The Ethnography of the Boxing Subculture in Japan

From the perspective of the strategies of identity constructions among the youth at a time of social change

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Japan's economy has experienced depression. In this context, the labor market and the education system for the youth have changed. This study aims to describe the strategies of identity constructions among the youth at a time of social change by examining the boxing subculture in Japan. For this purpose of this study, fieldwork was conducted in three boxing clubs in Japan for two and a half years; further, 38 members of these clubs were interviewed.
This paper proposes the following arguments:
1) Focusing on how prospective boxers join a gym, I first argue that the stereotypical image of the hungry fighter does not hold for boxers in Japan. Secondly, I clarify the relationship between gyms, the media, the community, and other professional sports.
2) Based on the activities of boxers at a gym, I first analyze the commonalities in the gym members with respect to their character traits and lifestyles as well as their past problems. Secondly, I describe the gym subculture that is suited to the members' disciplined and productive ethos.
3) Focusing on the life of professional boxers in a gym, I examine socialization and job identity as well as their physical and mental growth.
4) Considering the retirement options of boxers, I describe the conditions for a satisfactory retirement and clarify how complete devotion to the profession provides the boxers with a positive identity.
Finally, I argue that the cases studied in this gym ethnography provide a model for restoring the views of life and labor in present-day Japan.