Child Welfare and Development: A Japanese Case Study

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Child Welfare and Development Sachiko Bamba and Wendy L. Haight provide an in-depth understanding of the everyday experiences and perspectives of maltreated children and their substitute caregivers and teachers in Japan. Their innovative research program combines strategies from developmental psychology, ethnography, and intervention-oriented research. Although child advocates from around the world share certain goals and challenges, there is substantial cultural variation in how child maltreatment is understood, its origins, and its impact on children and families, as well as societal responses deemed appropriate. The authors step outside of the western cultural context to illustrate creative ecologically and developmentally based strategies for supporting the psychosocial well-being of maltreated children in state care, provide an alternative but complementary model to the prevalent large-scale survey strategies for conducting international research in child welfare, and provide a resource for educators to enhance the international content of human development, education, social work, and child welfare courses. Sachiko Bamba received her PhD from the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University and Master of Sociology from Kwansei Gakuin University. Dr. Bamba has published a number of articles in Japanese and English on children’s socialization in child care institutions, in journals including Children and Youth Services Review and Social Work. Wendy L. Haight received her Bachelor of Arts from Reed College and her PhD from the University of Chicago, where she studied developmental psychology. Dr. Haight holds the Gamble-Skogmo Land Grant Chair in Child Welfare and Youth in the School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. She has authored or co-authored more than fifty chapters and journal articles, as well as five previous books, including Pretending at Home: Early Development in a Sociocultural Context (1993), The Socialization of African-American Children at Church: A Sociocultural Perspective (2002), Raise Up a Child: Human Development in an African-American Family (2003, 2009), Human Behavior for Social Work Practice: A DevelopmentalEcological Perspective (2007), and Children of Methamphetamine-Involved Families: The Case of Rural Illinois (2009).

sachiko: To the memory of my father, Nobuya, for the example he �provided me, especially his value of scholarship. To the memory of my brother, Takashi, in respect for his devotion to �vulnerable children and youth. wendy: To my family

Child Welfare and Development A Japanese Case Study Sachiko Bamba Tokyo Gakugei University

Wendy L. Haight University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus

cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107002845 © Sachiko Bamba and Wendy L. Haight 2011 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Bamba, Sachiko, 1971– Child welfare and development : a Japanese case study / Sachiko Bamba, Wendy L. Haight. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-107-00284-5 (hardback) 1. Abused children – Japan. 2. Children – Institutional care – Japan. 3. Child welfare – Japan. 4. Developmental psychology – Japan. I. Haight, Wendy L., 1958– II. Title. hv6626.54.j3b35 2011 362.7–dc23 2011020478 isbn 978-1-107-00284-5 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

List of Tables and Figures

page vi

Acknowledgments

vii

1. Child-rearing at a Residential Child Care Institution: Watching with Long Eyes

1

2. Japanese Contexts and Concepts: Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, Ibasho, and Mimamori

16

3. The Research Program

41

4. A Developmental Goal for Maltreated Children: Ibasho Creation

60

5. Challenges to Maltreated Children’s Ibasho Creation

76

6. Socialization Practices Underlying Ibasho Creation: Mimamori

99

7. Children’s Lives and Experiences of Ibasho and Mimamori

117

8. Mr. Watanabe’s Responses to the Intervention

139

9. Reflections on Some Challenges of Field Research

154

10. The Emerging Child Welfare Context of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu

170

11. Conclusion: Some Lessons for Culturally Sensitive Child Welfare

189

References

199

Index

213 v

tables and Figures

Tables 3.1. Adult participants in Studies 1 and 2 3.2. Child participants in Studies 1 and 2

page 47 49

Figures 7.1.╇ The Children’s Academy 7.2. Floor plans

119 120

vi

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge a few of the many people who supported us throughout this project. The project would not have been possible without the generosity of the children and adults at the Children’s Academy and Dream Home, and of participating educators. We also thank our colleagues who provided helpful comments on earlier drafts, especially Professor Fumiharu Yamagata for sharing his expertise in Japanese child welfare policy, Dr. Daniel Walsh for his many insights into Japanese culture, and Misa Kayama for help with the data analysis. We also acknowledge the support we received from the Univeristy of Illinois School of Social Work, our Â�professional home during much of this research.

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1 Child-rearing at a Residential Child Care Institution: Watching with Long Eyes

Springtime at a public junior high school

As a result of his single mother’s financial and work-related struggles, three-year-old Masaru was placed in a residential child care Â�institution, one of many Japanese facilities for children who for a variety of reasons cannot live with their families. Several months later, Masaru’s mother married and brought him home to his new family. His mother, however, had mental health problems, and his new stepfather, a member of the Japanese mob, did not want him. Soon after he returned home, Masaru’s stepfather began physically abusing him and also exposed him to adult criminality. Over time, Masaru developed serious behavioral problems, including fighting 1

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with his peers. When he was eight years old, his mother sought help from a child guidance center. Such centers are accessible throughout Japan to provide services and referrals for a range of child-rearing and developmental issues. After consulting with staff members, Masaru’s mother again decided to place him in a residential child care institution. He lived there for two years before reuniting with his family. Unfortunately, family problems persisted, and Masaru’s mother again sought help. This time, Masaru, now age thirteen, was placed in the Children’s Academy, a residential child care institution and primary site of our research. When Sachiko first met Masaru, he was fourteen years old and had adapted well to the Children’s Academy, school, and the community. Although he described himself as the “roughest” during elementary school, he commented, “I am not rough recently.” Indeed, at the Children’s Academy, he got along well with his peers and enjoyed outdoor play. He was relaxed, spoke frequently with his housemates, helped with chores, and enjoyed good relationships with his male child care workers whom he could “trust and rely [on].” Masaru also expressed fondness for the head of the institution because “he cares for everyone.” At sports tournaments with other child care institutions, Masaru played with his housemates on a team and interacted well with people from other institutions. He was attending the neighborhood junior high school, and was very excited when selected as a starting member of his school’s basketball club in a citywide tournament. Although Masaru was unwilling to return home to live, he did maintain contact with his family. For example, at age fourteen, he enjoyed visiting his parents in the summer. Later that year, when his grandfather died, Masaru attended the family memorial. Although institution staff members were aware of and cautious about problems at his home, they helped Masaru keep ties with his family. Given its many problems, Masaru’s home was not considered an ideal place for a child, but still, it was Masaru’s home, and child care workers respected his desire to remain connected to his family. Masaru was gaining in maturity, but also was described by his primary caregiver as sometimes clinging to him like a much younger child. At age fifteen, the institution head and child care workers discussed concerns about his life after graduating from junior high school, especially the negative influence of juvenile delinquents and adult mob members in the community. Masaru, however, went on

Residential Child Care Institution

3

to enter and do well in high school, and even joined a sports club in the community. He created a place for himself within the Children’s Academy, high school and community. Although Masaru experienced many challenges in his high school years, his caregivers viewed his positive development after placement within the supportive social context of the Children’s Academy as reflecting his potential for further growth. In this book, we explore the everyday lives and perspectives of maltreated Japanese children like Masaru1 and their substitute caregivers. Masaru’s experience of child maltreatment is by no means unique. Child maltreatment2 is the physical, sexual, or psychological abuse or neglect by the child’s guardian or caregiver. It is a persistent, widespread problem appearing in places as diverse as urban Japan and the rural United States. Children who have been maltreated can develop a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems such as Masaru’s initial aggressive behavior and his lasting insecurity expressed as clinginess to his favorite caregiver. How we understand and support children who have been maltreated, however, Â�varies widely across cultural contexts. By stepping outside of the cultural context that we take for granted, to consider practices distinct from our own, new insights into our own practices and ways of understanding maltreated children and their families emerge. In this chapter, we begin by introducing some key concepts and contexts to be elaborated throughout this book, using Masaru as an exemplar. Within Japan, many parents respond as did Masaru’s mother to problems with child-rearing. When she realized her family was in trouble, she turned to professionals at the local child guidance center to whom she could reach out for help. The legal system and courts were not involved. Masaru’s mother cooperated with staff at the child guidance center in making plans to place him in a government-regulated, residential child care institution, or Jidou Yougo Shisetsu (Jidou=child, Yougo=protective care, Shisetsu=institution). Typical of Japanese child welfare, Masaru was not placed in an individual foster home, but in an institution where he was cared for with other children, and from which he attended the neighborhood public school. Every morning he joined his peers traveling together on foot in their distinctive school

1 All names for people and places used in this book are pseudonyms. 2

Defining maltreatment is especially complex when working within an international context, because definitions vary. The definition used here is consistent with the Japanese Child Maltreatment Prevention Law (see Chapter 10).

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Child Welfare and Development

uniforms. Every afternoon, he joined in club activities at school. Returning home to the institution, Masaru lived in a small unit of ten boys and two caregivers within a larger unit of sixty-five children and twenty-four adults. In the larger institution, Masaru played on sports teams, interacted with boys and girls of varying ages, and developed stable relationships with his favorite adults, including the institution head. Masaru and his peers at the institution received medical care, counseling, and other services on site or in the local community, as needed. Masaru’s ties with his family were not severed, and he continued to visit them and to participate with his relatives during major holidays and other important community events. We explore the lives of Masaru and other children living in child care institutions in urban Japan from a cultural developmental perspective (e.g., Rogoff, 2003; Shweder, et al., 2006). We view human development as shaped within particular socio-cultural-historical contexts. In this book, we consider the concrete patterns of everyday socialization practices, the local beliefs that support these practices, and how socialization beliefs and practices are experienced in the everyday lives of adults and children in contemporary, urban Japan. Our focus is on the dialectical processes of socialization and acquisition that comprise development. In brief, socialization is the process by which others (adults, older children, peers) structure the social environment and display patterned meanings for the child (e.g., Miller & Sperry, 1987; Wentworth, 1980). Through this process, children acquire the beliefs, values, skills, and perspectives of their culture necessary to become contributing members of the group. The goals and strategies of socialization are instantiated in everyday activities, informal routines, special events and more formalized behaviors and rituals of a culture (Gauvain & Parke, 2010). For example, child care workers made arrangements for Masaru to attend the funeral and vigil for his grandfather, which provided him with an opportunity to learn the meaning of Buddhist rituals, thereby communicating respect for enduring family relations. The value of family was further underscored by care workers’ communications with Masaru’s mother and other children’s parents, who typically were not only allowed but expected to visit their children at the institution and take them for outings and even home for weekends and major holidays. Parents also were allowed to have input into major decisions such as where their children should attend high school (regular, special education, technical, etc.). Although Masaru’s mother struggled and he needed protection from his stepfather, Masaru did belong to a family with roots in the past and extending into the future.

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5

Acquisition is the active process through which children interpret, respond to, and ultimately embrace, reject, or elaborate on the social patterns to which they are exposed (e.g., Miller & Sperry, 1987; Wentworth, 1980). For example, Masaru embraced a value of family continuity, actively seeking to attend family events and learn about Buddhist rituals. On the other hand, he also turned away from the antisocial beliefs and actions modeled and encouraged by his stepfather by avoiding physical aggression and involvement with juvenile delinquents in the community. Socialization and acquisition are complex processes, especially for many children who have experienced maltreatment and disrupted relationships with their parents. Masaru and other children at the child care institution experienced many struggles, as did their substitute caregivers in rearing them. During our research, care workers expressed frustration, especially when children’s misbehavior resulted in suspensions from school, involved the police, or created problems within the institution. The institution head and most workers, however, were firm in their belief that to be effective they must watch children with “long eyes.” To watch with long eyes (nagai me de miru) means to consider the long-term potential for individuals to develop. Caregivers were challenged by the aggressive behaviors of some adolescents. Although more restrictive placements were available for adolescents with behavioral and criminal problems, the adults felt that with patient care, these children would adjust socially and emotionally by developing relationships with adults and their peers. It was necessary to affectionately watch over Masaru with long eyes to consider not just Masaru’s inital aggressive or other problematic behavior, but his potential for development. Similarly, staff at the child guidance center focused not only on parents’ immediate problems, but also considered how, for example, the way in which they responded might impact their long-term relationship with Masaru’s mother and their ability to help her vulnerable family as future problems emerged. To understand socialization and acquisition, it is necessary to consider the broader cultural context in which these processes are embedded. For example, Masaru’s care workers supported his family relationships, an important goal when Japanese children are placed in institutions (Hiramoto, 2000). Ohshiro (2005) observes that some children who live in institutions feel anxious and abandoned by their parents, and these feelings can lead to emotional and behavioral problems. Children who maintain or develop positive relationships with their parents while they are in institutional care are thought to show more positive psychological adjustment (Ohshiro,

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2005). The efforts of the Japanese government, as well as each institution, to keep and strengthen family ties of children in institutional care may, in part, reflect a strong cultural emphasis placed on family continuity, including with ancestors. The vast majority of Japanese people participate in some form of ancestral ritual at the summer festival of the dead (obon) or in the home, and visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples at the New Year. For the Japanese, ancestor veneration is about family continuity and about care for those who are no longer among the living. Some Japanese even believe that their ancestors watch over and protect the living family members (Ama, 2005; Traphagan, 2005). Thus, the loss of family for maltreated children would represent not only the loss of specific relationships with parents, but would disrupt a culturally significant sense of continuity with previous and future generations. Understanding socialization and acquisition also requires consideration of developmental goals, in other words, that which is considered to be appropriate, desirable, and mature within particular sociocultural contexts. An important developmental goal of the adults who participated in our research was for children to find their Ibasho.3 In brief, Ibasho is a place where one feels safe, at ease, accepted, and able to freely express oneself. According to Japanese folk psychology, Ibasho is necessary for healthy development and well-being throughout the life span. Ibasho is created through empathetic and mutually accepting relationships, the opportunity to contribute to others’ well-being, and the performance of clear roles within the group. One consequence of child maltreatment is that the child experiences an absence of Ibasho. Although adults cited Ibasho creation as a developmental goal, they also recognized that Ibasho cannot be given to another; it must be actively created by the individual. Adults can provide the context, but ultimately, it is the child who must create Ibasho. Masaru created his Ibasho at the institution as he developed trusting relationships with peers and adults, especially his male care worker who, he felt, understood him. There also were places where he could choose activities he found enjoyable and through which he could express himself, especially playing sports on the playground and at the gym. There was a safe and relaxing atmosphere in the boys’ house, and Masaru was given opportunities to make positive contributions. He had 3 We have chosen to retain some Japanese words used by our participants because their meanings, as well as people’s associated experiences, are deeply embedded in Japanese culture. These words are difficult to translate because they encompass a range of meanings entangled in Japanese scripts for appropriate interpersonal behavior and desirable relationships (LeVine, 2001).

Residential Child Care Institution

7

valued social roles to perform as a contributing member of his teams and household. He found his Ibasho. In describing their own roles in children’s development, adults in our research underscored children’s active acquisition and autonomy. Their preferred socialization practices were largely indirect. They created a context for children’s development, and they mimamoru(ed) them. In brief, to mimamoru a child is to watch over that child with affection and protection. When adults mimamoru children, they carefully observe them and identify their needs. The goal is not to “teach” children directly, or even to quickly intervene to correct misbehavior, but to arrange children’s social and physical ecologies so that, over time, children will have the opportunity to think and learn “naturally.” Before Masaru entered the Children’s Academy at age thirteen, he had many difficulties in his interpersonal relationships. He frequently fought with other boys at school, which alienated him from his peers. At home, he had frequent conflicts with his mother. When he was placed in the Children’s Academy, care workers recognized his aggressiveness, but patiently mimamoru(ed) him. They focused on developing relationships with him through showing acceptance, trustworthiness, and care. They also provided opportunities for Masaru to contribute to his new house through chores, and to use his athletic talents for the benefit of the sports team. Over time, Masaru did develop relationships, voluntarily abide by norms of appropriate behavior, and find roles through which he could contribute. When discussing his physical aggression as a younger boy, Masaru concluded, “I don’t want to fight now.â•›.â•›.â•›. Because I would be scolded by the child guidance center staff. I don’t want to.” Although the focus of this book is on socialization and acquisition within the context of a child care institution, schools and the community also are central contexts in which these children develop. Residents of child care institutions attend local public schools, and membership in a class or a school club is an important aspect of identity development for Japanese children (Tender, 1999). Institution staff and educators view themselves as co-rearing children, and thus there is overlap and consistency in their roles. Both groups of adults view promoting children’s social-emotional well-Â�being, supporting their Ibasho creation, and mimamoru(ing) them as Â�central to their professional roles. Children living in child care institutions also participate in community activities, for example, through sports clubs and shopping. Ideally, all Japanese adults mimamoru all children in their communities, those who live in institutions as well as those who live at home with their families. For example, in urban areas, young children who attend private schools

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Child Welfare and Development

commonly commute to school on trains. If they become lost or lose their passes, they are routinely directed by adult commuters. Similarly, during after-school hours, adults in local penny candy shops (dagashiya) communicate with youth, including from the Children’s Academy, who stop by after-school hours.4

how this book came to be written A major theme articulated by adult participants in our research is the Â�primacy of interpersonal relationships for psychological functioning and well-being. Thus, it is fitting to acknowledge that this book owes its existence to a set of long-term relationships: between the authors, and between Sachiko and colleagues in Japan. At the time we began our research, Sachiko had known an administrator at the Children’s Academy for more than five years and enjoyed a good relationship with her. This administrator provided introductions to study participants at the Children’s Academy, which smoothed Sachiko’s way. Sachiko maintained this relationship and developed others including with the social worker, institution head, and a care worker for the boys, all of whom were especially insightful and articulate. She also built and maintained relationships with a number of children that spanned several years. Informal conversations, shared meals, and social events over the years have proven to be invaluable contexts for exploring and understanding socialization and acquisition at the Children’s Academy. Sachiko and Wendy have known each other for nearly a decade. Sachiko arrived at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at the turn of the century as a PhD student and stayed through a two-year-long postdoctoral fellowship. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Sociology from Kwansei Gakuin University in Hyogo, followed by a Master’s degree in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Sachiko is a Japanese citizen and before coming to the United States was employed as a counselor, including with the Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Osaka, Japan. In April 2010, she returned to Japan to assume a faculty position at Tokyo Gakugei University. At the time of Sachiko’s arrival at the University of Illinois, Wendy was a professor of social work serving as PhD program director. Wendy received her Bachelor’s degree from Reed College in Psychology, and PhD from the 4 Note that this ideal of frequent interactions between children and adults in their communities is decreasing in contemporary Japanese cities. In urban settings, for example, many local shops have been replaced by convenience stores and large shopping malls where interactions between cashiers and customers are limited.

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University of Chicago, where she focused on cultural developmental science. Sachiko was especially interested in learning about social work in the United States as this field was newly expanding in Japan. Wendy, whose work focuses on socialization within culturally diverse and vulnerable families, became equally interested in learning about social work in Japan. Over the years, this close international collaboration has become a major strength of our joint research. Sachiko’s insider understanding of Japanese culture provided a necessary context for identifying relevant questions, and interpreting participants’ responses. Wendy’s outsider status illuminated for systematic study constructs that often are taken for granted by cultural insiders, including Ibasho and mimamoru. As with any collaboration, ours has not been without its challenges. Over the years, we have become aware that our intellectual styles differ, along deep and likely cultural lines. If not acknowledged and addressed, such differences have the potential to derail cross-cultural collaborations, as each collaborator may feel increasingly frustrated and misunderstood. Such differences in intellectual styles, which may be especially apparent during the process of analysis and writing, also are a type of data that can enrich understanding of the research topic. Although as a qualitative researcher Wendy is used to working inductively, she prefers a rhetorical style in which each element of the argument is explicitly marked, and followed by evidence. Sachiko’s intellectual and rhetorical style is more indirect, providing the reader with rich details that may or may not be followed by a conclusion. This style parallels the Japanese socialization practices we studied: practices that are largely indirect, allowing others to learn rather than teaching them. In this book, we struggled to blend our intellectual and rhetorical styles: allowing readers to learn, but also providing signposts along the way. For example, Masaru’s case at the beginning of this chapter is more reflective of Sachiko’s indirect style of introducing the Children’s Academy, and the topic sentences and following statement of the book’s aim, of Wendy’s more direct rhetoric. There are, of course, many reasons to persevere with challenging crosscultural collaborations. From a U.S. perspective, Wendy found study of the Japanese case particularly important. There is an extensive developmental literature in English that describes Japanese socialization practices (e.g., Ben-Ari, 1996; Shimizu & LeVine, 2001; Shwalb, Nakazawa & Shwalb, 2005). For example, mimamori (noun form of mimamoru) is ecologically focused and developmentally sensitive. It aims to create supportive ecologies around children, and varies depending on context and children’s development (see Chapter 2). In addition, Japanese socialization practices focus on emotions

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and relationships. When educating and disciplining children, Japanese adults emphasize children’s feelings and the development of strong emotional ties between children and their adult caregivers (e.g., Azuma, 1994). These practices are reflected in the ways in which child welfare services are provided to support maltreated children’s development and well-being. While U.S. child welfare practitioners and scholars may espouse a developmental-ecological perspective on the care of maltreated children, or the importance of emotional well-being and relationships, a discontinuity too often exists between such advocacy and actual practice (e.g., Barth, 2007). Many U.S. interventions for maltreated children are not adequately tailored to children’s changing developmental needs (e.g., Berrick, et al., 1998), do not reflect established research findings from developmental science regarding the centrality of relationships to children’s healthy development (e.g., Haight, Kagle & Black, 2003), and fail to intervene in the multiple family, peer and school contexts necessary for recovery from maltreatment. Yet, focusing greater attention on the emotional well-being and relationships of U.S. children with maltreatment histories is critical. Between 30 and 50 percent of U.S. children in foster care exhibit significant behavioral or emotional problems. These problems can include feeling an absence of belonging. Many also experience significant problems in diverse ecological settings including foster home, school, and community (Clausen, et al., 1998; Hartnett & Bruhn, 2005). Adults reared in foster care have significantly higher risks of depression, lower levels of marital happiness, less intimate relationships with their own children, and a higher incidence of social isolation than adults from the general population (Cook-Fong, 2000). Clearly, new practice models are needed. In this book, we will explore the strengths and limitations of a Japanese model of responding to child maltreatment to stimulate thinking about how we may better support the development of abused and neglected children.

overview of the book We will describe a five-year-long program of research exploring the developmental contexts, developmental goals, socialization practices, and Â�participants’ experiences within two urban Japanese child care institutions and the schools attended by resident children. Chapter 2 elaborates the contexts and concepts at the heart of this book. We focus on the development of children as shaped within child care institutions within the particular socialcultural-historical context of twenty-first century Japan. We first describe the developmental context of the child care institutions, both the specific

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institutions studied in our research and the broader context of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu. Then, we discuss Japanese developmental goals focusing on Ibasho creation and the relation of Ibasho to other important cultural concepts. Finally, we consider socialization practices with an emphasis on mimamori, and how mimamori relates to other important Japanese concepts. Chapter 3 describes our research program within two urban child care institutions in Japan (the Children’s Academy and the Dream Home) and three local public elementary and junior high schools attended by the children. These child care institutions were chosen for a variety of reasons. First, they employed a small residence system, with small groups of Â�children living with caregivers within a larger institution, at that time considered desirable practice by the Japanese National Social Security Council (2003). In addition, they displayed socialization practices within the “typical” range among Japanese child care institutions. Finally, Sachiko had professional contacts at both institutions. Through semistructured interviews, focusgroup interviews, participant observation, focused observations, and case record reviews, we explored the everyday lives of Japanese children with maltreatment histories, who reside in child care institutions. We were especially interested in the physical and social ecologies of the institutions and schools, adults’ developmental goals for children, and adults’ and children’s perspectives. We also explicitly probed adults’ and children’s beliefs about, and experiences of, Ibasho creation, as well as socialization strategies used by adults that can support children’s Ibasho creation. Finally, we invited adults to participate in an intervention to facilitate children’s Ibasho creation within the institution. Chapter 4 focuses on adults’ beliefs about Ibasho. Both child care institution staff and educators emphasized the importance of maltreated children’s Ibasho creation. When they were asked to define Ibasho, adult participants typically described a space and its associated emotional and social experiences. Emotions adults associated with Ibasho included a sense of security, calm, comfort, relief, enjoyment, freedom from stress, and belonging. Adults also viewed positive, trusting interpersonal relationships as the basis of Ibasho. Other positive social experiences associated with Ibasho included being accepted, approved of, and understood, as well as the possibility for self-expression. Adults generally believed that part of their professional roles involved creating an accepting social ecology to support maltreated children’s Ibasho creation. Chapter 5 describes challenges to children’s Ibasho creation that were discussed by adults during individual and focus-group interviews, and that are consistent with participant observation. Many adults understood

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abusive and neglectful home environments as conditions under which children cannot secure their Ibasho. Extended institutionalization, especially when began in infancy, and ongoing problematic relationships with family members also were viewed by caregivers as possible impediments to Ibasho creation. Overall, adults believed that when maltreated children have the time and opportunity to develop positive interpersonal relationships, as well as a rich physical environment to explore their interests and abilities, that they will eventually engage in Ibasho creation. Chapter 5 includes two longitudinal case studies that exemplify children’s struggles to create their Ibasho. Chapter 6 focuses on the socialization beliefs and strategies used by adults to support maltreated children’s Ibasho creation. Adults typically described their role in children’s Ibasho creation as largely indirect; that is, as creating a supportive social and emotional context. Rather than implementing concrete activities targeted at children’s Ibasho creation, participants preferred ecological interventions or more subtle, indirect socialization practices such as mimamori. Many educators and institution staff members viewed the classroom or the institution, not the individual child, as the primary target of intervention. The typical response when a child was having difficulty was to examine the dynamics of the group to consider how the child could be better supported as a member of the group. To change the dynamics of the group in positive ways, Japanese professionals intervened at multiple levels of the social ecology: individual child, peer groups, and community. Although teaching maltreated children to improve their behavior is a way to help them find their Ibasho, creating an accepting atmosphere around the children and making sure they recognize that they are accepted was viewed as fundamental. In most situations, changing the environment in anticipation of its effects on the child was viewed as more effective than merely changing the child’s immediately problematic behavior. Most child care workers spontaneously identified mimamori as a valued part of their daily practice with resident children. The practice of mimamori was described by adults and noted during participant observation in a variety of contexts. Adults described mimamori in relation to other cultural constructs including anshin (peace of mind, freedom from worry, sense of security) and Ibasho. When adults watch over (mimamoru) children, they create a context where children can experience a sense of anshin, a critical socioemotional experience in one’s Ibasho. Participants emphasized the importance to children’s anshin of their consistent experience of mimamori over time and people. Within the institution, workers emphasized children feeling that all adults were “watching and caring about them.” Chapter 6

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also presents a longitudinal case study illustrating how a caring and supportive social ecology, including adults’ long-term mimamori over a period of years, allowed a young girl who had been physically and sexually abused to develop trusting relationships with adults and to create her Ibasho within the institution. Chapter 7 provides an overview of children’s experiences of their Ibasho creation and mimamori. Most children described characteristics of Ibasho at the institution, their school, or both. Their discussions of their lives at the institution and school echoed adults’ emphasis on the importance of feeling relaxed, calm, and enjoying a quality of comfort and openness in relationships. Many children described enjoyment in relaxing in private spaces and playing or chatting with peers in communal spaces. The presence of caring, accepting, and trustworthy adults was critical for their Ibasho Â�creation. Children described rejection by peers, bullying, and lack of understanding from others as contributing to an absence of Ibasho. Examination of children’s perspectives and experiences in their Ibasho allowed us to view maltreated children as active agents in their own lives rather than simply as vulnerable individuals. Children had their own individual ways of securing their Ibasho depending on their development, interests, and available resources. Participant observation also revealed children’s apparent preference for creating their Ibasho in places where adults were present to mimamoru them. Some of the challenges children faced in creating their Ibasho, such as bullying by older children, occurred in the absence of adults’ mimamori. Chapter 7 also presents a longitudinal case illustration of how a child’s Ibasho emerged over time. Chapter 8 describes an intervention to support children’s Ibasho creation primarily through the eyes of the senior boys’ worker, an engaged and challenging primary informant. In brief, child welfare workers met in a series of focus groups where we asked them to discuss strategies they might employ to support children’s Ibasho creation. Most participants, however, experienced difficulties in implementing a specific intervention for Ibasho creation. This failure of the intervention provided important information about the implicit, indirect, and contextualized nature of socialization practices such as mimamori, as well as culturally appropriate practice. Participants repeatedly emphasized the importance of “watching over children very carefully,” “deeply thinking about children,” and “emotionally committing” to children. Chapter 9 is a first-person account of Sachiko’s experiences at the Children’s Academy. Her subjective responses provide additional information about the social and psychological climate of the institution. In addition,

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her struggles to find her personal and professional Ibasho at the Children’s Academy highlight the challenges of defining one’s role as a researcher and negotiating complex relationships with participants during extended field research, which will be of particular interest to novice researchers. Other issues include consideration of the cultural appropriateness of popular research methods. For example, the focus-group method has a reputation for being “quick and easy” compared with participant observation and individual interviews (Morgan, 1997), but in hierarchically organized Japanese settings and settings in which there are complex preexisting interpersonal relationships, the validity of these findings may be suspect. Chapter 10 describes the broader historical and evolving social Â�policy context in which our study of specific child care institutions is situated. Readers with macrosystem interests in how child care institutions fit within this larger context may wish to read this chapter after Chapter 2. It Â�provides an overview of the Japanese child welfare system, its historical context, strengths, and limitations. Japanese child welfare aims to support the healthy development of all children, not just those with vulnerabilities, and is primarily preventive. Japanese child welfare addresses a number of social issues through the provision of day care, after-school programs, and programs for maternal and child health, single-parent-headed families, and children with disabilities. In the past ten-to-twenty years, however, the number of child maltreatment cases has increased dramatically as Japanese society has become increasingly urbanized, the global economic crisis has impacted families, and social awareness of child maltreatment issues has increased. To respond to the increasing cases of child maltreatment, more resources have been devoted to issues of child maltreatment. Child welfarerelated laws, policies, and services, including those related to child care institutions, have become increasingly complex. Chapter 11 underscores the significance of our international collaboration and cultural developmental approach to understanding maltreated children’s well-being. Children with histories of maltreatment and their substitute caregivers function in diverse cultural contexts, including child welfare systems, which have a profound impact on many aspects of socialization and development. Furthermore, the Japanese child welfare system, like all child welfare systems, has its limitations. Nevertheless, children with histories of maltreatment do share some common needs, including for a sense of place and belonging. Their substitute caregivers also share common challenges including those brought by maltreated children to their relationships. Examination of apparent similarities and variation in children’s and their caregivers’ needs across diverse child welfare systems will

Residential Child Care Institution

15

not provide a specific set of strategies for better supporting children with maltreatment histories. However, it will raise a number of important issues. How these issues are resolved by child welfare professionals and �policy makers will depend not only on apparent cultural universals, but on the unique characteristics of specific cultural contexts, communities, families, and individual children.

2 Japanese Contexts and Concepts: Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, Ibasho, and Mimamori

Springtime at the Children’s Academy

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I happened to overhear a TV program focusing on a residential treatment facility for adolescents with problems such as juvenile delinquency (Tagawa Fureai Gijuku). The boy who was the focus of the program was having difficulty adjusting to the life there. He participated in few activities and rarely interacted with his peers. Adults patiently interacted with him, while providing him with various opportunities to participate in activities and assume roles in the group. Slowly, he began to adjust. I was not watching the TV 16

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

17

program carefully on this busy morning, but at the very end my attention was drawn when a representative of the facility used the specific terms, “Ibasho” and “mimamori.” He emphasized that children need their Ibasho, a place in which they feel that adults care about them. For children to achieve their Ibasho, adults’ consistent mimamori is critical. Adults must not give up on them. I thought, “Wow, this view perfectly matches that of adults at the Children’s Academy!” Later in the day, adults at the Children’s Academy were busily working with several boys who have repeatedly run away and become involved in criminal behaviors such as stealing. One boy was even on probation. These behaviors have presented a dilemma for the adults. Should staff members treat the boys strictly so that they learn the consequences of their conduct; that is, move them to a more restrictive institution? Or should staff members continue to show them acceptance and let them know that the Children’s Academy is a place where they can turn to even in times of trouble? After much debate and struggle, staff members decided to take the latter stance. It seems to me that the boys are struggling to find their Ibasho. The boys’ family situations are difficult. Even when they run away, they cannot have stable lives with their families. Adults at the institution try to be patient with them as much as possible, while showing acceptance, and mimamoru them with long eyes, hoping for their adjustment and positive development. Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Watanabe [experienced staff members] both also emphasized that showing the boys acceptance would eventually have a positive influence on all children who would see that adults at the Children’s Academy are there for them no matter what. Showing acceptance to children who are having problems helps all children develop reliance on institution staff. Sachiko’s field note

Promoting the well-being of children with histories of maltreatment is a primary goal of child welfare services in many countries including those as different from one another as the United States (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1999) and Japan (e.g., Yamagata, 2005). This common goal is a commitment not just to ensure children’s physical safety and survival, but, as reflected in Sachiko’s field note, to support their development more broadly. We also face some common challenges in meeting these goals. The approximately half a million children in protective care in the United States and 40,000 in Japan are among our most vulnerable. Many have experienced maltreatment, poverty, exposure to parents’ substance misuse, violence, and mental health struggles, and prolonged separation from their families. Furthermore, existing research suggests that the

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Child Welfare and Development

experience of state care itself can promote feelings of worthlessness, social isolation, stigma, anger, and frustration (e.g., Gustavsson, 1991; Haight, et al., 2009; Hinatabokko, 2007; Nixon, 1997). Partly as a result of these experiences, children may display a variety of difficulties such as those of the boys at the Children’s Academy. More specifically, children in state care are more likely than their peers to experience medical, developmental, behavioral, and educational problems (e.g., Clausen, et al., 1998; Hartnett & Bruhn, 2005; Shoji, 2007a). Despite our common goals and challenges, the ways in which children’s well-being is understood and supported vary across cultural contexts. Sources of variance may include policy makers,’ caregivers,’ and child welfare professionals’ informal, taken-for-granted, and unexamined folk psychological beliefs about children and their development. (For discussions of folk theories, see, e.g., Bruner, 1990; Harkness & Super, 1996; Sigel, McGillicuddy-DeLisa, & Goodnow, 1992). Such folk theories include developmental goals. That which is regarded as mature or desirable by adults varies considerably according to distinct cultural traditions and conditions. Developmental goals provide a frame of reference for addressing children’s recovery from maltreatment through social policies, services, and adults’ everyday socialization practices; all of which, in turn, impact children’s well-being. As illustrated in Sachiko’s field note, Ibasho creation was a developmental goal of Japanese adults, which provided a framework for socialization practices such as mimamori. In this chapter, we summarize the broader Japanese child welfare context, then focus on the developmental context of Japanese child care institutions and central Japanese concepts such as Ibasho and mimamori.

the child welfare context of jidou yougo shisetsu Jidou Yougo Shisetsu are situated within a large, complex, and changing Japanese child welfare system. Traditionally, this system has focused on enhancing the well-being of all children through a broad array of social policies and preventative programs.1 At the time of our research, Japanese child welfare preventative programs included a child allowance program that provided financial support for approximately 90 percent of families with children under approximately age twelve2, universal child and maternal 1 Unless otherwise specified, we focus in this book on those child welfare policies that were in effect at the time our research was conducted. 2 At the time of our study, this allowance, called jidou-teate, was not available for families with high incomes. It was, however, replaced in 2010 with a new allowance, called

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

19

health care from the prenatal through the preschool years, and additional support for families viewed as vulnerable, such as those with special-needs children and single parents. Policies and programs specifically aimed at children who have experienced maltreatment have comprised but one part of this highly complex and evolving system (see Chapter 10). Yet, child maltreatment increasingly has become a critical social problem in Japan requiring greater attention and resources. Indeed, while the birth rate in Japan has decreased over the past twenty years, the number of child maltreatment cases handled by government child welfare offices has increased dramatically, from 1,101 cases in 1990 to 42,664 cases in 2008. In 2007, 1.9 per 1,000 children were known to be maltreated3 (The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare [MHLW], 2008). Although this incident rate compares favorably with many other countries, such as the United States, where incidence rates are 10.6 per 1,000 children (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009), it is likely an underestimation. For example, it does not include cases handled by local municipalities (e.g., �cities and towns), which were not referred to the prefectural level. It is difficult to determine with certainty why Japanese child maltreatment rates have changed over time. They likely result from multiple, complex, and interacting social conditions. The stresses associated with modernization, especially urbanization and poverty, also are probable culprits. In addition, increasing social and scholarly attention to the problem of child maltreatment likely has contributed to increased reporting of cases by professionals and lay people, which otherwise would not have been brought to the attention of government officials (see Chapter 10).

children’s developmental contexts: jidou yougo shisetsu An important developmental context for Japanese children who have experienced maltreatment is the Jidou Yougo Shisetsu. The vast majority of Japanese children who enter state care do not live in individual foster homes as in the United States, but in groups in government-regulated, residential child care institutions of which there were 564 in 2008. Children may live in infant/toddler and child care institutions from birth to age kodomo teate, which is available for all families with children under approximately fifteen years of age. 3 The child maltreatment incident rate in 2007 was calculated using the number of child maltreatment cases and the total population under age eighteen in Japan as reported by the national government.

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Child Welfare and Development

nineteen or twenty. The average stay in child care institutions is 4.6 years (MHLW, 2009a). Over the past 200 years, the roles and expectations of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu have evolved considerably. Jidou Yougo Shisetsu have their roots in institutions that emerged in the late nineteenth century. In responding to pressing societal needs, several institutions were developed by charitable individuals of religious faiths, including Christianity and Buddhism, to care for displaced and impoverished children. Institutions for infants, children with disabilities, and delinquent youth also emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The majority of modern child care institutions, however, have their roots in institutions that emerged after World War II to care for an estimated 1.2 million orphans (Goodman, 2000; Ogawa, 2005). In contrast with the postwar era, few orphans currently are placed in child care institutions. More than 90 percent of children in contemporary child care institutions have at least one living biological parent (Hayashi, 2005). In the late twentieth century, child care institutions provided alternative homes for children who could not live with their own families for a variety of reasons such as parental hospitalization and divorce (The Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1979), but in recent years, more children are officially placed in child care institutions because of parental abuse and neglect (Ichikawa, 2007). According to the MHLW (2008), approximately 62 percent of children newly placed in child care institutions in 2004 were known to have experienced maltreatment. Around the time of our study, most Japanese child care institutions (90%) were run by private organizations. All child care institutions, regardless of whether they are run by private or public organizations, are financed and regulated by the government and must follow social welfare and child welfare-related laws.4 The 1951 amendment of the Social Welfare Services Law5 defined the scope and nature of all major public and private welfare activities, and set up a new type of welfare institution known as a shakai fukushi hojin, literally a social welfare juridical person. This allowed �private welfare administrative organizations to provide specific, publicly recognized welfare services and to receive public financing for doing so, as long as they agreed to comply with government regulations (Nagata, 1968, as cited in Goodman, 2000). 4 The primary difference between public and private institutions is who hires the staff. In public institutions, staff is hired by the government, and may move periodically to other governmental institutions or offices. Private organizations hire their staff directly. The vast majority of income at private child care institutions is a budget provided by the government to care for children, including payment for staff members (sochihi). 5 The name was changed to Social Welfare Law in 2000.

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

21

At the time of our study, the majority (69%) of child care institutions employed a large group residence system where more than twenty children live together in a building, and all the residents have meals in a large dining room. There has been, however, encouragement to shift to smaller living units (National Social Security Council, 2003). At the time we started the research program at the turn of the twenty-first century, a small-group residence system, where less than twelve children live together in self-contained units, many of which resemble Japanese apartments, was the preferred Â�system.6 This shift was intended to provide children with more individualized, family-like care, which was viewed as indispensible for children’s healthy development. Shifting to smaller living units also was consistent with the United Nation’s Children’s Rights Committee’s 2000 proclamation that the placement of children in large institutions is an exercise of violence by the nation (Takahashi, 2007). The shift to a small residence system also maintains some of the strengths of the large residence system: regular communication among staff members and the centralization of support services. Staff members typically conduct meetings on a regular basis to discuss issues of common concern and children’s functioning. In addition, institutions with small residence systems continue to provide a variety of on-site services by social workers, psychologists, dietitians, medical doctors and nurses, and adminisÂ� trative staff. Within the institution, licensed child care workers (hoikushi, typically women, with a minimum of two years post-secondary education) and child guidance workers (jidou shidouin, typically men, generally with four-year degrees) are in charge of daily child care. Although they function like parents, in most child care institutions these workers do not actually live with the children, but work in shifts. By law, the ratio of child care workers and child guidance workers to children is at least one adult per two children for children younger than three years; one adult per four children for children aged three to six years; and one adult per six children for children and adolescents ages six to nineteen years (Article 42 of the ministerial ordinance regarding minimum standards of child welfare institutions issued based on Article 45 of the Child Welfare Law). Elementary- and junior high school-aged children attend local public schools. High school-aged children typically attend local public high schools. In some areas where scholarships are available from the local 6 In subsequent years, even smaller living units of six or fewer children in institutions or group homes were preferred and were explicitly addressed in policies. Details are Â�discussed in Chapter 10.

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Child Welfare and Development

governments and/or private agencies, students may attend private high schools. Children walk or take public transportation to and from school. When circumstances allow, children in institutions visit their homes on weekends and/or for major holidays such as New Year. The vast majority of their parents have been counseled to allow them to be placed in child care institutions, but have not had their parental rights legally terminated. More than 80 percent of children keep in touch with their parents and/or relatives, although to varying degrees. However, only 30 percent of children are viewed as likely to be reunited with their parents, and nearly 60 percent will leave the institution and start their independent lives as young adults without being reunited with their families (Hayashi, 2005). In some cities, there are foster care services available for those children who live in institutions and do not have contact with their parents and relatives. Volunteer “weekend foster families” or “seasonal foster families” provide care on weekends and holidays so that children who cannot go home can experience family life (The Association for Advancement of Family Care Inc., 2009). Children growing up in Jidou Yougo Shisetsu face a variety of challenges. Despite the focus by caregivers on children’s social-emotional wellbeing, the biggest challenge of institutional care often is a lack of stability and problematic interpersonal relationships. Children typically experience multiple changes of caregivers and may have difficulties developing secure relationships with them (Hayashi, 2005). This is especially true at institutions that employ large residence systems. Furthermore, bullying issues and power hierarchies among resident children can threaten children’s sense of safety and comfort in the institution, and have been of concern in many child care institutions (Kodomo ga kataru shisetsu no kurashi henshu iin kai, 2003). In addition, the academic achievement of children in institutions has remained lower than that of the general population (Shoji, 2007a). High school (grades ten through twelve) is not mandatory in Japan. Although 97.8 percent of junior high school graduates in the general population entered high school in 2008, only 92.2 percent of those who lived in child care institutions did so. Those who are not academically competent may have to give up attending high school. Youth who do not attend high school typically leave the institutions and begin work. They may live in dormitories for employees at their workplaces, but these placements may be unstable. According to an unpublished research report by Zenkoku Jidou Yougo Shisetsu Kyougikai (2006), 50 percent of youth who got jobs just after graduation from junior high school in 2005 quit them within one year.

