Mothering, Education, and Ethnicity

This postmodern feminist study explores changes in Japanese American women's perspectives on child rearing, education, and ethnicity across three generations-Nisei (second), Sansei (third), and Yonsei (fourth). Shifts in socio-political and cultural milieu have influenced the construction of racial and ethnic identities; Nisei women survived internment before relocating to the midwest, Sansei women grew up in white suburban communities, while Yonsei women grew up in a culture increasingly attuned toward multiculturalism. In contrast to the historical focus on Japanese American communities in California and Hawaii, this study explores the transformation of ethnic culture in the midwest. Midwestern Japanese American women found themselves removed from large ethnic communities, and the development of their identities and culture provides valuable insight into the experience of a group of Asian minorities in the heartland. The book explores central issues in studies of Japanese culture, the Japanese sense of self, and the Japanese family, including amae (mother-child dependency relationship), gambare (perseverance), and gaman (endurance).