Ie (Japanese family system)

The physical ie: a Japanese House

Ie () is a Japanese term which translates directly to household. It can mean either a physical home or refer to a family's lineage. It is popularly used as the "traditional" family structure. The physical definition of an ie consists of an estate that includes a house, rice paddies and vegetable gardens, and its own section in the local cemetery. The symbolic definition of ie has been referred to as the cultural medium for the physical processes of kinship, such as mating and procreation.[1] The symbolic ie refers not only to blood lines, however, but also to economic and socioreligious functions that take place within the family.[2]

  1. ^ Shimizu, Akitoshi (Aug–Oct 1987). "Ie and Dozoku: Family and Descent in Japan". Current Anthropology. Supplement: An Anthropological Profile of Japan. 28 (4): S84–S90. doi:10.1086/203593. S2CID 145009679.
  2. ^ Peletz, Michael G. (2011). Gender, Sexuality, and Body Politics in Modern Asia. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Association for Asian Studies. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-924304-50-7.