Thesis (M.A.)--Zhongguo wen hua xue yuan. / Reproduced from typescript. Bibliography: leaves 123-126.

The purpose of this study was to investigate "themes," patterns of accounts related to the lived experiences of interpersonal relationships between Koreans and Japanese living in Japan. The research question was: What is the texture of the voices of Koreans living in Japan and their host Japanese in their interculturally lived experiences of interpersonal relationships? Individual interviews were conducted in Japanese with six Koreans living in Japan. In addition, interviews were held with three Japanese who had interpersonal relationships with three of the Korean interview subjects. The relationships varied from low, to moderate, to high intimacy. Four themes emerged through interpretive analysis of the participants' accounts of their relationships: Japanese attitudes towards Koreans, a sense of commonality, cultural differences, and involvement. In the first three theme categories, two to three subthemes were identified. Japanese discriminatory attitudes towards Koreans seemed to have negative influences on some of the Korean participants. Also, the way the participants perceived cultural differences rather than the differences themselves appeared to be important in developing interpersonal relationships. The educational implication of this study is the implementation of a curriculum of Japanese-as-a-second-language that focuses on cultural awareness and appreciation of cultural difference among cultures as well as those within Japanese culture. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

This thesis attempts to look at the experiences of Japanese housewives who have spent a period of time in a foreign Western country before returning to Japan. It is an ethnography presented in the context of what it is like to become a stranger. In it I try to examine not only the initial impact of the cultural encounter, but also the day-to-day sense making as it occurs in the lives of the women, and the change in perspective which becomes apparent upon return home. The data were collected in the form of approximately 50 tape recorded, in-depth interviews conducted in English. Because the relevant experiences of the women varied so greatly, an unstructured open-ended interview format was employed. The informants were wives of scholars, government representatives, or businessmen. All were residing or had resided in a foreign Western country solely because their husbands were studying or working abroad. About one-third of the interviews were conducted in Vancouver, and the remainder in Japan. Most interviews took place in the informant's home. Many of the women bring with them expectations based on past experiences, handed-down information, and taken-for-granted ideas which prove to be an inadequate basis for sensemaking in the new environment. Confronted with this anomaly, they often suffer disorientation and depression. It appears that time, familiarity, and exposure to the new socio-cultural environment ameliorate the sense of dislocation. But perhaps the most important factor is the individual ability to draw from varied sources of information and to integrate this information into the patterns of thinking and behavior. This can lead to cultural competence, which is more than just being able to perform in a socially acceptable manner. It involves both knowing the rules of society well enough to abide by them and understanding when one can successfully violate, bend or break the established tenets. Upon returning to Japan many women feel that their encounter with another culture has affected their perceptions of self and home. Following the initial impact of return, many began to question the differences and similarities of the socio-cultural environments they had encountered. They also began, again, to question themselves. Some women found this self-examination and reflection to be a long and difficult process, but others experienced immediate insights and changes in perspectives. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [307]-334).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Michigan, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-182) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Michigan, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-182) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-251). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xviii, 251 leaves, bound 29 cm

International Social Survey Programme 2003 found that about 90% of the people in Japan favour the idea of maintaining the ethnic minorities' culture, rather than their adaptation to the dominant majority's culture. It is outstandingly high percentage, compared internationally. The result is consistent with the fact that multicultural coexistence ("Tabunka kyosei") policy is welcomed in many local governments to support the immigrants. However, it contradicts to some academics' argument that Japan puts assimilative pressure to ethnic minorities. Therefore, this thesis analyses why the idea of maintaining the ethnic minorities' culture enjoys such outstanding support in Japan. The mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative study was used to solve this puzzle. International comparison based on the statistical analysis of national identity and attitude toward the ethnic minorities' culture revealed that (i) about 80% of the Japanese people have ethnic conceptualization of national identity, which is exceptionally high percentage than other countries, and (ii) the vast majority of both the people with ethnic and civic national identity favour the idea of maintaining the ethnic minorities' culture. Therefore, the qualitative analysis of interview data with schoolteachers of the immigrants' children were conducted to examine why, of which aspect and to what extent teachers expect the immigrants' children to maintain their ethnic identity and distinct culture, and expect them to adapt themselves to the dominant Japanese culture. It was found out that it is expected for the immigrants' children to maintain their ethnic minority identity and traditional culture in private, and to adapt themselves to group oriented and rule-based Japanese culture in public. However, such group orientated and rule-based culture is not regarded as "culture", but simply as "rules" to give an order to ethnic and cultural diversity. The findings of this thesis imply that multicultural coexistence is a new form of cultural nationalism in Japan ("tertiary nationalism"), meaning a nationalism which (i) has been brought about by confronting the growing ethnic and cultural diversity within a nation, particularly after '90s in Japan, and (ii) tries to preserve its rule-based culture and to spread it to the ethnic minorities by taking off its label of "culture", (iii) though not incorporating them to a member of a nation, but (iv) expecting them to maintain their ethnic identity and traditional culture in private.

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