ABSTRACT
Until this point I have discussed the particulars of the Kotobuki volunteer community: an ethnography and history of the area, brief descriptions of the various groups, profiles of volunteers and residents, and finally an examination of interpersonal relations and social ideology as seen through various yoseba rituals. Throughout these chapters, we can observe the groups’ different goals and activities, even the different types of volunteers. Here I take a more “macro” approach in looking at Kotobuki volunteer activities and attempt to analyze the overall structure of volunteer activity across group lines.
