Are you “Hafu” / Half Japanese?

I received an email from the creator of  ”Hafu” regarding upcoming events in Japan. I am sure that many of you have read the Japan Times article,”Hafu, focuses on whole individual” which was published back in February 2009. The creator states that: “This is an ongoing project that creates a dialogue about being in between cultures. By increasing discussions about culture, ‘race’ and ethnicity we hope to achieve a deeper understanding of these issues. For this reason we actively give public lectures and organise events.”  

Jacqualine Kurio in her piece, “Nationality, Identity, Language and Culture – Making the Pieces Fit” examined three articles, one of which was on the website Hafu. She writes: “So while we can see that language, culture and nationality all have some bearing on identity, neither one can be said to be more important when it comes to establishing a sense of place or belonging. Clearly it is a combination of all these things, plus many other elements too subtle and numerous to list.” 

Ms. Kurio also wrote: “Cross-cultural marriages have been steadily increasing in Japan over the last few years, yet the divorce rate among such couples remains high (1 out of every 2.5 marriages) with ‘irreconcilable cultural differences’ being cited as the most common reason for the break-up. As a result of these marriages, more than 3% of births in Japan are to parents of mixed cultural backgrounds, yet the provision of education to enable these children to maintain close affinity with the non-Japanese side of their heritage (including language and culture) is extremely limited and depends more or less solely on the parents’ efforts.”

We here at Black Tokyo like to examine the issues and encourage dialogue found on websites such as Hafu. Please checked out the Hafu website, the Hafu Facebook Group and the dates for the upcoming events. There is information on how you can participate in the photoshoot (I believe it is for those 18+) below and on the Hafu website. Be sure to tell a friend about Hafu and the wonderful work they are doing!

The Hafu Blog states: “Our events are designed to create opportunities to instigate fruitful discussions on cultural diversity, identity and ‘race’ in a profound and thoughtful way. Typically, our talks are 30-45 minutes long with plenty of images and quotes from interviews, followed by a discussion. Our exhibition can also be booked, usually for a period of at least one week, with the option of an event ‘In conversation with the curators’.” 

Here are the upcoming events in Japan:

Calling all half Japanese people living in Japan (over 18s only)
 
Tokyo Photo Shoot                 20 & 21 June (Sat & Sun) 10am – 7pm as well as 24 June (Thu) 5pm-8pm

The Glass House Studio
Kokubunji, Tokyo
www.theglasshouse.info

Osaka Photo Shoot                 28 June (Sun), times to be confirmed 

Information: Our photo shoot in Tokyo will take place in a studio in Kokubunji, which is around 20 to 25 minutes from Shinjuku. The studio in Osaka still needs to be confirmed but if you are free and can attend please let us know now so we can slot you into our schedule. The photo shoot should not take more than 20 minutes.
 
In addition to the photo shoot, we will select a number of people to be interviewed. The interviewing process will take about 60-90 minutes. We can meet in a mutually convenient time and place. You will be asked a number of questions about your identity and experience in relation to your half Japanese background.
 
If you are interested in taking part, we would love to hear from you. Please fill in our online entry form:

The project:  Hafu is a collaborative project between artist/photographer Natalie Maya Willer and social researcher Marcia Yumi Lise. The project is made up of portrait photographs of half Japanese people (or Hafus as they are called in Japan) and their stories, extracted from in-depth interviews. As part of the exhibition we will organise a range of events including an academic seminar, family art workshop, networking night, live photo shoot and a cultural evening.
 
The project tries to give insight into the experiences of ethnically mixed Japanese individuals. It offers an opportunity to explore the ways in which Hafus construct their identities and establish a sense of belonging whilst being in between different cultures.
 
The work we carry out is highly respectful to everybody portrayed. The format provides an intimate and safe environment where subjects’ stories can be heard. We place much value in respecting people’s opinions and integrating them in the dialogue we are trying to create. Our work is carried out to a high standard and we aim to achieve further intercultural understanding based on the trust of the people we work with.

Public lecture
“Hafu Japanese Identities”
25 June 2009 (Thu)
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Sophia University, Institute of Comparative Culture
http://www.fla.sophia.ac.jp/icc/index.htm
写真撮影

東京
６月２０日（土）午前１０時～午後７時
６月２１日(日)午前１０時～午後７時
６月２４日（水）午後５時～午後８時
国分寺スタジオ

大阪
６月２８日（日）
時間帯は現在調整中
スタジオ確認中

【エントリーフォーム】
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cHBVN2VQUklDejQxOUxRM2FVSGp3Y3c6MA

講演
「ハーフ・ジャパニーズのアイデンティティ」
６月２５日午後５時～６時半
上智大学（四ツ谷キャンパス）
＊英語での講演です。
http://www.fla.sophia.ac.jp/icc/index.htm

Does becoming bilingual also involve being bicultural?

Roger Pulvers follows up on his previous post about raising bilingual children. In his latest piece, his discusses the importance of culture in language learning. I agree with his take since I consistently  stress the need to understand and incorporate culture in language learning and language usage. Check out Pulvers two articles and please feel free to leave a comment. 