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

23

To address the needs of children in institutions, Jidou Yougo Shisetsu provide a variety of on-site professional support services for them and their families. Since 2004, family social workers have been assigned to child care institutions. They work with families as case managers to facilitate children’s early reunification throughout the course of children’s involvement in institutional care: before, during, at discharge, and after care (MHLW, 2003, cited in Shibano, 2004). Since 2006, clinical psychologists, who mainly target maltreated children, have been assigned to child care institutions full time (Saimura, 2007b). In one child care institution, for example, a team of three psychiatrists and two clinical psychologists provided Â�support for staff members, individual therapy with children, group play therapy with peers and staff for preschool-aged children, and therapeutic group work programs for junior and senior high school-aged youth. Challenges to Â�providing inhouse services include securing time and private space for Â�sessions, addressing behavior problems that arise in situations other than during sessions, and any negative influence on children who are not included in the sessions (Maeda, 2002). Although special treatments such as psychotherapy are recognized by child welfare professionals at child care institutions as important for maltreated children, they also emphasize the importance of providing an overall life environment where children can feel safe and secure (anshin) and can develop stable relationships with staff members, which also positively impact psychotherapy (Hukuda, 2000). For example, an institution that employs a large residence system provided group work programs for fiftyfive children, twenty-two of whom were known to have experienced maltreatment. The primary aim of the group work was to promote children’s confidence, self-esteem, self-expression, and trusting relationships. In addition, Kodomo-kai (Children’s meetings) were composed of all resident children who planned and implemented meetings, recreational events, and the like at the institution (Hukuda, 2000). Institutions also may receive support for a variety of supplementary programs from prefectures. For example, one prefecture held a four-daylong summer camp program called “Healing camp for children” with approximately sixty fifth- and sixth-grade children who lived in child care institutions within the prefecture. Staff included institution staff members and graduate students majoring in clinical psychology. In the second year of the program, children were allowed to choose from a variety of groups prior to attending: “Nature exploration group,” “Artists’ group,” “Crafts group,” and “Top athletes’ group.” Each group had ten or fewer children,

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Child Welfare and Development

a group leader, and a group counselor and emphasized the development of adult-child relationships. The goal was to take a “nurturing approach” to promote children’s potential abilities and help them learn coping strategies without directly approaching the trauma they had experienced (Tominaga, 2002). Some institutions provide programs for parents of resident children. One institution offered a parenting program, “Commonsense parenting,” initially developed at Boys Town in the United States. The focus was on recovering and developing parent-child relationships while learning communication and self-control skills. This program was implemented to groups of parents from intact families in the community, as well as to parents whose children were placed within the child care institution and who were preparing for reunification (Ide, 2002). Institutions may provide a variety of other important services for children throughout their stays, as well as their parents. Although not necessarily a typical case, one institution employing a small residence system places one staff member in charge of each child (as opposed to making multiple workers responsible for a group of children). This institution employs more workers than the legal minimum by receiving contributions from individuals and agencies. The responsible worker meets with the incoming child before he/she is placed in care and explains the institution, for example, while showing pictures. The worker takes care of the child from morning till night. Children attend after-school programs (e.g., piano lessons) in the community, as do children who live with their parents. The worker also visits the child’s parents’ home at least twice a year with a child guidance worker or the head of the institution. Special consideration also is provided to parents. For example, when a mother visits the institution, she may have dinner, bathe with the child, and leave after the child falls asleep. The goal, according to the institution head, is to strengthen children’s resiliency (Hukuda, 2000). Child care institutions in Japan are expected not only to serve resident children, but to play essential roles in the community by providing such services as professional support, in-home support, and temporary protection (National Social Security Council, 2003). “Short-stay” or respite care during which children may stay at child care institutions for several days started in 1996 as a service provided by local municipalities (cities, towns, and Â�villages) (Yamano, 2005). In addition, having “child-family support centers” (community service centers; see Chapter 10) within child care institutions and supporting intact families in the community was stipulated in the 1997 amendment of the Child Welfare Law.

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

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Other Institutional Placements To further contextualize Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, it is important to note that it is but one of more than ten types of residential child welfare institutions in Japan. These residential institutions include five types of “social protective care” institutions. Of those children in social protective care in 2008, approximately 71 percent were cared for in Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, 15 percent in institutions for mothers in need of support and their children, 7 percent in infant care institutions, 4 percent in facilities for children who have or are at risk of committing delinquent acts, and 3 percent in short-term treatment facilities for children with emotional disturbances.

developmental goals: ibasho creation Understanding Japanese socialization practices and their potential impact on children’s development and well-being first requires attention to adults’ goals for children; that is, the developmental outcomes valued, prioritized, and supported in Japanese society. In Japanese culture, where relationships and belonging are prioritized, finding or creating Ibasho is viewed as a basic human right necessary to social and emotional well-being. Although Ibasho literally means whereabouts, it connotes a place where one experiences peace of mind, calm, comfort, reassurance, security, acceptance, and belonging. The concept of Ibasho is fundamentally developmental and ecological in its focus on person-environment interactions throughout the lifespan. It is closely connected to the Japanese understanding of the self and the value of relatedness. In Japan, a society that is often described as placing a high value relative to western societies on interdependence, the self is understood primarily as relational and contextual (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Hamaguchi (1985), referring to Kimura (1972), explains that: for Euro-Americans, the self, even though it develops from relations with others, is, in the final analysis, one’s uniqueness or one’s substance. On the other hand, jibun, the word for self in Japanese, originally meant “one’s share” of something beyond oneself.â•›.â•›.â•›. Jibun as the Japanese consciousness of the self is .â•›.â•›. a reality which is discovered from time to time .â•›.â•›. between oneself and another (p. 302).

Like jibun, Ibasho emerges within a social context, changing form as relationships between the self and the outside world change (Hagiwara, 2001). One’s Ibasho is created through empathetic and mutually accepting interpersonal relationships, as well as the opportunity to contribute to

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Child Welfare and Development

the well-being of others through using one’s natural gifts and abilities and performance of clear roles within the group (Hujitake, 2000; Tominaga & Kitayama, 2003). Within their Ibasho, people experience a peace of mind, reassurance, security, calm, and comfort. Ibasho allows free expression of the self and confirms a person’s identity and participation within society (Hujitake, 2000; Kawasaki City Children’s Rights Committee, 2005). That attainment of Ibasho is considered critically important in Japanese society is reflected in Hujitake’s (2000) description of Ibasho as necessary for life: Without Ibasho, one may be living biologically, but is dead socially. Recently, Ibasho also has been discussed as a basic human right (e.g., Kawasaki City Children’s Rights Committee, 2005), and Ibasho creation as a part of empowerment and advocacy activities (e.g., Ogawa, Yamauchi, & Uchida, 2005). For example, the Kawasaki City Children’s Rights Committee (2005) addressed the necessity of developing a shared understanding of “Ibasho as a children’s right”: .â•›.â•›. when they are at their Ibasho, children are accepted as they are, develop interpersonal relationships while feeling anshin, and are guaranteed children’s rights of self-expression and participation. In order to make a place for children’s Ibasho, personal support and physical maintenance of the place also are critical.

Indeed, contemporary adults may try to create conditions that allow for children’s Ibasho creation in their communities, for example, creating a community center where children and youth may gather, play, or engage in after-school activities (e.g., Suzuki, Kanamaru, & Watami, 2003). The creation of Ibasho is a complex developmental process. Kawai (2003) locates infants’ Ibasho creation within the context of attachment relationships (Bowlby, 1988). She argues that caregivers provide the most optimal conditions for developing secure caregiver-infant attachment relationships within their own Ibasho; that is, caregivers are most sensitive and responsive to their infants in the places where they themselves feel most at peace, calm, secure, and accepted. Over time, this physical environment of caregivers’ Ibasho becomes psychologically meaningful to their infants as well. In other words, an infant’s first Ibasho emerges inside of the primary caregiver’s Ibasho. As children’s social worlds expand to include other relationships and places, they begin to form their own Ibasho independent from their primary caregivers. In childhood, having friends with whom to play, time to play, a rich stimulating environment, and autonomy to choose and use these conditions to engage in creative activities and exploration is viewed as necessary for Ibasho creation (Minatsuki, Baba, & Minami, 2003). By early adolescence, a sense of solidarity is particularly important for children

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

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in achieving Ibasho among close friends (Tominaga & Kitayama, 2003). For adults, Ibasho creation is supported at work when colleagues value one another’s work contribution (Hujitake, 2000; Shibano, 2002); at home when they have close family relationships (Kubota, 2000) and are satisfied with their own as well as each other’s roles as husband, wife, parent, and so on (Maeno, 2000; Zanma, 2000); and in the community when they have mutually supportive relationships with friends (Matsuda, 2005). Japanese scholars have argued that anshin is one of the positive social emotional experiences necessary for Ibasho creation throughout the lifespan (e.g., Honma, 2006; Kubota, 2000; Sumida, 2003; Tominaga and Kitayama, 2003). Anshin may be translated as “peace of mind,” “freedom from care/worry,” “in peace,” “relieved,” and “reassured.” Although anshin describes emotions, these emotions are not viewed as entirely internal, but typically as part of trusting relationships. When the term anshin is attached to a person (hito), “anshin-dekiru (be capable)-hito (person),” it means a person on whom one can rely, and with whom one can feel safe. If there are many anshin-dekiru-hito (trustworthy individuals) in the group or community, then people feel that the group or community is safe. People may feel anshin when they are physically safe and accepted by others, have clear roles to perform, feel that their presence is valued, and share values within the group, all of which are important emotional experiences for Ibasho Â�creation (Tominaga & Kitayama, 2003). Ibasho exists in a broader historical context. Concerns about children’s Ibasho emerged and have grown since the 1980s (Sumida & Minami, 2003) in relation to the social changes that can be traced back to the 1960s. In the 1960s, economic growth and urbanization of Japanese society damaged the natural and social environments, resulting in a lack of spaces that allow children’s free play. In addition, even elementary school-aged children began to attend juku (cram schools) after school to prepare for entrance exams for the top, private junior high schools, which left little time to play. The emergence of computer games in the 1980s contributed to the weakening of community peer groups as children played computer games individually in their own homes (Tanaka, 2001). School attendance, especially among junior high school students, became a social problem in Japan in the 1980s. Approximately 3 percent of junior high school students stopped attending school to avoid troublesome relationships with peers and teachers (Tanaka, 2001).7 7 In 1991, the percentages of junior high school students (grades seven to nine) who did not attend school more than thirty days for any reasons other than illness or financial issues (called hutoukou) was 1.04 %. The percentages in 2001 and 2008 were 2.81and 2.89, respectively (Ide, 2009). Although attendance problem rates may compare favorably with other countries, within Japan, they are considered to be very problematic.

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Child Welfare and Development

Japanese scholars increasingly express concerns about the disappearance of Ibasho from contemporary urban Japanese society. For example, Misawa, Miyadai, and Hosaka (1999) have expressed concern for “children who live in a generation with an absence of Ibasho.” Currently, Ibasho is not only an issue for children, but for everyone in Japan. This increased attention to Ibasho reflects the difficulties in achieving sympathetic interpersonal relationships in the changing social climate of Japan. According to Sumida (2003), in the past, when people tended to have strong interpersonal relationships with others in their communities, there was little need to actively seek Ibasho. Many contemporary Japanese people, however, experience their daily interpersonal relationships as superficial and weak. When Japanese people do not have others who show empathy and sympathetic understanding to them, they may fail to re-ascertain their self through interaction with others and achieve self-acceptance and a sense of peace and security€– experiences necessary to Ibasho creation (Sumida, 2003). Japanese professionals who work with children view Ibasho as necessary to children’s well-being. The western term “well-being” (in Japanese syllabics “weru bi-ingu”) was introduced in Japan many years ago, perhaps through the World Health Organization’s definition of health (1964) as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (e.g., Kimura, 2005). Yamagata (2005), a Japanese scholar in child welfare, explained that the well-being of maltreated children is not achieved simply by physically protecting them and securing their minimal needs, but by facilitating their individual expression and self-actualization. When children’s minimal needs are secured in the absence of Ibasho, a variety of psychological and social problems may emerge. Indeed, Takatsuka (2001) even argues that suicide, including among children and adolescents, occurs when individuals lose their Ibasho in society. At the same time, suicide is an act by which individuals remove themselves from their final Ibasho, their own body. In Japan, social withdrawal (hikikomori)8 among youth and young adults has been a major social problem since the 1990s. Ochitani (2003) discussed the failure of high school youth to find their Ibasho at school as a factor in their refusal to attend school and withdrawal from society. Hiroi (2005) implicated an absence of Ibasho at home, at school, and in society in children’s referrals to family court because of criminal behavior. 8 The Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare defines hikikomori as the state in which one’s opportunities for social participation are reduced by various factors, and one’s place outside the home, such as in school or at work, is missed for a long period of time (see Koshiba, 2007).

Japanese Contexts and Concepts

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For some of these children, the virtual sphere (e.g., the Internet) is their only Ibasho. In a discussion of family issues and child well-being, Akiyama (2005) argues that: When one has roles to play for the group, the person can find his/her Ibasho in the group. In the past, children had many chores assigned to them at home. Although invisible, their Ibasho was secured at home, as children had a sense that they were helping their family. However, modern mothers suggest that their children study instead of doing chores. Children’s roles at home are taken away in this way (p. 28).

Within contemporary Japanese culture, the origin of child maltreatment is understood, in part, as an absence of caregivers’ Ibasho. Reflecting and responding to the rapid increase in child maltreatment referrals in the past ten-to-fifteen years, the central as well as local governments have provided information about child maltreatment to general citizens to increase their awareness and to prevent child maltreatment incidents. In research reports and information provided to all citizens, parental social isolation, particularly within urban settings, has been most frequently cited as one of the major risk factors for child maltreatment (e.g. Hara, 2005; Kato, 2001; Saimura, 2001; Tanimura, 2004). Even when other factors such as “financial difficulties” and “discord between husband and wife” are addressed, “social isolation from relatives, neighbors and friends” has been emphasized as an overarching risk factor (Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare, 2001). For example, the Hyogo Prefecture Child Maltreatment Prevention Professionals’ Meeting (2001) described: Child maltreatment occurs in an environment where parents live in a stifling situation, isolated from the community and relatives, and even from people who are in the same [child rearing] generation. In today’s Japanese society, child rearing tends to be done only within a family separated from the community, although child rearing should be done in relationships with many people in the community, and should be a social activity that involves mutual supports.

The negative consequences of social isolation are viewed as particularly devastating within a society that prioritizes interdependence and belonging (Hagiwara, 2001; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). When parents are socially isolated, the home becomes an “irritating” place rather than their Ibasho. Iwatsuki (2000) argues that a person who does not have Ibasho cannot accept others. When parents lose their Ibasho at home and/or in the community, they may have difficulties accepting their children, and they may direct their stress and frustration at their children, leading to maltreatment.

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Within Japanese culture, the consequences of maltreatment on children also may be viewed, in part, as an absence of Ibasho. Maltreatment disrupts children’s Ibasho creation at home through problematic family relationships. When children are maltreated, they are deprived of free self-expression and activities, and a sense of safety and acceptance at home. A maltreated youth removed from home might say, “My Ibasho wasn’t at home.” In the Japanese literature, children who are reared in maltreating families are sometimes described as “children without Ibasho” (e.g., Toriyama, 1997). Maltreatment also can disturb children’s peer relationships, disrupting their Ibasho creation at school. Studies in Japan and the United States have revealed relations between early maltreatment and subsequent problematic peer relations (e.g., Haskett & Kisner, 1991; Ito, et al., 2003; Parker & Herrera, 1996; Saito, 2001; Staudt, 2001). As Japanese culture emphasizes interpersonal relationships and connection with others (Dekovic, et al., 2002), problematic peer relationships, including exclusion at school, can be a devastating experience for children (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). For Japanese children, the most salient interpersonal relationships at school are those with same-age peers. For example, preschools in Japan traditionally emphasize teaching young children to develop strong relationships with age mates and to think of themselves as members of age-based group structures (Tobin, 2000). Teachers in preschool and the early elementary grades emphasize the development of a collective identity, which forges especially close emotional bonds between peers and between students and teachers (Tender, 1999). In elementary school and junior high school, teachers instruct students on how to cooperate and contribute to others and persistently put forth their best efforts through various small-group activities incorporated into the national curriculum. These activities include serving lunch to peers and cleaning the classroom and school (Tsuneyoshi, 1994). In junior high, club activities are an important part of student life, allowing children to interact with friends around activities reflecting their own interests (Muto, et al., 2003; Tender, 1999) such as baseball, kendo (wooden sword fencing), music, dance, and arts. Japanese educators believe that achieving a sense of Ibasho in a club promotes children’s Â�psychological well-being (Muto, et al., 2003). From a Japanese perspective, one developmental goal for child welfare professionals and educators may be to help maltreated children and their parents find their Ibasho. Indeed, participants in the 2001 Professionals’ Meeting in Hyogo recommended the creation of a “child rearing and child development support system” that helps parents and children find their “Ibasho” and develop peer relationships in the community. In 2002, these

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suggestions were employed by the prefectures as part of child maltreatment prevention programs (Hyogo ken jidou katei ka, 2002). Similarly, in the research report on child maltreatment cases handled in Nara Prefecture (2008), “preventing the social isolation of children and child-rearing parents” was first on their list of future tasks. Currently, many of the initiatives for child maltreatment prevention provided by the central as well as local governments focus on preventing parents’ isolation in the community (see also Chapter 10).

socialization practices: mimamori From a cultural developmental perspective, it also is important to examine the socialization practices through which developmental goals may be supported. According to Kitayama (1992), Japanese concepts of self provide a framework for values, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors including adults’ everyday socialization practices. For example, among Japanese educators, discourse about children’s selves is framed broadly in terms of culturally valued qualities such as omoiyari (Hoffman 2000); that is, one’s ability and willingness to show sensitive and kind consideration for others (see Lebra, 1976). Omoiyari reflects Japanese cultural norms regarding the social embeddedness or interdependency of selves and the consequent need to achieve high levels of emotional sensitivity to others in the conduct of daily life. The emphasis is not so much on verbally expressing one’s own emotional experiences as on attending to, or sensing, others’ feelings. The cultivation of omoiyari in the lives of children at school forms the basis for successful socialization of the self to group life€ – which means, for the Japanese, emotional enrichment and joy in a sense of belonging (Hoffman, 2000). Consistent with these cultural beliefs and practices, Japanese adults rely on indirect communication and subtle use of their authority in socializing children. Instead of imposing their will on children, adults establish close relationships with children and “sense” their emotions. They persistently appeal to children’s feelings, provide hints, and make suggestions. The goal is for children to experience compliance with social norms as voluntary rather than coerced (Kobayashi, 2001). Voluntary compliance is often assumed because the Japanese generally view children as naturally good and sensible (e.g., see Doi, et al., 2005; Suzuki, 2000; Walsh, 2002, 2004). In addition, children’s close emotional bonds with adults, omoiyari, and perspective-taking ability (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Sawada & Minami, 1997) will allow them to internalize parental, group, or institutional expectations

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and to behave “spontaneously” in a manner consistent with social norms (Shimizu, 2001). Adults’ indirect socialization practices are apparent within Japanese schools as teachers strive to create a social ecology that facilitates learning. For example, Japanese teachers often avoid using their authority as experts or as adults to establish the correctness of answers or responses made by students. Instead, peers are the source of validation or correction of students’ responses (Hoffman, 2000). Children assume many of the tasks of classroom management; for example, they collectively make classroom rules and solve various social and practical problems (Doi et al., 2005; Hoffman, 2000; Lewis, 1995; Peach, 1994; Taylor, Lichtman, & Ogawa, 1998; Tsuneyoshi, 1994). Teachers let children work within small peer groups, which are partially self-regulating entities allowed a certain degree of autonomy from adult supervision (Tsuneyoshi, 1994). The goal is for adults to provide contexts in which children learn how to cooperate and contribute to others. In education and discipline, the overall philosophy is to “let children learn” rather than to “teach children” (Hara & Minagawa, 1996). Mimamori€ – watching over others, warmly, as a protective figure€ – is widely accepted as supportive of children’s development (Doi et al., 2005; Hujiwara, 2001; Tsumori, 1986), including as an important component of the social ecology that may facilitate children’s Ibasho creation (Okuda, 2005; The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MECSST], 2010). Like Ibasho, mimamori is fundamentally an ecological concept in its focus on person-environment interaction. Through mimamori, adults provide a social and emotional context in which children may create their Ibasho. Acts of mimamori by caregivers involve carefully watching over children with affection to ensure their safety, while avoiding direct and “excessive” interference or correction that would inhibit their free exploration and developing sense of responsibility. According to Japanese folk psychology, when protective adults mimamoru children, children’s sense of anshin€– that is, their peace of mind and security€– is supported (e.g., Minatsuki et al., 2003; Sawada, 2003). Under adults’ mimamori, children can feel anshin and acceptance as they are. They feel that “[w]hat I am doing is okay” (Hujiwara, 2001). These feelings of freedom, security, and acceptance are critical not only to recovery for children who have experienced maltreatment (e.g., Endo, 2002), but for all children in creating their Ibasho (e.g., Nozawa, 2005). For example, in Japan, Play Parks have been established with a motto, “Children play freely on their own responsibility” (Okuda, 2005). At these playgrounds, adult “play workers” mimamoru children. Okuda (2005) describes play workers’ mimamori in relation to Ibasho

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creation emphasizing, like Minatsuki et al. (2003), anshin, peer groups, and autonomy: Children’s Ibasho is where children develop body, heart, an adventurous spirit, imagination, creativity, technical skills, and social skills. [Children’s Ibasho] is where children can express themselves with a sense of anshin and pursue what they want to do in full, where there are stimulating materials that children may want to try, and where children can do what they want without adults’ control for their (adults’) own convenience. In turn, however, even if a child gets hurts, it is the child’s responsibility, and if a child fails, the child cannot take it out on Â�others.â•›.â•›.â•›. The main roles of play workers are to mimamoru children doing what they want.â•›.â•›.â•›. Fights often occur.â•›.â•›.â•›. Play workers mimamoru [the ways children handle the problems], and occasionally intervene, but typically children resolve problems by themselves, even without play workers’ involvement.â•›.â•›.â•›. When children’s misconduct goes beyond the limits and involves anti-social behaviors, adults must not overlook them and need to take [appropriate] measures before the conduct leads to worse situations (pp. 202–204).

Operating and maintaining Play Parks are incorporated into some local governments’ projects to support children’s rights. For example, Kawasaki City (2007) has held several projects to establish “a base for children’s Ibasho and their participatory activities” based on the city’s regulation of children’s rights including a comprehensive facility that “incorporates children’s Ibasho and functions of a Play Park.” The indirect, ecologically-based support by adults through mimamori is consistent with the view that the quality of feeling associated with Ibasho is actively created by each individual. It cannot be “given” or provided by others (Hujitake, 2000; Minatsuki, et al., 2003). Through mimamori, adults may create an accepting and positive social and emotional context that provides the child with an opportunity for exploration, self-expression, and peer relationships important for Ibasho creation. Further, “watching over” and “following behind” children allow adults to gain a greater understanding of children and the specific needs of individuals necessary for effective mimamori (Hujiwara, 2001). Like Ibasho, mimamori is a broad, lifespan developmental concept. It is not only viewed as important for children or for Ibasho creation, but for positive development, well-being, and healthy social functioning throughout the lifespan. Mimamori is a valued way of caring for others in the family, and society in general (e.g., Hujiwara, 2001; MECSST, 2007; MHLW, 2005). Thus, people in the community may not only mimamoru children

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to promote their development, but also mimamoru parents to support their child-rearing, and elderly people to ensure their safety and health. For example, various systems to mimamoru elderly people who live alone have been established in Japan, including remote monitoring systems and community health workers’ home visits to elderly adults (e.g., Shikoku Bureau of Telecommunications, 2009). Like Ibasho, mimamori exists in a broader historical context. Our study of mimamori reported in this book is embedded in a particular historical context in which traditional socialization practices increasingly are challenged by urbanized, contemporary Japanese society. In Japan, child-rearing ideally is viewed as a practice conducted in relationships with many people in the community, and as a social activity that involves mutual support (e.g., Ashiya City, 2005; Hyogo Prefecture Child Maltreatment Prevention Professionals’ Meeting, 2001). Nakamura (2005) argues that Japanese parents traditionally had close relationships with grandparents, relatives, and neighbors through which they learned parenting, and who watched over children in the community. For example, in their historical ethnographic study of a traditional Japanese fishing village in the 1940s, Sawada and Minami (1997) discussed how children developed within mixed-age peer groups and portrayed many aspects of children’s Ibasho creation and adults’ mimamori in the community. In the fishing village, while parents were working in the sea, grandparents and adults in the community watched over the children, and children “co-reared” one another as they played together in groups in and around the sea; for example, older children supervised and taught younger children how to swim. Children were relatively autonomous of adults, yet adults and children shared the space (the ocean), and connected with each other in the community. Under adults’ mimamori, children were able to play outside, explore and experiment with their physical abilities, and develop physical, technical, and social skills with peers. In contemporary, urban Japan, however, such community ties, as well as community safety, embodied in the saying, “Water and safety are free in Japan,” can no longer be assumed (e.g., Maekawa, 2005). Socially valued, and traditionally taken for granted, functions of mimamori are viewed as decreasing, which contributes to the difficulties in rearing children (e.g., Ashiya City, 2005). Although crime rates in Japan are still among the lowest in the world (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2007), increasing crime rates (Barclay & Tavares, 2003) and violent incidents involving children in the past several years are serious enough to threaten peoples’ anshin-kan within their communities (e.g., Maekawa, 2005). People are

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no longer able to rely on naturally occurring mimamori and Ibasho in the community. Thus, in recent years, governments and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have become actively involved in promoting Ibasho and mimamori (e.g., Tanaka, 2005; MECSST, 2007, 2010; MHLW), 2005). For example, in 2010, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2010) produced a “Declaration of the promotion of networks for mimamori and rearing children”: It is a shared hope of Japanese citizens that children live their everyday lives with dreams and hopes for the future, cheerfully and with a smile, and develop healthy. However, as the number of children has decreased, information technologies have developed, and economic situations changed, the ability to mimamoru and rear children within schools, families, and communities has declined, as, for example, interpersonal relationships have become superficial/weak. In these situations, many children are socially isolated, cannot find their Ibasho where they can spend time with a sense of anshin, cannot tell anybody about their concerns, such as being bullied, feel pain to the extent that they want to die, have concerns about their school or family lives. They are struggling alone. In order to break such situations, that is, to make a situation where children can trust in adults and confide their concerns to the adults, where schools, families, and adults in the community solve children’s problems, and where children can grow up with a sense of anshin, society as a whole must grapple with it. We hereby determine and declare that the governments and private agencies will cooperate and work, by strengthening collaboration between school, family, and local communities, recognizing that each one of us has responsibilities to mimamoru and rear children. 1.╇Increase opportunities/places where children can consult with adults on their concerns. In cooperation and collaboration between governments, community, and private agencies, we will advance consultation activities for children .â•›.â•›. 2.╇Mimamoru children in the society as a whole: Having a perspective that “we raise children in the society as a whole,” we develop trusting relationship between adults and children in the society, and raise and educate children in the society as a whole, and develop systems to mimamoru children, in order to support children in ways that they think for themselves .â•›.â•›. 3.╇Create Ibasho where children can spend time with a sense of anshin. In cooperation between governments, community, and private agencies, we will promote initiatives/activities to create Ibasho within

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Child Welfare and Development schools and communities where children can spend time with a sense of anshin. 4.╇Create opportunities for children and people in the community to interact with each other. We will promote initiatives/activities where children interact with their peers and with people in the community, are involved in various activities, and grow up in the community, through supporting children’s activities in their Ibasho after school hours and on weekends, or open spaces in the community. 5.╇Support family education. In cooperation between governments, community, and private agencies, we will support parents in ways that all parents can rear their children with confidence and with a sense of anshin, through responding to the requests for consultation by families who are struggling with their child’s education or childrearing, and through providing spaces where parents can learn from each other or parents and children learn together.

Mimamori also is seen as an appropriate societal response to the prevention of child maltreatment and to support families following child maltreatment (Kyoto Shinbun, 2007; MHLW, 2005). In 2005, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare initiated a nationwide campaign of “watching over (mimamori) children and childrearing.” Citizens were instructed that when they observe child maltreatment they are to report the matter to the local child welfare offices, but also support and mimamoru the family. The Iwate prefecture’s (n.d.) literature describes that “mimamori” is never “surveillance.” It is critical that child commissioners (volunteers in the community appointed by the central governments) are relied on by parents who have maltreated their children as “those who care about me” and “those from whom I can seek help.” In addition, staff members at schools and day nurseries (preschools), who have the opportunity to interact with parents and children in natural settings, are urged to take on the practical roles of mimamori. Similarly, the Japanese Information and Training Center for Problems Related to Child Abuse and Adolescent Turmoil (2005) provided information about child maltreatment prevention requesting that nurses, public health workers, and teachers provide mimamori to all parents, especially in times of stress such as during the postnatal period, illness, job loss, divorce, and death in the family. When necessary, they were also instructed to provide support, advice, and professional interventions. Of course, within a complex culture such as Japan, there are diverse opinions as to when and how to mimamoru in cases of child maltreatment. Ongoing controversy includes when more direct, intrusive methods are appropriate following careful mimamori. For example, there

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is discussion of restricting the rights of maltreating parents (Kobayashi, 2007) or even of punishing them under criminal laws (e.g., Saegusa, 2003). Following an incident that occurred as we were writing this chapter, media reports criticized a child guidance center’s handling of an Â�incident of maltreatment: The child guidance center was “just mimamoru (ing)” for two months, even though they suspected maltreatment, and a 6-year-old boy was physically abused by his step father and fell into a coma (Jisou choukou shiritsutsu, 2010).

The interrelated concepts of Ibasho, anshin, and mimamori also are reflected in recent attempts to improve the quality of care provided for children in Jidou Yougo Shisetsu. For example, the trend to remodel large residences so that smaller groups of children live together in each of several independent houses on campus (The National Social Security Council, 2003) has as part of its rationale the support of children’s anshin, Ibasho creation, and caregivers’ mimamori. To support children’s Ibasho creation in child care institutions, adults provide “a space where each child is watched over warmly (mimamorareru) and where he or she is valued” (Osaka Suijo Rinpokan [a child care institution], April, 2004, last para.). Child care institutions are to provide spaces in which: Children can gain a sustained feeling of anshin and safety so that they feel, “There is my Ibasho in the institution.” “There is my Ibasho” does not necessarily mean that children have big private bedrooms, but it means that children living in the institution can feel, “I’m allowed to be here.” “I’m in the place where people want me to exist.” (Tamagawa, 2003, para. 2)

As described throughout this chapter, the adults within families (or child care institutions), schools, and communities are expected to cooperatively support children’s Ibasho creation, mimamoru, and co-rear children in the society. It may be worth underscoring that the explicit goals of Japanese schools go beyond teaching knowledge and skills. In fact, Article 1 of Japan’s Fundamental Law of Education officially spells out the distinct purpose of Japanese education: Education must be carried out with the intention of the full character development of all people and nurturing citizens who, as the builders of a peaceful nation and society, will cherish truth and justice, respect the value of the individual, value hard work and responsibility, have independent minds, and be physically and mentally healthy.

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Okamoto (2006) explains that Japanese education focuses on spiritual aspects and character development, that is, what the Japanese call kokoro, rather than practical knowledge and skills: “Kokoro” is a concept with a wide range of connotations including heart, mind, soul, spirit, attitude, value system and humanity. As witnessed by the frequent use of slogans extolling the virtues of “education for kokoro,” it can be said that the fundamental purpose of education in Japan is surprisingly defined in loftier, spiritual terms such as “kokoro” or character development. (p. 9)

Okamoto further explains: Generally speaking, in accordance with the above Article from the Fundamental Law of Education, only things/activities relating to the goal of developing the “character” are considered “kyoiku” [the literal Japanese translation of education], and things/activities only for the purpose of learning “knowledge and skills” are called “training,” in Japan, which is of course not afforded as high of a status as “kyoiku.” (p. 10)

In Japan, moral education, as well as so-called Special Activities, are carried out in all elementary and secondary schools as part of the compulsory curricula. Special Activities consist of a wide range of group, cultural, sporting, and other activities at school outside the academic subjects (math, science, language, etc.). The overall objective of the Special Activities in elementary school is: To promote, through desirable group activities, harmonious development of mind and body, to develop individuality, to cultivate an independent and practical attitude towards building a better life and personal relationships as a member of a group, to deepen pupils’ thinking about their own way of life, and to develop the ability to strive toward their potential. (MECSST, 2009)

In co-rearing children with parents and people in the community, Japanese elementary and secondary schools are expected to carry out a wide range of roles and responsibilities. For example, in most regions of the country, elementary and lower-secondary school teachers make periodic visits to all of their students’ homes. Moreover, according to Okamoto (2006): They are considered responsible for pupils’ after school hours, even Â�outside of school. For example, if a pupil is caught shoplifting, the store manager will usually call the offending pupil’s homeroom teacher instead of notifying the police.â•›.â•›.â•›. Homeroom teachers who have to supervise several students with personal or behavioral difficulties spend most of

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their time, busily handling these kinds of problems outside of school.â•›.â•›.â•›. [T]hese can cause overwork or burnout among serious and earnest teachers, and the national education authorities finally started a scheme to allocate professional counselors to schools with serious problems. (p. 20)

the experiences of children and their substitute caregivers A cultural developmental approach also draws attention to how children and their caregivers experience developmental contexts, developmental goals, and socialization practices. The concept of Ibasho underscores social and emotional well-being as subjectively experienced by the individual. To date, relatively little research (but see, e.g., Frederick & Goddard, 2010; Haight, et al., 2009) has examined the perspectives and everyday experiences of maltreated children and their substitute caregivers, including the challenges they face and strategies for overcoming them. Yet, a close-up consideration of experiences and perspectives, including the contexts in which children feel a sense of care and belonging, can provide important insights into child welfare practices and policies that may support the social and emotional well-being of maltreated children in state care (e.g., Andersson, 1999; Messing, 2006). For example, achieving permanency has been a primary goal of child welfare service in the United States. Permanency planning intends to meet “the best interests of the child” by securing permanency in the child’s life (Testa & Miller, 2005). Ideally, permanency planning (see Maluccio, Fein, & Olmstead, 1986) will enable maltreated children to achieve their Ibasho at home. When children have secured their Ibasho at home, they feel safe and secure and have a sense of belonging to the home, family, and community. Policy related to permanency within the United States, however, can be problematic with respect to Ibasho creation. According to Testa (2005), permanency planning is rooted in law (Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997) that defines permanence as “binding”: an enduring commitment that is legally enforceable (p. 499). He argues that a sense of belonging rooted in cultural norms and respected social identity that should be conveyed by permanence does not exist in this legal concept. From a Japanese perspective, permanency has meaning only to the extent that it facilitates the child’s Ibasho creation within the home. If children are only legally bound to a home, but their psychological needs such as a sense of belonging are not being met, permanency has little meaning. Legal status is important, but legal status alone may not meet the “best interests of the child” by facilitating children’s sense of Ibasho.

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conclusion This book underscores the significance of international collaboration, a cultural developmental approach to understanding human development in general and interventions to support the development of vulnerable children in particular. Clearly, meeting the needs of children with histories of maltreatment is enormously complex, and all child welfare systems, including the Japanese, have significant limitations. Diverse cultural tendencies, however, bring certain problems and solutions to light. Our goal is to understand the everyday lives and perspectives of Japanese children in institutional care and their substitute caregivers, and to allow others to use this analysis to reflect on issues of relevance within their own cultural communities. In Chapter 3, we will describe the research program designed to meet this general goal.

3 The Research Program

Ayako’s Ibasho

In describing his Ibasho, 14-year-old Ryohei described, “I prefer not to stay in my own room.â•›.â•›.â•›. [playing with peers] is much fun.â•›.â•›.â•›. when I am playing with everybody,.â•›.â•›. at such time, I feel most comfortable.” Similarly, 14–year-old Masaru described activities in his Ibasho that make his life more comfortable or enjoyable, “As usual, I talk with Kenta. Then I can laugh.” On the other hand, 15-year-old Ayako identified solitary places as her Ibasho: her room where she listens to music and rests on her bed, and the veranda. “When I have bad things, I go to spend time there [veranda].â•›.â•›.â•›. I cry there.” 41

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These excerpts from children’s interviews illustrate the variety of meanings children ascribe to their Ibasho ranging from a place to play and laugh with friends to a solitary place of rest, contemplation, and emotional outlet. To capture the dynamic process of Ibasho creation in everyday life, we integrated ethnographic, developmental, and intervention-oriented research over a five-year-period in the early twenty-first century. The intent of this methodological pluralism is to strengthen each approach to create an indepth understanding of children’s Ibasho creation in sociocultural context. Developmental methods include the systematic description of children’s participation in everyday activities and changes in participation over time. Ethnographic methods include the interpretation of the meanings of social behavior from the participants’ perspectives through analyses of a broader context of beliefs and practices. Thus, intertwining developmental and ethnographic methods allows both the identification of the regularities inherent in everyday life, an interpretation of what such regularities may mean to the participants themselves, and processes of change in beliefs and behaviors over time (e.g., see Gaskins, Miller & Corsaro, 1992; Jessor, Colby & Shweder, 1996; Sperry & Sperry, 1996). Our methodology also includes components of intervention-oriented research as we collaborated with child welfare workers to enhance support for children’s Ibasho creation. Although our original purpose was to produce practical knowledge useful to people in everyday life (e.g., see Reason & Bradbury, 2001), the most significant outcomes of our modest attempts at intervention were the new insights into children’s Ibasho creation and adults’ mimamori that Â�otherwise might not have emerged. Our research program is situated within an intellectual tradition of scholars who view all social science research, ultimately, as representing a perspective (e.g, Briggs, 1992; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994; Peshkin, 1991). Our research reflects our understanding of the complex beliefs and practices of adults and children within Jidou Yougo Shisetsu. Sachiko spent hundreds of hours at the research sites collecting the data over a five-year period. Wendy has a long-standing interest in the implications and applications of cultural developmental science to child welfare. She visited the research sites in the summer of the fourth year of our project. Although our perspective is disciplined by systematic ethnographic and developmental methods, it emerged from the questions we knew to ask, the particular experiences and beliefs that participants felt appropriate to share with us, and the ways in which we understood the stories we heard and practices in which we participated. It is our hope that the perspective presented in this book may shed light on children’s Ibasho creation from which developmental psychologists, social

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workers, child welfare workers, students, and others interested in promoting the well-being of all children may learn.

overview of the research program Our research program is comprised of two studies spanning approximately five years. Research was conducted at two child care institutions and the three public schools attended by children from these institutions. A total of thirty-four adults and fifteen children participated, and several participants were followed for the entire research period. The goal of Study 1 was to explore, broadly, the developmental contexts of Japanese children with histories of maltreatment, focusing on the physical and social ecologies of the institutions and schools, adults’ developmental goals for maltreated children, and adults’ and children’s experiences. This initial study involved staff at two institutions, the children living at these facilities, and the educators in the public schools attended by the children. Participants were involved in individual interviews and there was some limited participant observation. Our research initially did not probe explicitly for Ibasho. This topic spontaneously emerged when children and adults discussed children’s peer relations and adaptation at school and the institution. Further systematic research was needed to understand Â�children’s Ibasho creation. Study 2 was a prolonged, in-depth study of children’s Ibasho creation. The goals were to: 1) explicitly probe adults’ and children’s beliefs and experiences of Ibasho creation; 2) examine socialization strategies used by adults to support children’s Ibasho creation; and 3) collaborate with institution staff to enhance support of children’s Ibasho creation through a modest intervention. One of the child care institutions (the Children’s Academy) was chosen for in-depth study as the primary research site. Study 2 involved more extensive participant observation, multiple individual interviews with children and staff, focus group interviews with staff, longitudinal case studies of children, and an intervention.

entry into the field As described in Chapter 1, Sachiko’s previous professional relationships facilitated her entry into the field and probably the willingness of adults to participate. During Study 1, the institution head and family social worker at the Children’s Academy became interested in further, in-depth study of children’s Ibasho creation. Sachiko made regular visits to the Children’s

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Academy throughout the five-year period to discuss the study and become familiar with adult participants. She also contacted staff frequently by phone or by e-mail to discuss our research plans.

STUDY 1 Setting Study 1 was conducted within an urban area in three public schools and two child care institutions, the Children’s Academy and the Dream Home. Institutions selected were those with characteristics considered desirable by the National Social Security Council (2003), and in which Sachiko had professional contacts. The public schools selected were those attended by children from these institutions. The Schools The two elementary schools (grades one through six) and one junior high school (grades seven through nine) are located within walking distance of the institutions. Class sizes range up to forty students. The elementary schools are relatively small to mid-sized schools with between 400 and 715 students. The junior high school is a mid-sized school with approximately 570 students. As is commonly seen in other Japanese public elementary and junior high schools, they have spacious outdoor playgrounds and sports fields, as well as facilities such as swimming pools, music rooms, and indoor gyms. Most children attend school from approximately 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, with children in first through third grades leaving earlier. Children in junior high typically spend an additional two hours at school participating in a variety of student-led clubs supervised by teachers, including baseball, basketball, swimming, brass band, and fine arts. The Child Care Institutions1 The Children’s Academy employs a small residence system capable of housing up to sixty-five children and employing twenty-four staff. The Dream Home uses a combination of small residence and group home systems housing a total of seventy children and employing thirty staff. In both institutions, there are approximately two child care workers per ten school-aged children in campus housing units. The Dream Home also runs a group 1 Information presented in this section describes the institutions at the onset of the research program, but does not necessarily reflect the situation at the end of the five-year period.

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home in the community that houses a maximum of six children who live with a married couple. The goal is to provide children who are not expected to be reunited with their families an experience more typical of Japanese community life. These children did not participate in the research, but their caregivers did participate with the other Dream Home employees. Securing children’s Ibasho was explicitly addressed by both institutions when they rebuilt their facilities several years prior to the research. The aim was to provide smaller, more family-like groups to enhance relationships between child care workers and children. Both institutions have modern facilities similar to Japanese apartment housings. Each includes a living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and children’s bedrooms with an adjacent staff room. Older children (usually junior high school age and older) have private bedrooms. The Dream Home has a large playground, and there is an indoor gym at the Children’s Academy. At the Children’s Academy, there are study rooms in each house for high school students. Both institutions provide a variety of on-site services. Meals are prepared by dietitians and delivered to each house. Some psychological and social work services also are provided to children on-site. Domestic work such as cleaning and laundry are done by child care workers and children. The Dream Home and the Children’s Academy are well integrated into their communities and provide a variety of community services including after-school programs, day care for families experiencing brief crises, play therapy, parenting classes, telephone counseling for parents, short stay or respite care during which children stay for several days (up to ten days per month), and an information exchange salon for community members. Children in the community regularly visit and play with resident children, for example, in the gym. In addition, there are guest rooms at the Children’s Academy that allow resident children and their guests to meet in privacy. Community members also are invited to various holiday programs and Â�seasonal festivals at the institution. Participants Adults Eight staff members (four from each institution) agreed to participate after being nominated by their institution head and receiving a letter of invitation from us. No staff member declined our invitation to participate. Institution heads were asked to nominate staff members with diverse experiences and filling diverse roles. Participants included three men and five women. Participants’ working experiences in the institution were between

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3 and 18 years (meanâ•›=â•›10.3). Seven participants were child care/child guidance staff members who were in charge of children’s daily care, and one was a family social worker. In addition, twelve educators (six men) agreed to participate after being nominated by their principals and receiving a letter of invitation. No educator declined our invitation. Principals were asked to nominate educators who had experience working with maltreated children. Participants were one principal, one vice principal, and ten teachers. Seven were elementary school and five were junior high school educators. Participants’ experiences as educators ranged from approximately 17 to 35 years (meanâ•›=â•›approximately 23 years). They worked at their current schools for 1 to 10 years (meanâ•›=â•›5.2). Participant educators included a special education class teacher and a teacher in charge of student guidance (e.g., dealing with disciplinary problems and coordinating services with related agencies) (see Table 3.1).2 Children Nine children (5 boys and 4 girls) ranging in age from nine to sixteen (meanâ•›=â•›11.4) agreed to participate. No child declined our invitation. Institution heads were asked to nominate boys and girls between the ages of eight and sixteen years who had an identified history of maltreatment. Maltreatment was defined based on the Japanese Child Abuse Prevention Law (2004 amendment) as physical, sexual, or psychological abuse or neglect by a caregiver or guardian. Four children had experienced multiple types of maltreatment: physical abuse and neglect (nâ•›=â•›1), physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse (nâ•›=â•›1), physical abuse, neglect, and psychological abuse (nâ•›=â•›2). Other children experienced physical abuse (nâ•›=â•›3), Â�sexual abuse (nâ•›=â•›1), and neglect (nâ•›=â•›1). In addition, at least six families were experiencing financial problems, that is, they were receiving public assistance or had accumulated significant debt. Other stressors included domestic violence (in at least four families), and parental mental health issues (in at least two families). Participant children had lived in institutions an average of six years and ten months (ranging from approximately one to fourteen years). The frequency with which children had contact with their parents varied from no contact to weekly home visits. Four children who had no contact with their parents visited foster families on some weekends and major 2 Note that several adult participants in Study 1 also participated in Study 2. Therefore, participant characteristics for both Studies 1 and 2 are summarized in one table under Study 2.

47

The Research Program Table 3.1.╇ Adult participants in Studies 1 and 2 No. Participant

Work years at the study onset

Gender

Current position

Study participation

Elementary School 1 Educator A 2 Educator B 3 Educator C 4 Educator D 5 Educator E 6 Educator F 7 Educator G

26 17 20 18 35 23 22

F M M M F M F

Special Ed Teacher Student Guidance Teacher Teacher Teacher Teacher Teacher Teacher

Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study1 Study 1

Junior High School 8 Educator H 9 Educator I 10 Educator J 11 Educator K 12 Educator L

17 17 25 30* 27

F F F M M

Teacher Teacher Teacher Principal Vice Principal

Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study 1

Dream Home 13 Worker A 14 Worker B 15 Worker C 16 Worker D

18 7 10 4

F M F F

Group Home Worker Group Home Worker Boys’ Worker Boys’ Worker

Study 1 Study 1 Study 1 Study 1

Children’s Academy 17 Tanaka 18 Watanabe 19 Sasaki 20 Okazaki 21 Matsumoto 22 Nishino 23 Kubota 24 Higuchi 25 Ito 26 Yoshioka 27 Abe

13 13 3 14 30 13 9 9 5 2 13

M M F F M F F M F F M

Study1, 2 Study 1, 2 Study 1, 2 Study 1, 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2***

28 29 30 31 32 33 34

13 7 5 3 2 2 2

F F F F F F F

The family social worker The leader of boys’ workers Girls’ workers The leader of girls’ workers Child guidance worker** Boys’ worker Boys’ worker Boys’ worker Girls’ worker Girls’ worker The leader of preschool workers Preschool worker Preschool worker Preschool worker Preschool worker Preschool worker Preschool worker Preschool worker

Ueda Suzuki Yamashita Kimura Nakagawa Kobayashi Miyata

Study 2*** Study 2*** Study 2*** Study 2*** Study 2*** Study 2*** Study 2***

* Only approximated work years are available for this educator. ** This child guidance worker was typically at the community service center doing administrative work, but had worked as a care worker for many years. *** Each preschool worker participated in one individual interview only.

