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The `Social Death' of Unused Gifts

Surplus and Value in Contemporary Japan

Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK, inge.daniels{at}anthro.ox.ac.uk

This article investigates the circulation and consumption of gifts in contemporary, urban Japan. It sets out to challenge key anthropological debates about gifting that, firstly, focus on the inalienable connection between the donor and the gift and, secondly, emphasize the symbolic potential and historical depth of things. The Japanese gifts under discussion, employed in the production and reproduction of the social, cosmic and economic order, are commodities. They can be easily disentangled from the donor and are imbued with the spirit of the recipient through everyday consumption. Moreover, because these gifts are supposed to disappear through use, this article also draws attention to the significance of material loss in the creation of value.

Key Words: consumption • domestic arena • gifts • Japan • loss • recycling

Journal of Material Culture, Vol. 14, No. 3, 385-408 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1359183509106426


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