Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how the Japanese inhabitants of an urban neighbourhood negotiate proximity and distance in their social relationships. It argues that formality serves as an enabling device for creating new relationships and preserving sociality while avoiding the burdens of excessive closeness.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores how the Japanese inhabitants of a densely populated urban neighbourhood negotiate proximity and distance in their social relationships. In the context of a rapidly aging population, local governments, volunteer organizations and local inhabitants emphasize the importance of strengthening community ties as a way of creating networks of support. At the same time, these various actors emphasize the burdens of excessive closeness. Based on ethnography of a community centre in the city of Osaka, the paper explores how topics and styles of conversation, modes of interaction between salon-goers, and the construction of well-being, are constituted with respect to a pervasive concern for manners and for the emotions of others. Focusing on the importance of "form" and its relevance for morality, I argue that formality serves as an enabling device for creating new relationships among older Japanese, preserving sociality while protecting oneself and others from the burdens of emotion and excessive proximity.