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holidays. Four children were once reunited with their families but returned to the institutions when maltreatment reoccurred (see Table 3.2).3 Procedures Record Review With permission from the head of the institution, nominated children’s case records were reviewed. Review of case records was utilized for screening purposes to confirm their eligibility for the study and to provide social and developmental histories. These records contained, among other things, referrals from child guidance centers, evidence of child maltreatment, family histories, care workers’ daily notes about children, records of IQ tests and other assessments, and children’s health records. Individual Interviews with Adults Adults participated in audiotaped, semistructured interviews. Interviews were conducted in private rooms in the institutions or schools during the children’s winter break from school and lasted approximately sixty to ninety minutes. They covered: (1) the adults’ perceptions of, and experiences working with, children who have histories of maltreatment; (2) the interpersonal skills, peer relations, and any other school-related issues of children with histories of maltreatment; and (3) strategies for supporting the development of children who have experienced maltreatment. Educators discussed children with histories of maltreatment, both those who lived at home with their parents and those who lived in institutions. Individual Interviews with Children Children’s interviews also were audiotaped, semistructured, and conducted in private locations. They lasted approximately thirty to ninety minutes and covered: (1) relationships with peers, (2) making and keeping friends, (3) fights, arguments, conflicts, and bullying, (4) support persons, and (5) adaptation within the institution and school. A white board, colored pens, and colored magnets were available as props to help children describe their lives within the institution. Some children used magnets, for example, to represent their peers, and drew the institution and their houses with colored pens. 3 Note that several child participants in Study 1 also participated in Study 2. Therefore, participant characteristics for both Studies 1 and 2 are summarized in one table under Study 2.

49

Ayako

Masaru Ryohei Kenta Sanae Yuka Daisuke Takao

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

14 14 13 11 9 9 10

13 13 3 2 0 0 10

15

10

10 4

8 3 10 12

Age at onset of current placement

3–4 & 8–10 0–12 N/A N/A N/A N/A 5–8

N/A

N/A

4–10 N/A

N/A N/A 0–9 11

Physical abuse Psychological and physical abuse, neglect Neglect, physical abuse, and sexual assault * Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse Physical abuse, neglect Physical abuse Physical abuse, neglect Neglect** Sexual Abuse *** Neglect** Physical and psychological abuse, neglect

Physical abuse Physical abuse, neglect Physical abuse Physical and psychological abuse

Ages during Maltreatment history any previous placements

√

√ √ √

√

√

√

√ √ √

Family financial problems confirmed**

√

√

√

√

√ √ √

Exposure to domestic violence confirmed**

* Sexually assaulted by unknown adult. ** These children were considered neglected by their parents, who failed to visit or accept any contact with them following their placement. *** Sexual abuse occurred during her visit to her father after placement in the institution **** This list was created based on available information from official records. These problems also may have existed in other families.

M M M F F M M

F

15

13

F

Kaori

7

9 9 16 16

12 10

F M M M

Gender Age (years) at study onset

Children’s Academy 5 Child E F 6 Child F M

Dream Home 1 Child A 2 Child B 3 Child C 4 Child D

No. Name

Table 3.2.╇ Child participants in Studies 1 and 2

√

√ √

√

Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 2 Study 1, 2 Study 1, 2 Study 2

Study 2

Study 1, 2

Study l Studyl

Study 1 Study l Study l Study l

Parental mental Study health problems Participation confirmed**

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Child Welfare and Development

Participant Observation Some limited participant observation occurred during twelve days over approximately one month in the schools and institution. Descriptions of children interactions with one another and with educational and child care staff members were described in fieldnotes. (See “Participant Observation” under Study 2 for more details.)

STUDY 2 Setting The Children’s Academy was chosen as the primary research site for a more in-depth study for two reasons. First, staff members at the Children’s Academy were more available than those at the Dream Home and expressed an interest in continued research participation. Second, the education-level of staff members and programming at the Children’s Academy were more typical of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu than that of the Dream Home. The Dream Home’s combination of a small group residence system and a group home was rare. In addition, several staff members at the Dream Home had educational backgrounds in social work at the BA or MSW level, including from abroad, which also was atypical. Participants Institution Staff Members Eighteen staff members (five men) from the Children’s Academy, including all four who had participated in Study 1, agreed to participate in Study 2. No staff member declined our invitation. Participants were direct care Â�workers (nâ•›=â•›16), a social worker, and a child guidance worker whose primary work was at the community service center. Participants’ work experiences as Â�full-time workers at the Children’s Academy ranged from two to thirty years (meanâ•›=â•›9.2, medianâ•›=â•›8). Educational levels varied from two years post-high school education at vocational schools for child care workers (hoikushi) to college graduation. The majors of college graduates included fine arts, education, and social welfare. Ten staff members (four men) were first nominated by the institution head to participate. Because the research focused on school-aged children, all care workers (four workers for boys and four workers for girls) for schoolaged children (aged six to eighteen years) and two other staff members (the family social worker and a child guidance worker) who frequently worked

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with those children were included. Boys’ workers’ average work experience at the Children’s Academy was 11.5 years, and that of girls’ workers was seven years. All workers were certified child care workers (the equivalent position in the United States would be child care specialists). Some of them had received an additional two to three years of training after their college graduation to earn their childcare workers’ certificate. The family social worker has a bachelor’s degree in social work. Originally, workers in charge of preschool-aged children were not invited to participate. Participating staff members, however, recommended their inclusion. Staff members in charge of preschool-aged children were included in Study 2, for individual interviews but not for other activities such as focus group interviews, described later. The eight preschool workers had worked an average of 5.8 years at the Children’s Academy (see Table 3.1). Children Eleven children who were over the age of nine years and had histories of maltreatment were nominated to participate by the institution head acting as their legal guardian. Some of the children invited to participate had been referred to the child guidance center and placed in the institution specifically because of abuse and/or neglect, whereas others were placed officially for various other reasons but were understood to have experienced maltreatment. Nine children (five boys) aged 10–15 (meanâ•›=â•›12.9 years), three of whom had participated in Study 1, agreed to participate. Two children declined our invitation. As shown in Table 3.2, four children had experienced multiple types of maltreatment: physical abuse and neglect (nâ•›=â•›1); physical abuse, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse (nâ•›=â•›1); physical abuse, psychological abuse, neglect (nâ•›=â•›1); and physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect (nâ•›=â•›1). Other children experienced physical abuse (nâ•›=â•›2), sexual abuse (nâ•›=â•›1), and neglect (nâ•›=â•›2). Children’s families typically experienced multiple problems. At least six families had financial problems (receiving public assistance or having debt), three had domestic violence, and three had parental mental health issues. Participant children lived in the Children’s Academy for an average of approximately six years (ranging from approximately four months to eleven years). Three children lived in other institutions for three to twelve years before being placed at the Children’s Academy. Participant children’s total time in institutional care averaged approximately nine years, ranging from four months to fourteen years. The frequency and consistency with which children had contact with their parents varied from weekly home visits to

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no contact with parents. Two children who had no contact with their parents visited foster families on some weekends and/or major holidays. Among the nine participant children, five children were chosen for indepth case study. The five children were chosen to illuminate a variety of experiences of Ibasho creation and mimamori at the Children’s Academy. They include boys and girls, and elementary school, junior high school, high school, and vocational school students. One adolescent girl had lived in care for only a few months at the start of Study 2, whereas another had lived there most of her life. One boy had physical and mental disabilities. Maltreatment histories also varied (see Table 3.2). Procedures Record Review Record reviews were conducted as they were in Study 1. Participant Observation Informal participant observation occurred at various times throughout the five-year period of research. More focused and systematic participant observation occurred over an approximately fifty-day period during Study 2, when Sachiko lived in an apartment owned by the institution and located next door. Typically, Sachiko was on campus from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. When she visited the children’s houses, she stayed longer, usually until after 7:00 PM. During participant observation, Sachiko conducted informal observations of spontaneous social behavior in the everyday contexts of the institution. On weekdays, Sachiko observed children many times in multiple contexts, including in their houses and in public spaces such as in the gym, playground, and hallways. She also attended several special events including a summer camp and sports tournaments held outside of the institution and described in Chapter 7. She observed children’s activities: where and how often they occurred, who was involved, what they did or talked about, how they interacted, what kind of group dynamics or atmosphere emerged, and so on. When invited by the children, Sachiko occasionally played with them on the playground or at the gym, but most often she observed children from a distance. When she visited children’s houses, Sachiko typically talked and played with children. Observations of staff members included their activities and interactions with the children and with one another during staff meetings. Field notes described not only information gained through observation and

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conversation, but also environmental conditions and subjective impressions. Handwritten notes were typed and saved at the end of each day. Individual Interviews with Staff Members Initial interviews with ten staff members involved with school-aged children were conducted around the time of the participant observation. Eight care workers for preschool-aged children also were interviewed approximately one to three months later. Each staff member participated in an individual, semistructured, audiotaped, face-to-face interview lasting thirty to seventy minutes. Interviews were conducted in a guest room at the main building of the institution, a private location with comfortable furniture. Interviews with staff members included: (1) the meaning of Ibasho for them, (2) their beliefs and perceptions of children’s Ibasho, (3) any obstacles for maltreated children’s Ibasho creation, (4) what kind of activities, if any, they engage in to support children’s Ibasho creation, (5) their experiences of their own Ibasho in their childhood, (6) how those experiences were similar to or different from experiences of children in the institution, (7) to what extent their own experiences help or hamper their ability to support institutionalized maltreated children’s Ibasho creation, (8) their experiences of their own Ibasho at work, and (9) how those experiences influence their support of children’s Ibasho creation. Individual Interviews with Children Children also participated in individual, semistructured, audiotaped, faceto-face interviews lasting twenty-five to ninety minutes. Interviews with children occurred in a private space such as a study room in the institution. They were implemented after Sachiko had conducted several initial interviews with staff members and after she had visited children’s houses within the institution and interacted with children in natural settings. This allowed her to gain some understanding of participant children and allowed children to know her before participating in interviews. Given that children generally do not use the term “Ibasho,” children were asked to describe “your favorite place,” “a place where you are relaxed (nonbiri dekiru basho),” “a place where you feel relieved (“Ho!” tto dekiru basho),” and/or “a place where you feel cozy (igokochi no ii basho).” Then they were asked about any circumstances in which they felt isolated, lonely, uncomfortable, and the like. Finally, she asked them if they knew “Ibasho” or an “absence of Ibasho.” If they knew the terms, she asked them to describe the circumstances under which they used them, and/or how they experienced “Ibasho” or “an absence of Ibasho.” Interview probes included: (1) how children had found their

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Ibasho, (2) characteristics of the interpersonal relationships children had developed at their Ibasho, and with whom, (3) the activities they engaged in at their Ibasho, and (4) any obstacles for creating their Ibasho. Children’s Ibasho creation was discussed not only within the institution, but also at school and in the community. To facilitate the conversation and attain a better understanding of Â�children’s Ibasho, Sachiko utilized photographs of children’s houses, the institution, and the community during the interviews. Oftentimes children picked up photographs and commented, for example, “I know, this is in the gym.” Then, Sachiko asked the child about the places, for example, whether he/she liked to play there and with whom. (Note: The photographs were taken by Sachiko with permission before starting the Â�children’s interviews.) Focus Group Interviews with Staff Members Focus group session 1. Following their individual interviews, the ten staff members involved with school-aged children participated in an audiotaped focus group interview to discuss their: 1) understanding of the concept of Ibasho and 2) beliefs about maltreated children’s Ibasho. The focus group sessions utilized the “KJ method,” developed by Kawakita, Jiro (Kawakita, 1967). Frequently used in group discussions in Japan, the goal is to generate new ideas by integrating different types of data and information.4 Each participant writes down as many ideas as possible on cards, with each card containing one idea. After collecting all the ideas (cards), participants divide the cards into groups by similar topics or themes. A chart is then created by attaching cards to a large sheet of paper or a poster board to visualize how diverse ideas are related. Although there are some specific rules about how to group and then lay out the cards in the original KJ method, rules were rather loosely applied in making charts in our study. Finally, participants were asked to verbally explain their products (chart). Field notes were taken to record the group dynamics and products. To accommodate differing work shifts, participants met in two groups of five at different days and times. Each focus group lasted approximately 4 The development and a brief explanation of the KJ method in English can be found in Scupin (1997). The KJ method: A technique for analyzing data derived from Japanese ethnology. Human Organization, 56, 233–237. A modified KJ method using computer technology is described in English in Miura, Sugihara, and Kunifuji (2009). Augmented Collaborative Card-Based Creative Activity with Digital Pens. In J. A. Jacko (ed.), Human-Computer Interaction, Part I (pp. 644–651). Germany: Springer-Verlag Berling Heidelberg.

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ninety minutes. The purpose of the groups and the KJ method were reviewed at the beginning of the focus groups. The products from the brainstorming discussion using the KJ method were retained after the groups dispersed and summarized at the beginning of the second focus group. Focus group sessions 2–4. These group sessions focused on strategies that adults might use to support children’s Ibasho creation. Seven, ten, and ten staff members participated in the second, third, and fourth focus groups, respectively. As with the first focus group session, multiple groups met to accommodate participants’ differing work shifts. Focus group sessions lasted an average of 65 minutes ranging from 35 minutes to 120 minutes. Intervention After the four sets of focus group sessions were completed, participants were invited to use ideas they had generated from the focus groups to engage in activities over a three-month period that might support children’s Ibasho creation. Six staff members (five child care workers and the social worker) consented to participate in this intervention and report their activities in follow-up interviews. Because Sachiko had left the research site, correspondence during the three-month-long intervention period occurred via e-mail, phone, or letters. Mr. Watanabe, the subject of Chapter 8, also participated in member checking to clarify his comments during individual and group interviews. First follow-up interview. After the three-month activity report period, staff members participated in individual, face-to-face follow-up interviews. These follow-up interviews were audiotaped and lasted approximately forty-five minutes (ranging from thirty to sixty minutes). The main topics discussed were: 1) the overall experience of the research project, 2) any changes in children and staff members during the intervention, and 3) any future plans for supporting children’s Ibasho creation, as well as children’s lives in general. Subsequent follow-up communications and observations. Over the next approximately two years, updates on children’s general functioning at the institution, school and clubs, or jobs were reported by several staff members via e-mail and/or phone. These discussions primarily were unstructured conversations about participant children’s development and changes at the institution. During year five, Sachiko paid another visit to the Children’s Academy. This visit provided an opportunity for her to discuss research findings with the staff, observe changes at the institution, and to follow up on children’s progress, especially those serving as case illustrations.

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DATA ANALYSIS: STUDIES 1 AND 2 Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Emic codes that focused on the meanings ascribed by the participants to their experiences were developed through repeated readings of the interview transcripts and field notes (see Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw 1995; Graue & Walsh, 1998; Schwandt, 2003). All transcribing and coding was done in Japanese by Sachiko, a native speaker. A subset of materials was read by a second Japanese researcher to critique the adequacy of the coding system and the consistency of coding. To enhance authenticity, translated quotes directly from the interview transcripts will be presented in the findings chapters Key Features of the Data Set and Analysis There are several key features of the data set and analysis worth highlighting: Relationships Sachiko knew and had good relationships with contact persons at the participant institutions, which facilitated participants’ willingness to discuss study topics. Indeed, it is unlikely that we would have been granted the level of access we enjoyed had these contact persons not provided introductions. At the time Study 1 was conducted, Sachiko had known the director of the community service center at the Children’s Academy for more than five years and had a good relationship with her. Following data collection for Study 1, Sachiko visited the Children’s Academy multiple times before starting Study 2. During Study 2, Sachiko engaged with the participants on nearly a daily basis, and then kept in touch with several of them through phone conversations, e-mails, and face-to-face interviews. Prolonged Engagement and Persistent Observation Prolonged engagement over a five-year period allowed Sachiko to learn the “culture” of the institutions, build relationships, and learn about participants. Sachiko participated at the Children’s Academy for approximately fifty days. She stayed from morning to late afternoon on most days. She observed children daily, attended morning staff meetings and monthly staff meetings more than thirty times, and visited boys’ and girls’ houses approximately ten times each. Persistent observation, multiple interview sessions, and participation in the institution’s events provided time, opportunity, and

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discussion that enhanced the depth of information obtained. Sachiko also followed up with children’s development and changes in the institution. Triangulation Triangulation occurred as data were gathered from multiple sources, multiple sites (two institutions and three schools), and by employing multiple data collection methods. Information sources were both children and adults. Adults included educators, care workers and noncare workers; and care workers included those who were in charge of preschoolers and school-age children. The diverse perspectives and experiences of individuals Â�serving complementary roles provide a more complete account of beliefs and practices relevant to maltreated children’s experiences of Ibasho. The use of multiple methods also balances the strengths and weaknesses of various strategies and provides multiple checks on interpretation. Observations allowed for the identification of patterns of routine interactions, including those which the informants were not explicitly aware of or able to articulate. In-depth interviews with participants helped contextualize the observational data and elaborate participants’ perspectives (Haight, 2002). Individual interviews and focus group interviews also served complementary roles. Participants spoke differently in individual and focus group interviews. Some participants were more comfortable sharing their opinions in individual interviews than in focus group interviews. Group dynamics sometimes made it difficult for them to discuss certain topics and/or made junior workers hesitant to express their opinions. On the other hand, focus group interviews apparently inspired some participants to gain new perspectives and ideas, and they enhanced our understanding of the social dynamics of the Children’s Academy. Member Checking Member checking occurred throughout the research period. During each individual interview, Sachiko clarified her understanding of participants’ meaning by repeating or rephrasing their words. In addition, adult participants were given transcripts of their individual interviews and invited to comment. A summary of each focus group session (minutes) also was made immediately after the session and shared with the participants. Some group sessions started with reviewing the summary descriptions of focus group sessions. Sachiko also provided a set of written questions to a key adult participant to clarify his ideas and received written responses. In addition to translated manuscripts of research reports, subsets of earlier drafts of this

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Child Welfare and Development

book, including excerpts, were read by and discussed with some participants and the institution head. Peer Debriefing Peer debriefings occurred through discussions with nonparticipant child welfare professionals and educators attending a child welfare conference and several social work meetings in Japan. Discussions with a Japanese Master’s of Social Work student in the United States, who worked for nine years as a care worker at multiple child care institutions, also served as peer debriefings

limitations of the research program Our research also had limitations. Our ability to understand sources of individual variation in the adult data in relation to profession was limited. Thus, our focus necessarily is on perspectives and practices held in common by adults playing diverse roles in the socialization of children. In addition, participant educators were all experienced teachers with an average of twentythree years of experience. We do not know about inexperienced teachers’ beliefs and strategies for working with maltreated children. Further, our presentation of socialization goals and practices is limited. We focus on a particular socialization goal, Ibasho, which, although central and related to other socialization goals, certainly is not a comprehensive treatment of socialization goals and practices in the child care institutions. In addition, data from maltreated children who did not want to interact with Sachiko, and are likely to have relational difficulties, are limited. And, of course, the extent to which our findings will transfer to other Japanese child care institutions remains an open empirical question. Other limitations reflect the perennial challenges encountered by field researchers. They include adequately defining one’s role as a researcher when such roles are unfamiliar to participants, and negotiating complex interpersonal relationships to gain entry. These and other challenges will be discussed in detail in Chapter 9.

conclusion The five-year program of research described in this book employs methods from developmental, ethnographic, and intervention-oriented research. It provides descriptions and analyses of adults’ experiences, developmental goals, and socialization practices; children’s experiences; and holistic

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descriptions of the broader contexts in which these beliefs, practices, and experiences are embedded. Everyday life at children’s institutions was observed, key adult and child participants interviewed and audiotaped, and field notes were taken in a variety of contexts relevant to children’s Ibasho creation. Throughout, accuracy and consistency were prioritized, as were issues of cultural validity (see Corsaro, 1985; Harding, 1992). For example, interviews were read and portions coded by two independent scholars, member checks and peer audits occurred throughout the research process, and data were triangulated. Thus, the interpretations presented in this book are grounded both in the detailed examinations of the specifics of everyday life and participants’ reflections on those events. In Chapter 4, we present findings from Studies 1 and 2, focusing on adult participants’ socialization beliefs and experiences.

4 A Developmental Goal for Maltreated Children: Ibasho Creation

The Residential Building of the Children’s Academy

As I began the formal coding process for Study 1, many themes emerged. In order to discuss them with Wendy, I translated some of the interview excerpts into English. Because some Japanese words are very difficult to translate, I wrote them in Roman alphabet without translating them thinking that, if necessary, I could verbally explain the meanings to Wendy. “Ibasho” was one such word. I had not paid attention to the word, Ibasho, even though it was found in several translated 60

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interview excerpts. For me, the concept of Ibasho was just not special enough to include as a theme. It is just a word and concept that we Japanese people use in daily life. I did not think that such a “trivial” daily word could be an area of study. Wendy, however, noted the word and asked me to explain. It was the beginning of our study of Ibasho. Not long after, I started searching the literature on Ibasho. I found that over the past 15–20 years, concerns about the disappearance of Ibasho from contemporary Japanese society have led to growing media and scholarly attention. As I discussed Ibasho and Japanese culture with Wendy, I realized that the concept of Ibasho is deeply embedded and typically taken for granted in Japanese culture, and thus it was new to Wendy and many other non-Japanese scholars. At an international conference on child well-being held in Chicago in 2007, scholars from around the world, including Europe, Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia, listened to my presentation of our research on maltreated children’s Ibasho. Some of them approached me after the presentation and shared their ideas about Ibasho in their own cultural contexts. It was one of the most memorable conferences I have experienced. Sachiko’s field note This chapter, emerging from these early conversations, explores the concept of Ibasho as it relates to the well-being of maltreated children. We focus on the socialization beliefs and experiences of Japanese adults. In Study 1, eight institution staff members and twelve educators were asked during semistructured, audiotaped, individual interviews to discuss the adjustment of children who have experienced maltreatment. They spontaneously emphasized the importance of Ibasho creation to children’s well-being, as well as the necessary psychological and social conditions for its creation. Given these unprompted discussions, we decided to pursue a second, in-depth study of Ibasho creation. In this second study, we explicitly explored the concept of Ibasho with child welfare workers during semistructured, audiotaped, individual interviews with eighteen workers (four of whom also participated in Study 1), as well as an audiotaped focus group interview with ten workers (all of whom also participated in individual interviews). We explored their understanding of Ibasho and their own experiences of Ibasho, an important frame of reference for their support of children’s Ibasho creation.1 1 Recall that children also participated in Studies 1 and 2. Their perspectives are elaborated in Chapter 7.

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ibasho creation as a developmental goal (study 1) In Study 1, fifteen out of twenty adult informants spontaneously used the term “Ibasho” or discussed aspects of Ibasho creation. Both educators and institution staff believed that part of their professional roles involved providing an environment in which children are fully accepted by adults and peers, and where they can feel valued, at peace, secure, and free to express themselves. Four informants (one institution staff member and three educators) used the specific term “Ibasho.” For example, one junior high school educator emphasized: Since their home [with their parents] is not a place where they can live in peace, school should be such a place. The school plays a substitute role for their homes. I think it is important to make a class such a place. Make a class in such ways that they can feel that they can have fun at school.â•›.â•›.â•›. I think it is the most important thing that we (teachers) help them to find Ibasho, places where they can make their presence felt, and have a sense of security (anshin).

Another junior high school educator explained: There are many students who have difficulties at home. But, they eagerly participate in club activities. I want to make places where they can make efforts, where they can escape.â•›.â•›.â•›. [Educators] help them to acquire the ability to seek and find Ibasho.â•›.â•›.

Another eleven informants (six institution staff and five educators) did not explicitly use the term “Ibasho” but did discuss children’s Ibasho creation focusing on relationships, particularly on acceptance. In the following excerpt, an institution staff member emphasized the centrality of social acceptance and support from adults for Ibasho creation: [What is important is] a place creation (basho zukuri), a place where children can feel, “It’s okay that I fully rely on [them/staff]. It’s okay that I am off guard/out of control.” .â•›.â•›. Whatever they (children) do, ultimately they are accepted. [A staff member should be] a person who gives advice when the child is wrong, and acceptance, and praise .â•›.â•›. I would be happy if they relied on [me/staff] to the extent that they could think, “I’ll dump everything on you.”

In the following excerpt, an elementary school educator emphasized the importance of mutual acceptance among peers in Ibasho creation: After all, [what is important is] a class creation (kurasu zukuri). We have to do a class creation in such ways that students accept each other. When

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they are accepted [in peer groups], students begin enjoying school and their motivation for improvement emerges. Even if they had difficulties at home, if there is fun at school, [it would be good for them]. I think students are pleased more when they are accepted by peers, rather than accepted by teachers.â•›.â•›.â•›. Therefore, I would like to do a class creation where it [mutual acceptance of students] is possible.

As suggested by these discussions of place creation, adults viewed Ibasho as fundamental to children’s well-being and healthy development. In the words of one institutional staff member: Everyone freely expresses him/herself here [institution]: reveals various expressions, talk as they like, also, talk selfish. Although it makes me tired, it is good [for them] to be able to express their natural characteristics. Unless it goes too extreme, I will accept.â•›.â•›.â•›.

In the following excerpt, an elementary school educator underscored the importance of peer interaction in the creation of a place in which the child is receptive to learning: [T]he ways classmates interact with the student .â•›.â•›. class teacher is also important, but, after all, ways of interactions among classmates influence a lot. Very much.â•›.â•›.â•›. If there were a place where he or she could feel relieved, or an environment where he/ she could open his/her mind, it would be good for the child.â•›.â•›.â•›.

Another elementary school educator emphasized the importance of acknowledging children’s abilities in the creation of psychologically safe places (ba) in which children have peace of mind (anshin-shita) that allow their free self-expression necessary to teaching and learning: Unless there is anshin-shita ba (a place where they have peace of mind/ without fear or anxiety), unless we create a place where they can be at anshin, children never talk. Right? .â•›.â•›. Unless they are in a place where they can be at anshin, unless [they are] under the circumstances that good interpersonal relationships exist.â•›.â•›.â•›. Have them be confident by expressing themselves in various places (situations). Let’s say, Book Reading Event.â•›.â•›.â•›. I think we must set up places (situations) in which the child’s ability is acknowledged and valued in front of others in daily activities. “That child is great.”

Maltreated Children’s Ibasho Creation (Study 1) Some adults argued that when children have experienced maltreatment, the creation of Ibasho allows them to become “psychologically stable” and, as

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such, is necessary for recovery. One institution staff member emphasized the importance of first “creating circumstances” under which maltreated children can “calm down” and have a “sense of anshin (sense of security).” It is only when children become psychologically stable that their competences develop and they acquire needed skills. An elementary school educator described a maltreated child who was placed in the institution as being in a place/environment where he was able to live with a sense of anshin: Since he is in an environment where he can live with a sense of anshin, I think he is recovering a lot.

Adults recognized that children who have been maltreated may face challenges in developing a positive self concept and interpersonal relationships. Their discussions of their child-rearing strategies consistently underscored the importance of patience and gentleness. In helping children develop positive concepts of self, one male institution staff member described the importance of praise when children show effort or contribute positively to the group. A female institution staff member expressed the importance of unconditional acceptance even in times of difficulty, for example, “tell children that they are important/precious (taisetsu) no matter how things are going.” She felt that such feedback would help to correct children’s negative perceptions of self and others and bolster a sense of hope. For children who feel guilty about their and their parents’ situation, another staff member told them, “No. That was not your fault.” Physical contact (skin-ship) between staff and children, as well as listening to them without rushing or interrupting, also was emphasized. Educators stressed the importance of treating children who have been maltreated “gently,” listening to them, treating them fairly, and providing them with individual attention through frequent talking and positive verbal feedback when they meet expectations. Although adults recognized that some maltreated children face significant challenges in establishing peer relationships, they typically were optimistic that positive change would occur over time. Sooner or later, after being placed in care, most maltreated children can make friends both in the institution and at school. For example, a teacher described her experiences with a student transferred to her school after being placed in care. This child had been physically abused by his father. At his previous school, he had been aggressive and defiant toward his teachers, violent toward his peers, and had difficulties remaining in his seat. After being placed in the institution and transferred to the current school, his behavior was much improved. Although he remained somewhat afraid of and “strongly rejected” people who scolded him severely, he was able to listen and follow directions when

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the teacher and peers “treated him softly.” He even showed effort in academics when praised for his work. The teacher speculated that after acquiring a safe, stable life in the institution and experiencing an accepting atmosphere in class, he felt more comfortable and motivated at school. According to some participants, Ibasho creation can even serve as a corrective experience. In the following excerpt, an institutional staff member described a sixteen-year-old boy whose Ibasho creation at school positively influenced his relations with peers in the institution: The boy was not confident and shrunk [from interacting with others]. He is mildly mentally delayed and attends a special education high school. He attended both regular classes and special education class until junior high. He felt inferior and was afraid of others’ perceptions even in the home (institution). He didn’t assert himself. But after entering (special education) high school, he was thought highly of for his achievement when he did something he could handle. He is lively at school now. He shows things that he did at school, saying, “I did this at school. I’ll do it here today.” For example, he did cooking. Through doing those things, his life here also becomes lively, and .â•›.â•›. he becomes confident. He changes the way he talks. His attitude in doing things also changed. Other children see his changes. So, the way others interact with him also changed.â•›.â•›.â•›. A child who has a place (basho) about which he/she can say “I have this place” can calm down in the life here (institution), too.â•›.â•›.â•›.

adults’ understanding and experiences of ibasho (study 2) Adults’ understanding and experiences of Ibasho were explicitly probed in Study 2. Without exception, the eighteen adult participants knew the connotative usage of “Ibasho” beyond its literal meaning, “whereabouts.” When they were asked to define Ibasho, adult participants typically described places and their associated emotional and social experiences. These places were valued as a source of rejuvenation, self-confidence, and motivation. They viewed Ibasho as emerging in “ordinary,” everyday life, without deliberate effort. Under such ordinary conditions, Ibasho typically was taken for granted and not the subject of conscious reflection. Participants also described Ibasho as changing over time and place. The Multiple Contexts of Ibasho All participants identified multiple Ibasho for themselves, each with distinct characteristics. When asked about their “current Ibasho,” most participants

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said, “at home.” One worker described that when entering his Ibasho at home, he feels as if a load has been lifted off his shoulders. He is able to reveal his true self, be selfish, and show dependence (amae). In contrast, at work, he has many things on his mind and must take other people’s feelings and relationships into consideration, an effort that can be exhausting. As Ms. Kubota, a care worker, explained: Yes. Truly. I think, there is home, or family, and then, I exist. So, even though [my family] does not live together, the basis is home. Perhaps, even after my parents die, [home] will be .â•›.â•›. my Ibasho.

Most participants also identified their Ibasho at the workplace. An important characteristic of Ibasho at the workplace was positive relationships with colleagues and children. Nine workers described relationships with their colleagues characterized by mutual understanding, mutual acceptance, sharing, cooperation, and smooth communication. In these relationships, participants were able to openly exchange opinions, express themselves and be heard, and talk honestly without worrying too much about others’ feelings. For example, one experienced worker emphasized the importance of mutual acceptance and working together with her colleagues to utilize one another’s strengths. She also emphasized the importance of self-acceptance and not pushing herself to take responsibilities beyond her expertise. At least six workers also discussed relationships and interactions with children as important to their Ibasho creation at work. They emphasized their “usual,” “ordinary” daily practices with children. Examples did not include special events, but simple, daily routines such as eating, being surrounded by and playing with children. Competent, self-satisfying job performance also was an important component of adults’ Ibasho at work. Ms. Yamashita, a preschool worker with five years of work experience, said that being relied on by junior workers helped her feel confident: Until recently, I was not confident at all .â•›.â•›. but, I have had a lot of junior workers who rely on me and who ask me to listen [to their concerns]. Little by little, I have been able to think, “It’s okay to be here, at this workplace.”

Similarly, Ms. Ueda, a preschool worker, spoke of her state of Ibasho at work in relation to her self-confidence as a care worker. She had worked at the infant care institution of the Children’s Academy for ten years before moving to the child care institution three years ago. She had a stronger sense of Ibasho when she worked at the infant care institution. She felt confident

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that she was relied on and liked by the children, and that she had cared for them well. As she watched these children grow, she felt, “What I have done was fine.” In the child care institution, however, she saw preschoolers who had multiple psychological and social problems, and worried about her competence in responding to them. At these times she thought, “This place may not be my Ibasho.” Several workers also described a “private” Ibasho away from home and work. For example, after describing his Ibasho at home, Mr. Watanabe described occasions when he got together with his old friends as his Ibasho, “in a more private [space than home] .â•›.â•›.” Having an Ibasho apart from his family and work seemed important for Mr. Tanaka as well. In Japan, many adults have a drink after work. He related his experiences at a bar to children’s Ibasho, explaining that both adults and children need places where they can “hide” temporarily: Mr. Tanaka:╇ Regarding Ibasho, when [we] have enough time and money, [we] go to [our] favorite bars, don’t we? Sachiko:╇ Yes, we do. Mr. Tanaka:╇ See. We do. There is a bartender who always listens to me, and who knows my favorite sake (Japanese rice wine). In that kind of place, there is a system to secure [customers’] Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. They know the customers’ favorite drinks and favorite foods .â•›.â•›. and yet, they don’t know the [customers’] negative aspects. In a family, because of their own weakness, they might have arguments. But [in the bars], they don’t touch on those things, and keep some distance. We adults seek those places, don’t we? There is no sense of anshin in a place where people know everything about them. In that sense, in institutions, [we need to] secure places for children where they could hide from their care workers’ [surveillance]

Participants’ descriptions of their various Ibasho suggest that their sense of Ibasho changes with context and the roles they play in each. As described earlier, the Japanese self or jibun is relational and contextual. Ibasho, too, is closely related to self identities that change across contexts. For example, Mr. Watanabe was a care worker for children living in an institution, a colleague of workers at the institution, and a husband and a father of two children at his home. In each of these contexts, he was able to attain Ibasho by successfully performing his roles, thereby ascertaining his multiple identities. His sense of Ibasho was different in each of these contexts. When asked about his Ibasho, Mr. Watanabe began describing his Ibasho “at the workplace”: When I come to work and I enter the boys’ house, I have Ibasho. [I feel as though] “I have a job here.” And within [the boy’s house], there are a

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Participants also described that a single, specific place cannot always serve as one’s Ibasho. Ibasho can change with social and emotional states. For example, Mr. Watanabe continued to discuss his Ibasho at home: Since we are a family, I sometimes have arguments with my wife and with my children. And when I get irritated, the place where I can go back to myself is [pause], where is it? Under the ventilating fan [where he smokes]. That is one [of my Ibasho] .â•›.â•›. In the bath room, where I bathe with my son and my daughter, that is also one of Ibasho. When I finish a day’s work, come home and say, “I’m home,” and I see my wife lying with our baby in a good mood. I think that is also Ibasho2.

Emotional Experiences Participants agreed that Ibasho is a place to which certain emotions are attached. Among the eighteen participants in Study 2, thirteen (72%) used anshin (peace of mind, freedom from anxiety, etc.) and its declensions, which were the most frequently used words to describe Ibasho. Similarly, several adults in Study 1 also spontaneously described anshin in relation to their beliefs about Ibasho. For example: Children’s Ibasho is, it may be an abstract description, but, a space where they can live their lives ordinarily, with anshin. (Mr. Abe) 2 Japanese people sometimes say “regain/go back to oneself,” which means “calm down” or “go back to normal life that is less influenced by others.” In addition, co-bathing is a common family practice in Japan.

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So, Ibasho equals, perhaps, in my understanding, a sense of anshin. A place where one has peace of mind (yasuragu basho) is Ibasho. (Mr. Watanabe)

The other most frequently used terms to describe Ibasho were “calm/ contained (ochitsuku)” (n=8), “comfortable (igokochigaii)” (n=6), “relieved (ho! to dekiru)” (n=8), and “relaxed/peace of mind (yasuragi/ kutsurogi)” (n=5). In addition, six participants described children’s Ibasho as a place where they can “enjoy (themselves)/have fun.” Several workers explained: When I was in elementary school, I had a lot of troubles with my peers, and I often thought, “Where is the place I can be relaxed/peace of mind (yasurageru) and calm (ochitsukeru)?” (Ms. Yoshioka) Although I had not been very aware of the term of Ibasho, I have vaguely thought, “A place where children can feel relieved (ho! to dekiru) after coming back [to the institution from the outside] is necessary.” (Mr. Matsumoto) For all children in care, when they are transferred [from the infant care institution to the child care institution], I want the preschoolers’ house to become a comfortable (igokochigaii) place for them, and to become their Ibasho as soon as possible. (Ms.Suzuki)

In addition, some participants described contexts in which one can be away from stressful situations (n=6) as Ibasho. For example: After going back home, I can release my tension (kiwonuku). When I go home [home is considered to be “inside”] after I went through [difficult] interpersonal relationships outside [at workplace etc.], I relax (dara to dekiru) at home. A place where I can be unreserved/without hesitation (enryonaku irareru) is my home. (Ms. Okazaki)

Participants also emphasized a feeling of belonging as critical to Ibasho creation. For example, participants described a feeling as “It is okay for me to be here,” “I can survive/live here,” and “This is my place.” Adult participants also viewed those feelings as an important sign of children’s developing sense of Ibasho. A preschool worker (Ms. Yamashita) explained: I think most of [the preschool children at the institution] never thought or felt, “This is a place where I can be anshin (feeling safe/easy),” before placement.â•›.â•›. So, I think it is important that we create an environment where those children can feel, “My worries disappear when I am with this sister (female worker) or this brother (male worker),”and “It is okay to be/live here.”

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Social Experiences Participants also connected Ibasho to positive and accepting social experiences. In general, adults viewed positive, trusting interpersonal relationships as the basis of Ibasho. Although the term Ibasho contains the word “basho” (place), at least four workers explicitly prioritized interpersonal relationships over a physical space as critical to Ibasho creation. Mr. Matsumoto explained, “Although it would always be good to have good facilities, I think the basis would be interpersonal relationships.” Ms. Nishino explained, “Even if a place is provided, if there is no one who supports or cares (about you), it is just a place.” Participants emphasized the importance of being “accepted” (n=6), “approved of ” (n=3), and “understood” (n=2) by others. For example: Ibasho is a place where a person is approved, accepted, and ideally .â•›.â•›. [pause]. How shall I describe it? Being as I am, and still accepted. I hope such a place is my Ibasho. (Ms. Ito) Approval. [Ibasho is] a space in which I can feel that I am approved, and live with anshin. My presence is clearly recognized, and I can live with anshin .â•›.â•›. (Ms. Okazaki) It is fundamental to meet the needs of food, clothing and shelter. But, such situations that [children] can feel, “Adults accept me,” “They are interested in/paying attention to me,” or, “I guess, [they] think positively about me.” is Ibasho. Ultimately, [Ibasho] is necessary, isn’t it? .â•›.â•›. Because, what is hard for everyone is that nobody understands [him/ her]. (Mr. Tanaka)

Being “protected,” “watched over (mimamorareteiru),” “supported,” and “loved” also were critical components of Ibasho. A male worker (Mr. Higuchi) explained: When thinking about my own Ibasho, I want to have people with whom I can feel that, “This person cares about me. This person will help me in some ways.”

Ms. Yoshioka, who enjoyed spending time in her grandparents’ home as a child, said, “[I am grateful that] I was able to feel that I was loved.” Ms. Kubota, who identified her childhood home as Ibasho, felt that her parents cared about, and protected her. Consistent with findings in Study 1, participants in Study 2 also emphasized “free self-expression,” “being self,” and “freedom” for Ibasho creation. A male worker emphasized: “in a place where they [children] cannot express themselves, they cannot create their Ibahso.”

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Several workers (n=6) also expressed a sense of membership to a group as important to their Ibasho creation. “Activities (club/gathering),” “people (friends),” and “places” that shaped specific contexts in which they felt “a sense of belonging” were all identified as Ibasho. In describing their own experiences, participants who had belonged to clubs during junior/ senior high school described their clubs as their Ibasho. Similarly, “gathering with peers/friends,” and “getting along with people” were viewed as contexts in which participants found Ibasho. As a high school student, Mr. Tanaka attained a sense of solidarity with other soccer club members as they worked toward a shared outcome (to win games). He identified his friends (club members) as his Ibasho. Recalling her childhood and adolescence, Ms. Sasaki claimed that she had never experienced an absence of Ibasho “[b]ecause I had always belonged somewhere .â•›.â•›. such as clubs and interpersonal relationships (peer groups).” Mr. Watanabe said that he still occasionally met with his old friends, and that the places where they got together were his Ibasho. Having the time and place to spend alone was also viewed as critical to develop another type of Ibasho. At least six workers described the importance of this type of time and space “where one can be/stay alone.” Mr. Matsumoto explained in relation to children: Although there are many children gathering as groups [ within the institution], I think spending time alone, idling time away, or reflecting on himself/herself, or having one-on-one relationships with care workers is necessary .â•›.â•›. those are Ibasho.

Another male preschool worker, Mr. Abe, described: There would be a time when children want to cry alone, and when they want to cry in front of care workers .â•›.â•›. children who do not have a place where they can cry alone, and who cannot choose the places where they cry (do not have Ibasho).

Emergence and Function of Ibasho in Ordinary Life Participants stressed Ibasho creation as an ordinary, but critical, part of everyday life of which they typically are not consciously aware. In describing Ibasho, six workers used phrases like, “ordinary life,” “ordinary home,” or “a space where one can live ordinarily.” Participants apparently assumed that they would have positive socioemotional experiences in “ordinary life,” and as long as they lived the “ordinary life,” they were unaware of their Ibasho. For example:

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Ibasho was described as a source of “energy” that enlivens and increases one’s motivation in ordinary life. It is “a place at which one gains the courage to live,” and “a place at which one regains self-confidence.” As a female worker (Ms. Okazaki) explained, “When one lives with a sense that ‘this is my Ibasho,’ one will be very shining, to the extent one is dazzling.” In individual interviews, at least six participants mentioned “selfÂ�confidence” and “self-approval” both as a source of and result of Ibasho creation. For example, as she gained confidence, Ms. Yamashita explained that her Ibasho at work emerged simultaneously. Developmental Aspects of Ibasho Adult participants’ discussions of their own experiences of Ibasho suggest that aspects of Ibasho vary with development as social and psychological needs change. Without exception, adult participants were able to describe Ibasho, or an absence of Ibasho, in their childhood. Home and relationships with family members were described by fourteen participants as their childhood Ibasho. Mr. Tanaka, whose parents both worked during his childhood, explained: My grandma was always there [at home]. Grandma was always there [at home]. A perfect Ibasho. Even when I didn’t talk with my parents, [I talked] with my grandma.â•›.â•›.â•›. At that time, we warmed at a hibachi (an old fashioned Japanese heating appliance using charcoal as fuel), and we toasted rice cake on the hibachi. When I came back home [from school], I ate snacks, and went out [to play] again, but came back home again. That’s my sense of Ibasho. My Ibasho was at home.

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Whether they were affluent or poor did not determine participants’ capacity to find their Ibasho at home. Mr. Matsumoto, who was the oldest among the study participants, said: When I was a child, in rainy days, there were leaks in the roof. Everyone, four people, mother, father, younger brother [and I], brought buckets and washbowls and .â•›.â•›. sang a song, “fall rain, fall rain .â•›.â•›.”3 We had nothing, but when I think [about it] now retrospectively, that may have been my Ibasho.

One staff member seemed to experience an absence of Ibasho because of her parents’ divorce and remarriage. She said: When I got a [step]father, I felt that my mother was taken away [by the stepfather], and, I thought, “What shall I do?” “Is it really okay for me to be here?” I insisted that I wanted to be with my grandma, because I felt that my only person was taken away.

Ms. Nishino described her early childhood: I remember sitting on my father’s lap, as a child, asking various questions. I don’t remember my fathers’ facial expressions, but I was satisfied with asking questions. I have a strong feeling that it was really a place that I felt anshin (safe/peace of mind). With my mother, I often wet my bed, but, she gave me delicious foods, and I was accepted wherever I went. I grew up with a strong feeling of anshin, and was able to talk/ express freely. So, even when I wet my bed, I was proud (not ashamed). When I was sleeping with my grandfather and when I had bed-wetting, he took well care of that. It was really a place of anshin. (Co-sleeping is common in Japan)

Three participants described their own rooms as their Ibasho in their childhood or adolescence: I was given a small room, my room, by my parents. Not too large, not too small. Well, maybe it was small, but it was really my Ibasho. When something happened, I was able to escape to the room. When something bad happened, I had a fight with my parent, or had a fight with my older brother, I was able to have my own time in that place. From the time that I was preparing for high school entrance exams to the time I graduated from high school, it no doubt was my Ibasho. (Mr. Watanabe) 3 The “rain” song is a children’s song. Typically, people sing only the first part. “Fall rain, fall rain. I’m glad that my mother came to pick me up with umbrellas.”

