Filipinos go to Japan for economic reasons but as they migrate for work, they bring along with them their ethnoreligious identity and heritage. Situated as "guests" in the Church of Japan, Filipino Catholics' (FCs) ecclesial presence is marked by narratives of seclusion, marginality, and negotiation. Data are drawn from a qualitative field research on selected church communities in the Archdiocese of Tokyo in Japan, namely, Koiwa, Matsudo, Akabane, and Kasai.

In an attempt to explore and nuance these contested spaces, I would make use of Loic Wacquant's theorization of urban ghettos and Pierre Bourdieu's ideation of "field". To illustrate this, the paper proposes a 'diamond-quadrant' (DQ) plane that may serve as a heuristic device for analytical purposes. Results from this study suggest that the early years of FCs' negotiation (1979-1990s) locate the players in the right plane of contested space defined by exclusionary tendencies of swording and shielding. In the mid-2000s, there has since been a major shift of negotiation to the left plane that is characterized by inclusionary attempts of fishnet and graftage. Despite this shift, it is still a negotiated space. The vision of full integration remains an ideal objective that if unmasked of its ambiguity and hegemonic nuances may be a welcome solution to the problems that affect the Church of Japan as a whole.

Authors:
Willard Enrique Macaraan, De La Salle University, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Willard Enrique R. Macaraan is a Full Professor at De La Salle University, Manila Philippines. has published articles on theology, religion and migration, theological education, philosophy, and other related fields.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/willard-enrique-macaraan-7907a396

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Willard-Enrique-Macaraan?ev=hdr_xprf

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

Bookmark