Thursday 24 April 2008
6:00pm – 8:00pm
The Japanese Housewife Overseas: Adapting to Change of Culture and Status
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
By Ruth Martin
Published by Global Oriental
Based on research over a six-year period into three age groups of women, this important new study offers an in-depth analysis for the first time of the experiences of expatriate Japanese wives living temporarily in the United Kingdom. It focuses on the role of the ‘housewife’ in the context of the changing status of women in contemporary Japan, the lifestyle of Japanese company wives abroad and the long-term effects of transfer and reintegration into Japanese society. Perceptions of Britain and Japan from both outside and within are interwoven through this account of Japanese housewives and mothers who have experienced life in both countries.
The book launch saw a presentation by Dr Ruth Martin, chaired by Professor Joy Hendry.
About the contributors
Dr Ruth Martin
Dr Ruth Martin is a Research Associate of the Europe Japan Research Centre, Oxford Brookes University, where she completed her PhD thesis in 2004 on Japanese housewives living in the UK. After being awarded a degree in Chinese and French at the University of Leeds (1987), Dr Martin completed an MA on Contemporary Japan at the University of Essex (1988) before spending two years on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme (Nara). She was an employee of Sanwa Bank (London Branch) from 1990-92 and is currently Vice-Chair of Nichi-Ei Otomodachi Kai.
Professor Joy Hendry
Professor Joy Hendry (chair) is Professor of Social Anthropology and founder of the Europe Japan Research Centre at Oxford Brookes University. She has published much research on Japanese society, which she seeks to place in a global context, in books such as ‘The Orient Strikes Back: A Global View of Cultural Display’ (Berg, 2000) and ‘Reclaiming Culture: Indigenous People and Self-Representation’ (Palgrave, 2005).