Talcott Parsons and Japan in the 1970s

Talcott Parsons and Japan in the 1970sAuthor(s): William J. BuxtonSource: The American Sociologist, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 34-42Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27698952Accessed: 04-12-2016 04:20 UTC

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Talcott Parsons and Japan in the 1970s1

William J- Buxton

In striking contrast to the conflict surrounding his earlier studies of Japanese society and culture, an amicable climate of mutual respect developed between Parsons and Japanese scholars in the 1970s. During this time, Parsons made two visits to Japan, where he was hailed as a great theorist whose views were taken most seriously by Japanese sociologists. The data indicate that, shortly before his sudden death in the spring of 1979, Parsons had begun to reformulate his ideas about modernization as a result of his increasing knowledge of Japanese society.

Following a hiatus of over a quarter century, Parsons resumed his interest in Japan in the early 1970s. This time, however, his connection to Japan was much more direct and immediate than it had been in the 1940s. Parsons not only became involved in a collaborative research project with a Japanese agency, but visited Japan on at least two occasions to deliver academic papers. Later in the decade, he was to spend two months as an invited professor at Kwansei Gakuin University.

The research project was coordinated by the Youth Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office in Japan, under the directorship of Tamotsu Sengoku.2 It in volved a comparative study of the career choices of recent college graduates in Japan, Germany, and the United States.3 It is unclear why Parsons became involved with this study. However, the issues that it raised were very much in line with his growing interest in higher education and the culture of youth in the wake of the crises that shook universities world-wide in the late 1960s (Parsons 1972a, 1972b; Parsons and Platt 1972, 1973)-4 Parsons's main task seems to have been to administer the part of the project that involved the participation of recent graduates of Harvard and Radcliffe. In addition to over seeing the financial allocations for the study, he also bore the responsibility for analyzing and interpreting the data and preparing a final report. The letter he signed (accompanying the survey questionnaire) that was sent to each selected "Member of the Harvard/Radcliffe Class of 1972" provides some indication of the issues addressed by the project:

Through information gained from recent college graduates in three countries?Japan, West Germany and the United States?the study attempts to throw light on some of the subtle and

William J. Buxton is Professor of Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. E-mail: [email protected].

34 The American Sociologist / Summer 2000


difficult problems confronting young people in defining their attitudes toward higher educa tion and its bearing on their subsequent lives. We are also concerned with the problems faced by those who make and influence public policy affecting these matters....There is, we all know, a pervasive sense of the critical nature of the situation of industrial societies today, and surely some of their paramount problems concern higher education. Your contribution to understanding some of these problems is the justification for our requesting your help.5

While Parsons evidendy viewed the study as a worthwhile endeavour, he appeared to have had some difficulty coordinating his work on the survey with his frequent teaching stints at the University of Pennsylvania which were taking place around the same time.6 This conflict may have contributed to his decision not to carry on his principal administrative and research duties for a second phase of the project.7

Parsons also visited Japan for the first time in the 1970s, initially as an invited conference speaker on at least two different occasions. One of these was a lecture entitled "Some Reflections on Post-Industrial Society," that was given to the Japanese Sociological Association, on November 25, 1972 (Nielsen, 1992: 73)- It was published shortly thereafter in The Japanese Sociological Review (Parsons, 1973a). Around the same time as this lecture, Parsons also appears to have taken part in an international symposium on "New Problems of Advanced Societies," that was held in Tokyo, sponsored by the Japan Economic Research Institute: two short articles written by Parsons appeared in the proceedings of the symposium published the following year (Parsons 1973b, 1973c). Parsons's invitations to speak in Japan reflected the steadily increasing interest in his

work by Japanese sociologists over the preceding two decades. For instance, Ryozo Takeda's The Framework of Sociology {Shakaigaku no Koz?), published in 1952, introduced Parsons's ideas on social organization to Japanese scholars. (Babe, 1966: 12). In his survey of Japanese sociology written in 1966, Akio Babe noted that "much of the work is being done on the theories of Talcott Parsons, the leading American theoretical sociologist, but this ... represents less a wholesale accepance of these theories than a critical appraisal of them in light of ideas already introduced into Japan, such as those of Weber, Pareto, Durkheim, and Malinowski" (Babe, 1966: 13). It is quite striking, then, that at the very time that Parsons's ideas were being increasingly challenged in ad vanced Western societies, his work was greeted with growing acclaim in Japan. An important index of this awakening interest in Parsons's work was the extent to which his main writings became available in translation. Beginning with

