The aim of this study is to investigate how four West African cultural practitioners living in Stockholm view the cultural sector in Sweden. How they reflect on themselves as cultural operators, and their opinions on other West Africans participation in the cultural life in Sweden is the main focus of this study. Interviews were carried out, which were analyzed within the theoretical framework of Bourdieu’s terms, “field” and “capital”. Through analyzing the interviews different barriers within the sector were identified. I have chosen to name them the inner and outer barriers. The outer barriers are the rules and formalities one have to adapt to, as well as the informal codes within the Swedish culture. The inner barrier is the blockade from within that accepts stereotypical portraits and not breaking repetitive habits such as sticking to national unions and gatherings. This tends to close one into certain groups and therefore have an excluding effect. However, the inner barrier can be a consequence of the outer. One could argue that society must work towards appealing not only to the majority, so that more minorities can relate to the cultural sector as a space of freedom and diversity.

This thesis investigates how the Japanese women who were born and grew up in Japan experienced their migration to Sweden. Three things are examined. The first regards the Japanese female immigrants’ (re)interpretation and practice of gender. Differences in policies and social systems of Sweden and Japan to pursue a gender-equal society are illustrated through contextualization of social and historical backgrounds of the past few decades and informants’ lived experiences. The second regards their (re)construction and performance of ethnicity. Various meanings and experiences of Japanese cultural space were highlighted in transcultural settings of Swedish society and (re)constructed Japanese ethnicity in Sweden. Having these perspectives as components, thirdly, their multiple, complex and flexible ways of being and sense of belonging(s) are scrutinized by employing translocational positionality framework. This analytical framework permeates all chapters of this thesis and discusses how Japanese female immigrants multiply constructed and flexibly shifted their ways of being and sense of belonging(s) in addition to their positionality in Swedish social stratification depending on situations and contexts they were exposed to. This thesis is an attempt to contribute to burgeoning ethnographic studies on gender and migration by revealing female immigrants’ construction of corrective identities in their contry of settlement. / 本論⽂は、筆者の2018 年3 ⽉から10 ⽉に及ぶスウェーデン王国⾸都ストックホルムとその近郊における⺠族学的調査によって、⽇本⼈⼥性の⽇常⽣活に焦点を当て、移⺠かつ⼥性という彼⼥たちの集団的属性が移住先での暮らしと社会的位置性をどのように形成するのかを⺠族誌的に明らかにすることを主題とするものである。そして最終的に、当該地域における彼⼥たちのジェンダー意識の再形成とその実践の過程、⽇本⼈という⺠族性の現地での再形成とその体現のされ⽅、そして彼⼥たちの状況に応じて多様かつ複合的に形成される集団的属性と帰属意識を明らかにすることを⽬的としている。本論⽂は次の5 章で構成されている。第1 章では研究動機、研究⽬的、理論的背景の考察、調査の概略などについて述べ、第 2 章では調査対象の⼈々の労働⽣活、第 3 章では家庭⽣活を始めとする私⽣活、そして第4 章ではストックホルムでの⽇本⽂化の体験と再現に焦点をあて、個別的テーマに関する⺠族誌的データを検討し、第5 章において本論全体にかかる考察を⾏っている。本論⽂は、近年増加するジェンダーと移住に関する⼈類学的調査に則りつつ、先進国間での移住に焦点を当てた調査である。