Japanese and Nikkei at Home and Abroad: Negotiating Identities in ...

and cultural events. Thus, Latin American-ness, and not just Japanese-ness, is stressed.

Stanlaw further argues that even such local ethnic identities are multifaceted. Some local transnational migrants hide behind more representative or “typical” Japanese. For example, there are two different kinds of chzai-in working for a local automaker in a mid-western town in the United States. The first are in management, usually married, and were sent to the United States along with their wives and children. The second group comprises people who are subordinate technicians, generally single. These two groups have different social and economic backgrounds and different social and economic environments in the United States. As a result, each group associates with local people differently. For the managers, the company encourages them to find housing all over town among the local residents. These managers try to establish good relationships with the local people and to organize events and activities that include them. They also develop social networks with other local Japanese through their children's Japanese language-school activities. On the other hand, the company housing for the single technicians are apartments in a former motel, all located in the same building. Because of the nature of their work, they hardly have much opportunity to talk to other U.S. workers. On their days off, the technicians usually play golf with other Japanese technicians, go sightseeing in a larger city, shop at a local Japanese grocery store, or go drinking at a local Japanese bar with other single Japanese friends. They have completely different relationships and experiences with the local people than do the management chzai-in, even though both are in the same geographical area and work for the same company. As a result of this division, local people's image of the chzai-in is solely based on their interaction with the managers.

Locality of ethnic identity is not only attributable to social circumstances of individuals but also to gender roles. Yamamoto (chapter 8) reports that female dekasegi workers are active participants in Japan, even if their work is unpaid jobs in family businesses or as cheap labor on assembly lines—to say nothing of the more “feminine” jobs such as domestic workers or entertainers. Regardless of their experiences in