Economy and Society that appeared in a Japanese translation in 1958, a number of others became available, including Structure of Social Action (Parsons, 1937) and Toward a General Theory of Action (Parsons and Shils, 1951).

Given the stature that Parsons had attained in Japanese academic circles, it is not surprising that he received a request to lecture in Japan for a more sus tained period.8 It came in the form of an invitation in 1977 from Professor

Washio Kurata,9 who had just been elected Dean of the Faculty of Sociology of Kwansei Gakuin University.10 Initially, Kurata proposed that Parsons come for a three-month stint, some time during the 1978-79 academic year.11 In his re sponse to Kurata, Parsons said that a three-month stay would be too long. However, he expressed a willingness to come for two months, if that were possible. He suggested that the visit take place during October and November

Buxton 35


of 1978, stressing that the spring of 1979 was "out of the question, because...there has developed a proposal to go back to Germany and celebrate the 50th anni versary of my receiving my degree at Heidelberg. This proposal is so important to me, sentimentally, that I could not allow any alternative to interfere with my acceptance of it, unless it were of the very first importance to me."12 Parsons also indicated that he had a competing offer, but was very much attracted by the possibility of staying for an extended period in Japan. By the early spring of 1978, he had decided to accept Kurata's invitation, subject to the duration and timing that he had suggested in his counter-proposal. His primary duty was to provide intensive lectures each week at the Graduate School of Sociology.13

Parsons arrived in Osaka on October 20, 1978, accompanied by his wife Helen. He was evidently greeted royally by a large entourage.14 The Parsonses stayed in Western-style accommodations where they could do their own house keeping,15 and Mrs. Chugo, a staff member of the Chancellor's office, was assigned to assist Mrs. Parsons in negotiating with Japanese institutions and practices.16 Parsons's weekly lectures in the Sociology Department began on October 23 and ended on December 15.17 His first public lecture (Parsons, 1978a) was sponsored by the Faculty of Sociology, with an audience consisting primarily of undergraduate students in sociology.18 Professor Hideichiro Nakano, who was among those who had greeted Parsons at the airport, served as inter preter.19 Shortly thereafter, Parsons was involved with the opening of the Sengari Seminar House, which took place on November 17-18. He had been invited to be the distinguished speaker for the event and gave two lectures (Parsons, 1978b; 1978c): "On the Crisis of Modem Society" (followed by a panel discus sion on the lecture) and "Modem Society and Religion" (followed by a ques tion-and-answer period).20 His other activities included a special open lecture at the university at the end of November (Parsons, 1973d)21 and another open lecture in the Sociology Department at the beginning of December.22 Capping his stay at Kwansei Gakuin, the university granted him an honorary doctorate (at a ceremony that took place at special meeting of the Board of Trustees on December 14),23 the first time that a degree of this kind had been granted by the institution.24 A number of Parsons's lectures given during his stay were collected together in a volume edited by Dean Kurata and published in 1983-25 By all accounts, his stay at the university was a highly successful one. As Kurata noted, "it was the first time that such a famous scholar had been invited by the university." Parsons's lectures proved to be a major attraction, drawing people from all over the country. Indeed, the Sengari Seminar was attended by around one hundred participants from across Japan. Dean Kurata felt that as a result of Parsons's stay at Kwansei Gakuin, the public reputation of the university was very much improved. Indeed, in his view, Parsons's visit had "a significant impact upon Japanese intellectual life."26

