As someone who lived in Japan for ten years (1988 to 1998) and is now hoping to return there (my partner/husband of 33 years is Japanese; we met in Tōkyō once upon a memory), I have long had mixed feelings about both 外人/外国人 and the English “foreigner.” In my writing, I’ve used “non-Japanese” more often, but I love the way you’ve framed the discussion of what constitutes Japaneseness. I’m looking forward to the (eventual) day when I can become a citizen of the country I’ve long loved.
Well I am a gai(koku)jin/kata but I live in Japan and hope, in the fullness of time, to die here. But i'm not a citizen. I don't have the vote, and I'm not sure I want it or a Japanese passport.
Nihonsumijin?
Yes it misses some nuance, but its understandable and makes us sound sort of like the real Nihonjin
Such an interesting examination of identity - vis-à-vis Japan. Questions as you have done here with which I grappled during my latter 40s and 50s.(1990s, 2000s) I heard arguments that Gaijin (an abbreviation of Gaikokujin) was "discriminatory". I didn't ever feel that sense. Often confused because of my anglo-appearance with being called "Amerika-jin" I would politely demur (Chigau, Oosutoraria-jin desu, kedo). But as for myself as my spoken Japanese moved towards relative fluency and given the many years I had lived in Japan I would think myself Japanese in my heart - not visible to others. Like your husband - my understanding of Japanese cultural expression and history was particular and broad. "You know more than we Japanese" I was often told though again I would demur (I understood its intent was to be kind to me)- but I had indeed made it my aim to learn ass much as possible on all fronts. Even though my wife was Australian and for a fair proportion of my time during my 16 years in Japan was in Australia caring for her mother - it was often the assumption that my wife must have been Japanese. And yes - I am inspired by your neighbour - I shall remember to say that I am from elsewhere. Thanks, Hiroko.
A broadening national identity catching on in Japan sounds great. That said, your piece reminded me how, for much of America’s history, the notion of being a cultural melting pot has been broadly perceived as important and good. Certainly there have been many instances of collective failure to value the concept (including the present). But I’m hopeful the American experience of inclusive national identity will return to the norm again. The sooner, the better.
I was an Education Officer in a unit responsible for writing policy and developing strategies in the area of cultural diversity. In the early 1980s. Our aim was not "a melting pot" rather "a salad bowl" as more properly allowing all the elements of difference to maintain their particular aspects yet to exist easily within the mix. It made me think back to my childhood street in a small rural town in northern NSW where I grew up with neighbours out of Italy, The Netherlands, from Scotland and England - of Irish and anglo backgrounds - of German and Chinese origins - and finally - in a govt policy of "assimilation" (as if it could be achieved in the way it was being forced) a First Australians family (of high degree it eventually became apparent, too). My first visit to the US was 50 years ago and I was surprised that everyone seemed to have a hyphenated identity - Irish-American (I remember asking a woman alongside on the edge of the Boston Common as the Veteran's Day Parade passed us by - if she were Irish. She laughed - but in truth she was of Irish ancestry). In Minnestoa - people were often describing themselves as Swedish-American or one family we visited acknowledging their Luxembourg origins. We visited a school where it was clear who were the students of some African origin though less clear their non-African ancestries. But it got me thinking - so who was I out of Australia whebn the First Peoples there were clearly not of my background. And eventually with time living in Spain and in Germany and coming up against the concepts of other-than-British ways of thinking I was beginning to sort out my own hyphenations and connections to an imperial invader-settler "project".
National identity is an odd thing. Nationalists everywhere make it sound like an immutable, almost generic trait. But I think it’s more fluid than either people on the left or right allow for. Irish Americans for example are clearly American. But sometimes they will describe themselves as “Irish.” They obviously don’t mean they’re from the Republic of Ireland. It’s an identification with an ancestral home. I think an America-jin in Japan can be somewhat similar in that it can be either a nationality or an identification of an ancestral home. That said, as the terms like gaikokujin or America-jin imply, there’s no natural way to say American Japanese, Irish Japanese, etc. Achira no kata is a very Japanese way of indirectly alluding to a potentially diverse heritage so I endorse it. For some, it may be too indirect, depending on how much they identify with a particular culture.
