Queer Migration and Drag in Japan - Queering Identity, Participation and Belonging

Queer Migration and Drag in Japan: Queering Identity, Participation and Belonging explores how queer migration intersects with drag performance in Japan, illuminating the intricate interplay between gender, embodiment, and identity.
The book follows migrant drag artists as they build lives and stages in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Drawing on interviews, ethnography, and collaborative t¿jisha research, the book explores questions of identity and belonging, and traces how performers - by shifting between insider and outsider positions - reclaim the "gaijin" (foreigner) label, navigate rigid work-family structures, and build coalitions linking Japan's bars to a booming global drag economy.
Queer Migration and Drag in Japan: Queering Identity, Participation and Belonging is ideal for both students and researchers in gender studies, migration, Japanese studies, and performance studies.

List of contents

Introduction: Navigating Queer Migration Research in Japan 1. Threads of Transformation: Gender-Crossing in Japanese History 2. Dragging Foreignness: Strategic Identification in Everyday Disorientation 3. Proximate Assimilation: Edging Participation and Lip-Synching Productivity 4. Contouring Queer Culture: Politics of Belonging within Transnational Queer Communities Conclusion: Dragging queer politics

About the author

Phillip Hughes is Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Human Sciences, University of Osaka, Japan.

Product details

• Authors: Phillip Hughes, Hughes Phillip
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 12.11.2025
• EAN: 9781032691473
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3269147-3
• No. of pages: 208
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology; Ethnic Studies, History, Sociology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, Gender studies, gender groups, SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / General, Drag culture and performance, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / Asian Studies, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity, Queer Studies;Migration Studies;Drag;LGBTQI Studies;Japan