Parsons's activities were not confined to Kwansei Gakuin University. His busy schedule of events included a lecture at Kobe University, Kobe City on November 25,27 a presentation as "guest of honour, at the Tsukuba [University] Conference," (in Tokyo), November 30 and December 1, (Parsons, 1978e),28 a presentation at Kyoto University on December 5 (Parsons, 1978?),29 a special public lecture in Osaka, and a presentation on "Social System Theory and Organization Theory" to the Japanese Sociological Association along with the



Association for Organization Study in the evening of December 12 (Parsons, 1979)-30 Earlier on the same day, Parsons had a discussion with Professor Tominaga at Iwanami Shoten, which was to be published in the journal SHISO.51 The Parsonses flew back to the United States from the Osaka airport in mid December, 1978.

Judging by the subsequent correspondence between Parsons and his Japa nese colleagues, the visit had been a memorable one for all concerned. As Parsons described his "highly favorable" impressions of the visit to Dean Kurata:

Since, as you know, we had both been there for brief visits on previous occasions a particu larly striking feature of our impression is how great a difference it makes to be in an unfamiliar environment for a sufficiently long time to come to appreciate many features of the situation which a brief visitor on tours or professional errands would be likely to miss.

He also expressed his appreciation for "the very great friendliness and prac tical solicitude which you and those associated with you extended to us in the course of our stay." Parsons did, however, remark that "the most serious barrier to a fuller experience was the language barrier." In particular, he found it frustrating "to have to give lectures in the context of the periodic waiting for translation." He very much appreciated the one opportunity that he had to speak continuously for twenty minutes (in Osaka). He also regretted not having had more direct contact with students. But overall, he felt that "so far as per sonal arrangements and things of that sort are concerned, this could not very

well have been a more satisfying experience."32 The expressions of friendship continued after the Parsonses had returned to

the United States. The chancellor of Kwansei Gakuin University, Yasushi Kuyama, sent the Parsonses "a magnificent illustrated book about Ancient Nara." As Parsons expressed his gratitude to Chancellor Kuyama for the gift:

Since it arrived in good order, we have had the opportunity to study the pictures and the English language text carefully. It is indeed a most impressive account of the great historical background of Japan and of the surviving physical monuments of that background. We shall of course treasure this as long as we live.33

The Parsonses also received a "very handsome Buddha mask ...sent ...as a momento of [their] trip to Nara" from Hideichero Nakano.34

Aside from the friendship he experienced, Parsons's visit to Japan also had a significant impact upon his understanding of the relationship between Bud dhism and Japanese life. As he reported in a letter to Professor Nakano, whom Parsons considered to have "an advanced understanding of the kind of work I was doing:"

[T]he longer I stayed in Japan the more I became interested in the story of Buddhism and its role in shaping Japanese culture and society. I have already done a certain amount of reading in the available English language literature and feel that I have at least a better understanding in these matters than before I went to Japan. As time goes on, perhaps some ideas will crystallize to the point where I will venture to formulate an article. The time has not yet come. You can probably understand that there is an obvious comparison, in my mind, between the role of the Protestant Ethic and the background of Western indusrial society as that was laid out by Max Weber and certain aspects of the possible role of Buddhism in East Asia. These are, however, exceedingly complicated matters and I will not attempt to pursue them further at this point.35

Buxton 37


That Parsons had become quite taken with Japan was remarked on by a number of his friends whom Jens Kaalhauge Nielsen interviewed in the sum mer of 1988.36

Parsons came home greatly stimulated by his meeting with Japanese culture and told his friends that the impact of his discussions with Japanese scholars had convinced him he had to reconsider certain aspects of his interpretation of the origination of modern civilization. Parsons had in particular been captivated by the philosophy of Zen-Buddhism and began to read about Japanese Buddhism after his return from Japan (Nielsen, 1992: 75).

