Yamashiro profile - Nikkei Studies/Nikkei研究

Yamashiro, Jane Profile

current affiliation:Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Visiting Researcher, Sophia University
research topic/dissertation title: Japanese American Ethnic Identity Reconstruction in Global Tokyo

methodology/research design: My dissertation is a qualitative study based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, and over 50 long, semi-structured interviews with Japanese Americans living in the Tokyo metropolitan region. I also interviewed smaller numbers of Japanese and other foreigners to provide perspective on Japanese American experiences. Before conducting interviews, I had participants fill out background questionnaires, which helped the interviews go smoother and faster.

personal background: I was born and raised in Berkeley, California. I began studying Japanese in college and became interested in the experiences and identity formations of Japanese Americans living in Japan based on my own experiences living in Tokyo and Nagano. My larger areas of interest are Japanese society, globalization, ethnic identity, Asian Americans, cultural studies and race and ethnic relations.

something i wish i had known earlier (this is just an idea):I wish I had known earlier that it helps to start writing as early as possible - before and during research, in addition to after the research is finished. Writing is a process and it is not just a way to convey ideas already formed - it's a way to generate new ideas and should be done as much and as early as possible.

abstract