As to what makes one American or Japanese…that’s a fraught and complicated question with no single answer, I think. Some would say cultural, but not in the ethnonationalist way. I’d say it’s more an inclination to aspire to a certain ideal. In America, we tend to be more individualistic, and being American might mean aspiring to be one’s whole, undiluted self. It also might mean celebrating Fourth of July, enjoying our national parks, rooting for Team USA in the Olympics, etc. In Japan, it might be something different, like prizing respect for others and for nature, celebrating natural beauty, sitting around kotasu on New Years, and following baseball. I don’t know, as I’m sure everyone will have a different set of cultural prerequisites, but there may be some common ground that points to a national culture. Even if someone lived in Japan for decades, if they behaved like a certain NYC businessman we all know, would he be seen as truly Japanese?
Thanks for asking! Melbourne Writers Festival will be held from 7th to 10th, and I will have a few talks there. The tickets for the talk about my book are sold out, but the Translation Slam talk is still selling tickets. https://mwf.com.au/artist/20798/hiroko-yoda
Thank you for posting this. I've been waiting for an observation like this since I decided this was my home fifty years ago. I arrived in Japan fifty-seven years ago (I'm 91).
It's especially important that the observation comes from someone who is Japanese and has direct personal experience with the quandary that has vexed me and many others who just want to live here as a 仲間.
Being of Asian ancestry, I sometimes do not stand out as an あちらの方 so people speak to me in Japanese. I also took Japanese citizenship some time ago and elected to use my wife's family name as お婿入り so I'm seen as Japanese.
I've never lived in Japan, but I have lived in enough places in my life to understand what it is like to be an outsider and also what it's like to be wholly and joyfully accepted in a community far from the place I was born. I love your reflection here. Subarashii desu... Arigatō gozaimasu!!
Yowza! Your "my husband and I's' have henceforth eclipsed eVen those of the departed Queen of England!
May ii suggest the magic of a new noun-verb?
Elsewhering?
As someone who lived in Japan for ten years (1988 to 1998) and is now hoping to return there (my partner/husband of 33 years is Japanese; we met in Tōkyō once upon a memory), I have long had mixed feelings about both 外人/外国人 and the English “foreigner.” In my writing, I’ve used “non-Japanese” more often, but I love the way you’ve framed the discussion of what constitutes Japaneseness. I’m looking forward to the (eventual) day when I can become a citizen of the country I’ve long loved.
Well I am a gai(koku)jin/kata but I live in Japan and hope, in the fullness of time, to die here. But i'm not a citizen. I don't have the vote, and I'm not sure I want it or a Japanese passport.
Nihonsumijin?
Yes it misses some nuance, but its understandable and makes us sound sort of like the real Nihonjin
Nihonsumijin! That's a good one!
Such an interesting examination of identity - vis-à-vis Japan. Questions as you have done here with which I grappled during my latter 40s and 50s.(1990s, 2000s) I heard arguments that Gaijin (an abbreviation of Gaikokujin) was "discriminatory". I didn't ever feel that sense. Often confused because of my anglo-appearance with being called "Amerika-jin" I would politely demur (Chigau, Oosutoraria-jin desu, kedo). But as for myself as my spoken Japanese moved towards relative fluency and given the many years I had lived in Japan I would think myself Japanese in my heart - not visible to others. Like your husband - my understanding of Japanese cultural expression and history was particular and broad. "You know more than we Japanese" I was often told though again I would demur (I understood its intent was to be kind to me)- but I had indeed made it my aim to learn ass much as possible on all fronts. Even though my wife was Australian and for a fair proportion of my time during my 16 years in Japan was in Australia caring for her mother - it was often the assumption that my wife must have been Japanese. And yes - I am inspired by your neighbour - I shall remember to say that I am from elsewhere. Thanks, Hiroko.
