International marriage in Japan: reconstructing cultural toolkits in marriages between Japanese men and women from the former Soviet Union: Identities: Vol 28, No 1

International marriage in Japan: reconstructing cultural toolkits in marriages between Japanese men and women from the former Soviet Union: Identities: Vol 28, No 1

Identities 

Global Studies in Culture and Power

Volume 28, 2021 - Issue 1: Intimate Citizenship. Citizenship, Membership and Belonging in Mixed-status Families

213

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REGULAR ARTICLE

International marriage in Japan: reconstructing cultural toolkits in marriages between Japanese men and women from the former Soviet Union

Viktoriya Kim ORCID Icon

Pages 111-128 | Received 10 Nov 2017, Accepted 02 Oct 2019, Published online: 13 Oct 2019

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ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes intercultural issues in marriages between Japanese men and women from former Soviet Union countries. Focusing on the differences in meanings and assumptions that guide couples in their marriages and the historical-cultural roots of these differences, the paper argues that spouses adapt, negotiate, and change their expectations to each other in response to the cultural encounters that deviate from their familiar cultural patterns. 

The data for the research was collected by the author between 2006 and 2014 in urban areas of Japan. It consists in-depth interviews with Russian-speaking women (48) and Japanese men (20), participant observation in couples’ homes, women’s gatherings, and communication in an online Russian-language community.

 The analysis reveals the effects of cultural differences on relationships between spouses in international marriages in Japan, discusses the fluidity and change of cultural notions over time, and explains how spouses justify these changes.

KEYWORDS: International marriage in Japancross-border marriagemarriage migration to JapanRussian women marriage migrationintercultural communicationcultural toolkit