Several weeks ago in this column, I wrote about some of the nonlinguistic aspects of raising a bilingual child. These can be social, financial and marital, involving the milieu the child grows up in, the necessity to move back and forth between countries, and even the periodic separation of husband and wife in the interests of exposing the child to one of the native-language environments.

I want to return to the subject of bilingual children because some readers have responded with letters following that earlier column, and it’s also surely a matter of concern to many others who aim to give their offspring the benefits of being both bilingual and bicultural.

Half, bi or double? One family’s trouble

Here is an interesting article written by Kristy Kosaka for the Zeit Gist that deals with an issue commonly discussed here on Black Tokyo, acknowledging and embracing multiculturalism in Japan. Please feel free to comment on the article.

It may not matter for inanimate objects, incapable of altering their own sweet smell, but for humans a name becomes part of our identity. My voice rises slightly as I warm to my argument: It may not be a tangible part of a person, like a hand or foot, but what others call us — and how we name ourselves — matters in this world, I say. So the half vs. double debate begins in my family.

My Japanese husband dislikes the current trend among our bicultural married friends of calling the children of their unions “double.” He understands the motivation: “Half” seems diminishing; “half” calls to mind the American epithet of “half-breed”; “half” implies someone not quite complete. But “double,” he contends, is even worse. “Double” contradicts every convention of Japanese modesty in language, the most important being the tradition of placing yourself and your family in a humble position to others. “Why are our kids more than other kids?” he asks. “How can one person be ‘double’?”

We Japanese: 1 – Introductions

Fellow blogger Steve Silver posted this interesting video series created by his friend and colleague Tamarah Cohen. Designed for classroom use, “We Japanese ” is an intimate exploration of the collective notion of Japanese identity. I have viewed the installments one and two and hope to view the complete series this week in order to provide additional feedback.

For those that know!

DNA and Racial Identification.

If you read my post on those questioning Barack Obama’s race, the post below sent in by Zen asks the question: Is there an underlying problem with labeling people by race in an increasingly multiracial society?

The idea that people are using DNA results to qualify for affirmative action, college admissions and scholarships and membership in wealthy casino tribes.

There’s alot of comments going back and forth in one of the mixed race groups I’m part of online. At first whenever convos start on whether affirmative action is a good or bad thing I could only think of myself. I mean hell yeah it’s a good thing if it gives me an extra boost in areas where being “black” meant being passed over or limited. Now after having my son my views on affirmative action has expanded in an unexpected way.

Mainichi Shimbun answers questions on Obama’s race

When I first read Yoshinori Nakai’s (Deputy Chief Editorial Writer, Mainichi Shimbun) article answering the question: “Is U.S. President-elect Barack Obama really black?” I thought: “Okay, this is really a dumb-ass question!” but then it dawned on me that some in America had/have/may have issues with Obama and his race:

1. “Is he Black enough?” 
2. “He’s not Black, he’s mixed/biracial.”
3. Racial identity equation:  white + black = black
4. “He’s half-white/mixed/biracial/other, so Black people should stop trying to claim him!” I call this the Tiger Woods Syndrome.
5. The Stanley Crouch comment in a New York Daily News column entitled “What Obama Isn’t: Black Like Me.”
6. “Black, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves,”wrote Debra Dickerson on the liberal website Salon.
7. As written in Time: “Obama, for his part, settled this debate some time ago. “If I’m outside your building trying to catch a cab,” he told Charlie Rose, “they’re not saying, ‘Oh, there’s a mixed race guy.’” 

Black Scholars Who Make a Specialty of Asian Studies

Black Scholars Who Make a Specialty of Asian Studies

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Do Japanese Women Make Better Wives?

That was the question posed by Jet Magazine in 1953. Many know that the most tenacious form of legal segregation in the United States (US), the banning of interracial marriage, was not fully lifted until the last anti-miscegenation laws were struck down in 1967 by the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia. At that time, inter-racial marriage meant marriages between blacks and whites. 

Changes in racial attitudes in the US over the last 30 years clearly played a major role in the mushrooming of inter-racial marriages, which were illegal in most states at the end of the 19th century. As recently as 1945, the legislature of California which, next to Hawaii, has become the country’s multi-racial state passed a law that banned marriage between whites and Negroes, mulattos, Mongolians (which included Chinese and Japanese), and Malays.

US Servicemen and Japanese Women

After World War II, however, the law began to change as U.S. servicemen married Japanese women, and as the civil rights movement began challenging anti-miscegenation laws in the courts. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all such laws were unconstitutional, although it took Alabama until 2000 to repeal its ban.

Black Tokyo’s Hiroko Mima Tribute

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Omedeto to Hiroko Mima, Miss Japan 2008 for making it into the 2008 Miss Universe Final 15. She did a great job representing her country. She should serve as an inspiration to women here to be confident, get a degree, and to work to make their dreams become reality. 

Click here to read the Hiroko Mima interview. Enjoy the video tribute!

Oh yeah, a big shout out to Miss USA, Crystle Stewart of Texas and to Miss Denmark for rockin’ the ‘fro!