Dr. Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
Identity and Becoming Whole
Human development is a journey of embracing one’s authentic self and vital energy. Identity is shaped by multiple influences such as race, sexuality, nationality, and life experiences, and understanding these layers helps us navigate complexity and connect more fully with ourselves and others.

Articles and Interviews
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“Storytelling teahouse ‘master’ is modern day doctor of the soul.” Beacon Reports, June 25, 2021
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“Multiethnicity and the Changing Face of Asian America.” The Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month of Learning. Stanford Business School. May 29, 2021
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“I’m Irish!: Liberating a Surrendered Multiethnic Identity.” Psychology Today. March 18, 2021
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“We Too, Are America.” Stanford Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, April 8, 2020
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“A story of family told across multiple continents.” By Richard Solomon. Japan Times, March 12, 2020
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“Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu draws on his own past of otherness to foster inclusion today.” By Richard Solomon. Japan Times, March 12, 2020
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“A singular moment in a teahouse full of tales,” By Richard Solomon, Japan Times, March 12, 2020
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“Every Courageous Act: Reflecting on Japanese American Internment.” Stanford Asian American Alumni Club, March 2017
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Telling Our Story: “Home” for Japan’s Mixed Roots People. Journal of Intercultural Education. (In Japanese), (2014).
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Multiracial/Multiethnic Identities. In Danico, M. Y. (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of Asian American Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage with James Ong (2014).
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“Hikikomori: Adolescence without End.” Book review. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. March, 2014
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Mixed Race People in Japan’s Multicultural Society. (2014). In Johanna Zulueta and Lydia Yu-Jose (Eds.) Migration and the Creation of Japan’s Multicultural Society: Workers, Women, and the Next Generation, Quezon City, PH: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
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“Asian American Student Stress: The Other Side of Achievement.” With S., Sein, K., Wakimoto, P. & Wang, M. In Eunai Shrake and Edith Wen-Chu Chen (Eds.) Critical Issues and Debates in Asian American Studies, Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishers. 2013
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“When Half is Whole: Learning from the Stories of Multiethnic Asian American Identities.” Stanford Asian American Alumni Club, 2013
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“The Celtic Samurai: Storytelling a Transnational-Transracial Family Life.” In Laura Kina and Wei Ming Dariotis (Eds.) War Baby/Love Child: Mixed Race Asian American Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013
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Interview. Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu. At Home Abroad: The Contemporary Western Experience in Japan. By Adam Komisarof. Tokyo: Reitaku University Press, 2012
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2012). Hybrid Identities and Adolescent Girls: Being “Half” in Japan, Review of book by Laurel Kamada. Social Science Japan Journal
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Book Review: Exploring the Borderlands of Race, Nation, Sex and Gender, by Nancy Matsumoto. Discover Nikkei, December 29, 2012
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2011). The Routledge International Companion to Multicultural Education, Book Review, James A. Banks. Diaspora, Indigenous
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2011). Multiracial Identities. In Juergensmeyer, M. & Anheier, H. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Global Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
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Interview. “Multiracial: Border Crosser: Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu navigates nations, cultures and academia,” by Akemi Johnson, Nichibei, May 20, 2010
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. & Willis, D. B. (2008). Challenges of Japan’s New Diversity. In F. Coulmas, H. Conrad, A. Schad-Seifert, G. Vogt (Eds.) The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan. pp. 293—315. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2008). Narratives of Living in the Borderlands of Race and Nation in Japan. In Willis, D. B. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (Eds.) Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender, and Identity. pp. 282—304. London: Routledge
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Willis, D. B. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2008). Transcultural Japan: Metamorphosis in the Cultural Borderlands and Beyond. In Willis, D. B. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (Eds.). Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender, and Identity. pp. 3—44. London: Routledge
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Willis, D. B. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2008). Ethnoscapes and the Other in 21st Century Japan. In Willis, D. B. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (Eds.) Transcultural Japan. pp. 305—324. London: Routledge
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2006). Dilemmas of Human Relations of Korean International Students in Japan. In Lee. S., Murphy-Shigematsu, S. & Befu, H., (Eds.) Japan’s Diversity Dilemmas: Ethnicity, Citizenship and Education. pp. 213—232. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2004). Ethnic Diversity, Identity and Citizenship in Japan, Harvard Asia Quarterly, Winter, VIII (I): 51—57
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Onishi, A. & Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2003). Identity Narratives of Muslim Foreign Workers in Japan. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 13: 224—239
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Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2002). Multiethnic Japan. Review of book by John Lie, Harvard University Press, Social Science Journal Japan, October, 5(2), 297—300.
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Identities of Multiethnic People in Japan.” In Japan and Global Migration: Foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society, 2000
Audios and Videos
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When Half is Whole: The Multicultural Person, Family, and Society in a Globalized World. ICAS Temple University Japan, June 19, 2015
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The Celtic Samurai
Books
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When Half is Whole: Multiethnic Asian American Identities, Stanford University Press, 2012