Abstract
Purpose : This paper aims to clarify how Peruvian women with infants rear their children under the circumstances of foreign laborers in a certain prefecture of Japan, whose culture and institutions are significantly different from those of Peru. Methods : We conducted eight months of fieldwork among seven Peruvian women with infants. The fieldwork was conducted mainly in their own homes. We also went with them to medical institutions, public health centers and supermarkets for participant observation. Only Spanish was used in informal interviews. Results : Interview data were grouped into 7 large categories, 25 medium categories, and 73 small categories. Peruvian women living in Japan lived "a turbulent life as guest workers in bachelorhood", overcame numerous hardships such as "environments bound up with work" and "living in Japan shut themselves behind closed doors" by "the strength of family ties beyond national borders," and conducted "Peruvian culture-based child-rearing which also drew from Japanese elements," while facing "role performance as a Peruvian mother and its conflicted feeling" and "confusion over the use of maternal and health system in Japan." Conclusion : Peruvian women staying in Japan overcame difficult conditions of life such as foreign laborers and confusion arising from difference in culture and institutions through strong family ties. Our analysis suggests that we need to develop a research study on foreign residents in Japan through the analysis of how nursing staffs are involved in their welfare by attaching a high value to transcultural connection.
