Mothers' Sociability in “Kosodate-hiroba (Child Care Space)”:

From a Case Study of Kohoku District in Yokohama City

Abstract

In recent years, “Kosodate-hiroba (Child Care Space)” has been increasing in Japan. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, “Hiroba” is a space where parents and children can communicate, and where the aim is to relieve feelings of isolation or uneasiness.
In this paper, I pay attention to mothers' sociability in “Hiroba”, and I analyze how the mothers' sociability operates and what they gain from the experience. This analysis clearly shows both that mothers relativize a norm of what it means to be a mother, and that they enjoy being mothers through the sociability that they encounter in this space.