

PA Polish scholar of the Ainu People – Bronisław Piłsudski (1866–1918): On the hundredth anniversary of death

Bronisław Piłsudski, the elder brother of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, made a long-term home in Sakhalin, where he conducted research on the local population for nearly two decades. He became famous as an advocate of protecting the rights of the aborigines, who fought an unequal battle with the dominant cultures surrounding them from the south and the north. During his research, Piłsudski recorded the unique rites of the disappearing Ainu culture. This article is devoted to a profile of this Polish pioneer of ethnographic and oriental studies.

THE PROBLEM OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE JAPANESE SCHOOL AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

From the 19th century, Japanese society was built on the myth of its homogeneity, a myth that was perpetuated by the educational system. Japanese education was designed to standardize citizens and develop a sense of collectivity in them. Reforms carried out at the end of the 19th Century and after World War II (in the years 1945–1950) were largely aimed at shaping this collective sense of unity among the Japanese. It is no secret that, both in the 19th century and the period immediately following the end of the war, education – especially at higher than compulsory levels – was intended for a selected, narrow group of people. With the spread of the new education model, new problems emerged that had not been noticed so far (due to limited access to education). One of them was the phenomenon of discrimination, which began to be conceptualized in the 1950s and 1960s. This article is devoted to the Japanese view of this phenomenon. It shows how the discussion on new problems affecting the Japanese school system took place. In the background of all disputes among members of educational authorities and numerous non-governmental organizations, the problem of discrimination against minority groups living in the Japan, until the end of the 20th century, never (or almost never) appeared. The focus was on strengthening, on the one hand, the moral education of students, and on the other, on preserving and consolidating the myth of the homogeneity of Japanese society. At the same time, the essay provides an introduction to reflection on the phenomenon of discrimination in Japanese schools. 

Transformation of the family model and the situation of elderly people in Japan at the beginning of the 21st century

The changes that took place in post-war Japan created a new family model. Pre-war Japanese families had generational character. The stem family structure incorporated a support network for elder people in households where at least three generations lived in a single house. Young people looked after parents after their retirement. It was strictly connected with the vision of the Japanese social welfare system (or with the lack of it). In the post-war period all fields of Japanese life were radically changed. The fast industrialization and the move of rural population to the cities, caused the change of the model of the family, from generational to nuclear. The progressing atomization of families influences the situation of the elderly. They are left without the care of children and government, and forced to form a new outlook on life after their retirement. However enjoying life after retirement is not yet a lifestyle appreciated by Japanese. Many man find it difficult to manage free time after their retirement. The unaccustomed fulltime presence of husbands at home often has a negative impact on family life. The martial stress, economic and health problems are causes by the Retired Husband Syndrome (RHS).