This edited volume comprises a collection of chapters that explore the notion of marginality and potential freedom therefrom in contemporary Japan and interrogate widely accepted societal norms. As the myth of Japan’s homogeneity became thesubject of vigorous academic debates during the 1980s and 1990s, the notion of diversity in Japan was framed in conjunction with the embodied dichotomy between the Japanese majority and ethnic minorities. Increased numbers of foreign workers in the country’s workforce, the practical issues faced by municipalities, and international pressure on the national government to accommodate diversity all prompted the state to devise its master narrative on tayousei (diversity) in a targeted effort to increase societal awareness of ethnic minorities at the community level and encourage coexistence or foster minorities’ rights within the legal infrastructure framework. Governmental offices, for instance, periodically highlight their attempts to adapt to diversifying society in terms of ‘multicultural coexistence, ‘inclusivity’, ‘diversity with respect to gender and sexuality’, and, more recently, ‘neurodivergence’ in the educational realm; however, diversity is continuously positioned vis à-vis monolithic normative values and as ‘something to cope with’ while maintaining the existing structure. As Japanese society witnesses increasing diversity and fragmentation, the imposition of idealised norms causes many individuals to experience ikizurasa – a sense of alienation from the ‘ordinary’ – futsu – without an apparent cause or ibasho ga nai – ‘a sense of being out of place, out of sorts, disconnected’ (Allison 2013, 14). Accordingly, research on individuals who feel marginalised, including those who may be conventionally categorised as the majority, remains scant. Thus, this volume approaches marginality as a catalytic driving force to glimpse an alternative future in Japan by deconstructing marginality’s perceived inherent deficiency. To this end, the chapters that follow address several issues relating to marginality by applying ethnographic and interview methods to access actual cases that prompt an interrogation of existing normative practices.