Had Parsons not died suddenly in Munich, on May 8, 1979, he may very well have reformulated his thoughts about the path to modernity, a discussion that likely would have been heavily inflected by his immersion in Japanese life and culture.

Notes

1. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Professors Ken'ichi Tominaga, Washio Kurata, Yoshio Kunamaru and Jun Ayukawa for the kindness and generosity they have shown me through out the researching and writing of this article. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Jens Kaalhauge Nielsen for material related to Parsons's Japan visit that he compiled in his doc toral dissertation. This documentation proved to be invaluable. Material from the Parsons Papers is published here by permission of the Harvard University Archives.

2. Tamotsu Sengoku (1928- ), formerly a lawyer and prosecutor, later worked at the Research and Training Institute in the Japan Ministry of Justice. He is currendy director of the Japan Research Institute on Youth. (E-mail from Professor Jun Ayukawa to the author, 11 April, 2000).

3. A total of $17,917.60 was allocated for the American portion of the study in 1975. Talcott Parsons to Tamotsu Sengoku, 16 June, 1975. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. Correspondence and Related Studies (hereafter CRS), 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan Study-2. Talcott Parsons Papers (here after PP), Harvard University Archives (hereafter HUA).

4. He noted in a letter to Sengoku that he was planning to send him a brief article he had written for Daedalus "on some of the developments in the American academic scene since the crisis years which ended, by and large, in 1971" which dealt with "the university picture in the large and not specifically with the graduating student cohorts" (Parsons, 1974). Talcott Parsons to Tamotsu Sengoku, 1 August, 1974. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan Study-2. PP. HUA.

5. Talcott Parsons to "Member of the Harvard/Radcliffe Class of 1972." March, 1975. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan Study-2. PP. HUA.

6. I was not able to determine if this study was ever published. There is, however, a document entitled "World Youth Survey Report" that can be found among the Parsons Papers at the Harvard University Archives. It may very well be the final report of the project with which Parsons had been involved.

7. Talcott Parsons to Tamotsu Sengoku, 17 March, 1975. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. Correspondence and Related Studies, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan Study-2. PP. HUA.

8. Parsons had earlier been invited to serve as a Fulbright lecturer at Kwansei Gakuin University for the 1956-57 academic year. Monkichi Namba to Talcott Parsons, 10 March, 1955. HUG (FP) 42.8.4. Correspondence and Other Papers (hereafter, CRP) 1935-1955. Box 14. File: N. 1954-55. PP. HUA.

9- Dean Kurata was in the process of translating two sections that Parsons had written for Theories of Society (Parsons, Shils, Naegele, and Pitts, 1961). This work came out in a volume entitled Outline of the Social System published in June of 1978.

10. Professor Kurata retired from Kwansei Gakuin University in 1997 and is currently at Kibi International University.

11. Upon learning that Parsons had been invited by Dean Kurata, Professor Tominaga enthusi astically encouraged Parsons to accept the offer:



I believe that from our Japanese point of view this program will give those Japanese scholars and students who read your books and articles the best opportunity to under stand you personally. I heartily beg you to accept his proposal. Professor Kurata and the President of Kwansei Gakuin University are eager to catch you, especially because the system of visiting professorship in that university is just about to start and the first visitor

must be a big figure like youl

Ken'ichi Tominaga to Talcott Parsons, 18 September, 1977. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979 Box 8. File: Tn-Tz. PP. HUA.

12. Talcott Parsons to Washio Kurata, 8 December, 1977. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978: Correspondence. PP. HUA.

13- Talcott Parsons to Washio Kurata. 17 May, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan 1978: Correspondence. PP. HUA. Professor Tominaga described Kwansei Gakuin Uni versity,

as an important center of sociological studies among private universities in the Kyoto Osaka area. The faculty of sociology in that university is one of the biggest ones in this country including both national and private universities and there are many competent sociologists there. Professor Kurata told me that the special course of Professor Parsons is open to any scholars and students, both of graduate and undergraduate course, from outside. He emphasized that the university wants to promote these opportunities of wide contact.

