ABSTRACT
This chapter represents an analysis of drinking occasions that occur in large Japanese firms. It examines these events as "cultural performances": special social frames or situations which differ and are set apart from everyday behavior at the workplace. The separation of the frames from external activities is effected, for example, through the use of space and time. The chapter begins with the contention that the organizational life of Japan's large firms is marked by hierarchical groups, benevolent leadership and consensus which exist alongside conflict, friction, personal stress, and a growing search for individual fulfillment. It suggests that the harmony which one can find in many sectors of Japanese society – like firms – may best be understood as the outcome of constant efforts to manage very real conflicts within and between groups. The chapter focuses on drinking occasions which allow the release of individual and interpersonal tensions and some conflict management.