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Private bedrooms for children in Japan are not as common as in the United States. Several participants recalled a variety of other spaces as their childhood Ibasho. A care worker explained: When I was a child, when I had a fight with my mother, I sat under a desk in the darkness. I had time to think about the fight. So, I think it is necessary to have such a place where one can think about things alone.

Adults also described the emerging role of peers to Ibasho creation in elementary school. Ms. Ueda described: I [moved and] transferred schools when I was in the first grade. I was not good at [adapting to a new environment]. So, I think a friend who talked to me when I was nervous was my Ibasho. The one who talked to me, not I talked to her, was special/important (taisetsuniomou) to me. I don’t know whether I liked her or not. But, I felt anshin (safe/secure/ easy) because she was with me.

Participants discussed clubs that met after school as important to their Ibasho creation in adolescence. Five workers described their clubs and club members in their junior and/or senior high school days. They described a sense of belonging and solidarity within the clubs. The interpersonal relationships formed within these groups, not so much the skills or competition, were recalled as meaningful to Ibasho creation. For example, Ms. Ueda explained: Basketball. I was not good at basketball at all. Although I was not a good player, I was serious and did what the seniors told us to do. I was not late, and I did not skip [practice]. So, the seniors viewed me as a good girl. So, [the club] may have been my Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. A sense of belonging. Perhaps, I have felt that I was anshin when I belonged somewhere.

Participants also described struggles with Ibasho creation, including in late adolescence and early adulthood, as they developed their identities and explored their occupations. Ms. Ito reflected on the absence of Ibasho in her early twenties after college graduation: I wanted to have my Ibasho. It was the first time I deeply thought about my Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. I thought, “Well, that’s okay not taking a job .â•›.â•›. nobody would care even if I did not exist.â•›.â•›.â•›. There would be plenty of people to substitute for me.”

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conclusion In Study 1, institution staff members and educators spontaneously identified Ibasho creation as a developmental goal for maltreated children. Study 2 then elaborated the concept of Ibasho through the eyes of institution staff members. In their Ibasho, children feel fully accepted by adults and peers, safe, valued, at peace, and can express themselves freely. Ibasho creation was seen as fundamental to children’s well-being and even as a corrective experience for some maltreated children with emotional and social problems. Adults’ descriptions of their own experiences of Ibasho reflected the cultural values placed on relationships and emotions such as anshin (peace of mind), calmness, acceptance, and belonging. As described next in Chapter 5, however, adults recognized that children with maltreatment histories may experience a variety of challenges to Ibasho creation.

5 Challenges to Maltreated Children’s Ibasho Creation

An outdoor play area for preschool-aged children

The Children’s Academy is not what I expected. Even after advising Sachiko’s research for several years, the visions of institutional care most prominent in my mind were from my readings of western orphanages in the early 20th century: facilities in which children experienced such profound deprivation that their survival and long 76

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term development were threatened. How startled I was to enter into the modern, well equipped Children’s Academy full of lively children and smiling caregivers. We first visited the preschool children’s house where five or six children were busily playing with an ample supply of age-appropriate toys in excellent condition, reading and writing with caregivers, or pretending with peers. The facility resembled a Japanese apartment with a kitchen-dining area, living room, bath room and several bedrooms. As our tour continued and we peaked into bedrooms at the children’s houses, I was struck by how personalized children had made their bedrooms. Bedspreads, decorations, toys, and books reflected each child’s interests and personality. I asked about the individualization of children’s bedrooms, and was told that children received a monthly allowance which they might use to purchase toys and decorations of their choice from local variety stores. These practices, along with the physical and social ecologies we observed, would seem to support children’s Ibasho creation. And yet, adults expressed some concerns. What do they see as challenges to children’s Ibasho creation at the institution? Wendy’s field note Adult participants generally argued that when children with histories of maltreatment have the time and opportunity to develop positive interpersonal relationships, as well as a rich physical environment to explore their interests and abilities, they will eventually engage in Ibasho creation. Although they generally were optimistic about children’s ability to find their Ibasho within the institution, they did describe a variety of challenges that were consistent with Sachiko’s participant observation. These challenges were complexly related, developmental, and occurred at multiple, interacting ecological levels, from children’s and adults’ feelings and behaviors to characteristics of the institution and other social contexts. They were described as operating primarily through impairment of interpersonal relationships.

children’s feelings and behaviors Adults described feelings and behaviors developed by some children with histories of maltreatment as negatively impacting their Ibasho creation, including through poor relationships with care workers and peers. Behaviors contributing to and reflecting poor interpersonal relationships include poor social skills and withdrawn, fearful, or aggressive behavior.

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Poor Social Skills, Withdrawn and Fearful Behaviors Adults primarily described a lack of appropriate social skills for some maltreated children as an impediment to their functioning within peer groups, which is important for Ibasho creation. Some maltreated children were described as behaving in irritating ways. Peers rejected them or viewed them as odd, which led to their loss of self-confidence and eventual withdrawal from peer groups. For example, an educator described a junior high school-aged boy who was neglected and had not attended school regularly since elementary school. This child was behind academically and did not have friends at school. Peers initially rebuffed his attempts to interact with annoyance because of his poor social skills. He subsequently displayed serious delinquent and criminal behavior problems. These behaviors frightened his peers, who then actively avoided him. Problematic social skills also were apparent in some maltreated children during participant observation, including a second-grade boy, Hiroshi. This child had poor social skills and difficulties following the rules during games. He would become aggressive and often was rejected by his peers. For example, Sachiko invited Hiroshi to play in the gym, but he sat down on the floor and did not respond to her. Then he attempted to play tag without asking her and made up rules that were advantageous to him. When Sachiko did not follow him, he became angry, threw a tantrum, and hit and kicked her. Several girls came into the gym. Hiroshi attempted to play with them, but he was teased and not allowed to play. This child’s lack of age-appropriate social skills made it difficult for him to get along with his peers. He may have experienced loneliness, irritation, and frustration. Consequently, he might have had difficulties acquiring a sense of Ibasho€– a concern expressed by several of his care workers. Adults also described the withdrawn or fearful behavior of some children with maltreatment histories as an impediment to developing peer relationships important to Ibasho creation. They described maltreated children whose anxiety and lack of confidence interfered with their abilities to interact freely with peers and participate in class activities. For example, an educator described Kaori when she was removed from her home at the age of ten years because of neglect. She was too fearful to introduce herself to her classmates or to make friends. During recess, she remained in her seat and played alone making paper dolls. Before being placed in the institution, she had not attended school regularly or developed playground skills typical of a Japanese child of her age, and hence was not actively sought out by her peers. Adults described some other maltreated children as “stubbornly

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refusing to speak” and “freezing” in the face of difficult situations, such as when they were scolded, asked to respond, or told to do something about which they were not confident. Both adults and peers were frustrated by such behaviors. Adults also described negative attitudes in some children with histories of maltreatment. In an individual interview, Ms. Nishino emphasized that some maltreated children often compared themselves negatively to others and said, “You don’t care about me, do you!?” She interpreted these children’s remarks as their lack of self-confidence. Aggressive Behavior, Bullying, and Conflicts Adults described bullying and other aggressive behaviors among some maltreated children. These behaviors were viewed as impediments to the Ibasho creation of both the children who bully and their peers. Aggressive behaviors threatened peers’ safety€– a central component of Ibasho creation€– at school and at the institution. Children who live with their families can be away from bullies or other peers who they do not like after school. In the institution, however, they must live with those peers. Being the target of aggressive behavior within their alternative home can impede children’s Ibasho creation. At the same time, aggressive behavior can lead to peer rejection, which can impede the Ibasho creation of children who bully. Adults discouraged bullying, which they interpreted to be reenactments of roles within maltreating families. In the individual interview, a female worker (Ms. Ito) expressed her concerns about the impact of bullying on the children’s peer relationships. She also said that she tried to protect the younger children from the older children’s coercion to help them secure their Ibasho. During participant observation, swearing and use of offensive language was prevalent among girls in the Children’s Academy. A care worker reported in a morning staff meeting that school teachers had told her that all the girls in fifth grade from the institution, except one, used offensive language and spoke rudely. The school teacher was particularly concerned about a girl who was disliked by peers at school because of her excessively rough language and swearing. She also was observed to be aggressive and offensive toward younger children within the institution. Bullying and harsh treatment of others among girls and an age-based hierarchy also was apparent during participant observation. For example, a junior high school-aged girl apprehended a young girl in second grade, seized her by the lapels, and shouted, “You told ‘that’ [to adults], didn’t you!?” As a volunteer staff member soothed the younger girl, another

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junior high school-aged girl ordered the child to, “Shut up! Cry in your own room!” After the older girls had left, the young girl threw materials in her bedroom, crumpled someone else’s papers, and kicked doors. Another day, the volunteer staff member and five early elementary school-aged girls were playing in the gym. One girl made another girl cry, and when the other girls suggested she apologize, she refused. The girl who cried left the gym and returned with an upper-grade elementary school-aged girl. The older girl threatened the younger girl and shouted, “Apologize to her!” She used bad language, and her highhanded and violent attitude scared the younger girl. In both examples, the younger girls might have misbehaved, but the reactions of the older girls seemed abusive. An age-based hierarchy seemed to emerge even among children in the lower elementary grades. Sachiko’s field notes include a description of a girl in second grade who warned another young girl, “Don’t try to be bossy. You are still in the first grade. One can be bossy when she becomes a second grader.” Children apparently modeled how older peers treat others. Group dynamics within the girls’ houses seemed to create an atmosphere that allowed older girls to be “bossy.” Gossiping also was a problem in the girls’ house. During participant observation, a group of girls was observed talking badly about other girls, targeting those who would not obey them. For example, they formed an unkind plan to trigger Sanae’s problem behaviors: “Let’s leave something there, and see if Sanae steals it.” They also gossiped about Sanae’s friendship with Ryohei, a boy in ninth grade with whom she preferred to play, “Sanae tries to act cute in front of Ryohei.” Adults discussed bullying and hierarchical relationships occurring among both girls and boys and in other child care institutions. A staff member described a time some years before when serious bullying issues and hierarchical relationships among boys existed, and staff members had to work hard to eradicate them. Bullying issues and hierarchical relationships among boys also were reported by adult and child participants at the Dream Home. They had experienced severe bullying issues within that institution a few years prior to the study. Further, these issues are frequently addressed in the literature that describes children’s lives at child care institutions (e.g., Kodomogakataru, 2003). Three years later, during the follow-up period, some girls described the negative group dynamics within the girls’ houses to Sachiko. They explained that one child would be ignored and excluded from “all the other girls” by an older girl who was perceived as a “boss.” Even younger children would imitate older girls and interact with the girl negatively. When the girl was

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being ignored and excluded, the other girls could not interact with her, otherwise they would become the next target. They speculated that most girls except the boss(es) had experienced exclusion and bullying. Any specific, persistent, or insidious bullying issues among boys were not observed at the Children’s Academy during the period of Study 2. However, minor conflicts such as quarrels or pushing, particularly among lower elementary school-aged boys, were a ubiquitous part of their lives. On some occasions, a third person intervened. For example, when two first-grade boys were arguing with each other in their bedroom, a third-grade boy mediated and said, “Stop fighting.” (In Japanese, physical and verbal fights are not linguistically differentiated: “kenka” refers to both.) On another occasion, when Daisuke saw a younger boy was about to kick another boy on the playground, he warned the boy, “Don’t kick him.” Those mediating actions, however, did not always work. One day, there were three boys in the gym during after-school hours. After asking, “Can I come in?” Sachiko observed them playing dodgeball. After a while, two lower-grade boys started fighting. They stared at each other and then smashed each other with the ball. The third boy first warned, “Stop it.” But soon, he joined the aggressor in attacking the other boy with the ball until that child left the gym. After the boy left, the two boys continued playing dodgeball.

institutionalization Adult participants presented certain characteristics of life within the institution as presenting inherent challenges to Ibasho creation, especially by compounding the pre-existing relationship problems of some children with histories of maltreatment. Some challenges described by adults might be inherent in institutional living: the lack of flexibility resulting from the rules necessary for groups of children to live together, and the relative lack of privacy. Adults viewed other challenges as malleable, including characteristics of the physical ecology and adults’ schedules. Rules Living within an institution requires compliance with a variety of rules including when to get up, eat, complete homework, take a bath, and how to share the facilities with others. Mr. Tanaka described their importance: The institution as a whole should exist as Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. It would be difficult [for the children to find their Ibasho within the institution] if we did not provide a well-organized environment.â•›.â•›.â•›. It is important to provide a

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Adults also expressed some ambivalence about the rules within the institution in relation to children’s Ibasho creation. For example, Mr. Tanaka went on to describe rules at the Children’s Academy as problematic, especially during the transition period when children are newly removed from their home and placed in institutional care: [When they are just placed in care,] they actually want to be in bed forever, and forget everything. They don’t want to move. [They feel] relieved from violence and feel exhausted. [They have gained] a sense of freedom from controls that they experienced. Human beings desire freedom.â•›.â•›.â•›. But, [they are told], “get up at 6:00 a.m.” Isn’t that contradictory [to how we should treat the child]?

This worker talked about a girl who was recently placed in care. He wanted to allow her to take time to adjust to the institutional lifestyle, but the rules of the institution were inflexible. Adult informants also described developmental variation in maltreated children’s responses to rules within the institution. For example, a staff member in Study 1 described some older (junior high school-age or older) children as having more difficulties than younger children in adjusting to institutional life because they had “established certain lifestyles” before entering care. Similarly, a worker (Ms. Yoshioka) in Study 2 discussed how rules in the institutions could make a child, particularly one who was first placed in care in late childhood or adolescence, uncomfortable, but also recognized why such rules were important: For those who [lived at home until a certain age and then came to the institution], there are many rules or restrictions in the institution, and so, it may be uncomfortable for them to live here. But, since we live here as a group, we need some rules/controls. I [or staff members] have ambivalent feeling in working with them.â•›.â•›.â•›. I want to allow them to have a little more freedom, but without some rules, [the institution] may be in disorder and may become a place where children can not relax. So, I don’t think rules are bad .â•›.â•›.

Privacy Whereas some workers believed that there was plenty of free space within the institution where children could choose to spend time, others addressed a lack of privacy. For example, workers described during a focus group

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interview that, “There is always somebody everywhere [within the institution], and [children] cannot be alone.” Mr. Watanabe explained: There is no time that children can think alone. [Even] when they do not want to interact with anybody, there is always somebody there. [In such places] they cannot find their Ibasho, and they cannot fully be themselves. [They] feel stifled. [They need] a space where [they] can be alone and relax.

The “spaces” described by participants seemed to include both physical space and psychological spaces. Mr. Tanaka described: [Children] have a sense that they are controlled and restricted by adults. So, [what is important is] whether there is a place in which children can, to some extent, cut off such controls. To some degree, [having] a sense of distance, I mean, they need hiding places.

Mr. Watanabe also said that some children sought their Ibasho in places where they could get away from adults or hide from peers who might annoy them or make them feel bad. Similarly, a preschool worker (Mr. Abe) described that preschool children at the institution were always under the surveillance of adults, and that they might feel stifled: Most children here were transferred from the infant care institution. A positive thing is, they are under adults’ eyes 24/7. On the other hand, there is no place where they can escape.

Several workers described a lack of private space in preschool children’s houses. For example, “.â•›.â•›. their only personal space is in their beds. Others are all shared .â•›.â•›.” Adult-Child Ratio and Work Schedules During focus group discussions and individual interviews, adults described a need to increase the ratio of adults to children. Although two workers were assigned for every ten school-aged children, in reality, they worked in shifts so each worker often took care of ten children at once. In addition, when a worker in the next house was off campus or absent, another worker had to supervise children in both houses. After-school hours were especially busy times for workers. Younger children needed help with their homework, but care workers were not always available to provide individual attention. Participant observation revealed that it was not uncommon for workers to be asked for help by two or three children at the same time, while taking

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care of another child. In individual interviews, some boys’ workers said that they made efforts to spend time with boys as much as possible, but admitted that they were sometimes too busy to pay enough attention to each child. There even were times when they directed their own irritation at children. Ms. Sasaki described: [I want the institution to] decrease the capacity of children, so that we can take more time to provide care to each child.â•›.â•›.â•›. [Each child is treated as] one of eleven children. I cannot spend time with every child, and cannot provide attentive care for each [child in this current arrangement].

Similarly, workers for preschool-aged children viewed the worker-child ratio at preschoolers’ houses as inadequate and thought that it made it difficult to take time for one-on-one interaction. Ms. Nakagawa said: The biggest problem would be group life. If we could interact one-onone, we could take better care of them, but we can’t. Daily programs are fixed, so, we cannot meet all the individual needs of the children. I would like to do as much as possible, but there are times that I can’t. It is difficult.

Another worker described the difficulties of providing special individual attention for one child when other children were present. Mr. Abe said: There was a moment when I wanted to let him sit on my lap, to listen to him and let him cry, if the child came to me. But I thought it would not be possible to do those things because there were other children around.

Workers viewed the problem of worker-child ratios as compounded by adults’ fixed and busy schedules, which were viewed as placing additional strain on some already fragile caregiver-child relationships. One worker explained: I cannot take enough time to be with the children. I’m swamped with work. If life flowed more slowly [if we didn’t have to rush] and if we had some more flexibility, like letting children go to bed a little later, then, children could also slow down. Probably because adults, particularly me, are swamped, children are also rushed. They are frantic to catch up with the adults’ pace.

Physical Ecology Participant observation suggested that the overall structures of the institution’s buildings, while allowing small living units similar to regular family apartment homes, also prevented staff members from entering houses

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other than those they supervised. Consequently, workers in charge of preschool-aged children did not see school-aged children and their workers, unless they met outside or at meetings. Boys’ and girls’ workers seemed to have more contact with each other than with preschool workers, but rarely entered one another’s houses. Although they met at morning meetings, monthly staff meetings, and monthly case conferences, some care workers’ relationships appeared superficial, and their knowledge of children who were not in their immediate care was minimal. In interviews, several workers explicitly attributed any inadequate relationships with their colleagues to the structure of the houses. A preschool worker who had worked at the Children’s Academy before the facilities had been rebuilt explained that in the past she had been able to meet with others everyday. A care worker who had worked at another institution described a large staff room in which all staff members frequently met and talked informally with one another.

child-environment interactions within the institution Children’s difficult behaviors and feelings were viewed as not only emerging from within individual children, but also as products of an interaction between characteristics of the institution and children’s histories of maltreatment. Maltreated children were seen as prone to relationship difficulties, and characteristics of child-environment interactions were seen as compounding these difficulties. Adults’ Reactions to Maltreated Children Adult participants discussed their own feelings and behaviors as sometimes impeding children’s Ibasho creation through impaired relationships. For example, in a focus group, the social worker, Mr. Tanaka, argued that, “[A pattern of staff- child] relationships [that is characterized as] staff members scold children severely is not good.” According to Mr. Watanabe, “children tend to be more frequently disciplined than praised.” Ms. Sasaki, a girls’ worker, viewed the negative aspects of some children as triggering negative interactions between staff members and the child. She admitted, “Staff members sometimes have trouble interacting with [the child] gently, because we react to her aggressiveness and excessive dependency.” Adults addressed the importance of ongoing professional education and supervision in maintaining positive relations with children. Ms.

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Sasaki felt a desperate need for reliable feedback from third-party individuals to find solutions to problems staff members were too close to see. Mr. Tanaka emphasized the importance of the knowledge, skills, and experience adults acquire during professional training to motivate them to understand maltreated children. He especially emphasized the importance of sharing information to develop a common understanding and response to challenging situations. For example, he observed that some negative worker-child interactions occurred partly because of the staff members’ lack of understanding of countertransference and absence of systematic support for those who had such experiences. He observed that although the necessity of such supports for workers had been addressed, no concrete plans existed. Caregiver-Child Relationships Adults described some maltreated children as having difficulties in developing trusting relationships with others including with care workers, a condition made worse by characteristics of the institution, such as frequent changes in caregivers. During focus group discussions, adults commented in relation to children with histories of maltreatment that, “There is no sense of trust in others” and “There is no adult that the child can trust.” A preschool worker, Ms. Kimura, described a child in her group who had negative assumptions about relationships with adults: The child did not adapt [to the life here] at all, although he received therapy as well. It was very difficult to develop relationships. [I thought] “How can I develop relationships with this child?”.â•›.â•›. He assumed that he was going to be scolded [here]. I said, “I won’t scold you for such a trivial thing, although I will scold if you do really bad things.”

Maltreated children were characterized as lacking a “foundation” and “unstable” in their relationships. One worker (Ms. Kubota) explained: They lack a base/foundation (kiban), like, the formation of attachment relationships and the feeling of being loved. This makes them anxious .â•›.â•›.

Without stability and foundation, children have difficulties finding their Ibasho. Adults explained that some children with maltreatment histories are unable to express their emotions properly. Some children were described as being “Accustomed to living by suppressing their emotions in order to protect themselves.” When they enter the institution, “a place where he/she can

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be anshin, they may [inappropriately] vent their emotions that had been suppressed.” A male worker (Mr. Tanaka) described: [Maltreated children] re-enact similar interpersonal relationships [at the new place], and are rejected by peers again.â•›.â•›.â•›. Some children do not know interpersonal relationships that people generally/normally should have developed. They only know patterns that have developed in abnormal relationships.â•›.â•›.â•›.

Some workers (e.g., Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Higuchi), therefore, addressed the need to help maltreated children change their perceptions of other people. For example, Mr. Higuchi said: It will take time for children who have experienced maltreatment to find their Ibasho. Perhaps, we might need to [help them] change their thoughts and images about other people.

Even when maltreated children displayed age-appropriate social behaviors, adults described superficiality in relationships. An institutional staff member characterized children in the institutions, in general, as good at superficial interpersonal relationships and gathering with peers, but often lacking trust in others, or a sense of stability in the foundation of their lives. Therefore, when there is something that gets “on their nerves,” they “furiously reject” or break off relationships with the other person. Some workers underscored the need to develop trust in others. For example, a worker (Ms. Yoshioka) emphasized: Since children with maltreatment histories have a stronger distrust of others than children without maltreatment histories, developing ties through one-on-one interactions is important, and those interactions would be possible if living units were smaller.

Another worker (Mr. Higuchi) described difficulties in developing trusting relationships due to frequent changes of adults and children that come into and leave the institution. Further, workers’ ability to be flexible in responding to children’s needs also was viewed as influencing the establishment of trusting relationships with children. For example, junior workers at both the Children’s Academy and the Dream Home typically were not comfortable in making decisions without consulting senior workers. Junior workers’ lack of discretion sometimes impeded children’s reliance on junior workers. Also, it impeded junior workers’ ability to meet children’s needs in a timely manner, which made the children frustrated. One of the complaints by children described by a junior care worker in Study

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1 was care workers’ inability to promptly respond to children’s wants and needs. The care worker explained that children complained that whenever they asked for something, some workers always responded that they would answer after consulting with senior workers or the head. She said that children then stopped asking, saying, “[If you cannot answer now], then, that’s fine. Never mind.”

child-environment interactions outside the institution School Adults also described maltreated children’s reactions to school contexts as possible impediments to Ibasho creation. Adults described some children who can express themselves freely in the institution, but “shrink” and cannot make new friends at school. Such children remain alone or interact primarily with peers from the same institutions during school recess. A worker explained that, “Many children here are Uchibenkei (a lion at home and mouse abroad).” Consistent with her observation, some children described components of Ibasho within the institution, but not at school. In the following excerpt, a girl in the eighth grade (Kaori, age thirteen) described a degree of comfort and intimacy in her relationships with peers at the institution suggestive of Ibasho, in contrast to her relationships with classmates: Kaori:╇ I don’t get along with them [classmates].â•›.â•›.â•›. I don’t talk [with them] very much. I always .â•›.â•›. go somewhere during the recess.â•›.â•›.â•›. Interviewer:╇ How are your classmates? Kaori:╇ There are too many cheerful ones. I don’t like cheerful ones.â•›.â•›.â•›. Interviewer:╇ You talked about friends at school. Is there anyone who is always with you here (institution)? Kaori:╇ Yes, yes, yes! There are many.â•›.â•›.â•›. Interviewer:╇ Are there differences between friends at school and friends here? Kaori:╇ Children in the institution are always here. Living here. So, when they come to my room, they always play with me. Friends at school.â•›.â•›.â•›. They go back to their own home.â•›.â•›.â•›. I am on good terms [with friends at school], but different degree.â•›.â•›.â•›. Somehow different.

Similarly, a girl in the third grade (Yuka, age nine) described a similar discrepancy in her relationships with peers at the institution and school. When asked about her classmates, she mentioned one girl. In contrast, she spontaneously talked about several children within the institution:

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Yuka:╇ I can speak with people at (institution) with no difficulty, but I can’t, with friends at school. Interviewer:╇ How come? Yuka:╇ Because I am familiar with people at (institution).

When asked about maltreated girls’ relationships outside of the institution, Ms Yoshioka replied: They suddenly become shy and reserved [when they go out]. I, too, have an impression that they are not actively developing relationships with people outside of the institution.

Similarly, Mr. Watanabe described: Ibasho is something that they are going to find by themselves. But, when they know too little about their surroundings, they cannot even figure out where they can find one.

ONGOING PROBLEMATIC FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS Adult participants viewed children’s ongoing, problematic relationship with their families of origin as impacting their Ibasho creation within the institution. Few parents of institutionalized children had had their parental rights legally terminated. Many maltreated children retained contact with their families to varying degrees. When family conditions improved, children visited their parents frequently. For example, Kaori was placed in care as a ten-year-old, but by age fifteen stayed at her mother’s home two weekends a month. Some children, including Masaru, Kenta, and Ryohei, visited their families only on major holidays. Masaru expressed ambivalence about going home or about identifying his parents’ home as his Ibasho. In contrast, until the age of approximately fourteen, Kenta characterized his mother’s home as his “true Ibasho.” Adults discussed the ways in which relationships with parents may impact children’s Ibasho creation within the institution. For example, a male worker, Mr. Matsumoto, explained: “There are many parents who are noncommittal. It may be a key for children’s acquisition of Ibasho to help them to deal with it so they can settle down.” By “noncommittal,” the worker meant that there were parents whose commitments to their children were inconsistent and unreliable. Examples of this would be parents who visit their children frequently but then suddenly stop visiting, or parents who promise to take their children home next year but do not follow through. These disruptions can prevent the children from viewing either

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the institution or their parents’ houses as their home where they can settle down and invest in Ibasho creation. Preschool workers also discussed how home visitation and contact with the parents or foster parents may impact children’s Ibasho creation. For example, there were children who visited home weekly from Friday to Sunday. Ms. Suzuki observed: I don’t know whether the children become unstable because they feel an absence of Ibasho, but when I see them [acting] psychologically unstable, they also have frequent home visitations. They may be having difficulties in determining which place they should prioritize. If they spend more time at home than at the institution, when they come back to the institution, they become like guests. Other children also see those children’s presence as unusual. The children have a strong feeling of loneliness [at the institution] when they are separated from their parents .â•›.â•›.

Similarly, another worker (Ms. Yamashita) described: [The children] who have frequent home visitations tend to be noncommittal.â•›.â•›.â•›. Their home is their home, but once they get settled, they are sent back here [to the institution] by their parents. Those children seem to have difficulty in forming the sense that, “This is my Ibasho.”

“uchi (inside)-soto (outside)” confusion and ibasho creation Adults viewed children’s Ibasho creation in the institution also as impacted by adults’ efforts to integrate the institution within the larger community. For example, allowing neighborhood children access to the gym was seen as having the unintended effect of confusing children’s “uchi (inside) and soto (outside),” an important distinction in Japanese culture. One’s home is one’s uchi, and uchi should be a place where people enjoy intimate relationships and can relax without making extra efforts to adjust themselves to outsiders of the group. The gym is within the institution, and should be part of resident children’s uchi. Resident children, however, have to interact with neighborhood children there, as they did outside (soto). There were several occasions during participant observation when children’s hesitance or unwillingness to integrate with peers from their community was apparent. For example, one day, Masaru was practicing basketball alone in the gym after school. He belonged to a basketball club at school and was very excited about being selected as a starting member of the club team for a citywide game. Four girls were tossing a volleyball in a circle

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next to him. After a while, some boys came in, and the boys and girls played volleyball together, teasing each other. A male trainee from a vocational school for care workers also came into the gym, and played basketball with Masaru. The young trainee was a good playmate for the boy. The gym had an enjoyable atmosphere. Then, junior high school students “from the community” came into the gym and started playing ball. Because the gym was open to everyone, “resident kids” had to share the already crowded space with the “community kids.” The resident kids and community kids did not talk to each other. The resident kids who were playing volleyball stopped talking and continued playing silently. The cell phones of the community kids occasionally rang loudly. The atmosphere in the gym was tense. In less than thirty minutes, the community kids had left the gym. A resident (sixth grade) girl, Sanae, kicked a ball that the community kids left, saying, “They are annoying!” Before the community kids came into the gym, resident children shared the space naturally and enjoyed playing sports with peers. For them, the gym was a safe place where they were able to have fun and express themselves freely. However, once the community kids came in, even though they did not physically or verbally offend resident children, the atmosphere turned from relaxed to tense. The intention behind the institution allowing community kids to use the gym within the institution may have been to provide space for community kids to play and to enhance resident children’s integration with the community kids. However, this goal was not always fulfilled, and children from the institution may have felt that their Ibasho was invaded.

developmental issues Challenges resulting from institutional life were seen as accruing over time with extended institutionalization, especially when begun in infancy, viewed as particularly challenging to Ibasho creation. Certain age-related transitions also were viewed as particularly problematic, especially disruptions of emerging attachment relationships as young children moved from infant to preschool to school-aged houses. Early, Prolonged Institutionalization Some children who had lived in the institution since infancy were observed by caregivers to have difficulty in developing relationships with others, particularly those who had no or little contact with their parents. For example,

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seven-year-old Hiroshi who had lived at the institution since infancy with no family contact, was described by workers as without secure attachments to any adults, seeking anshin-kan (a sense of security) from relatively unfamiliar adults, and displaying insufficient social skills and difficulties in peer relationships. One care worker for preschool-aged children described children who had desperate, unmet needs for their parents that made it difficult for them to find their Ibasho: Those who do not have anyone (parents/relatives etc.), no matter how hard I try, the child cannot find his/her Ibasho anywhere. Workers make a lot of physical contact (skin-ship), and try to fill the gaps.â•›.â•›.â•›. But, the child wants to find his/her Ibasho in a relationship that actually does not exist. And as they get older, they continue to be flighty. Although they strongly desire one, they may end up not being able to find their Ibasho anywhere.â•›.â•›.â•›. It is sad to see it, but I don’t know what to do.â•›.â•›.â•›. They blow up stories about their mothers in their imagination and attempt to find their Ibasho in their imagination.â•›.â•›.â•›.

Similarly, some children (Sanae and Daisuke) who had been institutionalized since infancy with no family contact described that they often stayed alone and did not seek out others for help when they had difficulties. Transitions Relationships with caregivers may be especially strained during periods of transition. Children at the institution experience multiple and relatively frequent transitions to new places. Young children were described as especially anxious about their new lives at the preschoolers’ house. Workers described many young children as having negative impressions about the child care institutions, seeing them as terrifying and intimidating. The transition from infant care to child care means that children have less attention from their care workers because of the decreased worker-child ratios and must do much more self-care. In addition, some workers characterized child-rearing in the children’s houses as stricter than at the infant care institution. One worker (Ms. Kimura) described: Among those who are transferred from the infant care institution, there were perceptions that the child care institution is terrifying. Workers at the infant care institution treat them gently, saying, “You are cute, you are lovely,” but at child care, we cannot do the same. I feel bad. At first, they enjoy [being at preschool houses], but when they see a situation where older children are scolded, they become scared.â•›.â•›.â•›. [When they are placed in the child care institution], first, they are frightened, and say, “I wanna go home. I wanna go home.” I understand. The placement

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occurs owing to adults’ circumstances. Children wouldn’t understand, when they are told, “You live in the child care institution from today.” .â•›.â•›. Children who come from home, they sob. I hold them for a long time. I feel, “Yeah, I know you wanna go home. Being put in such a place, out of the blue [must be hard]. You had lived in a regular home, but are placed here, separated from your mom, although you are so young.”

Another worker (Ms.Suzuki) described: I wish we could have more time for one-on-one interactions with children. The infant care institution values one-on-one interactions [between workers and infants]. The [worker-child ratio] is different. Although children were well treated at the infant care institution [one worker for every two children], when they come to the preschool houses, suddenly, they only have one worker for every six children [There are two workers for every six children, but because they work in shifts, in reality, only one worker is available for every six children]. I think the gaps are huge. [When they were in the infant care], there were a lot of workers. But here, children are anxious. Here, when a child says, “Pee!,” we say “Go to the bathroom,” because there are other children [that we have to take care of at the same time]. Ideally, we should go to the bathroom with him/ her, but the conditions do not allow us to do so.â•›.â•›.â•›. I wish I had five or six hands. But I only have two hands, so children compete/get into fights [over who get to hold my hands], when we [children and the worker] go out.â•›.â•›.â•›. Older boys and girls have to carry all the strain. [They are told,] “You are older, aren’t you?” [and are forced to do things by themselves.] They are probably not happy when they are told, “You are older,” since they are only five or six years old. I wish I could interact with them more closely. If I had 48 hours a day .â•›.â•›.

case illustrations The following cases illustrate some of the challenges observed and discussed by adults at the Children’s Academy. Daisuke’s case illustrates challenges of Ibasho creation experienced by a child because of extended institutionalization. Kenta’s case illustrates the impact of ongoing problematic family contact on a child’s Ibasho creation. Daisuke: “In the End I Will Find (the Solution to Life’s Problems) Myself.” Daisuke illustrates the complex, mixed nature of interpersonal relationships of a child institutionalized since infancy with no family contact. The Children’s Academy is a modern institution that provides many advantages

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to children, which can facilitate Ibasho creation. For example, institution care provided some stability to Daisuke, whose caregiver from infancy was still present on campus, and who attended the same preschool, elementary school, and junior high school with his community cohort, allowing him to retain friendships with classmates over a period of years. Nonetheless, there were significant challenges for Daisuke, including the experience of multiple caregivers and relatively frequent changes of housemates. During the research period, ten-year-old Daisuke seemed to have good relationships both with his peers and with adults. He said that he liked his care workers and was able to describe why. During the interview, Daisuke expressed enjoyment in playing with his peers on the playground within the institution, and identified a best friend from school. He was often observed playing with peers as well as younger children. He turned down the opportunity to live with a foster family, stating that he did not want to be separated from his friends. Some concern was expressed by care workers, however, about Daisuke’s loneliness. According to his case records, when receiving play therapy in his early elementary school years, he frequently talked about his peers’ siblings and expressed the feeling of loneliness. During the interview, he also reported that he most frequently spent time alone reading books in his room, as he was frequently observed to do. Although Daisuke’s social skills usually were adequate, his relationships with adults appeared to be somewhat superficial. During the interview, Daisuke did not express the full reliance on, or attachment to, adults that would be expected from a Japanese child of his age. He was unable to identify adults within the institution or at school whom he could consult in the face of difficulties, or whom he felt understood him. Nor could he identify a favorite teacher at school. Rather, Daisuke portrayed himself as highly selfreliant, consulting himself in the face of difficulties, and finding solutions to problems independently. His care worker also described Daisuke as overly sensitive to adults’ emotions and moods, and as interacting with caregivers “equally” rather than having a special attachment to a particular adult. Although Daisuke’s current caregiver had been unaware of it until recently, he occasionally slipped away to the infant care institution to visit his former care worker, reflecting some lasting emotional attachment to her. Daisuke’s relationships with his friends at the Children’s Academy often were disrupted because of their reunification with parents or transfer to other institutions, which seemed to hamper the depth of Daisuke’s peer relationships at the institution and to contribute to his hesitancy in expressing his emotions. During Study 2, several children left the institution,

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including one of Daisuke’s close friends. When a care worker announced the children’s departure from the institution at dinner, Daisuke showed no response, although several others expressed their emotions, including sadness. Although Daisuke clearly possessed many strengths, his caregivers also viewed the depth and quality of his interpersonal relationships with peers and caregivers as resulting in a somewhat superficial or unstable Ibasho. His care worker’s descriptions of Daisuke were consistent with his self-descriptions and participant observation: For Daisuke, many places could be his Ibasho, and could also be places where he feels stress/stifled. He can interact with everybody equally, but he may feel stress with anybody. One of his Ibasho is his friend’s home, and [his Ibasho can be] at the community service center, when he is with Takao, and, of course, in his room. But even in his room, because he shares the room with Y, when Y is in the room, he goes somewhere else to seek “anshin” [meaning, to seek spaces where he could feel relieved and relaxed].

Follow-up At the beginning of our research project, Daisuke was ten years old and in the third grade. At the follow-up visit, he was fourteen years old and in the eighth grade. According to his care worker, Daisuke had developed some problems typical of many adolescents in child care institutions, such as smoking. At the follow-up visit, however, Daisuke’s life seemed relatively stable. He described his enjoyment in his close friends at school, some of whom he had known since preschool. When asked by Sachiko if he had something that he could say, “I’m okay because I have this,” he replied, “Friends.” He also described that he still saw and chatted with his former care worker from the infant care institution. According to several workers, this care worker was instrumental in Daisuke’s decision to stop smoking. Daisuke described some annoyance with troubles within the boys’ house, such as conflicts between other residents and care workers, and stealing. Similar to his behavior as a younger child, he continued to keep himself some distance from people within the house. He also expressed some frustrations with care workers: Even when we have something to complain [about], we cannot express [it] easily [to the staff].â•›.â•›.â•›. Perhaps it would be [an issue of] trust relationships with adults. If we live in regular home, perhaps, we would complain to our mothers when we had something that bothers us. But we cannot fully express those things [here].

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Kenta: “My Mother is Working Hard. So, She Cannot Come to Visit Me.â•›.â•›.” Kenta’s case illustrates the impact of ongoing problematic family relations on a child’s emerging Ibasho. Born prematurely and with disabilities (mild cerebral palsy and mild mental retardation), Kenta was particularly vulnerable to maltreatment. Following physical abuse by his mother, three-year-old Kenta was placed in care. Kenta maintained contact with his mother, visiting her at home one or two times a year, but sometimes returned with bruises. Nevertheless, he continued to visit his mother for important Â�celebrations such as for the New Year, and expressed disappointment when she canceled visits. At age six, his mother remarried, and Kenta resisted visiting home for the New Year celebration, and so his home visitation was canceled. By the time he was eight, he had resumed home visits on major holidays in August and January. On one of these occasions, he witnessed the brutal beating of his mother by her father-in-law. Following the visit, Kenta often cried, had trouble with peers, and became socially withdrawn. At the age of eleven, Kenta began visiting a seasonal foster parents’ home1 instead of his mother’s home. The reunification of twelve-year-old Kenta with his mother was considered after his graduation from elementary school, but placement was continued because of ongoing family difficulties, including his mother’s abusiveness and financial problems. Kenta continued visiting his mother on major holidays, but without careful supervision by the Children’s Academy and the child guidance center, visits continued to be problematic. However, Kenta was able to maintain a relationship with his mother and to believe that he had a home. The care workers explained the reasons of his placement to Kenta in a manner that allowed him to maintain a positive image of himself, his mother, and his family, for example, “Your mother is busy working hard,” and encouraged him to continue to “be a good boy.” Despite her physical abusiveness, thirteen-year-old Kenta’s continuing psychological attachment to his mother was observed during preparations for the Star Festival. The Star Festival is a traditional celebration during which children decorate a bamboo branch by writing their wishes on strips of colored paper and tying them to the leaves. Kenta wrote that his wish was to become a truck driver like his mother in order to help her. He also 1 In some cities, there are foster care services available for those who live in institutions and do not have contact with their parents and relatives. “Weekend foster families” or “seasonal foster families” provide care on weekends and holidays so that children who cannot go home can experience family life.

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expressed a desire to visit her. During the interview, Kenta’s understanding of Ibasho was explored: Kenta:╇ .â•›.â•›. my Ibasho is actually in H [city where his mother lives]. I am just being placed here. Sachiko:╇ Oh, I see. Kenta:╇ Yes. Usually, my mother comes in a regular, small car. But, when she has her job, and she comes here to take me home, my mother comes by her truck.â•›.â•›.â•›.

During participant observation within the boys’ house, Kenta spontaneously talked about his mother to the researcher without being prompted: My mother is working hard. So, she cannot come to visit me as often. She drives a truck that carries very heavy stuff. We went from H [city] to M [city]. Since I helped her, I got big muscles. (Shows skinny arm.)

Kenta occasionally was observed being teased by his peers, and some conflicts between Kenta and his peers were reported at daily staff Â�meetings. Caregivers viewed these incidents as largely due to Kenta’s insufficient social skills. Nonetheless, he expressed enjoyment in his life at the Children’s Academy and a sense of belonging in his peer group. In addition, Kenta identified favorite adults at the Children’s Academy: his male caregiver and the director at the community service center. Those adults seemed to play an important role in helping Kenta secure his Ibasho within the Children’s Academy. As he developed, and as his mother’s abusiveness continued, Kenta’s understanding of his mother and perhaps his Ibasho changed. During the research period, thirteen-year-old Kenta visited his mother’s home and came back with injuries to his face and leg. His mother admitted to beating Kenta. The Children’s Academy reported the incident to the child guidance center. Kenta’s case worker and social worker visited his mother’s home and discussed the incident. Because his mother admitted what she did and because Kenta still wanted to see her, they decided to allow the home visit in January, but to shorten it to two nights and three days to minimize his mother’s stress level and reduce the risks of abuse. Although the New Year home visitation was short, Kenta’s mother physically abused him again. This time, Kenta did not want to go home again and the summer home visitation was cancelled. If Kenta had wanted to continue meeting with his mother, then care workers would have tried to prepare for their meeting, starting with meeting within the institution, and allowing them to go out together for several hours. In making their decisions regarding his home visitations,

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including their ultimate suspension, staff members took Kenta’s needs and wants into consideration, as well as the importance of maintaining ties with family in Japanese culture. Follow-up In the fifth year of our research program, Kenta was in the eleventh grade, and gakkyu-iinchou (a class representative)2 at his high school. He proudly talked about helping out classmates who had more severe disabilities. He claimed that he had not visited his mother for a while because his mother exploited him to help her work and got angry when he did not do well, even though he was not used to the work. He also talked to Sachiko about his plan after graduation: to work at a sheltered workshop and live in an apartment provided by the workplace. If he could save enough money, he hoped to live independently, with his friends. At the end of the research period, Kenta was in a job training program at a workshop for people with disabilities. He hoped to work there after graduation from the special education high school.

conclusion Despite their confidence in the capacities of children to live and develop fully even after experiences of maltreatment, adults recognized a variety of challenges to their Ibasho creation. These challenges ranged from feelings and behaviors that children developed as a result of maltreatment, to characteristics of life within an institution, to child-environment interactions within and outside of the institution. The cases of Daisuke and Kenta illustrate the challenges to children’s Ibasho creation of extended institutional living and ongoing problematic family relations, respectively. In Chapter 6, we will explore adults’ socialization practices that may support children’s Ibasho creation.

2 Gakkyu-iinchou (a class representative) is typically a student who is in a position of a leader of the class. One or two gakkyu-iincho are elected by student voting, or may be assigned by the classroom teacher. Their roles may include serving as chair at class meetings, but roles vary depending on their grades and capacities. This system is widely employed from elementary school to high school.

