Adulthood - Adulthood

…Rite of Passage [Ken Nakamura]
[Adults and Elders in Village Society]
Otona/toshiyori are an organization of elders institutionalized to play a leading role in village society, and have existed in the Kinki region and its surrounding areas, which have inherited the tradition of soson (common villages) from early modern times to the present day. Otona and toshiyori are terms that describe roughly the same thing, and are characterized by the fact that members are organized based on age and years of experience, and in some places a ritual called otomeniri is held to welcome new members into the group. Membership is replaced in some places by replacements upon the death of a member, in some places the oldest member leaves when he reaches a certain age and a new member joins, and in other places one person at a time leaves the group each year, starting with the most senior person, and others join in turn.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "adulthood" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…通過儀礼【仲村 研】
［村落社会における大人･年寄］
　大人･年寄は村落社会において指導的役割を果たすべく制度化された年長者の組織で，近世以降現代にいたるまで惣村の伝統を継承している近畿地方およびその周辺において存在してきた。大人と年寄はほぼ同じ実態を示す語であり，年齢や経験年数を基準に構成員を組織するところに特色があり，仲間加入の儀礼として大人成りということをする所もある。構成員の交替は，仲間の死亡に伴い補充する所，最年長者が一定の年齢に達したときに抜け，それに伴い新規加入が行われる所，あるいは毎年1人ずつ上位の者から脱退し，それに対応して順次加入する所などがある。…

※「大人成」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報