| Adolescence is a major stage in the western lifecycle. It is the time when we expect children to manifest signs of a mature self: a strong individual personality and sense of responsibility. The absence of such a stage in Japanese society reflects fundamental differences in the social construction of the life course. Through an investigation of how teachers in Japan and the U.S. deal with the problems of pubescent children, I analyze teacher's conceptions of the transition from child to adult.;At the national level, Japanese texts often evoke Eriksonian theories about adolescence. Within Japanese schools, on the other hand, many of the essential themes or elements of western adolescence (e.g. "raging hormones") are simply missing. Japanese teachers give significantly different durations for puberty and adolescence (seinenki) when compared with their American counter parts. Instead of adolescence we find two specific stages--chugakusei, middle schooler; kokosei, high schooler--as well as two diffuse stages: shonen, juvenile; seinen, youth.;U.S. teachers expect that puberty will naturally usher in a stage of emotional imbalance and physiological change that herald the child's discovery of his or her adult self. The child is "at risk" during this transition period, prone to rebellion and full of contradictions. Japanese teachers emphasize the upwelling of energy at puberty. This energy heralds tremendous potential. If students are immersed in a positive moral atmosphere, and they can focus their energy on appropriate goals, they will rapidly mature both mentally and emotionally.;Many of the differences in the construction of the life course derive from the fact that Japanese and American teachers have distinct ideals of volition (will/ishi). In the U.S. "will" is evoked by terms, metaphors and images that convey hardness, an elemental quality, isolation--the core of a person is a tight kernel of beliefs and preferences. Japanese teachers see the self of the child as permeable, flowing, and durable. |
