| Research Abstract |
When considering the traditional culture of Japanese Chinese and the various related changes, I think it is also important to focus on the context of historical mutual exchanges between China and East Asia. As far as the present research is concerned, I would like to re-discuss the changing relationship between the special characteristics of the Nagasaki area and transmission of Chinese ethnicity in the era of globalization. As a result, I presented my thesis, "Revitalization of Local Community and Ethnicity : Nagasaki's Lantern Festival Among the Immigrant Chinese" and "Local Initiative and Creation of Tradition".
However, the trends of transmission and the reorganization of traditional cultures, especially Chinese community festivals and performances can be seen not only in Japan, but have also become very prominent in North America and Southeast Asia. From this point of view, I carried out the research concentrating on the Chinese New Year Celebration in San Francisco, on the west co
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ast of the US. Upon the basis of this research, in the first part of my report I stated the characteristics and organization of the Chinese community, and the condition of festivals and performances, especially, the Chinese New Year Celebration in Chinatown in San Francisco. There are about two hundred thousand Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco and Chinatown itself is the second largest congregation of Chinese after New York in North America. Chinatown was formed in the later half of nineteenth century with Chinese immigrants coming in. At present, although it is one of the sightseeing spots in San Francisco, it still retains a traditional local community. The New Year's celebration started in 1953. It thus currently has a history of fifty-three years. It was greatly revised in the 1970s. The same Chinese New Year in Japan is celebrated in quite a different way. This is due to many factors, such as the history of immigration, formalization, the specific communities in the areas, their organizations, as well as the relationships between the respective countries and China.
Furthermore, in the second part of my report, I observed and investigated the new Chinese immigrant community and compared this with the traditional community in Chinatown. Immigrants from mainly Northeast China are increasing in numbers in the suburbs of San Francisco. With different backgrounds and routes, the newcomers, although they are gathering in the same area, have not formed a traditional ‘town', like Chinatown, but are living separately. Their lives are almost the same as when they were in their homeland. However, because of this immigration, there is no doubt that the population structures, languages, economic activities and the customs in these areas have seen great changes. Less
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