6 Socialization Practices Underlying Ibasho Creation: Mimamori

Boys playing in the gym at the Children’s Academy

The children are enjoying some free time at the gym, on the playground, and within their houses before dinner. Several young boys are playing catch on the playground. Other children are playing with a ball on the stairs leading from the playground to the residential building, or jumping rope. Care workers occasionally pass by the side of the playground or roofed passages that connect buildings, and watch the children playing. Although male care workers sometimes join boys’ ball games, no adults 99

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are present today. As I observe several elementary-school-aged boys playing catch, one child is hit, hard in the face with a ball. One of the other boys calls out, “Are you all right?” but continues playing without approaching him. Another player teases the injured child, “You’re stupid!” A fourth child, however, approaches the injured boy and leads him to the side of the playground. There, the two boys confer with a female care worker who is passing by. She suggests that they put ice on the injured child’s face, but does not go with them to get it. Ten minutes later, the injured boy returns to the playground holding a small plastic bag of ice to his face. Sachiko’s field note

As described in earlier chapters, adults view Ibasho creation as necessary to children’s well-being. Maltreatment from parents and institutionalization, as well as poor social skills, withdrawn or fearful behaviors, aggressive behaviors, and superficial interpersonal relationships that may result, are viewed as impediments to Ibasho creation. One professional goal articulated by some child care workers and educators is to support children’s Ibasho creation within the child care institutions, at school and in the community. In this chapter, we will explore the socialization beliefs and practices reflected in the everyday interactions of child care workers with maltreated children in the Children’s Academy focusing on adults’ mimamori, emotional commitment (kimochi), and relationships as they pertain to children’s Ibasho creation. We draw on data from both studies. The opening excerpt from Sachiko’s field note illustrates a typical way in which adults may support children’s Ibasho creation. As we will see in Chapter 7, the playground at the Children’s Academy is identified by a number of children as their Ibasho. It provides open space in which they can freely engage in activities of their choosing, often with groups of friends. Boys sometimes invite adults, particularly male care workers, to join their games, but enjoy autonomy in interacting with peers and directing those games. Adults’ roles on the playground are not to closely supervise children, teach them social skills, or suppress any undesirable or dangerous behavior. Rather, they mimamoru them; that is, unobtrusively “watch over” the children as protective figures, while avoiding direct interference with their interactions and activities. Although the presence of adult playground supervisors is common at school in the United States, there are no such staff members in Japanese schools or child care institutions. When adults have free time, they sometimes do play with children, for example, to facilitate peer interactions. In the chapter-opening excerpt, no specific adults were on the playground with the children. Instead, any staff members who

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passed by observed the children and provided support or direction when necessary. The underlying belief is that adults provide advice when necessary, but children can and should learn to cooperate and take care of themselves within peer groups.

adults’ beliefs about mimamori and its relation to ibasho creation Adults spontaneously identified mimamori as a valued part of their daily practice with resident children. Indeed, fourteen of eighteen participants (78%) in Study 2 spontaneously described acts of mimamori1 as supportive of children’s Ibasho creation and, more generally, their positive development. When adults mimamoru children, they carefully observe them and identify their needs. Rather than teaching them directly or hastily intervening to correct their behaviors, adults first arrange children’s social and physical ecologies so that children will have opportunities to think and learn “naturally.” Mimamori Supports Anshin and Development Adults described mimamori in relation to other cultural constructs including anshin and Ibasho, as well as to human development. To be watched over (mimamorareteiru) was described as creating a context where children can experience anshin, a critical socioemotional experience in one’s Ibasho. Participants emphasized the importance to children’s anshin of their consistent experience of mimamori over time and people. Some workers emphasized the importance of children feeling that “everyone (all adults in the institution) is watching and caring” about them. For example, during a focus group interview, Mr. Matsumoto expressed: It is important to repeatedly tell [children who were recently placed in care], as if we apply autosuggestion, “This is a place where you can be at anshin. Everyone is watching (mite-iru) you.” .â•›.â•›. We could tell them more [explicitly], “Here [the institution] is [your] Ibasho. You can be at anshin here.â•›.â•›.â•›. When you do wrong, we will scold you, but you [will be 1 When “miru” (variations: mite, mite-morau, etc.) was used as a form of care, it was coded as synonymous with mimamoru. The term mimamoru (verb) [mimamori (noun), mimamotte (verb-conjugation), mimamorareru (passive), etc.] is a combination of miru (watch) and mamoru (protect) in Chinese characters. The term “miru” itself can imply “take care” or “attend to,” depending on the context.

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valued] as you are. We will be watching you attentively (chanto miteiru). It’s okay to get angry. It’s okay to laugh. This is your place.

During an individual interview, Ms. Nishino described supporting children’s sense of anshin through the practice of mimamori: I think children have desperate needs for stability, and peace, and calmness. They engage in a variety of limit testing behaviors and interact with me/us with high tension, but when I am watching over (mimamotte-iru) them with a calm heart/mind (odayakana kokoro), I find the children are anshin.

Some adults also described mimamori as supporting children’s development by helping them create Ibasho in their “hearts and minds (kokoro).” Children with maltreatment histories who subsequently experienced mimamori were sometimes characterized as displaying more positive developmental outcomes. For example, Ms. Miyata described a child who did not have contact with her parents, but maintained a positive relationship since infancy with a nonrelative adult woman who sent letters and cards and occasionally visited the institution during special events. The worker described that when a child has an adult about whom he/ she can feel, “[This person] is watching (mite-kureru) only me,” that person may serve as the child’s “source of emotional support,” or “Ibasho in his/her heart and mind (kokoro no Ibasho),” and the child will develop relatively well. Adults also described changes in their practice of mimamori as children develop. Younger children still require a significant amount of direct care, but older children benefit from less direct guidance by adults. Although they may continue to interact frequently with older children, adults initiate fewer interactions with them than with younger children. For example, a female care worker, Ms. Kubota, who had worked with preschoolers and currently was working with boys, explained: Preschoolers’ lives are primarily within the houses, and care workers help them develop [proper] lifestyle though helping them eat meals, doing toilet training, changing clothes, and playing with them. Those were the main things. But older children, particularly boys, regarding playing with them, I can’t be a playmate. Children [even] say, “Because you are not a good player, we won’t let you join.” So, although I’m not their mother, [like a mother], I take the position of mimamori. Also, in daily lives, older children can eat [and so forth] by themselves. I respond to what children request of me. So, [my roles toward preschoolers and older boys are] totally different.

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Although participants described mimamori as part of supporting maltreated children’s Ibasho creation, mimamori was not viewed by the participants as an intervention or strategy specifically for children’s Ibasho creation or for maltreated children. Rather, mimamori was embedded in their way of life from childhood through adulthood and supported their development, for example, of self-confidence. As described in Chapter 4, some workers discussed their family homes as their childhood Ibasho. They related their own experiences of being watched over (mimamorareru) to feeling protected, cared for, and supported. For example, Ms. Kubota described her childhood Ibasho: Home. Parents were my primary Ibasho. With that base, then, I had friends.â•›.â•›.â•›. I would say, I was protected. I do not live with [my parents] anymore, so there is no deep connection [with them now.] But, I have been taught many things by my parents, been assisted when something happened to me, and .â•›.â•›. I have been watched over (mite-moratte-kita) until I became able to live with self-confidence. I strongly feel as though I have been loved, and I am here now.

Participants also described their current experiences of mimamorareru (being watched over) as adults. For example, when asked whether she felt that she had her Ibasho at the workplace, Ms. Kimura described her experiences of mimamorareru by her senior work partner who also gave her the freedom to try her own ways of working with children. I enjoy [the work] a lot. I’ve been paired with Mr. Abe since last year .â•›.â•›. I had not expected to be paired with a worker who is more than 10 years my senior. So I thought that I had to learn a lot from this person. He watches over (mimamotte) me, and lets me do things. He encourages, “Let’s try, let’s try.”.â•›.â•›. He helps me to grow, and respects my way as well.â•›.â•›.â•›.

Mimamori Supports an Ecology for Ibasho Creation Adults described their role in children’s Ibasho creation as largely indirect, that is, as creating a supportive social and emotional context. Rather than implementing concrete activities for supporting children’s Ibasho creation, participants preferred more subtle, indirect socialization practices, especially mimamori. Several participants repeatedly emphasized the importance of “watching over children very carefully” (shikkari miru), “deeply thinking about children” and “emotionally committing” to children. For example, Mr. Watanabe, the senior boys’ worker with fifteen years of experience, resisted the request to articulate specific activities to support

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children’s Ibasho creation. He argued that Ibasho is not something that can be achieved directly through particular adult-directed activities aimed at Ibasho creation. When asked to elaborate, he replied: It is a difficult question to answer.â•›.â•›.â•›. [I]t is important to interact with children in natural [genuine] ways, and have relationships with children where both workers and children are not too sensitive about each other. In order to understand what children think and desire and to understand how they are feeling, workers have to interact with children on a deeper level and from many aspects.

When asked, “What would be necessary to continue supporting children’s Ibasho?” he said, “.â•›.â•›. I think that the workers’ emotional commitment (kimochi) to the child is all.” He believed that if workers support children’s anshin and their development of trusting relationships, while reflecting on their practice and improving its quality, then children will “live with a smile” and naturally find their Ibasho. The implicit and indirect nature of mimamori also was reflected by the difficulty participants had when asked to discuss how they might support children’s Ibasho creation, particularly to plan some concrete activities. For example: Sachiko:╇ What would you do [to help children’s Ibasho creation]? Are there any concrete ideas about what you would like to do? Ms. Ito:╇ I don’t know if it is concrete or not, but as I said many times, I would work [in a way that] each child can behave in an unrestrained manner at the girls’ house as a whole. Sachiko:╇ In order for the children to be able to behave in an unrestrained manner, what activities would you do? Ms. Ito:╇ I would give them a feeling of anshin that we are watching (miteiru) each one of the children.

Although her descriptions of activities became slightly more concrete in responding to the researcher’s repeated questions, no specific action plan emerged. The concrete activities described by some workers were not directed specifically at individual children’s behavior, but were more indirect and involved providing children with opportunities for participation, contribution to the group, and self-expression. For example, several adults discussed group-oriented activities to enrich the activities of kodomo-kai. Kodomokai are child-initiated meetings and events (typically supported by adults) common in Japanese schools, institutions, and communities. Children meet as a group to plan and implement events, discuss any concerns, and

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find resolutions within the group. Children at the Children’s Academy had monthly kodomo-kai. Adults mimamoru(ed) these meetings and events, supporting children’s assumption of roles and responsibilities, self-expression, and sense of contribution to others. These experiences were valued by adults as supporting children’s increased autonomy, self-esteem, and sense of belonging. Another group-oriented activity was planting fruit trees. Ms. Nishino, a senior boys’ worker, expressed her hopes that through planting and growing trees, and harvesting and sharing fruits, children would cooperate and increase their omoiyari (kind consideration and willingness to help others). Even if some children damaged the garden or some of the trees did not grow properly, Ms. Nishino planned to show omoiyari to children by helping them fix the garden, thereby nurturing children’s omoiyari through her example. Several boys, including Kenta, Tetsuya, and Masaru, and a few girls helped Ms. Nishino plant the trees. Children took responsibility for completing the task, including clearing equipment away after planting. Ms. Nishino explained that when adults share their interests with children, they provide them with opportunities to energetically develop and engage in activities of interest. Mimamori at Multiple Ecological Levels Adults described mimamori at multiple ecological levels. Individual Child In intervening with individual children with histories of maltreatment, adults stressed the importance of developing good adult-child relationships through building trust and showing children acceptance, rather than merely trying to control and correct perceived problem behaviors and/or promote certain skills. Adults believed that trusting adults and feeling accepted facilitates children’s anshin within the institution and at school. Institution staff members described many maltreated children as mistrustful of adults. One staff member in Study 1 explained that she tries to make and then keep many small promises because the accumulation of every experience of not being “betrayed” is needed for children to restore their trust in adults. Both institution staff members and educators also addressed misbehavior. One junior high school teacher who emphasized acceptance also underscored the importance of correcting children’s problem behaviors. If left unchecked, problem behaviors can compromise a child’s relationships and lead to loss of Ibasho at school. Institution staff members also described

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scolding children to help them develop their social skills and ensure that they live peacefully together. When behavior problems arise, educators recommended waiting and giving children time to calm down. A junior high school teacher explained her practice of watching not as “surveillance,” but as an act done “carefully and with compassion.” Mimamori was contrasted with the typically negatively valued socialization practice of supervision or surveillance (kanshi), that is, critically watching over as an authority figure to suppress inappropriate behavior. Although workers generally expressed a clear preference for indirect socialization practices, several did recognize situations in which appropriate mimamori required more active strategies. Some workers, including Mr. Watanabe, explained that when a child is first placed in care from a maltreating home environment and does not trust others, adults might explicitly state, “You can be at anshin here,” or “We will listen to you [talk about] anything.” Several other workers even argued that in certain situations, adults should actively support children’s Ibasho creation, including through more concrete activities. They argued that for many children who have experienced maltreatment, Ibasho will not necessarily emerge just “naturally” or “automatically,” but may require the active efforts of the workers. For example, Mr. Tanaka, the social worker, reported targeted activities in the form of case management to support the Ibasho creation of a maltreated high school-aged girl who had adjustment problems both within the institution and at school. Peer Groups Adults viewed mimamori as helping children become functioning members of peer groups, which also was viewed as important to their Ibasho creation. Through the practice of mimamori, adults allow children to have some autonomy, take on responsibilities, develop group cohesiveness, and learn to resolve interpersonal problems as part of the peer group. Promoting acceptance among peers was prioritized for the good of the child and the entire group. An educator described: At the beginning of [the school year], classmates always complained, “He did such and such, even though I didn’t do anything against him.” So, I said, “Wait a minute. Don’t you think he displays such behavior because you don’t do anything (nice) to him?” [The student replied] “Yes, you might be right. We have avoided him and not talked to him friendly.” [I said], “Why don’t you stop avoiding him?” After that, we made various efforts (to decrease his behavior problems and increase his positive peer interactions). Although it was not an easy way to go,

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at the end [of the school year], the class strongly united, thanks to the student being in the class .â•›.â•›.

Adults emphasized group activities to facilitate peer relationships. For example, Japanese elementary schools employ many group, as well as whole class, activities to foster peer relations and cooperation among students. Facilitating recreational activities using a weekly class meeting hour is a common practice of Japanese elementary school educators. In addition, many teachers facilitate whole-class recreational activities during a twentyminute recess to allow students to know and help each other through play. Allowing children to assume roles that meaningfully contribute to the group was emphasized by both educators and institutional staff members. As one teacher explained: I want to do class management in ways that each student has opportunities to develop self-confidence, through assigning him/her a small role. It can be a group leader. I want them to feel that they made an effort.

Other ways in which adults facilitated children’s contributions to the peer group were through sports events and club activities. A girls’ worker (Ms. Ito) encouraged girls to work cooperatively with peers to accomplish a goal by joining sports clubs at school. Regardless of whether they were good at sports, she believed that accomplishing something with their peers was important. She believed that a sense of accomplishment with peers would make children feel good, and that these experiences of working together would be important, even if they experienced conflicts in the process. Both educators and institution staff members also emphasized the importance of allowing children to resolve their own conflicts. Adults’ mimamori often was described in these contexts. Adults described watching over (mimamoru) children while refraining from “excessive intervening.” The aim was to create opportunities for the children to resolve disputes themselves, which also was viewed as important to their Ibasho creation. Through the practice of mimamori, adults allow children to have some autonomy, take on responsibilities, and develop group cohesiveness. For example, adults expressed the belief that children must experience interpersonal problems to learn to resolve them as part of the peer group. In particularly difficult situations, teachers described coaching the classmates of a maltreated child. One teacher of second grade described: Well, some students complain, “He (maltreated child) doesn’t listen to me.” I say to the students, “Tell him in this way [so he will listen]. If nothing works, I’ll talk to him. So, don’t worry.”

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Similarly, a female girls’ worker (Ms. Yoshioka) described: When children are discussing/talking about problems, even while they are angry, I mimamoru it, even though [they talk] in a violent voice. When the situation is getting worse, like, [they] start talking about many different past incidents, or when I feel a tense atmosphere like, [the children are] apt to physically attack others with objects, then, I promptly intervene.

School-Institution Collaboration Both educators and institution staff emphasized the importance of collaboration to support children’s Ibasho creation. Institution staff members described frequent contacts with schools to develop a mutual understanding and to help children better adjust at school. Staff members and elementary school special education class teachers have frequent exchanges. Staff members regularly attend parent-teacher conferences, school events, and any occasion where their children have difficulties at school. School teachers visit institutions at the beginning of each school year and are always invited for events at the institutions; for example, several educators from the children’s schools were present at both institutions’ Christmas events. In addition, every year a staff member from the Dream Home provides a lecture on child care institutions at school. Collaboration between the institution and schools was viewed as “thickening” mimamori, that is, expanding the extent to which and contexts in which a child experiences adults’ mimamori. For example, Mr. Tanaka described in an individual interview a maltreated child who had adapted well within the institution but was struggling at school. He believed that the school needed to rearrange its environment to better support the child: As [the social worker], when I coordinate [help improve] the school environment, I believe that the institution and school need to make immediate responses cooperatively [when a problem occurs]. [Other adults] also understand and respond [to an issue]. Accumulation of these responses leads to the thickness of mimamomori for maltreated children and children who have adjustment problems.

Institution staff members reported that when they ask for help from teachers, they typically ask the teachers to mimamoru a child rather than providing concrete or specific requests for intervention. Ms. Okazaki commented: About children whose problems are clear, it is easy to support, or talk with teachers, like, within the special education class, .â•›.â•›. but for other

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children, I ask [teachers] for mimamori without requesting concretely, “Please do this, please do that.”

In addition, institution staff expected school teachers to arrange environments around the children as much as possible instead of trying a “quick fix” of the children. For example, workers described a fourth-grade boy, Tetsuya, to Sachiko during the follow-up period. The institution contacted school teachers and child guidance center staff to better support him at school. School teachers had trouble dealing with Tetsuya’s behavior problems and asked the institution to consider medication. Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Nishino described that the institution staff members did not agree with the teachers’ assessment because they did not observe major problems within the institution. The workers wanted the school to arrange school environments in ways that Tetsuya could better adjust to school. They believed that medication would not resolve the problem. The institution and school, including a play therapist, had multiple conferences for him. Before the conferences, Tetsuya was informed that the adults would meet to discuss how to support him so that he used less physical violence in interacting with his peers. Ms. Nishino described that such collaborative work with related agencies to support children can be considered as Ibasho creation for them, and it would help create places at which children can “breathe easily.” Community Institution staff members also mimamoru(ed) children’s Ibasho creation in the community. Some argued that children have insufficient social experiences outside of the institutions, and hence many are not prepared for adult life. Staff members provided opportunities for children to interact with community members; for example, they allowed children to play with peers in the community and at the institution. Indeed, children in the community often come to play with their friends in the institutions. Adults also encourage children to participate in activities held outside of the institution. For example, when an upper elementary school-aged boy, Naoki, showed hesitance in participating in a “Junior Life Saving Training” held in the city, to which several boys from the institution were invited, his care worker asked him why he did not want to participate. Naoki confessed that he only had school uniform swimming trunks, which he thought looked funny. The worker decided to buy a pair of swimming trunks for him, so that the boy could participate without feeling embarrassed in front of his peers from the community. The worker discussed that if he had not probed the reasons for the boy’s hesitance, the boy would have missed the opportunity

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to participate in activities in the community. The worker’s attention to the child’s feelings seemed to be the key in encouraging his social participation in the community. Institution staff members also described cooperating with community members to thicken mimamori. The understanding of parents in the community is viewed as important for children’s school adjustment and relationships between peers. Institution staff members described taking major roles in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), accompanying young children to preschool and interacting with parents and preschool teachers. Educators described the importance of increasing the understanding among parents of other students so they may support maltreated children who live in institutions or who display behavioral problems. A junior high school teacher explained that some parents are prejudiced against children who live in the child care institution and even instruct their children not to play with them. One elementary school teacher described being helped by a mother handle such a difficult situation. In Japan, schools periodically hold classwide parent-teacher conferences. All parents are invited to the classwide conference where parents and class teachers discuss school events and any concerns. One teacher described a boy who had been abused by his grandparents and had serious behavioral and learning problems. The child lived at home with his parents. Parents of the boys’ classmates asked the class teacher to have a classwide parent-teacher conference. The teacher was afraid that the mother of the boy might be targeted and criticized in the conference. A mother of the boy’s classmate, however, talked earnestly about how important it is that others understand the challenges of raising a child with disabilities. Other parents, apparently, were quite moved by the meeting and subsequently showed greater acceptance of the boy and his parents. The teacher said that the student still sends him seasonal greeting cards even several years after graduation. Challenges to Successful Mimamori and the Importance of Long-Term Mimamori Despite the apparent preference for mimamori, participants also identified a lack of mutual trust and emotional warmth as impeding the successful mimamori of some children with maltreatment histories. Not only were maltreated children often viewed as lacking trusting relationships with others, but some adults expressed difficulties trusting and providing consistent, warm, emotional commitment to some children who displayed many problem behaviors. For example, at the time the Study 2 interviews were

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conducted, some workers were having particular difficulties in working with several adolescent girls. Ms. Sasaki described one such girl: [The girl] was placed here [several months ago]. We provide her with a private bedroom, send her to school, secure her housing, food, and clothing, and interact with her in ways that would facilitate her adjustment to the life here. But, staff members become emotionally embroiled in her aggressiveness and excessive dependency, and sometimes have difficulty in interacting with her gently and with an open mind (sunao-ni).

Despite the significant challenges, many participants emphasized the importance of adults’ unconditional and consistent mimamori to children with maltreatment histories. They believed that such practices eventually help these children develop a sense of anshin, develop trusting relationships with others, and find their Ibasho within the institution. Several of our study participants argued that it takes time for some maltreated children to accept institutional life and to find their Ibasho. As Mr. Watanabe explained, “There is no way to be able to find Ibasho in a day or in a minute. Time is necessary.” In discussing the challenges of their work with institutionalized, maltreated children, adults focused on the centrality of their relationships with children in creating a sense of security. Some workers described the importance of the institution serving as a “safe base,” and “a saucer (ukezara)”; that is, a place where they will be “held” and not “flow down” to insecure places. According to Ms. Kubota, in this context, children can be at anshin and think, “I can go out [do well outside of the institution] because I have this place [the institution].” To create such a saucer and a safe base for children, adults focus on their relationships with children. At the heart of these efforts is adults’ kimochi, their own emotional commitments. During focus group discussions, adults described the importance of directly communicating these commitments to children, including a sincere desire to support them and belief in their innate strength to live and grow. Adults’ kimochi also must be demonstrated through actions: repeatedly talking with children, including during conflicts and difficult behavior, helping them with their difficulties, and encouraging their plans for a positive future. Adults addressed relationship building with children as their primary professional responsibility, not the children’s. They underscored the importance of behaving with professionalism, self-control, and awareness of how children may interpret their remarks. They believed that to work with children effectively, support and collaboration among workers were critical. Adults emphasize the importance of vigorous discussions at staff

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meetings even if this creates clashes of opinion. Through such discussions, even if uncomfortable, they come to accept and understand each other. It is important to develop good relationships between workers where workers are not too sensitive about each other, have their own Ibasho, and the workplace is a place where they can work with a sense of anshin. When workers experience the institution as their Ibasho, children also will feel a sense of anshin. Also fundamental to adults’ relationship building with children is the sharing of information with one another and shared understanding about children, so that children can feel that all adults in their houses understand them. Although workers should help each other, the worker who is in charge of the child has the final responsibility to make decisions, so that the child will develop an understanding that “this person is the one on whom I can rely.”

observations of everyday mimamori at the institution Direct observations of everyday life at the institution also suggested that mimamori is primarily an indirect socialization strategy unless children have specific problems, and that mimamori is thickened through collaboration with schools. Adults’ activities of mimamori observed during fieldwork can be described primarily as unobtrusive supervision and direction, often in the form of suggestions. In addition, adults arranged other important aspects of the physical and social ecologies that may facilitate children’s Ibasho creation. For example, the playground seemed to have a significant role in children’s Ibasho creation, particularly among boys. It provided open space in which children could engage in free activities, typically group activities that facilitate cooperation and experience mimamori, as adults watched them play from the roofed passages, providing guidance and suggestions when necessary. Adults also were observed to mimamoru children through their physical ecologies. For example, all houses were furnished with the same set of furniture and cooking devices (e.g., a rice cooker, a toaster, and a microwave), but some materials could be purchased at the discretion of the care workers. A girls’ worker asked at the morning staff meeting if she could purchase rush mats in the living rooms at girls’ houses because the existing ones were not suitable for the summer season and were becoming dirty. Her request was accepted without objection and the girls’ houses got new rush mats. A few days later when Sachiko visited the girls’ houses, girls were sitting at ease on the rush mats in the living rooms. The physical ecology of

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the girls’ house appeared to facilitate children’s enjoyable interactions with their friends. When serious and persistent problems were observed, adults’ mimamori included a combination of indirect and more concrete and direct interventions. For example, a serious conflict emerged between seven-year-old Hiroshi and thirteen-year-old Kenta. Hiroshi became angry and ran after Kenta with a cooking knife. He then threw the knife on the dining table, damaging it. This level of violence was highly unusual, and Kenta reported the incident to the care worker, Ms. Nishino, who reported on it at a staff meeting. The care worker discussed how she encouraged all of the boys in the house to resolve the problem themselves and regain harmony: I said to the boys, “I know that today is Hiroshi’s birthday, but I do not want to have a party. What do you think?” The boys were generous. They decorated the birthday cake (with whipped cream), and put little candles on it. Then, [a high school boy] brought the cake close to Hiroshi so that he could blow them out.

Workers described Hiroshi as having inadequate social skills, and he was frequently observed during participant observation as having difficulties interacting with his peers. Ms. Nishino suggested that through the children’s “generous” decision to have the party, the boys, both those who were involved in the fight and those who were not, showed acceptance of Hiroshi and normalized the relationships within the house. Hiroshi’s difficulties, including conflicts with peers, were sufficiently severe that concrete interventions also were implemented as part of adults’ mimamori. During the follow-up period, Ms. Nishino described the collaboration of care workers and school teachers as well as the implementation of play therapy to improve Hiroshi’s ability to play cooperatively with peers and general social skills. The worker commented, “He didn’t seem to have his Ibasho [when you were here in summer], did he? Since we are watching him carefully (kiwotsukete miru younishiteiru), he is doing better now.” Indeed, subsequent participant observation revealed fewer peer conflicts and more cooperative play. In addition to their daily routine, adults’ mimamori was observed on a number of special occasions including the institution’s summer camp, summer festival, and sports tournaments held with other child care institutions. Adults believed that these events facilitate children’s Ibasho creation because they provide children with a variety of opportunities to enhance their sense of belonging within the institution by allowing them to assume roles and work toward shared goals with their housemates. Although these

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events were, to some extent, planned by adults, adults encouraged children as much as possible to take the initiative to plan, organize, and implement them. Adults then supported children’s activities indirectly through mimamoru. For example, children enjoyed a variety of recreational activities during their annual visit to a lakeside campground. In addition, they helped with cooking, serving, and cleaning up at meals. With the assistance of care workers, children planned and led recreational programs. Adults’ roles were to mimamoru the children who were running the program, while providing any necessary support.

ayako: mimamori and a child’s emerging ibasho creation Ayako’s case illustrates how a caring and supportive social ecology, including adults’ long-term mimamori, allowed a young girl to develop trusting relationships with adults and to develop her Ibasho within the institution. Before entering care at age fifteen, Ayako experienced an absence of Ibasho at home where she did not feel safe, understood, or accepted. The direct reason for Ayako’s placement was that her father, who physically and sexually abused her, hit her face with a bat and burned her hair with a lighter after a disagreement about her high school entrance examination. Initially, Ayako struggled to develop trust in the adults at the Children’ Academy. She also experienced rejection from her friends at school. In discussion of an absence of Ibasho during the interview, Ayako expressed, “When I am worrying about something, and people do not understand me, then I feel, ‘Why don’t they understand me!?’” Ayako’s struggles were reflected in various behavioral problems including stealing in the community and engaging in a sexual relationship with an adult man. Ayako’s care workers soon became exhausted in dealing with her many problems, and the child guidance center staff considered moving her to a more restrictive institution. The institution head, however, intervened, expressing his wishes to keep Ayako at the Children’s Academy and optimism that, with patience and mimamori, Ayako would adjust to life at the institution. Ayako’s behavior problems persisted and six months after entering the Children’s Academy, she was suspended temporarily from school because of disrespectful conduct toward a teacher whom she had angrily accused of not helping her in a conflict with her peers. Although Ayako apologized, she was suspended and when she returned, the peer problems remained unresolved. Ayako dropped out of high school before finishing her first year. This action was viewed by the adults in her life as very unfortunate.

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Ayako not only expressed academic motivation, especially in mathematics, but she also performed well. She ranked in the upper third of her class on her midterm exams and expressed her desire to get an even higher rank on her final exams. Despite many difficulties, Ayako also experienced some success and enjoyment during this first tumultuous year in care. For example, during the institution’s three-day-long summer trip to a lakeside camping ground, Ayako was observed chatting with peers and taking care of young children. At the summer festival of the institution, where people in the community as well as parents and relatives of the resident children visited, she sold food with staff members, and had friends who visited, and with whom she discussed her new part-time job. Ayako also volunteered during her suspension period from school at the infant care institution. In addition, she went to cheer several boys from the Children’s Academy who were participating in a Fall sports tournament held with other child care institutions. By the end of her first year in care, some positive changes were apparent. Ayako seemed to begin forming her Ibasho at the institution after several critical incidents in which she argued with and/or became physically aggressive toward staff members. In one incident, her conversation with a male worker was interrupted by a phone call. Ayako interpreted this interruption as the worker’s lack of care for her, became furious, and physically attacked him. The worker stopped her physical aggression and patiently communicated with her until she calmed down. Afterward, Ayako directed dependent, child-like behavior toward the worker; for example, she asked him to carry her. He responded to these behaviors in a sensitive but firm manner. The worker interpreted Ayako’s display of aggression and subsequent childlike behaviors as, “I think she wanted to be fully accepted.” Ayako became increasingly open with this worker and even asked him to sit and listen to her before she fell asleep. She became open to her female care workers as well. In addition, Ayako entered and enjoyed another high school. As workers explained; “Time was needed and timing also was important in order to make Ayako feel that she was accepted,” and “The accumulation of solid everyday interactions, or perhaps trust relationships [was critical].” Follow-up At the follow-up period three years later, Ayako was still living at the Children’s Academy. She was busy working part time and attending school, where she was an honor student and preparing for college. Her plan was to become a child care worker. One year later, Ayako graduated from high

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school and entered college. According to staff members, Ayako was receiving a government-sponsored scholarship for her college tuition, government financial support until she turns twenty, and was living independently in an apartment owned by the Children’s Academy.

conclusion In our research, adults worked to create supportive social and physical ecologies through multilevel interventions to facilitate children’s Ibasho creation. They believed that successful mimamori is possible only within mutually trusting and accepting relationships and adults’ Â�emotional warmth. Like Ibasho, mimamori also was viewed as developmental. It was embedded in participants’ way of life from childhood through adulthood and supported their development, including of self-confidence. Adults’ activities of mimamori observed during fieldwork can be described Â�primarily as unobtrusive supervision and direction, often in the form of suggestions; however, when serious and persistent problems were observed, adults’ mimamori included a combination of indirect and more concrete and direct interventions. Despite the apparent preference for mimamori, participants also identified a lack of mutual trust and emotional warmth as impeding the successful mimamori of some maltreated children. Yet, many participants still emphasized that it is important to provide unconditional and consistent mimamori with deep emotional commitment to maltreated children. They believed that such practices eventually help these children develop a sense of anshin, develop trusting relationships with others, and find their Ibasho within the institution. Ayako’s case illustrates how a caring and supportive social ecology, including adults’ long-term mimamori, allowed a young girl to develop trusting relationships with adults and to develop her Ibasho within the institution. In Chapter 7, we will focus on children’s experiences of Ibasho and mimamori.

7 Children’s Lives and Experiences of Ibasho and Mimamori

Children playing at the Children’s Academy

Our visit to the institution today began with individual meetings with several child care workers whom we asked to tell us about their work. I was struck by how much of their discussions revolved around descriptions of relationship building with children, and the sensitive consideration of their emotional needs. Mr. Watanabe expressed his primary goal as to “live” with the children, naturally, as if they were at home. He told a funny story in which he arrived at the institution dressed up for an appointment later in the day. The boys in his care, noting his suit, 117

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asked him if he were “going to work today.” As we visited the preschool children’s living quarters with the social worker, Mr. Tanaka, most children seemed very busy and at home: playing with toys, looking at books, writing, and interacting with caregivers. Many children looked up from their activities to affectionately greet Mr. Tanaka, and soon he was seated on the floor with several children on his lap. Wendy’s field note

In Chapters 4–6, we focused primarily on adults’ perspectives of maltreated children: their developmental goals for children including Ibasho creation, perspectives on impediments to Ibasho creation, and socialization practices such as mimamori that may support children’s Ibasho creation. Observations, such as Wendy’s opening field note excerpt, reflect caregivers’ efforts to create a context in which children may feel at home in the institution. They focus on children’s relationships, emotional needs, and self-expression. Understanding Ibasho, however, also requires careful examination of children’s own experiences and perspectives. According to Hujitake (2000), when one identifies a place as “This very place is mine,” and feels peacefulness, stability, satisfaction, belonging, and security there, only then does that place become Ibasho. A growing body of empirical research in the United States presents the perspectives of youth in foster care and their caregivers (e.g., Andersson, 1999; Messing, 2006; Samuels & Pryce, 2008). A close-up consideration of these perspectives, including the contexts in which children feel a sense of care and belonging, can provide important insights into child welfare practices and policies that may support children’s psychological and social well-being (e.g., Andersson, 1999; Messing, 2006). This chapter begins by describing children’s lives at the Children’s Academy beginning with the physical ecology and typical weekday schedules and seasonal events. Then, it elaborates on the experiences of the children drawing on interviews with nine children who participated in Study 2, participant observation, record reviews, and a case study.

children’s lives Physical Ecology The Children’s Academy is located in an urban, residential area within walking distance of multiple train stations and close to commercial, business, and governmental office areas. The public elementary school and a junior high school children from this institution attend also are located within walking distance.

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Infa

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figure 7.1.╇ The Children’s Academy.

The Children’s Academy has three multistory buildings on its campus (See Figure 7.1). There is one building for the infant care institution and two buildings for the child care institution; a main building with administrative offices, playrooms, and a gym; and a children’s residential building. These three buildings are connected to each other with roofed passages, but the child care and infant institutions each have their own administrative head and are run independently. Some staff members have work experience at both the infant and child care institutions. Unless they leave the institution, children experience in-house institutional transitions: from infant to child care; and within child care, from preschool to school age. Children who leave the institution typically are reunited with their family members, but a small number of them may leave to live with foster families. There are some rare cases where older children and adolescents with serious behavioral and/or criminal problems are transferred to more restrictive institutions. Children live in residential buildings, the structure of which is similar to Japanese apartment complexes (See Figure 7.2). Approximately forty school-aged children and adolescents live with eight workers in four housing units, and twenty-four preschool-aged children live with eight workers in four housing units. For school-aged children and adolescents, houses are segregated by gender. Boys’ houses are on the first and second floors of the residential building, and girls’ houses are on the second and third floors. Entrances to the boys’ houses are on the first floor, and girls’ are on the second floor, so boys and girls cannot enter each others’ houses. Within

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Third Floor Bed room

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figure 7.2.╇ Floor plans.

boys’ and girls’ houses, however, one can go from house to house without going outside. Children can go out onto verandas from the second floor of the boys’ houses and the third floor of the girls’ houses where one can get a beautiful view of the city. In addition, there is an outdoor swimming pool on the third floor, opposite the girls’ house, which is available to all

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children in the institution and children from a neighborhood kindergarten. Preschoolers’ houses are on the first floor of the residential building, opposite the boys’ houses. Each house includes a living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms. There is a staff room between the two houses that can be entered from either side. Elementary school-aged children share their bedrooms with one to three other children, depending on their ages. Each child has his/her own bed, desk, and dresser. Some junior high school-aged or older children have private bedrooms on the upper floors of each house. One study room is on the upper floor of each boys’ and girls’ house. Children use the study rooms typically when university student volunteers come to tutor them. Most meals are prepared by dietitians and delivered to each house. To make children’s lives feel more homelike, care workers warm delivered meals in the kitchen at each house and prepare parts of the meals, such as steamed rice. In addition, once a month there is a “home cooking day” when children and their care workers cook in each house. The main building of the institution houses the community service center, an indoor gym, a conference room, and counseling rooms. The community service center is on the first floor of the main building. There is a reception counter, a lounge, and a playroom. The director of the community service center serves as the receptionist of the entire Children’s Academy and greets all who enter. Resident children often spend time after school at the lounge next to the reception counter. Parents who come to visit their children and/or care workers stop here first and the director informs care workers of their arrival. Staff members sometimes talk with the director when they pass the reception counter on their way to the offices on the second floor. A playroom is adjacent to the reception counter. Both resident children and children from the community may use this room during after school hours and weekends. There are toys and books in the room. Elementary school-aged children are the most frequent users of this room. The first floor of the main building also includes a music room, which doubles as a chapel. The Children’s Academy is supported by a denomination of the Christian church. Because Christianity is not a major religion in Japanese society, most resident children and their family members are not Christian. Children are referred to this institution from the government-run child guidance center, not because of their religion but because of the space availability and location. In addition, adults do not have to be Christian to be employed by this institution. The gym is on the second floor of the main building, adjacent to the administrative offices. The gym is open to both resident children and

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children from the community who regularly play there after school. Children can play basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and other ball games. This room is used as a hall when the institution holds lectures and events, to which people from the community may come. The playground is surrounded by the main building, the infant care institution, and the children’s residential building. Typically, boys play baseball or soccer here. People can watch children playing at the playground from the roofed passages that connect the main building, the infant care institution, and the residential building. Daily Routines and Seasonal Events Schedule Weekday routines start before 7:00 a.m. and tend to be very busy as children dress for school, pack their school bags, and eat breakfast before leaving for school at 7:50 a.m. If necessary, caregivers remind children of items they needed to pack for that day. Occasionally, care workers send children back to their rooms to change into more appropriate clothing, for example, to put on warmer clothes. Junior high- and some high school-aged children bring lunch prepared by the dietitians to school. Elementary school-aged children are provided with lunch at school. The elementary school is within a five-minute walk of the institution, and the junior high school is within twenty minutes. High school-aged boys’ and girls’ schedules vary, depending on the types of schools they attend: regular day-time high schools, evening classes, correspondence courses, and vocational schools. Students who attend regular day-time high schools leave home earlier and commute by train. Some adolescents work at part-time jobs during the day and attend classes in the evening. Older preschool-aged children (ages four to six) attend a local kindergarten located just behind the institution’s campus. One care worker walks the children to the kindergarten in the morning and picks them up in the early afternoon. Preschool workers sometimes take children to hospitals or medical clinics in the community during morning hours. When time allows, preschool workers take children to parks or shopping in the community in afternoon hours or on weekends. Staff members have a brief meeting every day at 9:30 a.m. in an office room in the main building of the institution. Care workers from the night shift, one of the dietitians, the family social worker, and the institution head attend these meetings. In the morning staff meetings, care workers provide brief thirty- to forty-five-minute reports and comment on the previous

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day’s dinner menu to the dietitian. Reports may include children’s home visitation, plans to attend a teacher-guardian conference at school, and a care worker’s discussion with a child’s case worker at the child guidance center. When any concerns or incidents such as children’s shoplifting or fighting arise, those issues also are reported. Information about events in the community that children can attend also is shared. Staff members also hold monthly staff meetings and case conferences. With few exceptions, all care workers attend these meetings. Younger elementary school-aged children return from school at approximately 3:00 p.m. When they return home in the afternoon, they find snacks waiting for them at their seats at the dining table. Care workers then check and help children with their homework. They typically suggest that children finish their homework, clean up their rooms, and prepare for the next day before going to play. When they do not have particular problems or concerns, children often enjoy their free time in activities of their own choice. Many boys enjoy playing sports outside, but some remain in their houses. The atmosphere in the houses often is quite lively in the afternoon as children practice instruments, sing, watch TV, and talk. During this free time, most care workers are tolerant of children’s noise or laziness. Dinner time is at 6:00 p.m. In each house, approximately ten children and one care worker eat dinner together at the dining table. Typically, children are called after the table has been set by care workers. Occasionally, children are asked to help, and in this way allowed to contribute to the group. Each child has his/her own seat, chopsticks, and cup. “My seat, my chopsticks, my cup .â•›.â•›.” Possessing “their own” can be one of the minimum requirements for children to find their Ibasho within the institution. In a relaxing atmosphere, children and care workers seem to enjoy informal conversation at dinner. Occasionally children are scolded for talking too much and told to finish eating. High school students often join later because they sometimes came home late. Bath time is after dinner. University student volunteers visit some children for tutoring in the evening hours. Children receive special attention on their birthdays. The dinner menu is chosen based on the child’s preference, and housemates share a birthday cake. On birthdays, children are usually cheerful and eager to help decorate the birthday cake. On his birthday, Masaru was quite talkative at dinner. After enjoying the dinner, he lay down on the living room floor and dozed off for a while. Meanwhile, several children helped decorate a birthday cake with whipped cream and prepared for the party. It was a peaceful scene to observe.

