The Sociopragmatic Activities and Cultural Significance of an Izakaya

Abstract

The izakaya is a ubiquitous destination in Japan for professionals, families, university students, and tourists alike. They are places for socialising, eating, doing business, making friends, and celebrating life, typically with the help of alcohol. While these places are found in every corner of Japan, they have been seldom analysed in light of the sociopragmatic activities that occur in them or their cultural significance. Thus, this study investigates the Japanese izakaya-based Netflix drama, 深夜食堂 Shin’ya Shokudō (‘midnight diner’). Through a sociopragmatic analysis of ten episodes of this drama, this study explores the progressivity of service encounters and describes other social activities that occur in this space. Other social activities include telling jokes and taking offense and alternative uses of the izakaya. In addition, this study proposes a contextual schema for initial service encounters and demonstrates how the izakaya can be used as a resource for mitigating stress and community support. The results show the significance of these spaces in Japanese society. The types of sociolinguistic activities that occur in an izakaya may not take place in other social settings in Japan, making them unique and offering researchers an opportunity to view particular sociolinguistic activities in a dramatic setting.