Interweaving spheres. Networking, strategy creation and social change in a new Japanese village
Author(s)
Torsello, Davide
Abstract
This paper considers the process of creation of social networks and economic strategies in a postwar agricultural settlement in northeastern Japan. The formation of a social reality is a multi-dimensional process which involves different spheres of interaction. In the first part of the paper, the dominant characteristics of the village’s social world will be highlighted by examining the household, the basic unit of production, consumption and social reproduction (Hart 1992). The social and economic relations linking households will delineate the second spatial domain, the village. Finally, the local and translocal sphere will constitute the link between the community and the wider context of action. The development and consolidation of networks and ties with the local society, the ideologies underpinning these processes and their historical unfolding make up the second part of the paper.
