Unveiling Race and Japanese Identity Through Kokusai Kekkon

Author

Manami Matsuoka, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

Kokusai kekkon, marriage among Japanese and non-Japanese nationals, are common, yet sometimes it comes with difficulties. The study aims to uncover Japanese people’s hidden perceptions of gaikokujins, foreigners, and Japanese identity shaped in relation to gaikokujins based on race and ethnicity within cross-national marriage. 18 Japanese spouses of U.S. Americans were interviewed for the study. The study employed thematic analysis to disclose Japanese beliefs and worldviews through interpreting Japanese interviewees’ experiences and their families’ discourses regarding marriage with U.S. Americans. The study found that whiteness and the sense of inferiority to the West and superiority toward the East influence Japanese views on gaikokujins and international marriage. Japanese nationals’ experiences with marriages to U.S. Americans offer important implications regarding racial and historical influences on Japanese perceptions of gaikokujins and themselves. The findings may help both Japanese and people around the world recognize the racial hierarchy in Japan impacts whether cross-national marriages are accepted or rejected and how Japanese perspectives on race and ethnicity are constructed and nurtured in Japan.

Advisor

Christopher Brown

Committee Member

Sachi Sekimoto

Committee Member

Paul Prew

Date of Degree

2021

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

College

Arts and Humanities

Recommended Citation

Matsuoka, M. (2021). Unveiling race and Japanese identity through Kobusai kekkon [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1154/

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.