The Elite's Etiquette, Dress and Home at the Outset of Nineteenth Century: A comparative Study of Qajar Iran and Meiji Japan

The formation of dual and eclectic cultural patterns consisting of indigenous and Western elements was the consequence of Qajar and Meiji societies’ confrontation with Western civilization in the nineteenth century. Based on their perception of the modern individual’s characteristics, the elite of these societies tried to present civilized behavior in the public sphere by displaying the symbols of the new civilization in everyday life. The dominance of self-control in the public sphere with the formation of absolute states in the West and the enclosure of natural and emotional behaviors in private sphere was what Elias meant by individual rationalization in contemporary Western societies. Regarding the importance of historical experiences, it is tried here to answer the question what was the elite’s solution of the conflict between the inseparable rational and emotional aspects of the individual in these societies? It is a question along an old and important question of the causes of failure and success of Iran and Japan in the modernization process. It was attempted to analyze the historical data and measurement indexes such as clothing, housing and etiquette in the elite life by applying Elias’s theory and comparative-historical method to explain their seeking refuge in the private sphere as a possible solution to relieve pressures.