He noted further that even though the University was located around 600 kilometers from Tokyo, he nevertheless planned to visit Parsons several times during the latter's stay in Japan. Ken'ichi Tominaga to Talcott Parsons, 18 September, 1977. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978: Correspondence. PP. HUA.

14. Parsons remarked on "the unexpected size and distinction of the group who met us at the airport in Osaka on our arrival." Talcott Parsons to Washio Kurata, 4 January, 1979. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

15. This was an arrangement that Parsons had insisted upon. Talcott Parsons to Washio Kurata, 28 February, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspon dence. PP. HUA.

16. Parsons would later express his gratitude to the chancellor for "Mrs. Chugo's special oversee ing of problems of our welfare and the very helpful and tactful way in which she helped my

wife and her problems of adapting to the unfamiliar situation in a Japanese community." Talcott Parsons to Yasushi Kuyama, 21 February, 1979. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

17. In the first half of the lecture series Parsons was to address "Highlights of the Theoretical Scheme." In the second part of the series he was to present selected topics related to this scheme. Washio Kurata to Talcott Parsons, 22 July, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

18. The talk was based on a course of five lectures on a similar topic that Parsons had given at The University of Pennsylvania during the 1975-76 academic year. Talcott Parsons to Hideichiro Nakano, 11 October, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Corre spondence. PP. HUA.

19. Hideichiro Nakano to Talcott Parsons, 19 September, 1978, HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. BOX 8. File: Japan 1978-Correspondence. PP. HUA.

20. "Seminar Program," HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. BOX 8. File: Japan 1978-Correspon dence. PP. HUA. As Parsons indicated to Chancellor Kuyama after his return to the United States, the opening of the Sengari Seminar House was one of the highlights of their visit.

Both the welcoming dinner at the Seminar House and the weekend conference held there somewhat later were notable occasions from our point of view. It is, indeed, a beautiful facility for the promotion of intellectual communication. And I was greatly honored to have my visit made into the occasion for this formal opening as a confer

Buxton 39


ence center. I thought that the sessions at the meeting were of a notably high quality and was greatly pleased at having the opportunity to contribute to them.

Talcott Parsons to Yasushi Kuyama, 21 February, 1979- HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8: Japan 1978-Correspondence. PP. HUA. Copies of both of Parsons's lectures can be found in the Harvard University Archives.

21. Washio Kurata to Talcott Parsons, 22 July, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8: Japan 1978- Correspondence. PP. HUA.

22. The proposed subject of the lecture was "The Development of Modern Sociology?Reflec tions and Prospects." Washio Kurata to Talcott Parsons, 22 July, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8: Japan 1978-Correspondence. PP. HUA.

23- As Parsons noted in a letter to the Chancellor Kuyama:

A particularly notable event from my point of view was of course the ceremony granting me the honorary degree...I had not realized that this was the first honorary doctoral degree which had been granted by Kwansei Gakuin University. I was therefore especially honored to be the recipient on that occasion. Coming as it did in the closing days of our visit, this was indeed a notable climax to the whole experience. I shall very much trea sure my diploma and hood as symbols of this phase of the international community of scholarship. (Talcott Parsons to Yasushi Kuyama, 21 February, 1979. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.)

24. Even though Parsons said that he already had seven honorary degrees from other countries, he was nonetheless delighted to receive the degree from Kwansei Gakuin University, (letter to the author from Washio Kurata, 27 March, 2000).

25. The volume consisted of fifteen lectures, and was entitled The Structure and Change of the Social System. Unfortunately, most of the original English version was destroyed in 1995 as a result of the Hanshin Great Earthquake (letter to the author from Washio Kurata, 27 March, 2000).

