2021 Volume 27 Pages 19-33
The aim of this paper is to examine the “home” making processes of Shin-Nisei (postwar second-generation Japanese immigrants) who had returned to Japan. Based on the six- year follow-up research of three Japanese university students raised in Guam, I illustrate how they have made their homes in Japan, where they had never previously lived. The main results are threefold. First, they chose to go to Japanese universities to rediscover their roots and/or to seek a better way of life. After returning to Japan, however, they faced a gap between the ideal and reality, and thus struggled to adjust to Japanese society. Second, their home-making process led to two approaches: one was able to create a sense of home by taking advantage of global experiences and competencies, while another failed to feel at home in the new homeland. Finally, three important factors were found for making a home in the process of adaptation. They are the networks in Japan and Guam, the socio- spatial context of the university and area of settlement, and connections with Japan prior to returning.
