COMPLETION REPORT
Inheritance and the Life of Guangdong Migrants in Yokohama Chinatown: Case Study on Shatenki and
the Xie's Family
Dr. Yee Lam Elim Wong
PhD Student
Department of Japanese Studies
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
From 1 July 2016 to 31 March 2017, I visited Yokohama Chinatown for four times, including a long stayfor two months in July and August 2016. I was invited to attend a few local events in the overseas
Chinese community, including the celebration of Birth of Guandi in July, Yokohama Sparkling
Twilight 2016 on 17 August, Gourmet festival in November and the Chinese lunar new year celebrationin January 2017. Also, I spent my spare time apart from attending events and visiting archives/libraries
on conducting oral interviews with the Chinese migrants. I have interviewed over 20 overseas Chinese
in Yokohama and Tokyo during the four visits. All these fieldwork experiences are extremely important
to my research. From my observation in these events, I argue that the Cantonese are the pioneers in thecommunity in transmitting the upholding traditional Chinese culture in the community by organizing
such events. For example, when the visitors participate in the Chinese cultural events and festivals in the
Chinatown, in most of the time they are indeed experiencing the Cantonese culture. Lion dance
performances in most of the Chinese festive celebrations are performed in the Cantonese way. The lions
and other equipment used in the performance are directly imported from the Guangdong province.
Religious rites practiced in the festivals are mainly performed in the Cantonese way. The Cantonese
migrants organize the most number of overseas Chinese associations and organizations, and theCantonese cuisine supports the Chinatown business for decades as the local cuisine dim sum (theJapanese called it yum cha) in Guangdong province becomes a symbol of Yokohama Chinatown.
I consider the reason behind the vitality of Yokohama Chinatown is the support of the three major
pillars – the families, Cantonese migrants and identity. Existing literatures connect each of the three
items with the history and development of the overseas Chinese community, but this paper is the firstresearch that highlights the interrelationship between the three in building up Yokohama Chinatown.
The Cantonese family of the Xie’s demonstrates the life experience in supporting the development of
Yokohama Chinatown as well as upholding ethnic Chinese identity in the overseas Chinese
community. From the case study, I conclude four major elements of the Cantonese migrants insustaining their strong identity which allow them to be the leadership in the overseas Chinese
community. The Xie family demonstrates four elements that assist them in transmitting ethnic identity
in the family: education, family business, associational life and folklore practices. Based on intensive
oral interviews and participate observation, the paper is conducted by historical and anthropologicalmethods. This cross-disciplinary research examines the process of Cantonese migrants in strengthening
the Yokohama overseas Chinese community which allows the Chinatown to become a coherence living
space for the Chinese migrants for over 150 years.

Publication of the Results of Research Project:
Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
1. 10-11May 2017 Present a paper on “Family, Everyday Life and the Making Up of Society: A Case Study in
Yokohama Chinatown” in the 9th Annual IIAS-TU Delft Conference, Leiden, Netherlands

2. 8-9Jul 2017 Present a paper on “Inheritance and the Life of Cantonese Migrants: Case Study on Shatenki and
the Xie Family” in Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ), Tokyo, Japan

Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)
PhD thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Japanese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Submission on June 2017
Inheritance and the Transformation of the Cantonese Migrants in Yokohama Chinatown from 1860s to thePresent – A Case Study on Shatenki and the Xie Family
WONG, Yee Lam ElimBook (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)
1.

Wong, Yee Lam Elim. “Family, Everyday Life and the Making up of Society: A Case Study in Yokohama.” InCity and Society: The Care of the Self (Volume 2). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, forthcoming August 2019.