Filial Piety and Intergenerational Solidarity in Japan

Abstract

The Confucian norm of filial piety is generally assumed as an underlying ideology of the traditional living arrangement of the Japanese elderly, ie., patri‐lineal, patrt‐local stem family. In this article, the author describes the changes in filial piety and co‐residence, and observes social relationships of the contemporary Japanese elderly. A survey with 882 elderly community residents as subjects clearly showed differential roles of others played in the social world of the elderly, especially significant differences between daughters and daughters‐in‐law. Elderly parents feel emotionally close to their daughters whether they live together or apart, while they seldom feel emotionally close to co‐resident daughters‐in‐law who actually provide instrumental support. Although living with a married son is still a preferred arrangement, it is likely to bring harmful interactions with coresident daughters‐in‐law. Therefore avoiding co‐residence might be a meaningful choice for the elderly without immediate need of instrumental support. In Japan, intergenerational relationships between elderly parents and their adult children become more affection‐based, convenience‐oriented, and free from the norm of filial piety than they used to be.