ABSTRACT

Socialinequalityoccursinvariousformsinallcomplexsocieties. Notonlyisinequalityubiquitous,itisalsopatternedorstructuredin wayswhichseemtoberatheruniversal.Thegeneralarrangements whichdeterminewhogetsmoreorlessincome,powerandstatus arefairlywellknown.Moresubtlearethewaysinwhichsubgroupingsandsubculturescutacrosseachother.Therelevanceof structuredinequalitytoourunderstandingofJapanesesocietyis underlinedinseveralways.