26. Letter to the author from Washio Kurata, 27 March, 2000. 27. Professor Hiroshi Mannari organized this lecture, which was on organization theory. Around

seventy persons were in attendance, most of whom were faculty members, graduate students and senior students in economics, management and sociology at Kobe University. In addi tion, some faculty from Kyoto and Osaka University were present. Parsons's remuneration

was 100,000 yen for the lecture. (In late November 1978, the exchange rate between Ameri can and Japanese currency was $1 (U.S.) = 195 yen. This means that Parsons was paid slightly more than $500 for the lecture.) Hiroshi Mannari to Talcott Parsons, 2 November, 1978. HUG (FP)42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. Fue: Japan 1978- Correspondence. PP. HUA.

Mannari later told Parsons that "the lecture was especially worthwhile to evaluate the current issue on convergence or divergence in Japanese organizations'' and informed him that it had been published (see Parsons, 1979). Hiroshi Mannari to Talcott Parsons, 20 April, 1979. HUG (FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. Japan 1978: Correspondence. PP. HUA.

28. Parsons received an honorarium of 300,000 yen for taking part in the event, in addition to having the hotel and travel expenses of himself and his wife covered. Y. Matsuda to Talcott Parsons, 31 October, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Corre spondence. PP. HUA.

29- Professor Hisao Naka, a Professor of Sociology at Kyoto University, arranged for Parsons to "speak to a small group of faculty members and graduate students." The topic suggested was "A Sociologist Looks at Contemporary U.S. Society." Parsons was paid 30,000 yen and one day's per diem for his presentation. Louis Crane to Talcott Parsons, 30 November, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

30. Parsons had decided to follow Tominaga's suggestion of "taking off from the topic of organiza tion theory in the direction of the more general theory of social systems." He proposed to use the lecture that he had given at Kobe University (on November 25) as a point of departure:

I would then propose to [emphasize] in particular the complex relations between the three institutional patterns of market structure, bureaucracy and association. My own



inclination, reinforced in recent years, has been to place increasing emphasis on the associational aspects. I think these emphases can be related to changes in social struc ture and possibly in values, by relating then to the historical phases of the development of modern societies. (Talcott Parsons to Ken'ichi Tominaga. 8 December, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.)

Over two hundred were expected to attend this lecture, which was interpreted in Japanese by Masao Kunihiro of "Saimaru International." Parsons was paid an honorarium of 50,000 Yen for the presentation. Ken'ichi Tominaga to Talcott Parsons, 22 November, 1978. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRS, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA. After the presen tation, as Professor Yoshio Kanamaru (the co-interpreter of the event) recalls, he was invited to join a small dinner party, which consisted of Parsons, Mrs. Parsons, Professor Aoi (president of the Japan Sociological Association), Professor Tominaga, and an uni dentifiable person. Professor Kanamaru remembers having had an extensive conversation with Parsons, and was struck by the fact that Parsons seemed to agree with him that the "emotional type of action" was one deserving of more attention. As Professor Kanamaru convincingly points out, Parsons had largely failed to recognize the presence of a category of "affectual action" in the work of Max Weber (letter to the author from Yoshio Kanamaru, 15April,2000).

31. A re-edited version of this discussion can be found on pp. 43-46 below. It is preceded by an introduction providing background to the interview and its publication in Japanese.

32. Talcott Parsons to Washio Kurata, 4 January, 1979- HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

33. Talcott Parsons to Yasushi Kuyama, 21 February, 1979- HUG (FP) 42.8.8. CRP 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

34. Talcott Parsons to Hiroshi Mannari, 13 March, 1979- HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA. Parsons thanked Professor Nakano for having sent the mask a few days later, noting that it was now "hanging on the wall of my study in Belmont, Massachusetts. It seems to fit in exceedingly well and the more I have looked at it the few days it has been here the more I am impressed with its beauty and subtlety." Talcott Parsons to Hideichiro Nakano, 13 March, 1979. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979. Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

35. Talcott Parsons to Hideichiro Nakano, 15 March, 1979. HUG(FP) 42.8.8. CRP, 1965-1979- Box 8. File: Japan 1978?Correspondence. PP. HUA.

