Of Manners and Hedgehogs: Building closeness by maintaining distance
Kavedzija, I
Date: 28 May 2018
Journal
Australian Journal of Anthropology
Publisher
Wiley for Australian Anthropological Society
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This paper explores how the Japanese inhabitants of a densely populated urban
neighbourhood negotiate proximity and distance in their social relationships. Based on
ethnography of a community salon in the city of Osaka, the paper explores how topics and
styles of conversation, modes of interaction between salon-goers, are constituted ...
This paper explores how the Japanese inhabitants of a densely populated urban
neighbourhood negotiate proximity and distance in their social relationships. Based on
ethnography of a community salon in the city of Osaka, the paper explores how topics and
styles of conversation, modes of interaction between salon-goers, are constituted with respect
to a pervasive concern for manners and for the emotions of others. Focusing on the
importance of “form” and its relevance for morality, I argue that formality serves as an enabling
device for creating new relationships among older Japanese, preserving sociality while
protecting oneself and others from the burdens of emotion and excessive proximity. By
focusing on the ethics of ‘doing things properly’ (chanto suru) I explore the relationship of
manners and care. By taking manners into account, I turn my attention in this article to those
relationships crafted and maintained amongst those to whom one is not very close, and with
whom one may not wish to become intimate. In this way, I explore the question of how to treat
well those towards whom one wishes to maintain distance. Or, in other words, how to care for
those who are not one’s friends?
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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