Sport Migration and Sociocultural Transformation: The Case of Fijian Rugby Union Players in Japan

Abstract

Since the 1990s several Fijians have entered rugby union competitions in Japan, attracted predominantly by the financial incentives offered by large corporations who dominate Japanese rugby. In Japan, Fijians face numerous economic, demographic and sociocultural experiences that challenge the vaka i taukei (the ‘traditional’ Fijian way of life). Migration thus becomes a lens through which Fijians review their identity and place in the world. This paper discusses the sociocultural complexities that underpin critical migrant perspectives on the communal patterns that dominate the Fijian way of life. Based on research conducted in Fiji and Japan, this contribution provides an anthropological perspective on transnational Pacific Islander rugby mobility. It pays particular attention to aspects of sociocultural transformation – a theme previously neglected in scholarship on Pacific Islanders in professional rugby.

Keywords::

• Fiji
• Japan
• rugby union football
• sports migration
• cultural change

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Matt Downer, Toru Ikegai, Fumi Kuboke, Fuyuko Mochizuki, Mosese Rarasea and the Fijian Embassy in Tokyo and most importantly the players we engaged with for their valuable assistance. We benefited from comments and criticism on earlier drafts of this paper by Amelia Bonea, Peter Horton, Yoko Kanemasu, Daniela Kraemer and two anonymous reviewers.

Notes

^1. See Tomlinson, In God's Image; Toren, Making Sense of Hierarchy.

^2. See, for example, Horton, “Pacific Islanders in Global Rugby”; Dewey, “Pacific Islands Rugby.”

^3. Although we focus on Japan-based Fijians, we acknowledge that the trajectories of sports migration are complex. Thus, the perceptions of Japan-based Fijians towards the vaka i taukei are shaped both by experiences in Japan and by experiences accumulated in the overall process of rural–urban and transnational migration.

^4. Japan's Kantō area includes Tokyo and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tochigi. Additional interviews were conducted in West Japan.

^5. See Maguire and Falcous, Sport and Migration.

^6.Carter, In Foreign Fields, 7. See also Besnier and Brownell, “Sport, Modernity, Body.”

^7.Obel and Austrin, “End of National Game,” 190.

^8.Bale, The Brawn Drain.

^9. See, for example, Grainger, “Mercenaries and Overstayers”; Grainger, Rick and Andrews, “Bound to the Nation.”

^10.Dewey, “Pacific Islands Rugby,” 82–3.

^11.Besnier, “The Athlete's Body,” 505.

^12. Ibid.

^13.Schaaf, “Elite Pacific Male Rugby Players.”

^14.Sakata, “The Influence of Foreign Players.”

^15.Kanemasu and Molnar, “Pride of the People”; Kanemasu and Molnar, “Collective Identity and Contested Allegiance.”

^16.Kanemasu and Molnar, “Pride of the People,” 12.

^17.Kanemasu and Molnar, “Collective Identity and Contested Allegiance,” 864–5.

^18.Gershon, No Family is an Island, 6.

^19.Lee, “‘Second Generation’ Tongan Transnationalism.”

^20.Dewey, “Pacific Islands Rugby”; Robinson, Rakavi 60; and Schieder, “Rugby in Fiji.”

^21. IRB: Fiji, accessed September 10, 2013, http://www.irb.com/unions/union = 11000030.

^22. FRU: The Fiji Rugby Union, accessed September 10, 2013, http://www.fijirugby.com/pages.cfm/about-union

^23.Kanemasu and Molnar, “Problematizing the Dominant,” have recently challenged this by focusing on Indo-Fijians' and women's participation in the game.

^24.Robinson, Rakavi 60, 12.

^25.Murphy, “Pacific's Brawn Drain.”

^26.Presterudstuen, “The Mimicry of Men.”

^27.Schieder, “Rugby in Fiji,” 26; Teaiwa, “Articulated Cultures,” 213–5.

^28.Capell, The Fijian Dictionary, 5.

^29. See Halapua, Tradition, Lotu and Militarism.

^30.Teaiwa, “Articulated Cultures.”

^31. Ibid., 201.

^32. See Tengan and Markham, “Performing Polynesian Masculinities,” 2413.

^33. See also Presterudstuen, “The Mimicry of Men.”

^34.Schieder, “Rugby in Fiji,” 27.

^35.Dewey, “Pacific Islands Rugby,” 86.

^36. There are numerous minor corporate leagues in which teams seldom hire foreigners.

^37.Hirai, “Globalising Sports Culture”; Light, Hirai and Ebishima, “Tradition, Identity Professionalism.”

^38. See Sakata, “The Influence of Foreign Players,” 138.

^39. In 2003, the number of foreign athletes cumulated to 98. A total of 13 were registered as Fijians. See Chiba and Jackson, “Rugby Player Migration from New Zealand,” 71. The total number appears to be small but it has to be kept in mind that the JRFU regulates the number of on-field players to two (previously three) per team.

^40. The situation changed recently triggered by Japan's successful bid to host the 2019 IRB Rugby World Cup and the willingness of corporations such as Panasonic to spend a fortune on players such as Sonny Bill Williams.

^41. Personal communication, January 14, 2013.

^42. See Besnier, “The Athlete's Body,” 499.

^43. Personal communication, June 2013.

^44. Personal communication, September 7 and November 22, 2012.

^45. The data rely on enquiries with the JRFU, Japanese managers and an almanac published by a Japanese rugby magazine which does not include lower divisions.

^46. In addition, some 25 Fijians played club and university rugby in 2012.

^47. Born to a Fijian mother in New Zealand, he studied in Japan and represents the Japan's national fifteens side.

^48. Personal communication, January 13, 2013.

^49. Ibid.

^50. Personal Communication, January 14, 2013.

^51. See also Light, Hirai and Ebishima, “Tradition, Identity Professionalism”; Sakata, “The Influence of Foreign Players.”

^52. Personal Communication, January 26, 2013.

^53. Personal Communication, September 13, 2012.

^54. Personal Communication, January 10 and January 29, 2013.

^55. Personal Communication, January 17, 2013.

^56. For a detailed discussion, see Schieder, “Questioning Community.”

^57.Besnier, “The Athlete's Body,” 504.

^58.Schubert, “Griffith's Transnational Fijians.”

^59.Hulkenberg, “Living ‘the Fijian Way’ in the UK.”

^60. Personal Communication, January 10, 2013.

^61. See Teaiwa and Mallon, “Ambivalent Kinships.”

^62. Personal Communication, January 10, 2013.

^63. Ibid.

^64. Personal Communication, September 7, 2013.

^65.Bertram and Watters, “The MIRAB Model.”

^66.Lee, “Pacific Migration and Transnationalism,” 19.

^67.Mohanty, “Globalisation, New Labour Migration,” 115.

^68. Personal Communication, September 7, 2012.

^69. Personal Communication, January 29, 2013.

^70. Personal Communication, January 14, 2013.

^71. Personal Communication, September 13, 2012.

^72. Ibid.

Additional information

Funding

Dominik Schieder's work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [grant number PE11043].

Notes on contributors

Dominik Schieder

Dominik Schieder is a postdoctoral fellow at the Frobenius Institute, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, and a visiting fellow at the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics.

Geir-Henning Presterudstuen

Geir-Henning Presterudstuen is a lecturer and research fellow in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at the University of Western Sydney.