36. Harold Bershady, Ren?e Fox, Willy De Craemer and Victor Meyer Lidz.

References

Babe, Akio. 1966. "The History of Sociology in Japan," pp. 7-13 in Paul Halmos (ed.), "Japanese Sociological Studies," The Sociological Review, Monograph No. 10, Keele: University of Keele.

Nielsen, Jens Kaalhauge. 1992. "Talcott Parsons' Political Theory." Unpublished doctoral disser tation, Yale University.

Parsons, Talcott. 1937. The Structure of Social Action. New York: McGraw-Hill. Parsons, Talcott and Edward Shils. 1951. Towards A General Theory of Action. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press. Parsons, Talcott, Edward Shils, Kaspar D. Naegele and Jesse R. Pitts (eds.). 196l. Theories of

Society. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. Parsons, Talcott. 1972a. "Higher Education as a Theoretical Focus," in Richard Simpson and

Herman Turk (eds.), Institutions and Social Exchange: The Sociologies of Talcott Parsons and George C. Homans. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill.

Parsons, Talcott. 1972b. "The School Class as a Social System," pp. 69-90 in Socialization and Schools, Reprint Series No. 1, Compiled from The Harvard Educational Review.

Parsons, Talcott and Gerald Platt. 1972. "Higher Education, Changing Socialization, and Contem porary Student Dissent" pp. 236-291 in Matilda W. Riley, Marilyn E. Johnson, Anne Foner, and Associates (eds.). Aging and Society, Vol. HI: A Society of Age Stratification. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Parsons, Talcott and Gerald Platt. 1973a. The American University. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (with the collaboration of Neil Smelser).

Buxton 41


Talcott Parsons. 1973a. "Some Reflections on Post-Industrial Society," The Japanese Sociological Review, 24, 2 (September) 103-109

Parsons, Talcott. 1973b. "The Problem of Balancing Rational Efficiency with Communal Solidarity in Modem Society," in International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Societies. Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute: 9-14.

Parsons, Talcott. 1973c. "Nature and Extent of Changes in Value Systems of Modern Societies," in International Symposium on New Problems of Advanced Societies, Tokyo: Japan Economic Research Institute: 137-142.

Parsons, Talcott. 1974. "Stability and Change in the American University," Daedalus (Fall): 269 277.

Parsons, Talcott. 1978a. "The Development of Contemporary Sociology," transcript of public lecture given at the Department of Sociology, Kwansei Gakuin University, October (author's copy of manuscript, courtesy of Professor Washio Kurata).

Parsons, Talcott. 1978b. "On the Crisis of Modern Society." transcript of public lecture given at the Sengari House, Kwansei Gakuin University, 17 November (copy in Parsons Papers, Harvard University Archives).

Parsons, Talcott. 1978c. "Modern Society and Religion." (transcript of public lecture given at the Sengari House, Kwansei Gakuin University, 18 November (copy in Parsons Papers, Harvard University Archives).

Parsons, Talcott. 1978d. "University Problems in Modern Societies." transcript of public lecture given at Kwansei Gakuin University, November (author's copy of manuscript, courtesy of Professor Washio Kurata).

Parsons, Talcott. 1978e. "Enter the New Society: The Problem of the Relationship of Work and Leisure in Relation to Economic and Cultural Values," (transcript of public lecture given at the Tsukuba Conference, Tsukuba University, 1 December (copy in Parsons Papers, Harvard University Archives).

Parsons, Talcott. I978f. "A Sociologist Looks at Contemporary U.S. Society." Transcript of lecture given at the Kyoto University, 5 December (copy in Parsons Papers, Harvard University Ar chives).

Talcott Parsons. 1979. "An Approach to the Theory of Organizations," Organizational Science, vol. 13, 1 (April).

Parsons, Talcott, Edward Shils, Kaspar D. Naegele, and Jesse R. Pitts, eds. 196l. Theories of Society. New York: Free Press.



Talcott Parsons and Japan in the 1970s

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