Hope in an ageing Japan: transience and transcendence

Abstract

In Japan, today, longevity has not meant a reduction in years of dependence. As a result, anticipation of a long life also brings the troubling anticipation of problems like chronic illness and loneliness. How do older adults facing such a future create hope? The purpose of this paper is threefold: (i) to propose a conceptualization of hope as "lunar aesthetics," that is, not as anticipation of achievement but as a process of loss and renewal; (ii) to link this process to aesthetic forms and ritual practices from my fieldwork with older adults in Kyoto; and (iii) to critically evaluate the ways current formal longterm care diverges from "lunar" hope. Drawing on Japanese associations between the moon, hope, and rituals memorializing the spirits of the dead, this paper argues that older adults engage with an alternative interpretation of hope based on transience and transcendence. Both of these offer hope to older adults by reorienting the temporal boundaries of personhood, to experience change (including decline and death) as an inherent aspect of becoming part of a larger narrative of linked generations or the natural state of life.

A Model of Aging Perception in Iranian Elders With Effects of Hope, Life Satisfaction, and Socioeconomic Status: A Path Analysis

“…For example, despite a decrease in physical ability, hope may assist an individual to believe they are still able to engage in a meaningful life. Hope may also assist with other feelings reported to be associated with growing older, such as loss, grief, loneliness, and social transformation (Danely, 2016).…”

“…For example, despite a decrease in physical ability, hope may assist an individual to believe they are still able to engage in a meaningful life. Hope may also assist with other feelings reported to be associated with growing older, such as loss, grief, loneliness, and social transformation (Danely, 2016). Positive perceptions in the elderly seem to have a positive effect on psychological integrity (Banks, Breeze, Lessof, & Nazroo, 2006;Demakakos, Hacker, & Gjonça, 2006).…”

“…The accurate identification of the presence of hope in patients may serve as a basis for future care plans and intervention (Olsman, Leget, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, & Willems, 2014). While hope can be the result of an interplay of aspects within a person's life such as family, peers, spirituality, culture, and others (Danely, 2016), health care professionals should still be encouraged to understand the importance of hope in patient care (Haugan, 2014).…”

Family, Time, and Meaning toward the End of Life in Japan

“…On the other hand, many scholars have noted that dependency in advanced old age is considered a "natural" life stage (cf. Benedict 1946;Tsuji 2001;Traphagan 2004;Danely 2016), that leads to greater dependence on surviving family members once they become departed ancestors. The hospice, where I spent a great deal of time, had as one of its goals to not only relieve pain, but to provide physical and emotional relief for patients and families.…”

An Attitude of Gratitude: Older Japanese in the Hopeful Present

“…While the later years may be marked by loss, many older people become actively engaged in "rituals of concern" and strengthen their links with their ancestors by taking a leading role in the family practices of caring for ancestral tablets in domestic Buddhist altars (Traphagan 2004). In this sense, transcendence becomes an important aspect of hope in later years, particularly in the face of loss, as described by Danely (2016) in what he terms "lunar aesthetic." "Lunar" hope is best understood as linking and transforming loss into transience and transcendence through ritual and attention to the spirits (hotoke) of the ancestors and those departed (2016, 16).…”