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Nighttime presents a unique opportunity for care workers to provide children with individual attention that would be difficult during busy days. When there are no particular problems or incidents, care workers are able to respond flexibly to each child’s requests. For example, a girl asked her care worker to co-sleep with her. The worker responded to her by spending some time beside her. Another boy liked his care worker to lie beside him in the evening and read. In this context, the boy was relaxed and talked about private matters, such as his mother, which he did not discuss during the day when other boys were around. One evening, a worker allowed an ardent fan to watch the Brazil vs. Japan World Cup soccer match that began at midnight Japan time. The worker had the boy go to bed at 8:00 p.m. and woke him up at midnight. The boy went back to bed at 2:00 a.m., got up at the regular time, and went to school. On weekends, some children visit parents, relatives, or foster families whereas others remain at the institution. The frequency of home visitation varies. Among those who have home visitations, some may visit overnight from Friday evening to Sunday, but others may just go out with their parents for several hours. Seasonal and Other Special Activities Seasonal and other special activities appear to contribute to children’s enjoyment of life at the institution and connection to the larger community. Children are often invited to events held in the community or in the city. For example, some organizations provide free tickets (e.g., a music concert) for children living in child care institutions. During the research period, a neighborhood Shinto shrine invited all children in the community to their summer festival, and a number of children from the Children’s Academy attended. On another occasion, several boys went sea fishing. In addition, the Children’s Academy holds a number of seasonal events and cultural festivals attended by community members including resident children’s parents, siblings, relatives, friends, school teachers, and neighbors. Chorus A small group of nine children, mostly girls, in first through eighth grade, participated in the Children’s Academy chorus under the direction of a music teacher hired by the community service center. Children practiced a few times a month, and during the summer visited a community day service center to sing songs to elderly people. They also performed a song in a city concert. The main performer of the city concert was a jazz musician who was an alumnus of a child care institution. Regardless of their skills,

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participating in the chorus seemed to be an enjoyable experience for many children and a way of expressing themselves and receiving encouragement from others. Sports Tournaments Many children also participated in regional or prefecture-wide sports tournaments held several times a year by child care institutions. Participation in sports tournaments involved much special preparation and support from adults. Well before these tournaments, younger care workers and volunteer staff members eagerly coached children’s teams. By preparing for and holding these events, adults tried to enhance children’s development and well-being, and possibly a sense of Ibasho within the institution and in the community. Sports tournaments were good opportunities for children to express themselves and, cheered by their housemates, they may have felt good, regardless of whether or not they won. These events also were important social occasions as children became acquainted with children living in other institutions, and children who had lived in multiple child care institutions met old friends from their previous placements. Such opportunities to interact with children living in other institutions can decrease any sense of social alienation children may experience. Over a four-month period during Study 2, The Children’s Academy participated in a table tennis tournament, a volleyball tournament, and a soccer tournament. Both boys and girls, ranging in age from early elementary school to high school, played in a table tennis tournament. A care worker drove a group of children to a nearby sports center where children from more than ten child care institutions competed in the games or cheered their peers. The games started at 9:00 a.m. and continued until around 3:00 p.m. Children ate box lunches prepared by the dietitians from the Children’s Academy. Care workers from the participating institutions served as judges. Some institutions had their own placards and banners. Children from the Children’s Academy wore their school’s sports uniforms, whereas children from some of the other institutions had sports uniforms from their institutions. Upper-grade elementary school- and junior high school- age girls played in the volleyball tournament. The leader of the girls’ workers served as a manager and cheered. Although they did not win the tournament, the Children’s Academy won a “fighting spirit award.” All of the girls, and some boys who went to cheer, were taken to a restaurant for a celebration meal as a gift by the institution head. Elementary- and junior high school- age boys played in the soccer tournament. A staff member, delighted by the team’s second-place prize, sent

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Sachiko a picture of the children after the game. The picture was not only of the players, but also included several girls who went to cheer. The staff member wrote that he thought the children had gained a sense of belonging by playing as a team, and cheering for their peers. The Star Festival Early in July, children throughout Japan celebrate the Star Festival (Tanabata). The Star Festival is one of the annual traditional celebrations that started in ancient Japan. The origin of the festival is a mixture of Chinese custom and Japanese indigenous mythology. In the Children’s Academy, children in each house decorated a bamboo branch. They wrote their wishes on strips of colored paper and tied them to the bamboo leaves. Although the Star Festival was a minor event compared with other holidays such as Christmas, it was enjoyable for the children and a good opportunity to experience a cultural practice. Participation in the Star Festival also allowed children to express openly their desires and true wishes and have them read by care workers and housemates. For example, one young boy wrote, “I wish my mother could clear off her debts.” “I wish Grandfather will get over his illness.” Regardless of whether or not the wishes were realistic, others’ understanding of them may soothe children’s loneliness and other feelings of loss. Summer Camp Every summer, all children, from preschoolers to high school-aged adolescents, as well as care workers, dietitians, several other staff members at the Children’s Academy, volunteers and trainees go on a three-day trip to a lakeside campground. Most of the younger children travel the two to three hours by microbus, but several junior and senior high school-age children accompanied by adults travel by train. Traveling by public transportation is an important skill necessary to function in Japan, and institutionalized children have fewer opportunities than those living with their families to acquire it. Traveling to the campgrounds by train was viewed as one small step toward integration into the larger society€– that is, securing Ibasho in the broader Japanese society. At the campgrounds, children enjoyed swimming and fishing in the lake, a camp fire, fireworks, a variety of recreational programs, and barbecue, among other things. Children slept in cabins or tents, and most seemed eager to help with cooking, serving, and cleaning up at meals. Older children took care of the younger ones. Junior- and senior high school-aged boys barbequed for everyone: hard, hot work, but they seemed to enjoy it. With the assistance of care workers, children planned and led recreational

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programs. Older children took important roles in those activities. For example, junior- and senior high school-aged boys led recreational activities held around a camp fire. They sang, danced, and led games that involved everyone from young children to adults. It was fun and the boys did an excellent job. Later, care workers spoke well of the boys for their good performance in running the recreational activities. Overall, the summer camp appeared to be an enjoyable experience for many children. The summer camp was intended to provide children with opportunities to have fun as a group, to take on roles and responsibilities, and to gain confidence. Such experiences were intended to help children develop a sense of belonging as members of the Children’s Academy. Those experiences also may have served as important parts of achieving a sense of Ibasho at the Children’s Academy. Summer Festival In late August, the Children’s Academy also held a Summer Festival at the playground for several hours in the early evening. Preschool- and some Â�lower-grade elementary school-aged children performed a dance, elementary school-aged children played Japanese drums, and older boys sang songs on the front stage. Some older boys and girls also sold drinks and food with staff members. For example, Ayako sold bowls of shaved ice with syrup (a typical summer sweet in Japan) with a staff member. There were lottery and garage sale corners as well. Many girls wore yukata (an informal cotton kimono). More than 150 people, including resident children’s parents, siblings, relatives, friends, school teachers, and people from the community, came to the festival. Friends of high school-aged girls visited them. A father came to see his young elementary school-aged daughter before the festival started. A grandmother met her high school-aged grandson at a bench in the main building where they talked privately apart from the noisy, crowded playground. The Summer Festival may contribute to the development of children’s Ibasho in the community, particularly for children who had specific roles at the festival, and who had visitors. The accumulation of many positive experiences at multiple events may help them develop their overall sense of Ibasho at the Children’s Academy. Christmas Event The Christmas event may be one of the biggest events at the Children’s Academy. Both staff members and children start preparing for the event more than a month in advance. On the evening of December 25, many people including resident children’s parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, and people from the community attend the event. The gym is packed with

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resident children and guests. Preschool- to junior high school-aged children sing and perform dramas. Several community adults’ groups also participate in the event, for example, singing in choirs. Most high school-aged youth who do not perform also attend the event and watch their housemates’ plays. When leaving the institution after the event, guests receive small thank-you gifts made by the resident children.

children’s experience of ibasho creation Places During individual interviews, all children identified places where they felt comfortable and/or relieved within the institution. Children’s Ibasho included private (e.g., bedrooms) and public (e.g., playground) spaces. Although some older children emphasized private spaces, most children described spaces where they enjoyed peer relationships and the presence of caring, understanding, and trustworthy adults. Children also emphasized spaces where they had the opportunity and motivation to engage in activities of their own choosing, be that quietly reading Manga (graphic novels) at the community center or enjoying a boisterous game of soccer with friends. Bedrooms Having their own private spaces was important for Ibasho creation for many children. High school- and most junior high school-aged children had private bedrooms. Elementary school- and junior high school-aged children who shared bedrooms had their own desks, beds, drawers, and shelves. Children’s rooms were individualized with decorations and personal items of their own choosing reflecting their tastes and interests. Although a sense of belonging and free self-expression within a group are important factors to Ibasho creation, people also need private space in which they can feel relieved or regain “selfness” by separating from others, or by sharing the space only with those with whom they are very close, such as family members (Hujitake, 2000). Many children, including all participant girls, identified their rooms as their Ibasho. Children described their rooms as places where they felt comfortable and enjoyed relaxing, for example, playing or drawing with a roommate. Older girls often spent time alone in their bedrooms with the doors closed. Fifteen-year-old Kaori described feeling most relieved in her own room where she created her “own world” and enjoyed “places where I can be surrounded by my favorite things.” Her room was filled with Manga, dolls, CDs, and fashion accessories that she had purchased at discount

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stores. Several older children described their rooms as private spaces where they could read books, listen to music, or just calm down. For example, fifteen-year-old Ayako described the activities she enjoyed in her Ibasho, “.â•›.â•›. most of the time listening to music, while cleaning up the room, or Â�laying down on the bed.” The importance of bedrooms to children also was apparent when Â�children changed or rearranged rooms. For example, four elementary school-aged girls divided their large bedroom in half by putting dressers down the middle. Although some girls had trouble putting things in order, all seemed very pleased with their new spaces as they arranged books, school supplies, toys, and other materials. After they settled down, two of the girls, who were close friends, played together in their room with the door closed. When Sachiko knocked on the door and entered their room, they were contentedly drawing pictures.

A boy’s private bedroom at the Children’s Academy

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Living Room Several girls also identified the living room as their Ibasho where they enjoyed watching TV with friends or solitary activities such as reading. In the late afternoon, upper-grade elementary school- and junior high schoolaged girls enjoyed watching a TV drama in their living rooms. Typically, three to four girls got together and watched the drama, laying or sitting quietly in a relaxed posture, some dozing off while watching. The drama was set in a high school and captured many aspects of urban high school life (e.g., friendships, bullying, violence, romantic relationships, teacherstudent relationships) to which the older girls seemed to relate. Younger girls played elsewhere or, when they remained in the TV area, often did other things (e.g., reading). When the younger girls were noisy (e.g., played musical instruments), they were reprimanded by the older girls and told to play in other rooms. Consequently, the TV area in each girls’ house during the afternoon TV drama hour became several older girls’ space. Although care workers may have been in and out of the living rooms, they did not interfere with the girls. Although they were watching a TV drama, watching TV may or may not have been the main purpose for the gathering. The significance may have been that a group of girls who befriended each other collectively created a space in the living rooms where they could spend time together. To secure a quiet, comfortable space, they occasionally excluded younger girls. One’s Ibasho could emerge in such specific areas during specific time periods, and Ibasho creation may involve the exclusion of people around whom one does not want to be. Playground and Gym Typical daily interactions between boys often involved sports with male housemates. Most boys identified as their Ibasho the playground or gym where they played sports such as baseball and soccer with other boys, regardless of their skills or ages. Boys, in ages ranging from lower-grade elementary school to junior high school, often played baseball together on the playground. Older boys typically were easy on younger boys, for example, pitching slowly to them. Adults occasionally watched children’s play and sometimes were invited to join games. Typically, boys enjoyed their autonomy in interacting with peers and directing those games. The playground and gym also seemed to be good places for some children to share their lives within the Children’s Academy with their parents. For example, in July, a father of a boy and a girl who lived in the Children’s Academy frequently visited the institution. The siblings were going to be

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reunited with the father, so he often came to the institution to discuss with staff members their reunification. Before and after such discussions, the father liked to watch his son and other boys playing sports on the playground. Understanding his son’s current state of Ibasho might have helped the father better understand his son and create a new Ibasho together at home. Around the Houses Although not as large as the playground, the open space around the residential building allowed children from different groups (preschoolers, boys and girls) to interact with each other. These daily interactions, particularly between school-aged children and preschoolers, may have helped older children develop nurturing attitudes toward younger children, and help preschoolers feel as if they were being safely mimamoru(ed) by “big brothers and sisters.” Indeed, school-aged children typically try not to hurt or frighten preschool children. For example, when school-aged boys played catch in the passage, they were careful not to throw the ball at young children, even though boys and girls were sometimes quite aggressive when they teased each other. In addition, participant observation revealed that older children knew how to mimamoru others and sometimes practiced it with younger children. For example, when a schoolaged boy was standing on a wall, another child (Sanae) warned him, “Don’t do that. Preschoolers are watching you. [They might try to imitate your dangerous acts.]” The presence of nurturing relationships between younger and older children may help them collaboratively create a safe space within their lives. There are a variety of other outdoor spaces enjoyed by children. There is a passage in front of the residential building that leads to a back gate of the institution. At the end of the passage is a sandbox and a playground slide. Preschoolers can ride tricycles in the roofed passage between the main building and the residential building, and the passage to the back gate. Boys and girls sometimes chat in front of the residential building or at the passage to the back gate. Boys can also play catch there. There were some other empty spaces around the buildings enjoyed by children. For example, when a staff member showed Sachiko around the institution at the beginning of the research, he explained that children liked to play in hiding places such as behind the building. In fact, a lower-grade elementary school-aged girl once asked Sachiko to play with her on the outside (emergency) stairs of the main building and in other places people seldom use.

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There were several other communal places within the institution identified as their Ibasho by individual children. Although adults may have been present in these communal spaces, children were allowed to interact and freely choose their activities. For example, Ayako identified the veranda of the house as her favorite place where she appreciated the privacy. Small Courtyard The two boys’ houses form a U-shape around a small, central courtyard. Boys enter the courtyard through sliding glass doors in a shared room connecting the two houses. Boys kept small crabs and crayfish in an aquarium. In addition, a boys’ worker grew tomatoes in a pot. Boys occasionally helped her water them and looked forward to harvesting them. It was a very small space, and not all boys may have been interested in these small pets and plants. However, the courtyard seemed to be meaningful to some boys who liked to grow plants and to observe and possibly play with small creatures. Open spaces, whatever their size, were seen as helpful in supporting children’s engagement in various activities and interests. The courtyard alone may not have had a significant effect on boys’ creation of their Ibasho within the Children’s Academy, but it could have served as a part of the process. The Lounge at the Community Service Center The community service center had important roles for children at the Children’s Academy and was identified as a refuge by some. The lounge was open to children after school hours except when adult visitors were present. There was a dining table, chairs, a sofa, and two shelves in the room. Some books and toys were stored on the shelves. Cold barley tea was always available for children. Boys and girls were not allowed to enter each others’ houses, so the community service center was a good place for them to play together. Boys and girls sometimes played card games together. Some girls, as well as boys, read Manga (graphic novels) on the sofa. The community service center also was a place where children could be away from their care workers. Regardless of whether or not they liked them, children sometimes wanted to escape from their care workers, who represent parent figures. Community Places Several children also identified favorite places within the community, for example, shops that sell materials related to their various hobbies. Ten-yearold Daisuke sometimes visited his friend’s home. Kaori claimed that she always had her Ibasho: “Even when there is no Ibasho at school, I will visit my friends, go to [favorite shops], or visit an acquaintance near the train

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station. I never thought that I was lacking Ibasho.” Ayako liked to gather with her friends at a restaurant, as well as go to the river near her school. Autonomy and Social Roles The opportunity to engage in autonomous activities and pursue personal interests also seemed critical to children’s Ibasho creation. For example, Kenta’s mild cerebral palsy prevented him from fully participating in sports with his peers. Because he also enjoyed playing the piano and singing, he was given access to a piano and allowed to participate in the Children’s Academy chorus. Kenta liked to be alone when playing the piano because he “cannot concentrate when others are around.” Although ten-year-old Takao and Daisuke enjoyed playing sports with their housemates, they often could be found sitting next to each other at the community service center, each reading his own book. Older children also enjoyed autonomy in expanding their everyday social experiences outside of the institution, and their activities were more independent and attached to people outside of the institution than those of younger children. For example, Masaru Â�voluntarily joined a sports club in the community after entering high school, taking an opportunity to expand his world. Supported by trusting relationships with care workers, some children apparently enjoyed the opportunity to assume responsible roles helping workers and contributing to the group. For example, when his care worker was busy, Masaru helped set the table for dinner and serve meals, adjusting the amount of food served to each child: “Tokuchan (first grade) doesn’t eat much. So, maybe two pieces are enough. Yakkun and Satosan (high schoolers) need a lot.” When his care worker thanked Masaru, he looked quite satisfied with his contribution. In addition, a boys’ worker reported to Sachiko that she asked Kenta, age fourteen, if he wanted to help wash dishes, and prepare the steamed rice. Other boys were skeptical and said, “Can you do it?” The worker said to the boys, “Kenta was the one who did everything yesterday. He washed and cooked the rice that you ate yesterday.” The worker believed that the successful experience the day before allowed Kenta to feel confident and accept the requested role. Peer Relationships Within their Ibasho, children typically described positive relationships with peers and enjoyment within peer groups. For example, fourteen-year-old Ryohei described as most comfortable “[t]he circumstances in which I play

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with everyone [his housemates within the institution]. ” Daisuke described, “When there is no fighting/arguing and (I am) playing with peers” as most enjoyable and anshin. On the other hand, when she was, “[i]gnored by people (classmates) who used to be my best friends,” Ayako lost her Ibasho and motivation to go to school. Other descriptions of the absence of Ibasho included “being bullied” (Kaori) and “being alone” (Daisuke). Relationships with Adults Care workers The presence of caring and trustworthy adults also was viewed as important for children’s Ibasho creation. Asked if they had favorite adults within the institution, several children named their care workers. One particular care worker was identified as the favorite adult of all participant boys because they could, as fourteen-year-old Masaru described, “trust” and “rely on” him. Four of the five boys agreed that, “It is fun to be with him.” Ten-year-old Daisuke said that he liked his care worker partly because the worker stayed with the boys when they played sports such as soccer, and also because “[h]e leads me in the right direction by letting me know when [I am not following the rules of the boys’ house].” Male care workers often coached or played sports with boys and often could be seen during their free time with a group of boys on the playground, especially when preparing for the soccer tournament. Playing with young, energetic boys could be tiresome for workers, but still they seemed to enjoy it. Care workers believed it was a way to show their commitment to the boys. During such play, boys called the workers by their nicknames and enjoyed being with them. Care workers also communicated their sincere interest and care for children’s concerns and their future through clear, open communication and the sharing of information with children. For example, at dinner, a care worker explained to boys the differences between weekend/seasonal foster families and foster families. CW:╇ Today, Masaki is staying out [home visitation]. You know Kazuhiko and Lisa have left the Children’s Academy. Those who leave here typically return to their parents’ home or live with foster parents. The foster parents that most of you think about may be seasonal foster parents, but there are other types of foster parents. (Turning to Daisuke) I explained to you the differences, didn’t I? D:╇ (Nods) (A foster family had recently been identified with whom this boy might live in the near future. He was going to visit them to see if they were a good match.)

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Other boy:╇ What do you mean by different types of foster parents? CW:╇ : You could actually live with the foster parents until you become 18. Young boy:╇ Then, come back [to the institution]? CW:╇ No, you wouldn’t. You and your foster parents would talk and decide [whether you remain there or not] after you become 18.

Although foster care services (similar to those in the United States) are rarely available in Japan, care workers try to find ones for children who are not likely to be reunited with their parents or relatives in the future. As in the preceding example, they share this information with all the children. Children living in child care institutions also have to experience multiple and relatively frequent new acquaintances and separation from peers within the institutions. These disruptions in relationships occur even when children remain in the same institutions. To support children in coping with such disruptions, care workers openly discussed with children where their peers were going when they left the institution. Peers also had the opportunity to comment, which can be important for those children who were preparing to leave. Other staff members The distinct roles taken by non-care worker staff members also supported children’s Ibasho creation. For example, community service center staff members were available and listened to children, but took less authoritative or supervisory roles than did caregivers. Even when they knew a girl was in trouble with her care worker, adults interacted with her as if they knew nothing. The director said that although she sometimes heard children speak badly of their peers or care workers, she usually did not interfere with them. Consequently, some boys and girls seemed to feel freer to express themselves to the director than to their care workers. Several children identified a staff member at the community service center as their favorite adult. Kaori liked “everything about her,” as opposed to her care worker, who was “sometimes annoying.” Kaori often spent time after school at the center. There were several Anime magazines there, and she sometimes asked the worker to make photocopies of those magazines for her. Several other children also chatted there, and complained about their peers or care workers to her. The worker listened to them without making any particular comments. Family relationships Ongoing family relationships also may affect children’s Ibasho creation at the institution. The extent to which parents remain in contact with and supportive of their children can facilitate children’s adjustment to care. Several

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children shared anxiety regarding home visitations with their parents, relatives, or weekend/seasonal foster parents. Some parents or foster parents failed to pick children up as promised, causing children much anxiety. Children were very aware of their housemates’ situations and were careful with their interactions and communications. For example, at 4:00 p.m., Hiroshi (second grade) was loitering around the institution carrying his backpack and waiting for his foster mother to pick him up. At 6:00 p.m., looking anxious, he came back into the house while the others were eating dinner. An older boy invited him, “Why don’t you wait here [with us at dinner table]?” Another boy who felt that joining them might make Hiroshi sadder warned the boy who invited Hiroshi, “Don’t say that. It is pity.” Instead of joining the dinner, Hiroshi waited in his room. (His dinner had not been prepared because he was supposed to be at the foster home that evening.) Around 7:00 p.m., the door bell rang, and his foster mother said, “I’m sorry to be so late!” A care worker called Hiroshi, and he ran to his foster mother. The other boys did not make any particular remarks but seemed relieved. Sharing similar experiences might have created sympathetic relationships among the boys.

kaori: a young girl’s emerging ibasho In Search of a Relaxing/Comfortable (Ochitsuku) Place Being able to relax and be comfortable (ochitsuku) was one of the major components of Ibasho identified by the adult participants, and this sentiment was echoes by fifteen-year-old Kaori. She defined Ibasho as “a favorite place” and described that the place where she felt most relieved was in her bedroom, surrounded by her favorite things, as described in the following excerpt from Sachiko’s fieldnotes: When I interviewed Kaori, her care worker suggested that we meet in a guest room at the residential building. Typically, the guest room was used for visitors of resident children for privacy. The room was on the second floor, next to girls’ houses. It was several days before the summer festival, and a lot of the materials that were prepared for the festival were kept in the room. There was a big sheet of paper with fireworks drawn on it lying on the floor. Kaori came into the guest room and complained, “I cannot get comfortable (ochitsukanai) here. I do not want to talk in a place where I cannot be comfortable (ochitsukanai).” Since she refused so firmly, we decided to find another place to conduct the interview. We went to the main building to see if the guestroom was available. Unfortunately, that room was occupied. Another small office was open. We entered the room

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to find materials for the festival scattered on the floor in this room as well. The room felt like a storage space. I asked Kaori if we could start interviewing. Again, she said she didn’t want to talk in a place where she was not comfortable (ochicukiani). She also refused to be audio-recorded and appeared to be in a bad mood. We returned back to the girls’ house and Kaori said she wanted to talk in her room. I asked a care worker if we could conduct the interview in Kaori’s room, and Kaori asked the worker if the door could be locked during the interview. We ran into Ayako, who was Kaori’s neighbor, in front of Kaori’s room. Kaori shut the door saying, “I am on business.” Her room was filled with Mangas, dolls, CDs and accessories that she had purchased at discount stores. Accessories (e.g., necklaces) were hung to decorate the wall. She turned on a boom box stereo and sat on her bed, while I sat on her chair. I asked her if I could record the interview. Kaori refused, saying, “I’m in puberty.” Since Kaori did not allow me to audio-record the interview, I took notes.

Kaori’s case suggests that children may experience Ibasho creation as reflecting and possibly contributing to a process of gradual recovery and adjustment. Over time, Kaori showed gradual improvement in social and emotional well-being in care. Parental neglect came to the attention of the child guidance center when Kaori, age ten, was caught by police loitering outside late at night. At that time, her meals were irregular, and her parents were often out of the home. Her mother had a large debt and worked at night. Kaori was physically abused by her stepfather. There also was a reported sexual abuse incident by an unknown adult man when she was six years old. Kaori’s negative self-image was apparent when she was placed in care at the age of ten. At this time, she described herself as, “the same as roaches,”, did not have friends, and was bullied at school. Kaori, however, experienced her life within the institution as generally supportive. As she adjusted to her life there, she gained maturity and autonomy, began to form close friendships with peers both within and outside of the institution, developed relationships with favorite adults within the institution, discovered favorite places in the community, and began to enjoy school. By age fifteen, Kaori appeared confident to “be as she was”; that is, she was comfortable enough with herself that she no longer worried so much about fitting in and others’ perceptions. She was comfortable enjoying her own interests, such as playing with dolls and reading Anime magazines within the institution, even though she was aware that her age mates would not play with dolls and her tastes were different from others. Kaori was not good at academics, and physical education€– swimming in particular€– was a source of intimidation for her in junior high school.

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After entering a vocational school, Kaori felt more freedom in school and enjoyed practical training that interested her. Moreover, she developed her own sense of style and was complimented by her favorite adult at the Â�community service center on her fashion sense. Kaori also expressed spontaneously an interest in helping others: If there is a kid who does not have Ibasho, I would like to create Ibasho for her. Since I have experienced bullying, I will befriend the person who is bullied. If the kid likes Anime, I will say, “If you died, (a character of the Anime) will grieve. Let’s find friends who like Anime.” I don’t like to be betrayed. So, I will not betray others.

Kaori’s comments are consistent with adults’ beliefs that Ibasho creation can be a corrective experience for maltreated children, and that, as a care worker described, “A child who has a place, about which he/she can say, ‘I have here, this place,’ can calm down” and function well in multiple Â�settings such as school and the institution. Follow-up At age eighteen, Kaori graduated from a vocational school and left the Children’s Academy. According to staff, Kaori lives near her mother’s home and is working at a store. When Sachiko visited the institution’s summer festival in the fifth year of our research program, Kaori was observed visiting the institution, meeting and chatting with her former housemates.

conclusion Each of the maltreated children in the current study identified contexts within the Japanese child care institution as his/her Ibasho. They experienced Ibasho creation in private (e.g., bedrooms) and social (e.g., the playground) contexts where they felt comfortable, relieved, and enjoyed positive relationships with peers or trustworthy, caring, and understanding adults. Within this Ibasho, children enjoyed opportunities to contribute to the group and exercise autonomy by engaging in activities of their own choosing. In Chapter 8, we continue our analysis of Ibasho creation focusing on the beliefs and practices of Mr. Watanabe, an active participant and senior boys’ worker.

8 Mr. Watanabe’s Responses to the Intervention

Children and adults from the Children’s Academy enjoying recreational activities at their overnight summer camp

Sanae was placed in care in infancy and had almost no contact with her parents. At age 11, she was often physically aggressive with boys, and had relatively problematic relationships with female peers. During participant observation, Sanae’s behavior sometimes appeared out-of-control, for example, she hit the wall and swore without any apparent provocation. During the summer camp, however, when Sanae had the opportunity to contribute to others, she behaved in a mature and responsible manner. 139

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She led recreational activities as a member of Kodomo-kai within the institution, carefully organized the activities so that they went well, voluntarily helped to serve meals and clean up tables, and took care of preschool-aged children. During the summer camp, no aggressive behavior from Sanae was observed. Afterwards, Mr. Tanaka who mimamuru (ed) children during the camp remarked to me, “She did a great job. Sanae demonstrated good leadership. She is growing up to be a nice girl.” Sachiko’s field note

This chapter focuses on this third aim of Study 2: to collaborate with institution staff to enhance support of children’s Ibasho creation through a modest intervention. Following participation in the focus groups, adults were invited to implement some of the ideas they had discussed. This intervention, however, was not fully implemented. We will illustrate the challenges of the intervention and resulting insights through the case of Mr. Watanabe. Mr. Watanabe€– an energetic, early-middle-aged man€– has been in charge of boys for more than a decade. Despite his many duties, he often makes time to play with boys on the playground or within the house. He can be very strict with unruly children, but frequently jokes, and children enjoy being with him. Mr. Watanabe was critical of our attempts to support children’s Ibasho creation through specific plans and activities. This clash of perspectives, however inconvenient at the time, provided an invaluable opportunity to make explicit assumptions about Ibasho creation that otherwise may have remained implicit. Mr. Watanabe believed that adults’ role in children’s Ibasho creation is indirect. He viewed children as autonomous, competent, and responsible for their own Ibasho creation. If adults take good care of children, develop relationships with them, and create opportunities for them to have roles within the group, then children will create their Ibasho. For example, Sanae struggled to find her Ibasho within the institution where she sometimes felt bored and listless. Although adults were well aware of Sanae’s struggles, they did not directly target her Ibasho creation. Rather, they provided Sanae with opportunities to contribute to the group. Under these circumstances, she was highly successful, and such opportunities may have secured her Ibasho at the summer camp. Although Mr. Watanabe is not necessarily “typical” of adult participants, he is an important case for several reasons. First, Mr. Watanabe was one of the most active and articulate research participants and provided rich descriptions over a period of five years. Second, he was not explicitly aware of Ibasho-related issues at the beginning of the research, but over time

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articulated heretofore implicit beliefs. Third, he challenged Sachiko’s thinking because his understanding of Ibasho was somewhat dissimilar to hers. Sometimes his remarks even sounded contradictory and confusing to her. Through the clarification of his remarks and member checking, we were able to deepen our understanding of Ibasho and expand on our own understanding of the complexity of providing support for maltreated children’s Ibasho creation. Lastly, Mr. Watanabe’s remarks and activities were very influential to his colleagues. At the time Study 2 started, he was in his fifteenth year at the Children’s Academy, and was the most experienced boys’ worker. He also had been serving as the leader of boys’ workers. This position entails participating in regular meetings with leaders from the girls’ and preschoolers’ houses to discuss shared concerns, administrative issues, and events. In addition, Mr. Watanabe was officially assigned a position of “chief child guidance worker” within the Children’s Academy. This position requires him to take more responsibility for broader organizational issues and supervision of junior workers. Although this chapter focuses on Mr. Watanabe, other workers also will be described to capture how Mr. Watanabe influenced them, as well as some of the individual variation in participants’ understanding of children’s Ibasho creation. This chapter draws primarily on participant observation, Mr. Watanabe’s remarks during individual interviews and focus group sessions, as well as his written responses to the questions provided to him for the purpose of clarification and member checking.

emerging awareness of ibasho and the role of adults in supporting children’s ibasho creation Mr. Watanabe viewed his participation in the research project as a “learning opportunity” and time to reflect on his practice. He commented at the end of the first interview: I think it is difficult to capture [the concept of] Ibasho. Ibasho is important, but people understand and feel it in different places. So, there would be no simple answer. I would like to learn and take advantage of this interview.

Although the primary purpose of initial interviews with adult participants was to hear their views on Ibasho rather than to teach new ideas or to suggest particular activities, we did anticipate that participation in the interviews would increase participants’ explicit awareness of a concept that often remains implicit in many Japanese cultural beliefs and practices. Because

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Sachiko did not “teach” anything, any changes in participants’ awareness or understanding were derived from their own self-reflections and discussions that were triggered by the interview questions. As expected, Mr. Watanabe reported an increased awareness of his own understanding of the concept of Ibasho through participating in the initial interview and over the next six months. At the end of the first interview, he commented: Mr. W:╇ .â•›.â•›. It is a good learning experience for me. I:╇ Is it? Does this [interview] make you think about something? Mr. W:╇ If we are not asked, we would not think about these things. We don’t think so deeply in our everyday lives.â•›.â•›.â•›. I think this is a very good opportunity.

Over the course of the study, Mr. Watanabe articulated his previously implicit understanding of Ibasho as a place in which one has a sense of anshin (safe, secure, relieved, etc.), which changes over time and with development, and which adults may indirectly support through good child care. As he further discussed Ibasho, Mr. Watanabe noted that his practice with children indirectly supported children’s Ibasho creation. In addition, his understanding of Ibasho seemed to reflect his practice wisdom or his beliefs about how workers should interact with children. His understanding of Ibasho reflected the nature of Ibasho that changes overtime and development. An increase in Mr. Watanabe’s explicit awareness of the concept of Ibasho was apparent as he reflected on his own remarks, correcting and clarifying previous statements. When first asked whether and how care workers could support children’s Ibasho creation, Mr. Watanabe said that there was nothing he could do, especially to support children’s Ibasho creation outside of the institution such as at school. He valued Ibasho creation but viewed it as something children would find on their own. Mr. Watanabe described: I want every child to have his/her Ibasho outside of the institution. I think they should. Either at school or at their own [parents’] home, or anywhere. For those who have their home [i.e., those who have parents or relatives], if they cannot find their Ibasho there, reunification will be difficult. I want them to make sure to have Ibasho outside of the institution. But [Ibasho] is not a place that workers can recommend to children. Ibasho is something children think about by themselves and workers can not be involved in.

Near the end of the interview, however, he corrected his prior statements: I think, in this interview, I said .â•›.â•›. workers cannot be involved in [children’s Ibasho creation]. But, we can. We can.

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He explained that although adults cannot directly suggest where and how children should find their Ibasho, they do indirectly advise and support children’s Ibasho creation by encouraging them to have various experiences outside of the institution. According to Mr. Watanabe, worldviews of children at the institution tend to be very narrow, and he wanted the children to see a variety of places outside of the institution. Mr. Watanabe believed that, as they widen their world, children will find their Ibasho more easily. Similarly, several other participants expressed increased awareness of children’s needs for Ibasho during the initial interviews. For example, Mr. Higuchi, who had said at the very beginning of the interview that he had never thought explicitly about children’s Ibasho while he was working, said as his final remark, “Although I am not [consciously] aware of [Ibasho], it does not mean Ibasho is not necessary. I think it would be a necessary place.” At the end of the interview, when Sachiko introduced focus group sessions that followed the individual interviews, he expressed his expectations of the focus group sessions: Mr. Higuchi:╇ [I look forward to the group sessions] because it would be an opportunity to hear about other staff members’ opinions. Great! The Children’s Academy is great! [Participation in this research project] will lead to the improvement of the level of [working standards] of staff members. Sachiko:╇ You think so? Mr. Higuchi:╇ [Yes,] if we could thoroughly discuss, raise awareness, and work with mutual understanding [among staff members].

Like Mr. Higuchi, some other workers also expressed appreciation at the opportunity to reflect on cultural beliefs that otherwise remain implicit. For example, Ms. Kubota also said at the beginning of the initial interview that she had never thought about Ibasho for herself or the children. At the end of the interview, however, she said, “To think [about Ibasho] is necessary. This was the first time that I thought about it, but I think Ibasho is important for children.” Mr. Watanabe’s own experiences and his practice wisdom concerning how care workers should interact with children and how the institution should serve the children were articulated as he considered the concept of Ibasho and struggled to capture his own beliefs more clearly. Many aspects of Ibasho that Mr. Watanabe described overlapped with what was most important to him as an individual and as a care worker. For example, he described Ibasho as a place where he could feel anshin, and he identified his home with his family members as his Ibasho. He also identified trusting relationships as an important aspect of Ibasho. What was most important

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for Mr. Watanabe when he worked with children was that “children can live with a smile,” and he believed that “the institution [should] substitute for their home,” where children could develop trusting relationships and feel anshin (safe/secure). Mr. Watanabe argued that in well-functioning families, parents and children lived together, sharing the same space “naturally.” Therefore, Mr. Watanabe interacted with children as “naturally” as possible without becoming too sensitive about how he interacts with them or how children might feel about his treatment. Also, he identified himself as a parent figure or as an adult who “lived” with those children, rather than merely “worked” with them. Mr. Watanabe stated that when those conditions were met, children would have their Ibasho at the Children’s Academy, although they may not be consciously aware of it. Mr. Watanabe’s comments also reflected his understanding that Ibasho creation changes with development. As a worker with school-aged boys, Mr. Watanabe focused on the children’s active engagement in their own Ibasho creation, in contrast to preschool workers’ tendency to focus on one-onone relationships between care workers and children. Mr. Watanabe said in a group session that care workers may have to provide spaces for infants and preschoolers so that they can feel relieved, because they may not be able to secure such spaces by themselves. He argued that as they grow up, however, children are able to think and explore by themselves, and workers should let children do these things on their own.

resistance to the idea of supporting children’s ibasho creation Although he described adults as indirectly supporting children’s Ibasho creation, Mr. Watanabe consistently resisted the idea of directly supporting children’s Ibasho creation. In his understanding, children’s Ibasho is, in part, a result of the good care they receive from adults, not adult-structured activities specifically meant for Ibasho creation. He believed that if they are properly cared for, children naturally will find their Ibasho on their own. During the second, third, and fourth focus group sessions, Mr. Watanabe’s resistance to the idea of directly supporting children’s Ibasho creation was clear and consistent. For example, he stated at the beginning of the second group session: I have not worked with consideration of Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. Basically, before now, now, and from now on, I will not work with consideration of Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. The foundation of children’s life is at the Children’s Academy, is the place where children can relax. Workers may indirectly serve to provide Ibasho for children through their interaction with them, however, I don’t think

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that workers are doing that intentionally.â•›.â•›.â•›. I don’t have any plans to change my work, and I will not take initiative to do things for Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. perhaps, I won’t do my job focusing on Ibasho.â•›.â•›.â•›. The center of my job is not [to support Ibasho creation].

Mr. Watanabe did not dispute the importance of Ibasho. He agreed that securing Ibasho was extremely important for both children and workers. He refused, however, to be actively involved in Ibasho creation for several reasons. As already described, Mr. Watanabe believed that children would find their Ibasho on their own, and therefore, children’s Ibasho creation is not the workers’ job. In addition, Mr. Watanabe believed that Ibasho was a place or a state that could only be achieved as children became familiar with a new environment, developed trusting relationships, and felt comfortable at the Children’s Academy. In other words, he did not believe that Ibasho was something that could be achieved intentionally through particular activities aimed at Ibasho creation. Further, he believed that if workers focused on particular activities, they could become negligent in carrying out other duties. For example, when he learned that participants of another group discussed specific activities such as child-initiated meetings and planting trees, Mr. Watanabe commented that workers should not rush into such activities and implied that they were not fulfilling their other duties. He was concerned that workers might apply the concept of Ibasho superficially. He believed that workers needed to reflect on their work and improve the quality of their current job, and that then children’s Ibasho creation would naturally and spontaneously emerge. Mr. Watanabe explained: If workers try to help children in ways that they can live with a smile and if workers live with them naturally, then that place will become children’s Ibasho naturally. As a result [retrospectively], it may mean that workers lead children to find their Ibasho.

So, Mr. Watanabe understood that if workers adequately nurtured children, then Ibasho would follow as a natural outcome. Ibasho reflects adequate care. Children’s ability to find their Ibasho is, in part, a result of the care they receive. There are several other workers who also resisted our requests to plan and implement activities to support Ibasho creation. Some workers resisted because they were already swamped with their work and had no capacity to think and implement additional work. For example, a worker described in a focus group session: The only thing I am concerned about is that everyone enjoys.â•›.â•›.â•›. Thinking about many things would confuse me. So, I only think about how to enjoy each day, everyday.

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Another worker expressed in a focus group session: I cannot work while thinking about Ibasho. My capacity is already full by [trying to] build relationships [with children], and dealing with incidents that occurred.

This worker resisted not only because she was too busy but also because she valued mimamori over direct involvement in children’s play: Children spend [their free time] differently depending on the days. Sometimes playing with their friends, or peers at the Children’s Academy, and sometimes enjoying solitary play. When I think that that moment is important for the child, I would not force them [to do particular things] and am watching over [mimamori] them while the child is playing alone. Mimamori is what I frequently do. I seldom initiate something to do for them. When there are particular concerns, I may invite the child to play, but I seldom take initiatives to do things [with children].

Influence on Other Participants Mr. Watanabe’s active and open participation in group sessions influenced other participants, particularly junior workers whom he encouraged to speak frankly. For example, with Mr. Watanabe’s support, a female worker was able to express very honest feelings about work relationships among her colleagues, including the limitations of a small residence system. Because girls’ workers typically discussed issues only within girls’ houses and not among other workers, she felt stifled and did not know where she could express her emotions. Girls’ workers talked frequently for long hours, but their discussion never involved any concrete care plans, and resolutions were rarely reached. In addition, she described a lack of solidarity among caregivers in working with children. That Mr. Watanabe’s and other senior workers’ opinions were influential was reflected in the apparently changed opinions expressed by junior workers. As described earlier, Mr. Watanabe argued that children would find their Ibasho on their own, and that he would not consider Ibasho in his work. On the other hand, Mr. Tanaka, the social worker, argued that supporting children’s Ibasho creation was an important part of his work. At the beginning of the second focus group session, a junior female worker said that she was sometimes aware of and concerned about children’s Ibashorelated issues. There were occasions that she thought that she needed to secure Ibasho for children. After she listened to Mr. Watanabe’s opinion, however, she said that her original thoughts might have been wrong. In

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the second group session with Mr. Tanaka, another junior female worker first said that she had not been aware of Ibasho-related issues and that she would not do anything to create Ibasho for children. After listening to Mr. Tanaka’s opinion, however, the female worker said that adults’ emotional commitment to help children develop interpersonal relationships would result in children’s Ibasho formation. This worker was in the group with Mr. Watanabe for the fourth session, and after listening to Mr. Watanabe, she said that there was nothing that she could think of in regard to supporting children’s Ibasho creation. Fundamentally, Mr. Watanabe and Mr. Tanaka shared the same value. Both believed that Ibasho was important for children, valued adults’ mimamori of children, and emphasized that improvement of their jobs and commitment to children were critical. However, their approaches to the concept of Ibasho or the concept of supporting children’s Ibasho creation were different. Mr. Tanaka believed that awareness of the importance of Ibasho helped workers improve their practice, because workers would become more attentive to the children’s needs and would help children, for example, in developing interpersonal relationships. He argued that the institution as a whole should serve as children’s Ibasho. Workers would become children’s Ibasho through the ways in which they talked with and mimamoru(ed) children. He believed that improvement of the children’s interpersonal relationships would be enabled through raising adults’ own awareness of the importance of children’s Ibasho. In a fourth group session that included Mr. Tanaka, there was a lively discussion about possible Ibasho support activities, including Kodomo-kai and planting trees, lasting more than two hours. On the other hand, Mr. Watanabe believed that too much focus on Ibasho would prevent workers from focusing on their daily practice that included careful mimamori of children. In another group in the fourth group session, Mr. Watanabe talked about his belief that Ibasho is not something adults could support in children through conscious, specific activities. After listening to his opinion, no one discussed activities related to Ibasho creation, and junior workers stopped talking about Ibasho-related issues altogether.

Active Utilization of the Sessions Participation in the research project for Mr. Watanabe was done not only to provide information for the research, but also to learn, to teach others, and to obtain inspiration for his future work. Although not our purpose, the digressions that ensured, for example, as Mr. Watanabe instructed junior workers

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provided an important glimpse into socialization beliefs and the institutional context. Mr. Watanabe told Sachiko that he had intentionally led the discussion to teach junior workers how they should work with children and with their colleagues, and to encourage them to practice expressing themselves in group settings. Mr. Watanabe found that small group discussions like the ones that participants experienced in this research project could be effective and efficient, and therefore, used for some of their work-related tasks. In the second session, Mr. Watanabe and a senior boys’ worker (Ms. Nishino) described for the young girls’ worker how they worked together as a pair, and how the four boys’ workers support each other in the two boys’ houses. They also talked about how care workers should interact with and raise children. For example, the senior female worker emphasized the importance of “facing children” and possibly having conflicts with them. By “facing children” she meant firmly correcting children when they misbehaved. She believed that children would perceive such scolding as a form of care. Through such confrontations, trust relationships between care workers and children would emerge. The female worker also said that female workers and male workers scolded children differently, and thus she and Mr. Watanabe took on different roles. Mr. Watanabe agreed. He said that he took a father’s roles, and she took a mother’s roles for resident children. He also explained that workers have conflicts, but that they accept each other and understand their differences. He told the junior female worker that if he paired with her, he would not expect her to work in the same way as he did, but in ways that supported him: [I expect you to] ask me, “I’m doing it this way. How would you [Mr. Watanabe] do?” Then, I would say, “I’ll do this way. Is that okay for you?” We would confirm each other. By doing so, any pairs [two people] will be able to work well together .â•›.â•›.

The two senior workers also told the junior worker about how they wished to have children raised at the institution. The senior female worker described an incident in which an elementary school-aged child was hit by a car. Several peers from the institution got in the ambulance with him. The emergency medical technician asked the children, “Are you family members?” A child replied, “No, but we are like family members.” Mr. Watanabe concluded: “It is important to raise and interact with children in a way that children can spontaneously express such things.” Not only because he was talkative, but also because he was sensitive and tried to keep the conversation rolling and avoid awkward silences,

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Mr. Watanabe talked frequently during the group sessions. On some occasions, however, he stopped talking and encouraged junior workers to share their opinions. In the third session after he had spoken for some time, Mr. Watanabe said to a junior worker, “If I continue speaking, I might speak endlessly, so say something. I’ll stop talking for a while. So, please say something.” Later, in the individual follow-up interview, Mr. Watanabe expressed a sense of responsibility as a leader. Since he was assigned a position as a chief child guidance worker earlier that year, he had to think about the entire institution and other staff members more holistically, not just about himself and the children. He had to provide advice to junior workers and even though they might not like it, he had to supervise them. Sometimes it was easier for Mr. Watanabe to do things by himself, but he also allocated work. He apologetically explained that he took advantage of and used the group sessions as an opportunity to talk to junior workers, even though the discussion topics digressed and it might have troubled or annoyed Sachiko. For example, at the time the research was conducted, workers at the Children’s Academy were preparing to develop a “Care Manual.” It was a big project that involved all staff members and the entire institution at the Children’s Academy. Mr. Watanabe was one of the people responsible. In regular monthly staff meetings and case conferences, staff members seldom participated in lively discussion. Only particular staff members, typically senior workers including Mr. Watanabe, talked while junior workers were quiet. At a meeting, Mr. Watanabe asked his colleagues for comments and questions about the development of the manual. There was no response. Later in the fourth group session, he complained about this and said that nobody had responded and expressed their ideas. Through participating in the research project, Mr. Watanabe thought that discussion in small groups might be more effective. By dividing staff members into several groups, he had members in each group take part in the development of the manual. Mr. Watanabe even expressed his hope that through the work in small groups with four to five group members, workers developed a sense of Ibasho at work in the groups.

practice wisdom and future directions Because Mr. Watanabe was not supportive of engaging in specific activities to support children’s Ibasho creation, he did not plan any activities with children to support their Ibasho creation. He did, however, repeatedly

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emphasize the importance of “watching over (mimamoru) children very carefully” and working with children and “deeply thinking about [emotionally committing to] children.” In the fourth group session, he argued that if workers sharpened their senses and watched children carefully during their regular work, children’s Ibasho would follow naturally. In his understanding, “even without knowing the word Ibasho, if workers truly think about the children, then their work will eventually help children to create their Ibasho.” Mr. Watanabe and several other adult participants in this research program emphasized the importance of watching over (mimamoru), thinking about, and emotionally committing to children. When Sachiko asked questions to clarify what he meant by “watching children carefully and thinking about children deeply,” Mr. Watanabe replied: It is a difficult question to answer. Although workers care about the children, it is important to interact with children in natural ways [not pretending], and having relationships with children where both workers and children are not too sensitive about each other (ki wo tsukawazu). In order to understand what children think and desire and to understand how they are feeling, workers have to interact with children on a deeper level and from many aspects. It would be impossible to know everything about the child, but it is important to know him/her as much as possible.

He never talked about specific skills or steps to take to support children. As the last question in the follow-up interview, Mr. Watanabe was asked, “What would be needed in order to continue supporting children’s Ibasho?” He replied, “It sounds an easy question, but it is actually a difficult question. I think that the workers’ emotional commitment (kimochi) to the child is all.” Mr. Watanabe repeatedly said that his practices were done unconsciously and naturally. On the other hand, he sometimes complained that too many workers practiced without thinking carefully. He wrote as a part of his response to written questions provided to him by Sachiko: “Although I [mistakenly] think that I am doing everyday practices unconsciously, I might in fact be thinking and making judgments instantly and taking actions.” Perhaps Mr. Watanabe’s work experience and expertise resulted in some automaticity of responses. Clearly, his responses were a result of years of reflection. Finally, as a future direction, Mr. Watanabe also emphasized the importance of improving the quality of the workers’ job. He understood that reviewing their work and full discussion between workers in developing the

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Care Manual was part of the improvement process. When Sachiko asked whether he thought that the development of the Care Manual and discussion among workers would result in improvement of the workers’ quality, he replied: I think we workers at the institution have too easily practiced without thoroughly thinking and talking [about many things]. I think this is a good opportunity for each worker to re-think each practice individually.â•›.â•›.â•›. Not thinking, not talking, not interacting, there is no doubt we would not be able to improve the quality [of our work]. I believe that what we have just begun will be a good incentive and will lead us to improvement.

