This thesis examines the identity of the students at the Montreal Hoshuko and the factors that affect the way in which they identify themselves as Japanese, drawing upon a framework of political economy and concepts of globalization and transnationalism. It also explores how Japanese identity is changing in this globalized world. The fieldwork demonstrates that the identity of the Hoshuko students is somewhat commoditized based on Japanese popular culture such as Pokemon. It suggests that increasing communication and contact with external forces has changed and will further change the way Japanese people understand their own culture, identity, and themselves. It is argued that identities are not fixed or frozen in time; rather, they should be understood as flexible and a process shaped by history, a given context, and multiple external factors, and that a more fluid understanding of Japanese culture and identity is needed in a globalized, transnationalized world.

No description available.