Building Friendship Networks and Intercultural Spaces: The Case of Japanese Women in Spain
Building Friendship Networks and Intercultural Spaces: The Case of Japanese Women in Spain

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the associationism of Japanese women living in Spain who are members of the Tanpopo-no-kai/Sociedad Tanpopo, and their intercultural experiences through their written personal narratives. This associationism has resulted in attempts to create a social network and space for intercultural communication at a national level between Hispanic-Japanese families and Japanese residents in Spain. The research is based on numerical data and narrative data, however Japanese narratives from the quarterly association bulletins provide the main source of information. By using the narrative analysis method in the form of questions we have been able to study the writings in order to explore issues such as: their transcultural experiences, their processes of adapting to life in Spain, the evolution of their identity, their interpretation of the social reality around them and the passing on of their social and cultural heritage to their children, among others. The study of the Tanpopo association has demonstrated a close-knit and relaxed transcultural and female space for intraethnic communication. It reveals a joint strategy of emotional and instrumental support to overcome the isolation, the loss of social networks and the geographical separation from their own cultural region, resulting from the immigration through marriage of Japanese women living in Spain.

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