Further, in the follow-up interview, he also emphasized: The fact that each of us reflect on his/her work and start re-working our practice might result in Ibasho. Ibasho is not the start, but it follows.â•›.â•›.â•›. We need to review what we really need to do one by one. We tend to not do that because it is troublesome, but we must do that.â•›.â•›.â•›. I strongly believe that the improvement of the workers’ quality is needed. As the workers’ quality is improved, positive effects on children will result. And as a consequence, it will result in children’s and staff members’ Ibasho. [By staff members’ Ibasho,] I mean staff members’ [identity as being in certain] positions within the institution. In conclusion, I will not work for Ibasho, but reflect upon my own work. [For example, I reflect on] things that I am doing well, and things that I’m not .â•›.â•›. I think it would be good for other workers too, if they work while reflecting on their work again.

conclusion Mr. Watanabe was an active and challenging participant. Although he reported an increase in his awareness and understanding of Ibasho, he seemed to value the research project primarily as an opportunity for learning and reflection more broadly. He agreed that children’s Ibasho is important, but he showed resistance to engaging in activities to support children’s Ibasho creation as a primary goal. Mr. Watanabe believed that the children would find their Ibasho by themselves, and that Ibasho followed from adequate care, not from specific activities that aimed at Ibasho creation. Adequate care should be a worker’s primary goal from which children’s Ibasho will emerge. He believed that workers can indirectly support children’s Ibasho through daily practice, but those activities would be done rather unconsciously.

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Mr. Watanabe’s understanding of Ibasho seemed to reflect his practice wisdom and beliefs about how workers should interact with children. He emphasized the importance of emotional commitment or “watching over children carefully.” Also, his understanding of Ibasho was reflective of the ages of the children with whom he worked. School-age children have more autonomy in securing their Ibasho than preschoolers and infants. Mr. Watanabe utilized focus group sessions as opportunities to provide advice for junior workers. His opinions and those of other senior workers were so influential to junior workers that some junior workers even reversed their ideas about Ibasho after their participation in the focus group sessions. A case study of Mr. Watanabe was not originally planned, but emerged over a period of years. Our original intent was to describe the implementation of planned activities developed during the focus group sessions. This plan, however, was not fully implemented because of low levels of workers’ participation. There may have been a variety of reasons for low levels of participation. First of all, they were very busy. Second, some staff members did not understand the nature of the study and had not anticipated that they needed to take initiatives in the research process. Third, self-monitoring and self-reporting by phone or email is not easily implemented. In addition, some staff members found the tasks for the follow-up study intimidating and politely refused to report activities, saying, “I don’t think I am competent enough to participate in the follow-up study, although I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the [individual] interview.” Even among those who participated in the follow-up study, a worker said, “I could not decide whether or not to participate quickly, because I was not sure if I was capable of doing those things.” In social work practice in the United States, systematic implementation of planned intervention was “the norm” for “good” social work practice. However, many of the Japanese research participants were probably unfamiliar with this practice. Reflection on low levels of participation in the intervention provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of Ibasho and to consider that it simply did not fit the nature of Ibasho or, more generally, Japanese culture. Ibasho is a concept deeply embedded in Japanese culture, and therefore, regardless of the participants’ educational levels, a western way of practice implementation for Ibasho creation may not have fit well into their practice. American and other western cultures highly value clarification and articulation (Azuma, 1994; Walsh, 2002): Tasks need to be concrete and clearly addressed; when appropriate, those tasks are presented using measurable behavioral terms. Japanese people, however, do not believe that everything

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has to be articulated (Azuma, 1994). In fact, many “Ibasho support activities” described by participants were implicit in their daily practice. Mr. Watanabe even argued that conscious attention to Ibasho creation would cause problems because it would make workers negligent of other important aspects of their interaction with children that may eventually help Â�children’s Ibasho creation. Also, Japanese culture tends to emphasize emotions (kimochi) in a manner which is not very concrete (Azuma, 1994). Mr. Watanabe understood Ibasho as subjective experiences (anshin) and adults’ responsibilities as “careful emotional commitment to children” and “watching over (mimamori).” Responsibilities described by Mr. Watanabe were very different from tasks that can be described using measurable behavioral terms common in western practice, for example, engage in a positive conversation with each child at least once a day. Some Japanese might say, “Too much attention to such specific activities will not work well, because workers may focus on completing the behavioral tasks and may not be fully committed to children emotionally.” There were, however, a few participants who were very aware of Ibashorelated issues, agreed on the importance of adults’ support for children’s Ibasho creation, and had no hesitation in reporting their activities. Mr. Tanaka, the social worker, reported case management activities for a girl, and the other worker reported collaborative work with school teachers and other professionals to support a boy’s schooling. Japanese social work education has been greatly influenced by American and British social work. Another worker who reported activities to support children’s Ibasho creation was a college graduate and had experience living in the United States. Those two staff members may have had more familiarity than other workers with western practices, which were the goals of the intervention component of the research. From Mr. Watanabe’s case, we can see methodological limitations of focus group interviews as a culturally appropriate research procedure. Conducting a focus group interview in an already established organization like the Children’s Academy is always complex. Participants’ pre-existing relationships may inhibit some individuals from fully expressing their opinions. Also, typical to Japanese society, junior care workers tended not to talk openly when with more senior workers. Some juniors also may have been unduly influenced by seniors’ opinions, even changing their ideas in each session depending on who was in the group. In Chapter 9, Sachiko reflects on some other challenges to field research.

9 Reflections on Some Challenges of Field Research

On campus at Tokyo Gakugei University

At the time of this writing, Sachiko is an associate professor at Tokyo Gakugei University. This chapter presents her reflections on her experiences at the Children’s Academy for the benefit, especially, of students and those new to qualitative research. Sachiko’s struggles to find her Ibasho at the Children’s Academy highlight the challenges of defining one’s role as a researcher in ethnographic research. In addition, her reflections capture the flavor of the social and psychological climate at 154

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the Children’s Academy. They also provide another, first-person, account of the experience of Ibasho creation from a Japanese perspective.

After finishing Study 2, I thought, “Study 1 was easy.” I had known contact persons well both at the Children’s Academy and at the Dream Home, and they introduced me to other people at the institutions. The institution heads contacted school principals for me to get easy access to teachers. The institution heads and school principals nominated research participants for me and set up specific times and places to conduct interviews. All I had to do was visit specific places at specific times and conduct the interviews. Some children were shy but they behaved well and responded to my questions as best as they could. Adults typically spoke well, and many of them seemed to enjoy the opportunity to talk about their experiences. When I conducted Study 1, I stayed at the research sites only briefly to interview participants. As Gurney (1991) describes, in short-term research, the fieldworker-host relationship tends to remain primarily at the formal or secondary level. I behaved professionally, and politely, as a guest. Participants, educators in particular, welcomed me as “a researcher from a university in America,” which they rarely had at their schools. They were very conscious of me as a person “from America,” as was evident from their remarks, such as, “In Japanese elementary schools .â•›.â•›.” “I assume American schools are more .â•›.â•›.” or “This is a limitation of Japanese education.” Yet, I am a Japanese citizen, who attended Japanese schools, and I worked as a professional in Japan. Of course I knew how to behave in Japanese culture. I was satisfied when I got a comment from an educator, “You are (your demeanor is) typical of the Japanese. You are not like a person who lives [and is visiting from] abroad.” Study 2, however, was not so easy. Securing my Ibasho, personally and as a researcher, within the Children’s Academy was a main concern for me. In other words, I was challenged in finding “my place,” defining my role as a researcher, and developing and maintaining relationships with people in ways that I could feel a sense of anshin€– acceptance, contribution, and satisfaction€– as a researcher at the research site. The biggest factor that made the second study different from Study 1 was that it was long term, involving sustained interactions with participants during their daily lives. As Gurney (1991) discusses, long-term research involves a greater commitment, not only of time, but also of self on the part of both fieldworker and host. Relationships with participants do not remain surface formalities and niceties. Initial suspicions and anxieties of both the researcher and participants can be alleviated or exacerbated over time. One

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would not anticipate creating Ibasho in a place briefly visited. As I stayed at the Children’s Academy for many weeks, however, I began to have a desire and need to find my Ibasho there.

searching for my ibasho, personally and as a researcher at the children’s academy Ibasho as “My Seat” and “My Place” Upon my arrival, the institution head graciously allowed me the use of the guest room at the main building to work during the day. In that room, there was an office desk, a chair, and two sets of drawing-room tables and chairs. The room was air-conditioned and very comfortable. After a few weeks, however, I began to feel awkward about using that room. It seemed too large for one person’s use, and the office desk appeared to be an “executive seat.” I never sat in the executive seat because it did not fit me, a graduate student who just needed some space for work. I also did not feel that it was right to occupy that room because it was the only formal guest room at the Children’s Academy. Indeed, when the institution head or staff members needed to use the guest room to meet with somebody, I left the room and spent time elsewhere. One of the rooms where I spent time on such occasions was an office next to the guest room. It was a small room where staff members had daily meetings, and also was the family social worker’s office. In addition, it was the only room where people were allowed to smoke. Therefore, smokers, typically the head, the social worker, and a male care worker, sometimes came there to smoke and take a brief rest. When the guest room was not available, I sometimes spent time in this room. However, I tended not to spend a long time in this room because I felt that I was invading someone else’s Ibasho, especially when they came into the room to smoke, rest, or discuss critical issues. I typically ate lunch at the community service center with staff members. Given my already established relationships, including with the director, and the overall welcoming atmosphere at the center, it was relaxing for me to have lunch and chat with staff there. The welcoming atmosphere was exemplified by staff members’ responses to parents visiting their resident children. When parents came to the reception counter and waited for their children or the children’s care worker, a staff member often served tea for them, asking, “Is a glass of cold tea okay?” Most community service center staff members were not research participants, which contributed to my

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feeling of ease there, as I did not have to worry about developing relationships “for the research.” Although relaxing, that place did not become “my place” either. Instead of “wasting time” there, interrupting their work, or invading their space, I felt that I should go out and observe participants. As described earlier, I literally did not have “my seat.” I moved from one place to another, feeling awkward, which, together with several other factors, made me feel an absence of Ibasho within the Children’s Academy. Although having “my seat” or “my place” is critical in creating one’s Ibasho, in retrospect, my feeling of awkwardness and an absence of Ibasho may not have resulted from how I was treated or whether or not a physical seat was available. Perhaps it had more to do with my status as a novice field researcher. Glesne and Peshkin (1992) described, “New participant observers often feel timid, sensing that as invaders of someone else’s territory, they are unwanted and unnecessary” (p. 55). After researchers enter and spend some time at a new place, they may try to find or create their Ibasho there, or they may withdraw, going back to their familiar comfortable spaces. Reflecting on his own experience, Corsino (1987) described: The task of going out day after day and asking people for something€– their time, attention, knowledge€ – when it is not clear what they are getting in return, may place the researcher in a vulnerable position. Rejection, awkwardness, and rebuffs are nearly universal features of the interactions between fieldworkers and participants. Anticipating such interactions, the fieldworker may decide to spend another day reading books and articles. (p. 276)

This passage reminds me that from time to time, I withdrew from the research through enjoyable conversations with non-participant staff members. Having a break in a place where I could feel at ease, however, was helpful in re-energizing myself to go out to observe and interview participants. Taking breaks and being away temporarily from the field can become even more important as time goes by. Glesne & Peshkin (1992) point out that “as the researcher immersed in a life that is not your normal one, you periodically need to get away to be with others from your own subculture and talk to those who have similar beliefs and ideas” (p. 98). As mentioned earlier, I was provided with an apartment to stay in just across the street from the institution’s campus. It was much larger than my apartment in the United States. As my home in Japan was far from the Children’s Academy, staying there saved time and costs for transportation. However, I went home two or three days a week, typically on weekends. I sometimes even went home at night and came back to the institution in the morning, although

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it took more than an hour and a half to get home by train and walking. Because the apartment was off campus, I was alone at the apartment, separated from everybody (both people at the institution and my family and friends), and sometimes felt lonely. The frequency of going home€ – definitely my Ibasho€– to meet with family and/or correspond with Wendy to discuss the research increased during the later stages of Study 2, as I faced mental and physical fatigue, perhaps from what Glesne and Peshkin (1992) call “overbeing” at the research site. Ibasho Creation as Having Clear Roles and Status Occasionally, overcoming timidity and fitting in may mean finding a role in the setting where the researcher contributes in some way (e.g., Ferguson, 2000). For example, many field researchers in educational settings contribute by taking on the familiar roles of teacher, teaching aid, or tutor while conducting research. Such roles, however, are not always necessary, possible, or useful (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 56). My status as a researcher (PhD student from the United States) was problematic for me and for many people at the Children’s Academy. The longterm presence of a researcher at the institution was something that they had never experienced: A staff member even told me during Study 2 that I was the first person who was involved in that institution as a researcher so long and so intensely in the institution’s 100-year history. Thus, the role of a researcher was unfamiliar to most participants. When I visited children’s houses, I typically was there until after dinner and often helped care workers wash dishes before leaving. I thought that helping care workers within the houses could be a way to observe and interact with children and their care workers for a longer time in natural settings. However, perhaps because I was not a volunteer worker or a trainee, some care workers hesitated to “use” me, and they did not necessarily encourage me to stay in the house. I wished I could have had more opportunities to observe children in their houses for longer hours and for more days. I felt the difficulties of being there as a researcher. Similarly, I attended two sport tournaments, the summer camp, the summer festival, and the Christmas event, which provided me with good opportunities to observe how children behave and interact with others in different contexts. However, since I was not assigned particular roles at the events, I did not feel that I was fully involved or a part of the group. There are many ways to be a participant observer. Participant observation ranges across a continuum from mostly observation (e.g., by sitting on

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a city park bench, observing town square activities) to mostly participation (e.g., as a functioning member of the community) (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992). There are both advantages and disadvantages to being a complete observer or a complete participant. Thus, I did not have to be fully involved in staff members’ and children’s daily activities to be a participant observer. “[Remaining marginal] can offer the advantage of seeing without being the focus of attention, of being present without being fully participant, so that you are free to be fully attuned to what occurs before you .â•›.â•›.” (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 58). For example, I was able to observe freely both younger and older children at the summer camp because I was not assigned a specific roles and was not in charge of particular children. I must admit, however, that I wanted to “belong” and be a part instead of remaining marginal at the Children’s Academy. After all, the role as a researcher was unfamiliar not just to participants, but also to me. This research program was my first experience interacting with people, particularly with children, as a participant observer. As a college student, I had been deeply involved in a residential institution for children with developmental disabilities as a recreational volunteer. Therefore, I knew how a volunteer should interact with children and staff members in an institutional setting. As I had worked as a counselor/social worker for several years, I also had a sense of how a professional from another agency would communicate with people at child care institutions. However, I myself did not know very much about how a field researcher or a participant observer should behave. In addition, because I was not as young as I had been, I could not interact with children as I had done as a volunteer fourteen to eighteen years before. Further, I had been away from social work practice for a long time, so what I thought I could do and what I actually could do was not necessarily the same. It was sometimes frustrating. There were times, however, where I did not seize an opportunity to avoid potential problems with role confusions. In interviewing adults in both Studies 1 and 2, I sometimes felt as if I were conducting counseling sessions. Because I had worked as a counselor in Japan before entering graduate school in the United States, I was accustomed to listening to others while showing empathy. As I listened to their experiences working with children and their colleagues, some adult participants started talking about their difficulties related to, but apart from, the interview questions. I tried not to let them express too much on such occasions that they might later feel awkward around me. Closely related to one’s roles, one’s status needs to be clarified within the group in which one’s Ibasho may be created. Knowing the other’s status is

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one way to understand that person. In this respect, my unclear status might have been particularly problematic in Japanese society, because people in Japan tend to change language and attitudes depending on the person’s age, social status, and personal relationships. If both are the same profession (e.g., social workers), people interact as such. The younger colleague might use more polite terms or particular linguistic honorifics, but age differences generally have less influence on the ways they interact with each other. If I were a graduate from a nearby university and came to the Children’s Academy as an advisee of a professor at the university, people might have treated me as such. However, I suspect that for people at the Children’s Academy, a PhD student from the United States was almost the same as a person with no affiliation or a “foreigner,” at least until certain personal relationships were developed. I suspect that it also was difficult for many children to “calculate” appropriate distances/relationships. Children often asked me, “Why are you here?” “Are you a trainee?” “Whose mother are you?” Children typically changed their attitude depending on the person’s status (e.g., care worker, a trainee, a teacher). Thus, they had to know who I was. I explained to them that I was not a care worker trainee, but studying at a university and had come to learn about children’s lives at their institution. Even with that explanation, they still puzzled over whether I was a person with whom they could interact as they did with trainees, because they did not have a concept of a “researcher” and had never had such a person in their houses. Lee (2009) experienced similar challenges during the early stages of her research with children in Korea, which shares certain cultural similarities with Japan, including the influence of Confucianism. She explained that in Korean culture, children are required to behave differently to adults based on a given adult’s position toward the children. Thus, children in Lee’s study sought to verify and reaffirm researchers’ roles, identities, and status based on their cultural knowledge and sense. As also cited in Lee (2009), Graue and Walsh (1998) point out that “people do not interact directly, but through cultural definitions, expectations, roles, and so on .â•›.â•›. an important first activity for the researcher is to teach people who she is and who she is not .â•›.â•›.” (p. 101). A researcher would not want to dominate child informants or make them feel intimidated because of his or her physical size, age, and status as an authority figure (Lee, 2009). Lee adopted the role of a younger aunt who is positioned midway between that of an adult and/or parent and a child in Korean culture. In my research program, however, I did not find for myself a position that was easily understandable to children and that would facilitate

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the effectiveness of the research. I knew, however, that it would not be appropriate for me to adopt a trainee’s roles and positions. Trainees have many chores, which would interfere with my ability to do research flexibly. Perhaps more importantly, trainees typically have a “low status” among adolescents at the Children’s Academy. I heard from adults that girls often targeted some trainees and made them cry. Indeed, some problematic interactions between girls and trainees were observed, although there also were some trainees who served as good mentors or playmates for boys and girls. A trainee’s position may work in interacting with young children, however, in working with adolescents, being identified as a person who is in a somewhat “higher” or more “respectable” position may work better. In educational or juvenile justice systems, some researchers take roles as teachers (e.g., Ayers, 1997) or tutors (e.g., Ferguson, 2000). Horowitz (1986) was identified as a “lady,” which meant that she was sexually unavailable, and as a “reporter” by the young male gang members she studied. Being identified as similar to case workers also can be problematic at the Children’s Academy. Case workers at the child guidance center seemed not to be very popular among some children. There were a couple of children who had been nominated by the institution head but did not participate in the interview. When I first approached one such child to ask if she could “talk” with me, she showed strong resistance. Later, I happened to learn that she did not like to “talk” with her case worker at the child guidance center. Although it may not be the sole reason for her resistance, it is very possible that my request for her participation in the interview reminded her of negative experiences of her talk with her case worker, particularly because of the insufficient rapport building prior to the request. Or she might simply have felt unsafe being approached by an adult whom she did not know well. In any case, it is important to make sure that participants feel safe and comfortable to interact with the researcher. Taking enough time to develop relationships without rushing the interview is critical.

ibasho creation as developing and maintaining positive relationships Without exception, literature on qualitative fieldwork or ethnography emphasizes the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with people at the research site. Similarly, a large part of Ibasho creation has to do with interpersonal relationships. My interpersonal relationships with adults at the Children’s Academy varied. The original contact person for Study 1 was the director of the community service center, and those for

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Study 2 were the institution head and the family social worker. Those were the people with whom I most frequently and freely made conversation. The director of the community service center was not involved in the research process, and I had personal and informal contacts with her outside of the institution even during the research period. She seemed to actively avoid being involved in the research, so I did not talk about the research process in detail with her. But still, her presence at the Children’s Academy was a help to me. The institution head was welcoming and easygoing from the beginning. He was generous enough to offer me the use of the apartment belonging to the institution and located just across the street from the campus, and to take me to lunch or dinner. He allowed me to do my planned research without objection. He understood the importance of Ibasho for children living in child care institutions and supported my research. He, however, had not anticipated the difficulties that I might have in arranging interview schedules or in obtaining staff members’ active participation. Unlike for Study 1, I was responsible for contacting potential participants individually and making appointments for interviews. He probably thought that I could arrange interviews by contacting each worker by myself because I had known some of them from the pilot study and had stayed there a significant amount of time. However, it was not as easy as he had anticipated. The family social worker was the only person who had a solid social work background. I was able to share values and ideas with him. He was supportive and had very clear ideas about Ibasho. So, for me, he was more communicative than some other staff members who did not have clear ideas about Ibasho or whose ideas were very different from mine. Many workers were open and accessible. When I told the leader of the boys’ workers that I would like to visit the boys’ houses, he said, “Yes, sure. Anytime.” Not all workers were that open, however. When I asked a girls’ worker if I could visit girls’ houses, she said she would consult with the leader of the girls’ workers, and later, the leader of girls’ workers gave me notes that indicated precisely when they would like me to visit their houses. For example, “July 16, 18, 19€– the East house, July 15, 17€– the West house. From 4:00 to 7:00.” I visited the boys’ houses approximately during the same hours (4 p.m.€– 7 p.m.), but in addition, I observed them outside in the early afternoon where they tended to play. Because girls tended to remain in their houses, I wanted to observe them earlier in their houses (for example, starting from 3 p.m.), but when I was given the schedules, I followed the leader’s decision.

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Another challenge was the hierarchical and complicated relationships among the workers. From the beginning of Study 2, some tensions were apparent among several workers, largely, I suspect, because of the stress they felt from dealing with problems displayed by some high school girls. I soon sensed that I had better stay out of their conflicts. In addition, because one of the four girls’ workers was often ill, other care workers had to cover for her, which made them busier. Moreover, as many staff members described in interviews (Chapter 5), care workers did not know and rarely discussed children who were not in their immediate care, and they typically had only superficial relationships with workers who were in charge of different groups. Therefore, the high accessibility to boys’ workers did not help me with access to girls’ workers. Consequently, my contact with girls’ workers was less intensive than with boys’ workers. Further, junior girls’ workers typically were not comfortable making decisions without consulting the leader. With the exception of the leader who had sixteen years of experience, girls’ workers’ experiences at the Children’s Academy were limited to two-to-five years. On many occasions when I asked the girls’ workers questions, I got responses like, “I will ask (the leader)” or “I will ask others.” Even when I asked one worker for her participation in an individual interview, she replied, “I will ask other workers.” Some girls differentiated between the leader and the youngest worker. A girl said that she had serious conversations with the leader and more casual interactions with the youngest worker. Many researchers (e.g., Burgess, 1991; Glesne & Peshkin, 1992) warn not to take sides or to develop friendships with one particular individual or group within the setting, as such relationships may influence the extent to which access is granted to one group and simultaneously close off access to others, particularly competing segments of the community. I did not intend to take sides, but different accessibility to staff members inevitably influenced my closeness with them and the amount of information I could gain from them. My relationships with the children varied. I tried as much as possible to observe and develop relationships with prospective participant children who were nominated by the institution head while still interacting with the other children as well. In general, developing relationships with boys was much easier than with girls. It was largely because I had more chances to interact with the boys than with the girls. A boy even invited me to join him in a soccer game. I thanked him and joined him, but left soon after. It was the moment that I wished I had been much younger. I was able to develop

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relationships with a couple of girls who often played outside of their houses (e.g., in the gym and at the community service center) more quickly than other girls with whom I had not had contact until I visited their houses. Different accessibility to the boys’ and girls’ workers influenced the initial development of relationships with the boys and girls. I had planned to visit the children’s houses after I conducted initial individual interviews with their care workers, believing that conducting these interviews would help rapport building with care workers, which would have a positive influence on my relationships with the children. I completed my initial interviews with the boy’s workers by my second week at the Children’s Academy. By that time, however, I had not conducted any interviews with the girls’ workers. Only after I expressed my concerns about not yet interviewing any of the girls’ workers to one of the workers was I able to begin interviewing them. As a result of the delay, I had to hold off on my desire to visit the girls’ houses for a few weeks. In retrospect, a few-weeks delay would not have been a big problem; however, it made me feel anxious about whether or not I could ever approach them. My concerns seem to be experienced by other field researchers. While reflecting on my research and writing the drafts of this chapter, I was reading Glesne and Peshkin (1992), which I borrowed from the university library, and found that someone who checked out this book prior to me had added an emphatic asterisk in a margin next to the following paragraph: Despite the delays, do not become discouraged. Rather, remember that unless researching your own backyard, you are external if not alien to the lives of the researched. You are not necessarily unwanted, but, because you are not integral to the lives of your others, you are dispensable. You will complete your research tasks, but normally later than you expect. (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 28)

After I got access to children’s houses, the presence and absence of adult mediators created different levels of ease of access to boys and girls. When I visited the boys’ houses, I had the opportunity to talk with both care workers and children. On some occasions, care workers mediated my interactions with the boys, and therefore made my initial encounter with them relatively smooth. However, when I visited the girls’ houses, I seldom talked with the workers. For example, the second time I visited a girls’ house, the care worker in charge was not even with the children at dinner. Later I learned that because of an emergency, the care worker was detained in the staff room. In the care worker’s absence, I was able to make light conversation with some girls, particularly with a high school-aged girl. She was one

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of the participants of Study 1, and openly invited me to her bedroom on the first day I visited their house. However, being at dinner with ten girls, most of whom I did not know very well, did not make for an easy start to developing relationships. Some Specific Issues of Gaining Access As many researchers (e.g., Graue & Walsh, 1998) agree, gaining access to participants, particularly to children, can be very difficult. Often discussed is the presence of “gatekeepers,” those who give researchers permission for or prevent them from accessing participants. In addition to that, however, physical structures of the building also may influence the accessibility of participants, as may cultural tendencies regarding the degree of one’s openness in allowing outsiders to enter private spaces such as the home. Multiple Layers of Gatekeepers Burgess (1991) argues that the ethnographic researcher should not think merely of one gatekeeper in an institution, but of a series of gatekeepers with whom he or she must negotiate over the settings and information that they control. There were multiple layers of gatekeepers at the Children’s Academy. The first, official gatekeeper was the head of the institution. It was not very difficult to get permission from him to interview adults and children. However, some workers could not decide on their participation in individual interviews without consulting with other workers, particularly with their leaders. Permission by the leaders was necessary to enter children’s houses. In addition, even when care workers granted permission, at times, peers served as gatekeepers to accessing some children. While the researcher observes children, children also observe the researcher. Particularly in early stages of fieldwork, the observer may become a special focus of concern as participants assess the researcher’s motives, work skills, or personality (Polsky, 1969 as cited in Corsino, 1987). Children are curious about the presence of the researcher. Even when the researcher does not approach them, children sometimes approach the researcher. Corsaro (1985) effectively utilized this as a “reactive strategy” to participate in children’s activities. There were approximately forty schoolaged children at the Children’s Academy, but only some ten children and youth officially participated in our study. Although I also interacted with young children, I did not plan to interview children younger than nine years of age. However, after they found out that some of their older peers seemed to enjoy spending time with me, a few lower-grade children asked

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me, “When will you interview me?” Also, one participant girl asked me at the end of the interview how long I interviewed the other children, and she seemed to be quite satisfied when she learned that her interview was one of the longest. Conversely, when I failed to develop rapport with one child, it negatively affected my relationships with other children. Children, perhaps particularly Japanese children, often make their decisions according to their peers. When one high-status girl declined my invitation for an interview, several of her close friends also refused me, even those who had not been invited to participate. It took a while to rebuild relationships with each of those children and get access to them. Physical Structures In many institutions, particularly those that employ a large residence system, office rooms and children’s residential spaces are in the same building. So, people who visit staff members at the institution meet children at the same time. People who visit staff members at the Children’s Academy, however, may not see any children if they do not also visit the children’s houses, because office rooms and residential spaces are completely separate. An educator who participated in Study 1 said that it was difficult for him to get access to his students at the Children’s Academy after the institution’s facilities had been rebuilt. I understood his experiences. Even though I was on campus, seeing children in their houses was not easy. Even staff members sometimes addressed similar issues (Chapter 5). Because the residential building was structured similar to an apartment complex, I did not feel comfortable visiting their houses when I had no appointment with care workers. I, however, sometimes had to visit the houses to make appointments with workers for interviews. The entrances of boys’ and preschoolaged children’s houses were on the first floor, thus, I was able to “catch” children and/or their care workers outside when they were in and out of the houses. However, because the entrances of girls’ houses were on the second floor, it was more difficult for me to access girls and their workers. As I developed relationships with care workers, it became somewhat easier for me to ring the bell, open the door, and call workers; until then, however, the entrance door seemed an unopened door. Cultural Tendencies My uneasiness in entering the children’s houses also may have been influenced by cultural tendencies in Japan. Japanese people may not invite others to their houses as often as, for example, American people do (personal

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conversation with D. Walsh, December 5, 2008). Japanese adults more Â�typically eat out with their friends and/or colleagues than have dinner at private homes. Although this may partly be because typical Japanese houses are small (compared with the American standard), it may be more related to the fact that Japanese people clearly differentiate uchi and soto (inside and outside)€ – that is, characteristics of interpersonal relationships and behaviors with in-group members and individuals outside of the group (e.g., informal and formal, private and public, etc.) (Walsh, 2002). Within the house is considered to be uchi, thus, one may want to keep it private, or invite only people with whom he/she has close relationships. As a Japanese person, such tendencies were too familiar for me to articulate; however, when pointed out by cultural outsiders, I thought that it might be true. I might have instinctively felt awkward to invade someone’s uchi, particularly when relationships had not developed. Some Specific Issues of Conducting Fieldwork Within an Organization in Japan The focus group is one data collection method often utilized in qualitative research. Madriz (2000) explains that focus groups allow social scientists to observe the most important sociological process, that is, collective human interaction, and that they enable researchers to gather large amounts of information about such interactions in limited periods of time. In some sense, she was correct. When I conducted multiple focus group sessions at the Children’s Academy with different members in each session, different group dynamics were observed in different group sessions. I also was able to gain rich data from many of the focus group sessions. According to Morgan (1997), focus groups also have the reputation for being “quick and easy” compared with participant observation and individual interviews because of the ability to produce concentrated amounts of data on precisely the topic of interest. This can be true in many settings; however, conducting focus groups in an already established organization like the Children’s Academy was not very easy. Unlike focus groups where participants do not know each other, complicated relationships among participants existed at the Children’s Academy. Because of that, some participants could not fully express their opinions in some groups. Also, typical of Japanese society, juniors tended not to talk openly when they were with seniors. For example, when I commented to one worker individually after a focus group session, “You were quiet in the group,” the worker responded, “because others were talking, I thought I did not have to talk.” In addition, some juniors

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were influenced by seniors’ opinions, and even reversed their opinions in each session depending on who was in the group. Under such conditions, obtaining information thoroughly from one single focus group session was impossible. Such limitations became apparent after I conducted both individual and focus group interviews, as well as multiple focus group interviews with different members each time. A social anthropologist, Judith Ennew, explains that focus groups have their roots in encounter groups used as a technique of psychotherapy, which emerged and developed in western cultures (personal discussion, April 22, 2009). The basic rules and assumptions are that in the group, everyone has equal rights to express his or her own opinions, and everyone is equally heard (personal discussion, April 22, 2009) . Thus, focus groups fit particularly well in feminist research that aims to promote equality and collective consciousness raising (e.g., Madriz, 2000). However, Ennew explains that in (nonwestern) cultures where equality is not the social norm that needs to be achieved, focus groups are problematic. For example, in some cultures, the eldest may have the highest power within the group and members of the group may follow his or her decision, and it may be believed to be the best way to maintain the group. People at the Children’s Academy did not necessarily believe that juniors should just follow seniors. Indeed, seniors observed a lack of active discussion at staff meetings as a problem. And yet, they did not know how to change. A lack of active discussion at staff meetings was experienced not only at the Children’s Academy. When I talked with a staff member at another child care institution, that person said that only a few senior staff members talked at the meeting and others did not express anything. I suspect that similar tendencies can be observed in many Japanese child care institutions. Persistent Commitment as a Source of Success Thus far, I have only described the challenges I faced at the research site. I had difficulties in getting access to some participants, in developing rapport with some adults and children, in facilitating some group sessions, and in creating my Ibasho at the research site. However, the fact that I kept my connections with the Children’s Academy even after the follow-up meeting in the twenty-sixth month of our study and continued to follow up until the sixty-third month shows that, although challenging, perhaps not everything in the approaches and methods of Study 2 was so wrong. Some adult participants viewed their participation in the research program as learning opportunities, where they reflected on their own work

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with children. It was participants and the institution head that recommended having additional group sessions to further discuss the topic. Although originally only two group sessions had been planned, following their recommendations, I conducted two more group sessions with adults. Although I was frustrated with some unsuccessful group sessions where, for example, participants did not talk at all and the session lasted barely thirty minutes, as described in Chapter 8, some other group sessions provided staff members with ideas about how they might improve their staff meetings (e.g., dividing members into smaller groups and encouraging junior workers to take the initiative). In addition, one worker who was very quiet in group sessions and who did not seem to be very interested in the study one day asked me, “Why do you exclude preschool workers? If you intend to improve the institution, they also should be included.” I did not mean to “exclude” them. Having recommendations to interview preschool workers by other people as well, I decided to conduct interviews with preschool workers, although it was too late to include them in focus group sessions in that research period. Although we had terminated formal data collection for Study 1, I visited the institution’s Christmas events that year and the following year and saw children playing on the stage. After that, I had several additional opportunities to visit and talk with adults at the Children’s Academy before starting Study 2. Many workers cheerfully greeted me when I visited. Although some children did not seem to remember me or at least did not approach me, some other children remembered me, including my name, and had some conversations or played with me when I visited. When I visited the institution in the fiftieth month, a participant girl who had so misbehaved during the interview that I was not certain if she understood the research approached me and commented, “Your topic of study was Ibasho, wasn’t it?” I was very impressed. In addition, a worker expressed her appreciation of my long-term commitment to the institution. She felt as if they (the workers and children) were watched over (mimamorareteiru) by me, similarly to how to the workers mimamoru children.

10 The Emerging Child Welfare Context of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu

The Children’s Academy

Principle of Child Welfare Article 1.╇ 1. All people shall endeavor to enable children to be born and grow up with healthy minds and bodies. 2. Every child shall have equal opportunities for security and care. Responsibility for the Healthy Growth of Children Article 2.╇ The central and local governments as well as the guardians of children shall be responsible for the healthy growth of the children both in minds and bodies. 170

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Respect for the Principle of Child Welfare Article 3.╇ The principles stipulated in the preceding two Articles guarantee the welfare of children and shall be observed at all times in the enforcement of all laws and ordinances concerning children. Excerpts from the Japanese Child Welfare Law

Before concluding our discussion, it is important to place our mostly microanalyses within the broader, macro system of the modern Japanese child welfare system. The Children’s Academy is part of a much larger system of Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, which is part of a much larger child welfare system. These systems both reflect and communicate a Japanese perspective on rearing children and responding to child maltreatment. The opening excerpts from the National Child Welfare Law of 1947 illustrate the guiding principles: All Japanese children have a right to physical and mental wellbeing, and all adults in the community acting as individuals and through the government share responsibility for ensuring those rights. Furthermore, governmental laws and welfare programs are appropriate venues for supporting vulnerable families. These basic principles have endured through dramatic postwar social changes and fluctuating economic times. Consistent with the principles of the National Child Welfare Law of 1947 1, child welfare in Japan is primarily preventative (Segal, 2004), broadly conceived to support the healthy mental and physical development of all children (Maehashi, 2007; Saimura, 2007a). This system does not focus primarily on interventions for child abuse and neglect. Rather, it offers a broad array of programs to enhance the well-being of all children and families in the general community, as well as additional programs for those viewed as vulnerable, for example, due to a child’s disability or parents’ financial stress. When problems such as maltreatment emerge, they generally are addressed through an extensive network of social services within the community without the involvement of the family courts or the criminal justice system. Understanding this broader social and historical context of Japanese child welfare provides another glimpse into some Japanese perspectives on child maltreatment and societal responses deemed appropriate. These laws and programs are the macro system within which the lives of the children participating in our study, their substitute caregivers, and families are embedded. In this chapter, we briefly summarize some prevention programs 1 To date, articles 1–3 of the Child Welfare Law have not been changed since the Law was first established in 1947.

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available to all Japanese families or to vulnerable families, before turning to some emerging trends within the Jidou Yougo Shisetsu.2

prevention programs Japanese child welfare offers a variety of programs to promote the Â�well-being of all families.3 The 2007 Child Rearing Allowance, for example, provided the parents of approximately 90 percent (13 million) of children from birth to approximately age twelve years with a monthly child allowance of 5,000– 10,000 yen ($63–$126) for each child.4 The cost of providing this allowance is shared by the central government, local governments, and employers. Other programs focus on child and maternal health care, which is universally available from the prenatal period through the preschool years. Public health centers and municipalities also provide consultations and counseling on health and family planning, health check-ups, and home visitations for high-risk pregnant women and mothers (The Foundation of Children’s Future, 2008)5. If parents fail to take children for periodic medical check-ups, public health nurses may visit their homes. Other governmental services for the general population include consultation and guidance for various family problems, establishment of children’s recreational facilities, promotion of community activities for mothers and children, and establishment of after-school children’s clubs. Child welfare programs also provide preventative services to families during times of vulnerability. For example, the government provides subsidies to daycare centers offering extended hours for working parents of infants and preschool-aged children. The number of day care centers with extended nursery care hours increased from 411 centers in 1987 to 14,431 2 Japanese child welfare is a dynamic system, and laws and programs change regularly. The laws and programs discussed in this chapter were in effect toward the end of our research program in the first decade of the twenty-first century. 3 Consistent with the focus of the Child Welfare Law on the well-being of all children, these programs also are supported by a number of related laws such as the Child Allowance Law and Maternal and the Child Health Law. 4 Children ages 0–2: 10,000 yen for each child; children ages 3 to 12 (end of the sixth grade): 5,000 yen each for the first and second child, 10,000 yen for each additional child. 5 Japan has three levels of government: national, prefectural, and municipal. Municipalities include cities, towns, and villages. There are forty-seven prefectures in Japan, and each prefecture is further subdivided into cities and districts. Each district is further subdivided into towns and villages. Public health centers are prefectural (and designated cities’) agencies and are in a position to provide professional support for municipalities.

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centers in 2006 (The Foundation of Children’s Future, 2008). Respite nursery care also is provided for parents who are ill or fatigued from child care. In Japan, a large segment of welfare activities involves the diversion of child poverty through antipoverty programs aimed specifically at families viewed as vulnerable. Included among these is additional financial aid to single parents, which is granted until children are approximately eighteen years old.6 Another financial support is the Single-Mother-Headed Families’ Welfare Loan Fund, which provides loans including for higher education and starting businesses. Other services for single mothers include child rearing and living assistance (e.g., shelters and daily life support), as well as employment support. Additional preventative services are offered to other targeted groups of families and children. These include programs to promote the well-being of children with physical or mental disabilities. Services range from residential facilities, to home helpers to assist parents with routine child care, to day service programs to enhance children’s life and social skills. The Special Child Rearing Allowance provides additional support for families with children with disabilities.

child maltreatment in japanese society Child welfare services also provide interventions for children who cannot live with their biological families, increasingly because of maltreatment (The Foundation of Children’s Future, 2008). Child maltreatment has become a critical social problem in Japan. In 2007, there were 40,639 child maltreatment cases handled at governmental child welfare offices (The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), 2008); that is, 1.9 per 1,000 children were officially known to be maltreated.7 Although this incident rate may seem low in comparison to many other countries, such as the United States, where incidence rates are 10.6 per 1,000 children (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009), it is likely an underestimation. It does not include cases handled by local municipalities 6 The amount of money granted varies depending on income levels and number of children. One-third of the cost is from the national government and two-thirds is from prefectures or cities. The single-mother households whose annual working income was under 1.3 million yen, for example, were paid for 41,720 yen per month in 2007. Prior to 2010, some prefectures and cities provided allowance to single fathers from their own budgets. In 2010, the allowance became available to single fathers as well as single mothers. 7 The child maltreatment incident rate in 2007 was calculated using the number of child maltreatment cases and the total population under age eighteen in Japan, as reported by the national government.

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(e.g., cities and towns), which were not referred to the prefectural level. In addition, while the number of children in Japan has been decreasing in the past twenty years, the number of child maltreatment cases handled by government child welfare offices has increased from 1,101 cases in 1990, to 34,472 cases in 2005, to 42,664 cases in 2008. It is difficult to say with certainty why Japanese child maltreatment rates have changed over time. They likely result from multiple, complex, and interacting social conditions. The stresses associated with modernization, especially urbanization and poverty, likely contribute to an increase in child maltreatment. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (the Meiji period, 1868–1911), Japan experienced a radical transformation from a feudal to a modern society. As a result, poverty levels increased. Some children of impoverished farmers were abandoned or orphaned, and the problem of infanticide received public attention. By 1932, the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law was issued, prohibiting the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children. In 1947, the Child Welfare Law was issued and some interventions were provided, but maltreatment of children by parents was not recognized as a significant social problem. After 1960, Japan experienced a high level of economic growth, and the stresses of poverty were less apparent as factors in child maltreatment. At this time, child maltreatment was regarded as a rare problem within particular pathological families (Kashiwame, 2008; Saimura, 2007b). Increasing social and scholarly attention to the problem of child maltreatment also has contributed to increased reporting of child maltreatment cases by professionals and lay people, which otherwise would not have been brought to the attention of government officials. Child maltreatment in Japan did not receive widespread scholarly attention or recognition as a significant social problem until the 1990s.8 At this time, economic growth had allowed most Japanese people to enjoy a high standard of living and personal privacy, but increased urbanization also had resulted in the breakdown of traditional social connections within communities. Increasingly, child maltreatment was seen not just as family pathology and psychopathology, but as social pathology. Child maltreatment was considered to emerge from “social isolation in childrearing and an increased feeling of burden from rearing children” (Kashiwame, 2008, p. 50). Whereas the Japanese ideal for child rearing was communal, urban families were increasingly isolated from extended families and neighbors. By the 1990s, the Japanese 8 Although research on child maltreatment was conducted in 1973 by the central government, and in 1976 by a group of child welfare professionals in Osaka, most research, policy, and practice pertaining to child maltreatment emerged after 1990 (Saimura, 2007b).

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had to face the reality that under conditions of sufficient stress, child Â�maltreatment can occur within many families, not just particular problem families (Kashiwame, 2008; Saimura, 2007b). The 2000 Child Maltreatment Prevention Law9 reflects and has contributed to an increased societal recognition of child maltreatment in Japan. The number of reported child maltreatment cases doubled after the establishment of this law, from 11,631 cases in 1999 to 23,217 cases in 2001 (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 2008). Article 2 of this law defines child maltreatment as physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect. Article 5 of the law underscores that organizations such as schools, child welfare institutions, and hospitals, as well as professionals such as school teachers, staff at child welfare institutions, medical doctors, public health nurses, and lawyers, are required to make their “best efforts” for early detection of child maltreatment. In addition to reporting maltreatment, the 2004 amendment requires that even “suspected” child maltreatment be reported. The obligation addressed in this law or in any of the other related laws, however, does not specify a penalty for failing to make such reports. The obligation of all adults, not just social service, medical, and educational professionals, to report child maltreatment is addressed in Article 6 of the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law: Article 6. (Notification regarding Child Abuse) When a person discovers a child he or she thinks is being abused, he or she is obliged to report the case with all due haste, either directly or through a child committee, to a municipal or prefectural welfare agency or child guidance center.

Increased social awareness of child maltreatment also has resulted in the implementation of additional preventive measures. A nongovernmental organization, the Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse, was established in Osaka in 1990, and a similar organization in Tokyo in 1991. They provided supportive telephone counseling services for parents struggling with child rearing, and monitored and advised on cases of maltreatment. Simultaneously, scholars and professionals in medicine, law, and social work formed a professional study group to actively research child maltreatment issues. Japan’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child10 in 9 Japanese readers may note that this law (jidou gyakutai no boushi tou ni kansuru houritsu) is sometimes translated as child abuse prevention law or child abuse protection law (see, for example, Children’s Rainbow Center’s translation). 10 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a comprehensive, internationally binding agreement on the rights of children, adopted by the UN General

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1994 also contributed to the increased recognition of child maltreatment as a violation of children’s rights (Saimura, 2007b; see also Goodman, 2000). Emerging Poverty Issues in the Twenty-First Century In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the stresses associated with poverty once again emerged as a risk factor for child maltreatment in Japan (e.g., Matsumoto, 2008; Yamano, 2008). Goodman (2000) commented that until the late 1990s: [F]ull employment was a main plank of post-war social policy. In many ways, therefore, Japanese policy-makers’ emphasis on preventing people from falling into poverty through investment in education, health, employment, and a set of universal benefits could be termed a success. (p. 25)

However, holes in these preventive measures have become increasingly apparent. The worldwide economic crises of the first decade of the twenty-first century significantly impacted Japan’s economy, causing financial problems in many families. Although it was once said, “All 100 million people [approximately the total Japanese population at that time] are middle class,” gaps between the have and have-nots are increasing. In 1950, public assistance (seikatsu hogo), a governmental financial support provided to low-income families, was established based on Article 25 of the National Constitution.11 In January 2009, the number of households receiving public assistance reached 1,168,354, a 66 percent increase from 1999 and the largest number since the public assistance system started (Seikatsu hogo, 2009). According to a 2008 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan’s relative poverty rate12 in 2004 was the fourthhighest among the thirty member countries, after Mexico, Turkey, and the United States (Hinkon ritsu, 2009). The 2009 poverty rate of 54.5 percent for single-parent families was the highest among the thirty member countries (Hitorioya katei, 2009). Assembly in 1989. As of in 2006, 193 countries had ratified the Convention. As of March 2010, the United States had not ratified it. 11 Article 25 of the Constitution: “All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living. In all spheres of life, the state shall use its endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health.” 12 Relative poverty rate is determined by the percentage of households with an annual income of less than half of the median income. A high poverty rate means that there are large income gaps between rich and poor.

