Affectionate remittances: Materialism and care in Filipino transnational families in Japan

Abstract

In this article, the author interrogates how Filipino transnational families in Japan circulate love and care through material exchanges and economic transactions. Specifically, the author explains how and why the Filipino traditions of gift-giving and the sending of balikbayan boxes are closely linked to the creation, embodiment and maintenance of familial ties and belonging, despite geographical dispersion. Also, the article shows how the parenting of children is not a dichotomous process between parents and children, but rather, is a wider process of care circulation undertaken by the entire family unit. The rich narratives presented are drawn from a larger multi-sited ethnographic study that was conducted in Japan and the Philippines with migrants and their family members.

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