Obrzędowość okresu dorastania jako istotny składnik procesu kształtowania się tożsamości kulturowej i etnicznej we współczesnej Japonii

Adolescent rituals as an Important Component of the Forming of Cultural and Ethnic Identity in Modern JapanJapanese culture, since the dawn of time, has been open to foreign influence. The changes that have taken place in different historical periods, on the one hand, have been associated with the influence of the Chinese, Europeans and Americans, and on the other hand, with the subsequent years of isolation, during which a “natural selection” of drawn patterns was taking place. This process helped shape modern Japanese culture and identity. Through analysis of each ceremony, we can trace the changes (social, economic and cultural) that took place in different periods. We can also reconstruct the Japanese approach to their own culture and identity. For example, the rites, characteristic of childhood and adolescence in Japan, have remained unchanged for many centuries. Ceremonies described in this study are presented in a manner that is characteristic of modern times (for example, Shichi-go-san, which dates back to the eighth century), and the reader will have the opportunity to learn about the impact of social change on the interpretation of these rites. The rites of growing up period create an unique ethnic and cultural identity in modern Japan. The culmination of the first part of life is the coming of age, which has a very formal character and is observed in a special ceremony. The Coming of Age Ceremony shows how changed Japanese point of view of their own cultural identity in 20th Century