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Concurrent with increased poverty rates, a growing number of parents and their children are without health insurance. Although national health insurance was established decades ago to ensure that all Japanese citizens could get medical services, fees are required.13 These fees are not inexpensive and, given the recent financial crises, a growing number of people cannot pay them. In September 2008, 32,903 of the 17 million Japanese children between 0 and 14 years (approximately 0.2%) who were otherwise eligible for national health insurance did not receive it because of parental failure to pay the fees (Tani, 2008). Although the number of uninsured Japanese children may compare favorably with many other countries€– for example, 8.1 million, or 11 percent, of all U.S. children were uninsured in 2007 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009), this number likely is an underestimate. It does not include children whose parents work for corporations and fail to pay those health insurance fees, or those who are eligible for national insurance who have not applied because they anticipate not being able to pay the fee. By June 2008, 20.9 percent of Japanese national health insurance plan members had failed to pay the fees, the worst record since the issue was first examined in 1999 (Hokenryou tainou ha, 2009). A growing number of impoverished parents also have difficulties securing adequate day care for their young children. Although the total capacity of day care centers has exceeded the number of children who are receiving services, there are long waiting lists for day care in some prefectures, including metropolitan municipalities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kanagawa (Hayashi, 2007). The lack of day care makes it more difficult for low-income mothers with young children to maintain stable jobs. Emerging Initiatives That May Alleviate Child Maltreatment A variety of recent government-sponsored education, family, and community support services to address decreasing fertility rates also may reduce child maltreatment. In 2006, the fertility rate in Japan was only 1.32. After experiencing the so-called 1.57 Shock14 in 1989, Japan rigorously planned and implemented measures to promote the welfare of children and their families. For example, among the aims of the 2004 Child Care Support Plan are: (1) to support the compatibility between work and family life by 13 Those eligible for national health insurance are self-employed, employees of small businesses, part-time employees who do not have insurance from their workplaces (cooperatives), or the unemployed. 14 In 1990, media reported the fertility rate of 1989, which was the lowest on record at that time, as the “1.57 shock.”

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reconsidering work styles through shortened working hours and assistance for reemployment, including allowing male employees time to care for their children; (2) to encourage understanding of the importance of family roles and commitment to society, including providing junior/senior high school students with opportunities to play and communicate with infants at day care centers; and (3) to promote mutual support and collaboration for child care, including providing places for parents and children within walking distance of each other to gather, ask for advice, and communicate (The Foundation of Children’s Future, 2008). The Next Generation Nurturing Support Measures Promotion Law (temporary ten-year statute from fiscal year 2005) supports the efforts of the Child Care Support Plan. Currently, municipalities are required to prevent child maltreatment (the 2004 amendment of the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law) and support child rearing in the community (the 2005 amendment of the Child Welfare Law). As a result of the 2007 Hello Baby Initiative, public health nurses (or child commissioners who are volunteers in the community, appointed by the central governments) visit all families with infants under the age of four months, listen to parents’ concerns, check babies’ and mothers’ health, and provide necessary information. In 2008, this initiative had been implemented in 72.2 percent of local municipalities nationwide. Child Guidance Centers and Child Protection The majority of child welfare services based on the Child Welfare Law are conducted through child guidance centers, governmental administrative bodies established after World War II. At the time of our research, there were 196 child guidance centers in prefectures and designated ordinance cities.15 The budgets to run the centers are shared equally by the national and local governments. Until recently, child guidance centers were responsible for virtually all concerns about children, including protective care, counseling on child rearing, delinquency, and mental and physical disabilities. Increasingly, they are called on to serve the most difficult cases, which require special knowledge and skills. Cases related to mental and physical disabilities account 15 Government ordinance cities are cities that have a population greater than 500,000 and have been designated as such by an order of the cabinet of Japan. Designated cities are delegated many of the functions normally performed by prefectural governments in fields such as public education and social welfare. Government ordinance cities typically have their child guidance centers independently from prefectures.

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for approximately half of the workload at child guidance centers, whereas cases involving delinquency comprise approximately 5 percent. These cases remained relatively stable over the twelve-year period from 1995 to 2007. In contrast, cases related to protective care, including maltreatment, have increased (maltreatment cases from 0.9% to 11%). At the same time that services for child maltreatment have increased, needs for consultations on general child-rearing issues remain. The Japanese government recognized that it was not efficient for child guidance centers to take responsibility for all these diverse needs. The Child Welfare Law was revised in 2005, and now, municipalities are required to provide consultations on children and family issues, which are assumed to prevent child maltreatment and promote early detection. As cases involving consultations on general child-rearing issues are now taken at municipalities, those cases handled at child guidance centers have decreased. The 2005 amendment of the Child Welfare Law assigned municipalities responsibilities to identify and refer existing and suspected child maltreatment cases to child guidance centers. As a result, people are able to report child maltreatment to their local governmental agencies, which may further facilitate the reporting of maltreatment. When child maltreatment is suspected, staff from municipalities may visit the home for an initial investigation of the incident with or without backup from the child guidance center staff. When specialized procedures, legal interventions, temporary protection, and/or comprehensive assessments are deemed necessary, the case is referred to child guidance centers. Child guidance centers also receive direct referrals from professionals in contact with children and families, neighbors, and acquaintances. In addition, a significant number of self-referrals are made by parents who are insecure about their parenting skills and who may be at risk for mistreating their children. The percentage of help-seeking by immediate family members, including potential abusers, dropped from 23 percent in 1999 to 14 percent in 2007. Nonetheless, referrals from family remain among the highest percentage of child maltreatment referrals to child guidance centers. In the case of child maltreatment, child guidance centers have broad legal powers including the ability to: (1) take temporary protective measures to safeguard the child without parental consent, (2) enter a private household to investigate the allegation, (3) apply for a court order to remove the child to a place of safety without parental consent, and (4) apply for the deprivation of parental rights by a family court (Saimura, 2006). Following the investigation, treatment plans for the family are developed based on comprehensive social, psychological, behavioral, and medical assessments

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conducted at the child guidance center. The child guidance centers either provide in-home services or remove children from their parents. When appropriate, child guidance centers make arrangements to place children in child welfare institutions, medical facilities, or foster family homes. Among child maltreatment cases in 2006 and 2007, approximately 81 percent of referred families remained intact while receiving consultation and/ or counseling services; approximately 10 percent had their children placed in institutions; and less than 1 percent had their children placed in individual foster family homes (Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 2008). The majority of child guidance centers have temporary protective units attached to the centers, where children can stay for several days to several months until safety in their home is ensured or out-of-home placements are decided. In 2007, there were 117 temporary protection units nationwide, where 69 percent of maltreated children who received temporary protection were housed. Staying at the protective unit attached to a child guidance center can be very stressful for many children. Many temporary protective units are over capacity. In addition, both younger and older children are housed together, as are children with delinquent behavioral problems and those removed because of maltreatment. In 2007, 14 percent of children staying in temporary protective units were delinquent and 39 percent were maltreated. The remaining 47 percent included other child-rearing and developmental issues. Of those children referred elsewhere for temporary protection in 2007, most (62%) entered residential child welfare institutions (MHLW, 2008). Although child guidance centers have broad legal powers, family courts typically are not involved when families are investigated and children are placed in out-of-home care. Through discussion and consultations with child welfare officers, most parents “agree” with the governmental decision of the child’s placement. Article 28 of the Child Welfare Law, however, states that when parents are uncooperative, prefectures can investigate and place a maltreated child in care with approval by the family court. Court-ordered investigations, however, remain rare (only 199, or 0.5% of maltreatment cases, in 2007). When they do occur, a team of professionals, such as child welfare officers and medical doctors from the child guidance center, visit the family at home as a group. They may collaborate with the police, but compulsory investigation based on this law is not the police’s duty. Likewise, court-ordered removal of children is rare. Among the total 40,639 child maltreatment cases brought into child guidance centers in 2007, allegations were made based on the Article 28 of the Law in only 235 cases (0.6%). Child

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guidance centers only requested that family courts terminate parental rights in four cases in 2007, one of which was approved (MHLW, 2008). Given the increasing severity and complexity of child maltreatment cases brought to child guidance centers, recruitment of professional staff, especially social workers, is an ongoing challenge. Although staff members at child guidance centers include child psychologists, medical doctors such as psychiatrists, and child care specialists (hoikushi), the bulk of the work is carried out by “child welfare officers” (jidou hukushishi), who may or may not be specialists in child welfare. From 2000 to 2008, the number of child welfare officers increased from 1,313 to 2,358. According to Takahashi et al. (2007), approximately 40 percent of child welfare officers had an educational background in social welfare and 20 percent had qualifications in human services including school teachers, public health nurses, child care specialists, and specially trained child welfare officers. The remaining 40 percent were originally employed as general administrative officers who typically are transferred every three to five years (e.g., the Public Works section). As case loads, as well as the proportion of difficult cases, increase, staff members’ stress and burnout have become a problem often addressed by Japanese practitioners and scholars in child welfare (Wada, Morita, & Sato, 2003). Another contributing factor is that the same child welfare officers handle both investigation of maltreatment and case work following the investigations. Although there are benefits to the continuity, the dual and sometimes conflicting roles of investigator and case worker can cause stress for both workers and service recipients. Indeed, the traditional emphasis of child welfare officers at child guidance centers is the development of rapport with clients, through which interventions may be implemented. Traditionally, clients were encouraged to voluntarily seek help at child guidance centers. Parents who were struggling with child rearing and who were possibly maltreating their children would phone or visit child guidance centers to seek help. The MHLW guidelines (Japan Child and Family Research Institute, 2001) state: In the case of help-seeking (request for consultation) by maltreating parents, staff members should listen to the clients without criticizing them, show a posture that communicates a willingness to work on the problem with the client, and, when necessary, provide concrete guidance and/or directions for resolution. Instead of forcing the clients’ involvement in the child welfare system, staff members should inform them, concretely, regarding the types of support they can offer, and suggest that they

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visit the center, or if it is not possible, then arrange for staff members to visit them. (p. 26)

Social case work based on the principle of acceptance employed by most Japanese child welfare workers, however, can be incompatible with the increasing number of difficult cases (Kuraishi, Maehashi, Tsuzaki et al., 2002), where strict law enforcement is often required (Saimura, 2006). And yet, even when aggressive interventions such as court-ordered investigations are necessary, child guidance centers are often reluctant to exercise such authority, worrying that it will cause serious conflicts with the parents and impede subsequent social work interventions. Kuraishi and colleagues (2002) argue that it is impossible for the same agency to effectively assume the dual roles of exercising governmental authority and providing social work based on acceptance. Japanese scholars argue for a number of system changes (e.g., Kuraishi et al., 2002). These include police and legal backup. For example, there is no legal backup for child guidance center staff members when they must break the lock to enter a house when parents resist investigation by child guidance center, even for the court-ordered investigations (Japan Children and Family Research Institute, 2001). In 2007, the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law and the Child Welfare Law were revised again to strengthen prefectures’ (the head of child guidance centers’) authority.16 For example, beginning April 2008, heads of the child guidance centers can require a parent to appear at the child guidance center with the child, and if he or she does not comply, they can exercise a court-ordered investigation. If the parent continues to refuse the investigation and does not comply with the next request to appear at the center, by court permission, official inspection and search can occur. In this case, child welfare officers may enter the house without the parent’s permission. Local Governments’ and Nongovernmental Organizations’ Roles Although prefectures and child guidance centers in designated cities take the major roles in dealing with child maltreatment cases, local governments as well as nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations also have responsibilities. In 1997, “The Regional Councils for Children in Need of Protection” were started as local municipalities’ child abuse prevention networks. The main aims of the regional councils are to facilitate (1) early detection and intervention in cases of child maltreatment, (2) collaboration 16 Heads of child guidance centers are given full authority by the prefectural governors.

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between related agencies, and (3) professional development of workers. The councils were legalized by the 2005 amendment of the Child Welfare Law, and since 2007, local municipalities have been required to set up councils. In 2001, only 16 percent of the local municipalities had councils, but by 2008, 94 percent had councils. Nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations such as the Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse (APCA) took the leading role in dealing with child maltreatment issues in the 1990s, earlier and more actively than the governments’ initiatives. These organizations collaborate with governmental agencies to support vulnerable families. Many of them are comprised of specialists such as medical doctors, public health nurses, clinical psychologists, and social workers who work for the organizations part time. In contrast to the child guidance centers, these organizations do not investigate child maltreatment, nor do they have the authority to remove children from their homes. This separation of therapeutic from investigative roles facilitates rapport building and cooperation with parents. In addition to providing comprehensive service to families, some nongovernmental organizations provide advice for other professionals on the phone and at multidisciplinary case conferences (Yoshida, 2007). The 2005 amendment of the Child Welfare Law designated nongovernmental organizations as part of the “Regional Councils for Children in Need of Protection.” Governmental and nongovernmental organizations that are members of the councils now have requirements for confidentiality and information sharing among the member organizations. An important service provided by nongovernmental organizations is telephone hotlines and counseling. The APCA started hotline/telephone counseling services to prevent child maltreatment in 1990, and currently there are forty organizations with similar missions nationwide (Kato, Kaneda, & Yoshida, 2009). The functions of hotlines in Japan, especially hotline services provided by nongovernmental organizations, are different from those in the United States. Most callers of hotlines in Japan are socially isolated, distressed mothers who are struggling with child rearing and who are potential abusers, whereas the U.S. hotlines are primarily for reporting child maltreatment incidents (Shibano, 2001). Among the child maltreatment-related calls received at the APCA in 1999, 66 percent were from potential abusers, whereas calls from witnesses accounted for only 12 percent (APCA, 2000). Even after the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law was issued in 2000, the APCA continues to receive calls from potential abusers. Among the child maltreatment-related calls in 2008, 65 percent were from potential abusers, whereas 22 percent were from witnesses

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(APCA, 2010). Yoshida (2007) comments that because nongovernmental organizations do not have as much authority as child guidance centers, callers feel more comfortable in seeking help from them. Even when telephone hotline/counseling workers suspect that the caller may be mistreating her child, their role is to listen and encourage the caller to seek help at a local child guidance center or a health care center. If the caller provides her name and address or at least the area of residency, they contact local governmental agencies to facilitate her receipt of services.

some emerging trends in jidou yougo shisetsu Shift Away from Institutional Care The Japanese government is attempting to shift from institutional care to family foster care. In Japan, however, family foster care has seldom been utilized. Although family foster care placements have increased somewhat in recent years, it accounts for only a small percentage of placements (6.5% in 2001 and 9.6% in 2008 ) (MHLW, 2008; The Foundation for Children’s Future, 2002). Children placed in family foster care tend to be those who child welfare professionals view as less likely to be reunited with their families. In 2008, 53 percent of children living in child care institutions visited their parents’ homes, whereas only 9 percent of children in foster family care did so and only 28 percent had any contact with their parents (MHLW, 2009a). For these children, life within the community in a family setting is viewed as preferable to long-term institutionalization. More children might be placed in family foster care were it not for a shortage of foster families (see Shoji, 2007b, Goodman, 2000). Shoji (2007b) identifies a number of factors that inhibit the development of family foster care in Japan, including the reluctance of some people in Japan to raise children with whom they have no blood relationship, and the confusion of foster care with adoption. Historically, adoption has been widely practiced in Japan to ensure the continuity of an ie (house), but the primary focus is on the house, not the adoptee. These adoptees are usually close relatives whose natal homes are known, and who are adults (Goodman, 2000). More recently, some people have registered as foster parents not because they want to foster children in need of protective care, but because they want to adopt physically and mentally healthy young children, preferably without contact with their biological parents (Shoji, 2007b). In 2002, there was a major reform of the foster family care system in Japan. Foster care was clarified and redefined, and several types of foster

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parents were identified. Youiku satooya raise children in need of protective care, and have to register and renew their status every five years. Foster parents who plan to subsequently adopt a child also were included in this group. Relatives within the third degree can become Shinzoku satooya when children’s parents or guardians cannot take care of them. Tanki satooya live for less than one year with children in need of protection. Senmonsatooya live for less than two years with children who are in need of protection and who have significant psychological and/ or physical trauma because of maltreatment. To become Senmonsatooya, individuals had to function as Youikusatooya for at least three years and receive special training. The 2008 amendment of the Child Welfare Law further differentiated foster care as a precondition of adoption (Youshi kibou satooya) from foster care as a means of protective care (Youiku satooya). Youiku satooya now are required to get training. Payment for youiku satooya has been increased, whereas youshi kibou satooya are not paid. This change aims to increase the number of available protective foster families. Providing consultation regarding foster care now is a responsibility of the prefectures (MHLW, 2009b). Increased Authority of Child Guidance Centers and Institution Heads To respond to the increasing number of maltreatment cases referred to child care institutions, the 2007 amendment of the Child Maltreatment Prevention Law strengthened the authority of heads of child guidance centers, which allowed them to restrict parental access to children placed in care. Previously, when a child was removed from home for temporary protection, or when a child’s placement within a child care institution was an agreed-on placement, there were no restrictions on parents in meeting or corresponding with their children. This amendment of the Law allowed the head of the child guidance center and head of the child care institution to restrict parental access to children. When necessary, an agreed-on placement can be changed to a compulsory placement, which restricts parental access. This amendment allows the heads of prefectures to issue an order of prohibition of parental access to the child, and if the parents do not comply, a penalty including incarceration and/or a fine will be imposed. This revision was important because previously, even when future maltreatment could be anticipated, child care institutions could not legally prohibit parental access: Parents who voluntary placed a child could take the child

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home, for example, on the weekend where the child might re-experience maltreatment. Increased Small Group Care and Community Group Homes Since 2004, the central government has allocated budgets to increase the number of community group homes and child care institutions that employ small groups (six children) as care units within institutions. The MHLW set a goal that they would increase the number of community group homes and small-group care within the institutions to a total of 845 places by 2009. Although around 70 percent still employed a large residence system in 2007, more institutions (322 in 2006 and 357 in 2007) were employing small groups (six children) as care units within larger institutions. The number of community group homes also is increasing (118 in 2006 and 146 in 2007), but is still far from the targeted numbers. The National Social Security Council offered opinions concerning a future social care system in 2007, and the Child Welfare Law was revised the following year. Again, smaller living units at child care institutions as well as promotion of family foster care was addressed. In 2010, the central government set a new goal, titled “Children and Childrearing Vision,” to increase the number of community group homes (from 171 in 2008 to 300 by 2014) and institutions with small-group care (from 446 in 2008 to 800 by 2014) (Zenkoku jidou yougo shisetsu kyougikai, 2010). Family Reunification Since 2004, family social workers have been assigned to child care institutions. They work with families as case managers to facilitate children’s early reunification throughout the course of children’s involvement in institutional care: before and during institutionalization, at discharge, and after discharge (MHLW, 2003, cited in Shibano, 2004). The Child Maltreatment Prevention Law was revised in 2004, clarifying that “facilitating child-family reunification” is the nation’s as well as local governments’ responsibility. In 2006, however, only 9 percent of parents whose children were placed in care because of maltreatment were receiving support to prepare for reunification (Saimura, 2007b). Kashiwame (2008) addressed, as part of future reform, the necessity of expanding and strengthening family support as well as collaboration among different services. One suggestion he made is that improving family relationships should be incorporated within the support plans for adolescents’ eventual independent living. Development and dissemination of programs for parents who maltreated children also are necessary (Kashiwame, 2008).

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Addressing Older Children’s Needs How to better respond to older children’s needs and to promote their independent living has become a major concern at child care institutions. In the 2008 amendment of the Child Welfare Law, expanding support for older children’s independent living, including employment and continuing education, were addressed. Previously, only children who graduated with terminal degrees from compulsory education (ninth grade, age fifteen) were targeted for independent living support services by law. By 2008, all youth under age twenty were targeted for such services. Many issues for youth who have aged out of childcare institutions have been identified. For example, they may have debts from personal financing companies, be late or absent from work without notice, frequently change workplaces, get pregnant, and use drugs and alcohol. Their parents, who rarely contacted them before, may approach them to ask for money (Hinatabokko, 2007; Shoji, 2007a). They also may be under educated. In 2005, when 68 percent of youth from the general population entered college, only 16 percent of those who had been placed in child care institutions did so (Shoji, 2007a). In addition, some scholars argue that social discrimination toward children and youth in care also should be addressed: Youth who lived in child care institutions often experience social discrimination that limits their opportunities for employment and/or marriage (Ichikawa, 2007). Because of social discrimination and “forced independence,” youth can develop a strong feeling of being alone. They may feel, “I’m different” and “I’m not accepted in society.” Consequently, some cannot trust themselves, experience hopelessness, and lack self-esteem. They cannot find meaning in life. Some even commit suicide (Hinatabokko, 2007; Ichikawa, 2007). These issues were among the main discussion topics at the Japanese Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect conference in 2009. At the symposium on November 28, 2009 Ieiri argued that independence of youth leaving state care can only be achieved when the youth feels, “I’m needed and accepted in the society,” and that children should be raised in the community in ways that they have consistent connections with people in the community. Addressing Child Maltreatment Issues within Jidou Yougo Shisetsu In recent years, as social awareness regarding child maltreatment and children’s rights has increased, the quality of care within child care institutions has come under more careful scrutiny, and incidents of child maltreatment within institutions have been reported (e.g., Hirayu, 2004). In 2007, the MHLW argued that the number and quality of staff members need to be

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improved (MHLW, 2007, cited in Kashiwame, 2008). The 2008 amendment of the Child Welfare Law also addresses the issues of child maltreatment within institutions. The Law stipulates that child maltreatment within child care institutions must be reported, and prefectures and prefectures’ child welfare councils have to set up provisions for prevention of this problem. Currently, two years of post-secondary education is necessary to become child care workers (hoikushi), who are the primary care takers for institutionalized children. Hoikushi are not trained to deal with many difficult problems brought in by children with histories of maltreatment; as a result, they experience burnout or loose confidence. Developing a new special professional qualification for residential care may be worth considering (Kashiwame, 2008).

conclusion This chapter provided an overview of the Japanese child welfare system during the first decade of the twenty-first century, the social and historical context of our research program. Child welfare in Japan is broadly conceived to support the well-being of all children, not just those who have experienced maltreatment or are otherwise vulnerable. Given the continued decrease in fertility rates in Japan, there is an emphasis on the support of child rearing in the general population, and many primarily preventative services are offered to the general population. In the past ten to twenty years, however, social awareness of child maltreatment has increased. Concurrently, the number of child maltreatment cases brought to Japanese officials has increased, as has the proportion of children officially placed in child welfare institutions because of parental maltreatment. The reasons for these changes are complex and interrelated. In addition to an increased likelihood that cases of child maltreatment are reported, more children may be experiencing maltreatment. Japanese society has become increasingly urbanized, causing parental social isolation and the breakdown of community ties, and the global economic crisis has impacted Japanese families. To respond to the increasing number of child maltreatment cases, child welfare related laws, policies, and services continue to evolve within the dynamic Japanese child welfare system. These responses both reflect and communicate a Japanese perspective on problems of child maltreatment and their solutions.

11 Conclusion: Some Lessons for Culturally Sensitive Child Welfare

Children’s Academy residents enjoying an outing at the beach

Sachiko: You attend (Elementary School) since this school year. How is your current school for you? Misa: When I was at home, I was beaten all the time, and I couldn’t be relaxed even at school .â•›.â•›. because everyone asked me, “What happened?” “What happened?” After I came to (Elementary School), I am able to stay calm. In this interview, a nine-year-old girl discussed how a safe and stable life at the Dream Home helped her to recover psychologically from 189

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physical abuse by her stepfather. This child went on to spend nearly forty-five minutes sketching the institution: her house, her room, and peers in her house on a white board with colored pens and colored magnets, and talking about everyday life in her house. She discussed her friends at school including the times she goes to visit them in their homes after school, and they visit her at the institution

Children such as Misa, who have been maltreated, develop within distinct cultural traditions. What it is that adults from these various cultural traditions view as problematic for children’s development, as well as what should be done to address those problems, varies widely (Walsh 2002, 2004). Holloway (2006) observes that, “Cultural tendencies bring certain problems and solutions to light” (p. 371). The mark of Japan can be seen in the choices of problems to emphasize and the recommended ways to deal with them (Azuma, 2005, p. xiii). Viewing problems and solutions through a Japanese perspective can result in new insights for addressing persistent issues arising in other cultural contexts. Our intent is not to hold up Â�particular systems as superior, or to recommend the transfer of specific practices to diverse child welfare contexts. Rather, our goal has been to use the case of Japan to raise questions and stimulate creative problem solving for other researchers and professionals interested in promoting the well-being of maltreated children. To this end, it is worthwhile drawing out several lessons emerging from our work that have broad implications for culturally-sensitive child welfare practice.

consider the cultural identification of problems Considering the perspectives of Japanese adults focuses our attention on the social and emotional well-being of maltreated children. Adult participants identified as problematic maltreated children’s social and emotional well-being in relation to the culturally embedded concept of Ibasho. Ibasho creation is viewed as an important developmental goal within Japanese society. Within Ibasho, one can experience emotional stability, including a sense of security (anshin) and acceptance. According to adult participants, social acceptance from adults and peers is fundamental to children’s Ibasho creation and necessary for their continued positive development. Maltreated children, however, experience an absence of Ibasho at home, and oftentimes at school and in the community as well, due to an absence of acceptance and security. In Japan, children who have been maltreated are sometimes referred to as “children without Ibasho.” According to our adult

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participants, part of their role in working with maltreated children was to support their Ibasho creation. Ibasho creation for maltreated children was seen as fundamental to their recovery and well-being. Understanding an absence of Ibasho as a critical problem experienced by maltreated children also focuses our attention on developmentally and contextually changing needs for child well-being. What makes a child “feel cozy” or “feel a sense of Ibasho” varies over time and context. For young children, unconditional acceptance from parents is critical for their Ibasho formation at home. For school children to find their Ibasho at school, good peer relationships and opportunities to show their competence in areas such as academics and sports may also be needed.

consider culturally diverse strategies for achieving goals Even when adults from diverse cultural contexts identify similar problems, such as issues of social and emotional well-being, the ways in which they approach these issues still may vary widely. In both the United States and Japan, maltreated children experience significant social and emotional problems (Clausen, et al., 1998; Hartnett & Bruhn, 2005; Ito, et al., 2003; Parker & Herrera, 1996; Saito, 2001). Adults in our study, who viewed maltreated children’s social and emotional problems as an absence of Ibasho, focused on empowering children through developmentally and ecologically focused socialization practices such as mimamori. Mimamori is a socialization practice through which Japanese adults support children’s attainment of developmental goals, not primarily through targeted individual interventions as may be more common in the United States, but by providing a rich social and physical ecology in which they may learn and flourish “naturally,” including recover from maltreatment. Mimamori is primarily indirect support, through which adults may create an accepting and positive social-emotional ecology that provides the children with opportunities for exploration, self-expression, and peer relationships important for Ibasho creation. In the context of children’s recovery from maltreatment, mimamori can be thought of as an implicit, ecologically based practice. It supports or allows correction of children’s developmental trajectories by changing their physical and social ecologies, and, when necessary, through direct intervention to address children’s needs identified as adults carefully watch over them. Japanese models can stimulate thought about how child Â�welfare workers and foster parents might enhance their own Â�culturally-sensitive

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developmental and ecological practices in support of children. UnderÂ� standing Japanese concepts and related socialization practices may provide an opportunity to think differently about, for example, how to promote maltreated children’s sense of belonging through creating accepting and trusting social ecologies within foster family homes. Foster care in the United States is an example of an ecologically based intervention in which children’s entire social and physical ecologies can be changed to protect them from maltreatment. Once U.S. children are in care, however, interventions often focus more on changing the individual child through cognitive or behavioral therapies (Barth, 2007) than on the subtle, indirect, systematic environmental accommodations more typical of the Japanese. Swick (2006) argued that, “Children need an environment where they can feel safe, secure, loved and valued.â•›.â•›.â•›. [The] trusting ecology fosters strong, positive emotional and spiritual growth in children” (p. 283). The issue, then, is how substitute care settings may be subtly modified to support such a trusting ecology. For example, classes for U.S. foster parents that focus on behavior management might also address ecologically based approaches. Such interventions could complement the developmental-ecological theories of child maltreatment that have emerged in the West over the past decades (e.g., see Cicchetti & Toth, 2006 ; Scannapieco & ConnellCarrick, 2005), as well as respond to the calls of resiliency researchers for greater attention to broader environmental influences in understanding maltreated children (Haskett, et al., 2006). Future research may examine the contexts and conditions in which indirect, ecologically based socialization practices impact maltreated children’s long term well-being, including while in foster care. Understanding the diverse ways in which different child welfare systems address common goals may suggest new perspectives and strategies within any given system. For example, how might children in U.S. foster care receive resources that Japanese child care institutions provide to support the social and emotional well-being of their resident children? These resources for children include caring nonparent adults who may mimamoru them, opportunities to take on roles and responsibly contribute to the family or other social group, and safe spaces in which to explore their interests. One important resource for supporting children’s well-being in Japanese child welfare institutions is that of peer groups. Residents of the Children’s Academy had housemates who shared experiences of maltreatment and outof-home care, and, ideally, with whom they enjoyed activities and mutual support. In the United States, shock, anger, bitterness, guilt, helplessness,

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shame, worthlessness, and a sense of isolation are emotions expressed by some children placed in foster care (Gustavsson, 1991; Nixon, 1997). Having opportunities to meet other foster children and share their experiences may help children feel less negatively and support each other. During assessment of an innovative, nine-month-long writer’s workshop in which U.S. foster youth shared stories of growing up in state care, youth identified the opportunity to talk with and receive support from others who shared their experiences of foster care as both highly valued and relatively unique (Haight, et al., 2009). Additional research is needed to explore the potential risks as well as benefits of such peer support groups

prioritize children’s perspectives Effective child welfare practice also requires consideration of children’s own experiences and perspectives. Understanding maltreated children’s Ibasho creation requires careful consideration of children’s perspectives because Ibasho is subjectively experienced by individuals rather than given or provided by others. As we elaborated in Chapter 4, according to adult participants, children’s Ibasho creation cannot occur without a feeling of acceptance from adults and peers, including of their imperfections. Chapter 7 indicates that many child participants demonstrated their abilities to create and expand their Ibasho when opportunities to do so were provided. As one care worker described, to support the well-being of maltreated children, workers have to understand what children think and desire, and how they are feeling, by interacting with the children on a deeper level and from many aspects. Examination of children’s perspectives and experiences of their Ibasho creation allows us to view maltreated children as active agents of their own lives rather than simply as vulnerable individuals. Participant children had their own individual ways of securing their Ibasho depending on their development, interests, and available resources. Understanding children’s experiences and perspectives can provide important insights to child welfare professionals around the world into possible protective processes that may be incorporated into caregivers’ daily practice, therapeutic interventions, and innovation of child welfare services as a whole. For example, Kaori’s experiences suggest that a protective ecology can support maltreated children’s recovery and positive development. Her safe, stable life with caring adults seemed to allow Kaori to develop selfconfidence, autonomy, and positive relationships with others. Additional research clearly is needed to further elaborate the experiences of children

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in substitute care both in Japan and in other cultural contexts to identify possible protective processes and consider how they can be incorporated into child welfare services.

recognize the complexity of implementing culturally-sensitive child welfare practices It is important to underscore the sheer complexity of culturally-sensitive practice. We matched the ethnicity of social worker and clients, which was helpful. As a Japanese native, Sachiko understood subtle meanings conveyed through choice of words and gestures, and how to interact in an appropriate and respectful manner with participants. We also considered the client-identified developmental goal of Ibasho, which helped identify appropriate domains in which to intervene. And yet, these characteristics of our Â�intervention were not enough for the intervention to “make sense” to participants, as manifested in adults’ resistance to the intervention described in Chapter 8. We focused on setting explicit goals and measuring progress toward them. Although the conflicts these procedures generated taught us important lessons about Ibasho and mimamori, they impeded the intervention. Social workers and other professionals who are trained using models from other cultural contexts may unwittingly implement their otherwise culturally-sensitive interventions in ways that conflict with the values and norms of clients within their own culture.

WATCH WITH “LONG EYES” Effective interventions for children who have experienced maltreatment realistically require a significant investment of time and energy, sometimes extending for years. In Chapter 7, we illustrated maltreated children’s changes over time and with development. As adult participants described, maltreated children’s Ibasho creation may require time and effort both for caretakers and the children themselves. To facilitate children’s recovery from maltreatment, adjustment, and positive development, it is important to maintain perspective, as embodied in a Japanese saying, “Watch with long eyes.” In other words, it is important to patiently mimamoru children considering the potential of future growth, and not to prematurely judge their potential based only on the present. After all, as one of our participants explained, “Ibasho is not created in a day or in a minute.”

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epilogue During the five years of our study and beyond, there have been many changes within the Children’s Academy. Some of these changes reflect social policy trends addressed by the national government. For example, the Children’s Academy now has a group home, where six children from preschool through high school age live with three care workers. Other changes reflect the unfolding lives of children and staff, as well as attempts of this dynamic institution to evolve in relation to challenges. Ongoing Lives of Children and Staff Over the course of our research, some children and youths were reunited with their family or began living independently. Other children joined the institution, and still others who were reunited with their parents returned after re-experiencing maltreatment. As described in previous chapters, some children clearly showed adjustment and improved interpersonal relationships. For example, placement to another institution once was considered for Ayako because of repeated problems, but she remained at the Children’s Academy and became an honor student at high school and went on to live independently and attend college. Other children, however, continued to struggle. For example, the boy described in Chapter 2, who was on probation, continued to run away and steal in the community. The institution head believed that the boy’s behavior reflected his worries and emotional pain, including from his mother’s major mental illness, which he could not express in more appropriate ways. Even though the adults at the Children’s Academy tried to keep him there, a decision to move him to a more restrictive institution eventually was made by the family court and child guidance center. His caregivers’ efforts for the Children’s Academy to serve as “a saucer” for the boy had not had their intended effect, but they still are monitoring him at his new institution and hoping for positive changes. Some staff members also experienced changes. Some left for other jobs or changed houses within the Children’s Academy. Over the years, junior workers gained more confidence in their work and began taking on more responsibilities. Other workers experienced difficulties in the workplace due to the many problems exhibited by the children in their care, or disagreements with their colleagues on children’s care, which decreased their confidence, satisfaction, and enjoyment in their workplace.

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Adaptations in Response to Challenges The institution also has made changes in response to challenges. Bullying issues within the institution, such as older children’s coercion of younger children, intensified, particularly in the girls’ houses. These ongoing problems led to changes in the living units such that elementary school-aged girls and boys are housed separately from junior/senior high school-aged children. The change was made mainly to protect younger children. Although power hierarchies still existed, workers generally viewed the change as resulting in more comfortable living situations. When Sachiko asked several boys and girls about their understanding of the reasons for the change, some high school-aged youth understood that it was because of coercion by older children toward younger children. Others, particularly those who did not seem to be involved in bullying, attributed the changes to different bed times, or the noise made by older children who were up late to study, watch TV, or do their laundry. Changes also were made in access to the gym. At last contact, the gym is no longer open to community children after school hours, except for special occasions. Staff members described varied reasons including that some children and youth from the community, particularly juvenile delinquents, broke materials and/or threatened resident children. The social worker commented, “I think they (the juvenile delinquents in the community) don’t have other places to go, or Ibasho, and thus came to play here.” This posed a dilemma for adults at the Children’s Academy: On the one hand, they would like to contribute to the community, but on the other hand, they need to ensure the safety and comfort of resident children. Masaru It seems appropriate to end our book with an update on Masaru, the child introduced in Chapter 1. Despite his experience of physical abuse by his stepfather, separation from his mother, exposure to adult criminality, and his initial aggressive behaviors, he adjusted relatively well to the Children’s Academy and school. In the fifth year of our research project, eighteenyear-old Masaru and his care worker reported that he had some difficulties earlier that year, including running away from the institution, and conflicts with female care workers. And yet, he was trying to improve himself. Masaru explained that he ran away because he did not like the rules at the Children’s Academy, especially the 6 p.m. curfew. He described his running away as, “I betrayed [Masaru’s favorite care worker],” and expressed motivation to

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behave well after returning to the institution. Masaru also disclosed that until recently, he had been physically aggressive to younger boys when he was irritated. After numerous discussions with his care worker, however, he concluded that it is shameful for a high school boy to attack elementary school-aged boys, and so he stopped. Masaru also described his volunteer experiences at child care centers for babies and preschoolers€– part of his school activities€– as a great opportunity for him. He enjoyed helping workers and interacting with babies. At the conclusion of our research, Children’s Academy staff members reported that Masaru had found a job, graduated from high school, and gone back home to his mother who had recently remarried. On his last day at the Children’s Academy, Masaru thanked staff members many times, and since then has maintained ties with them by Â�visiting on several occasions.

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Index

academic achievement, 22, 78 academic motivation, 115 adoption, 184–185 aggression, 7, 64, 77–79, 81, 85, 100, 111, 115, 139–140, 196–197 aggressive behavior, 3, 5 amae (dependence in close relationships, etc), 66 anshin (peace of mind, freedom from anxiety, safe, etc.), 12, 23, 27, 62–64, 67–69, 73–74, 87, 92, 95, 101–102, 104, 106, 111–112, 116, 142–143, 153, 190 anti-poverty programs, 173 anxiety, 78 APCA. See Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Association for Advancement of Family Care Inc, 22 Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse, 175, 183 Azuma, H, 10, 152–153, 190 behavioral problems, 18, 110, 114, 119 Ben-Ari, E, 9 Bowlby, J, 26 Bruner, J, 18 bullying, 13, 22, 35, 79–81, 134, 196 burnout, 181 child allowance program, 18 Child Care Support Plan, 177–178 child guidance center, 3, 7, 37, 48, 51, 123, 137, 161, 178–182, 184–185, 195 child guidance workers (jidou shidouin), definition of, 21

Child Maltreatment Prevention Law, 175, 178, 182, 185–186 child maltreatment prevention programs, 31 definition of, 175 Child Rearing Allowance, 172 Child Welfare Law, 24, 170–171, 178–180, 182–183, 185–187 childcare workers’ certificate, 51 Children and Childrearing Vision, 186 chorus, 124, 133 Christmas, 126–127 Cicchetti, D, 192 clubs, 7, 62, 71, 74, 107, 172 community group homes, 186 community service center, 95, 121, 132–133, 156, 162 community service centers, 24 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 175 Corsaro, W, 42, 165 Corsino, L, 157, 165 cross-cultural collaborations, 9 cultural developmental approach, 14, 39–40 cultural developmental science, 42 culturally-sensitive child welfare practice, 190 daycare centers, 172 delinquency, 178 delinquent, 20, 78, 180 Denzin, N, 42 developmental goals, 6, 10–11, 18, 25 Developmental methods, 42 Doi, T, 31–32

213

214

Index

emotional commitment (kimochi), 100, 104, 150 Endo, H, 32 Ethnographic methods, 42 family court, 180, 195 family foster care, 184, 186, 192–193 family relationships, 4–5, 30, 89, 96, 135 family reunification, 186 fertility rate, 177 foster care, 19, 135, 185 foster families, 124, 134, 185 foster mother, 136 foster parents, 90, 134–136, 184–185 Foundation for Children’s Future, 173, 178, 184 Fundamental Law of Education, 37 Gauvain, M., 4 Glesne, C, 157–159, 163–164 Goodman, R, 20, 176, 184 Goodnow, J, 4, 18 Gossiping, 80 grandfather, 73 grandma, 72–73, 127 grandparents, 34, 70, 110 group home system, 44 Gurney, J, 155 Haight, W, 10, 39, 57, 193 Harkness, S, 18 healthcare, 172 Hirayu, M, 187 Hoffman, D, 31–32 Hoffman, O, 31 Holloway, S, 190 home visitations, 124, 134, 136 hotlines, 183–184 Hujitake, A, 26–27, 128 Hyogo Prefecture Child Maltreatment Prevention, 29 Ibasho, definition of, 11, 65 Ichikawa, T, 187 independent living, 186–187 international collaboration, 9, 14, 40 Iwatsuki, K, 29 Japan Child and Family Research Institute, 181, 182 Japanese Child Abuse Prevention Law, 46 Japanese Information and Training Center for Problems Related to Child Abuse and Adolescent Turmoil, 36

Japanese National Social Security Council, 11 Japanese Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, 187 jibun (Japanese self), 25, 67 Jidou Yougo Shisetsu, definition of, 3, 19 juku (cram schools), 27 juvenile delinquents, 5 Kashiwame, R, 174–175, 188 Kawai, N, 26 Kawasaki City Children’s Rights Committee, 26 kimochi, 111 Kimura, N, 25, 28 Kitayama, S, 26–27, 30–31 KJ method, 54 Kobayashi, M, 37 Kodomokai (children’s meetings), 23, 104–105, 140 kokoro, 38, 102 Kubota, N, 27 Kuraishi, T, 182 large group residence system, 21–23, 186 learning problems, 110 Lebra, T, 31 Lee, L, 160 LeVine, R, 9 licensed child care workers (hoikushi), definition of, 21 Lincoln, Y, 42 Madriz, M, 167–168 Maehashi, N, 171 Maeno, H, 27 Markus, H, 25, 30–31 Matsuda, T, 27, 31 Matsumoto, I, 176 McGillicuddy-DeLisa, A, 18 MECSST. See Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. methodological pluralism, 42 MHLW. See Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Miller, PJ, 4–5, 42 mimamori, 12 definition of, 7 Minatsuki, A, 26, 32–33 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 32, 35 Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 19–20, 23, 36, 173, 175, 180–181 Misawa, N, 28 moral education, 38

Index Nakazawa, Y, 9 National Constitution, 176 national curriculum, 30 national health insurance, 177 National Social Security Council, 21, 37, 186 New Year, 6, 22, 97 Next Generation Nurturing Support Measures Promotion Law, 178 obon (festival of the dead), 6 Ogawa, Y, 20 Okamoto, K, 38 omoiyari (kind consideration and willingness to help others), 31, 105 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 176 parent–teacher conference, 110 Parke, R., 4 permanency planning, 39 Peshkin, A, 42, 157–159, 163–164 physical contact (skin-ship), 64, 92 physical ecology, 11, 43, 77, 81, 84, 112, 116, 118, 191–192 Play Parks, 33 poverty rates, 177 preventative services, 172–173 psychotherapy, 23 PTA (Parent Teacher Association), 110 public assistance (seikatsu hogo), 176 Regional Councils for Children in Need of Protection, 182–183 relative poverty rate, 176 religion, 121 respite care, 24 Rogoff, B., 4 Saimura, J, 23, 29, 171, 174–176, 179, 182, 186 Schwandt, T, 56 seasonal foster families, 22 Segal, U, 171 Shimizu, H, 9, 32 Shinto, 124 Shoji, J, 184, 187 Shwalb, D, 9

215

Shweder, R, 4, 42 Sigel, I, 18 Single-Mother-Headed Families’ Welfare Loan Fund, 173 small group residence system, 21, 24, 44, 146, 186 social ecology, 11, 32, 43, 77, 112, 114, 116, 191–192 social isolation, 29 social skills, 77–78, 94, 97, 100, 113 Social Welfare Services Law, 20 social withdrawal, 28 Special Activities, 38 Special Child Rearing Allowance, 173 sports, 107, 113, 115, 125, 133 sports clubs, 7 sports teams, 4, 7 sports tournaments, 2, 52 Star Festival, 96, 126 Sumida, M, 27–28 summer camp, 52, 113, 126–127, 139 summer festival, 113, 115, 127, 138 Super, C, 18 swearing, 79 Takahashi, S, 181 Takatsuka, Y, 28 Tender, G, 7, 30 Testa, M, 39 Tobin, J, 30 Tokyo Bureau of Social Welfare, 29 Tominaga, M, 27 United Nation’s Children’s Rights Committee, 21 universal child and maternal healthcare, 19 Walsh, D, 31, 56, 152, 160, 165, 167, 190 weekend foster families, 22 well-being, definition of, 28 World Health Organization, 28 Yamagata, F, 28 Yamano, N, 176 Yoshida, T, 183–184 Zanma, R, 27