A broadening national identity catching on in Japan sounds great. That said, your piece reminded me how, for much of America’s history, the notion of being a cultural melting pot has been broadly perceived as important and good. Certainly there have been many instances of collective failure to value the concept (including the present). But I’m hopeful the American experience of inclusive national identity will return to the norm again. The sooner, the better.
I was an Education Officer in a unit responsible for writing policy and developing strategies in the area of cultural diversity. In the early 1980s. Our aim was not "a melting pot" rather "a salad bowl" as more properly allowing all the elements of difference to maintain their particular aspects yet to exist easily within the mix. It made me think back to my childhood street in a small rural town in northern NSW where I grew up with neighbours out of Italy, The Netherlands, from Scotland and England - of Irish and anglo backgrounds - of German and Chinese origins - and finally - in a govt policy of "assimilation" (as if it could be achieved in the way it was being forced) a First Australians family (of high degree it eventually became apparent, too). My first visit to the US was 50 years ago and I was surprised that everyone seemed to have a hyphenated identity - Irish-American (I remember asking a woman alongside on the edge of the Boston Common as the Veteran's Day Parade passed us by - if she were Irish. She laughed - but in truth she was of Irish ancestry). In Minnestoa - people were often describing themselves as Swedish-American or one family we visited acknowledging their Luxembourg origins. We visited a school where it was clear who were the students of some African origin though less clear their non-African ancestries. But it got me thinking - so who was I out of Australia whebn the First Peoples there were clearly not of my background. And eventually with time living in Spain and in Germany and coming up against the concepts of other-than-British ways of thinking I was beginning to sort out my own hyphenations and connections to an imperial invader-settler "project".
I think this is a wonderful way of looking at it. I love how you define Japanese culture in terms of things everyone can experience there.
National identity is an odd thing. Nationalists everywhere make it sound like an immutable, almost generic trait. But I think it’s more fluid than either people on the left or right allow for. Irish Americans for example are clearly American. But sometimes they will describe themselves as “Irish.” They obviously don’t mean they’re from the Republic of Ireland. It’s an identification with an ancestral home. I think an America-jin in Japan can be somewhat similar in that it can be either a nationality or an identification of an ancestral home. That said, as the terms like gaikokujin or America-jin imply, there’s no natural way to say American Japanese, Irish Japanese, etc. Achira no kata is a very Japanese way of indirectly alluding to a potentially diverse heritage so I endorse it. For some, it may be too indirect, depending on how much they identify with a particular culture.
As to what makes one American or Japanese…that’s a fraught and complicated question with no single answer, I think. Some would say cultural, but not in the ethnonationalist way. I’d say it’s more an inclination to aspire to a certain ideal. In America, we tend to be more individualistic, and being American might mean aspiring to be one’s whole, undiluted self. It also might mean celebrating Fourth of July, enjoying our national parks, rooting for Team USA in the Olympics, etc. In Japan, it might be something different, like prizing respect for others and for nature, celebrating natural beauty, sitting around kotasu on New Years, and following baseball. I don’t know, as I’m sure everyone will have a different set of cultural prerequisites, but there may be some common ground that points to a national culture. Even if someone lived in Japan for decades, if they behaved like a certain NYC businessman we all know, would he be seen as truly Japanese?
I read that you are touring Australia to promote 8 million. When are you in Melbourne?
Thanks for asking! Melbourne Writers Festival will be held from 7th to 10th, and I will have a few talks there. The tickets for the talk about my book are sold out, but the Translation Slam talk is still selling tickets. https://mwf.com.au/artist/20798/hiroko-yoda
Thank you for posting this. I've been waiting for an observation like this since I decided this was my home fifty years ago. I arrived in Japan fifty-seven years ago (I'm 91).
It's especially important that the observation comes from someone who is Japanese and has direct personal experience with the quandary that has vexed me and many others who just want to live here as a 仲間.
Being of Asian ancestry, I sometimes do not stand out as an あちらの方 so people speak to me in Japanese. I also took Japanese citizenship some time ago and elected to use my wife's family name as お婿入り so I'm seen as Japanese.
Unfortunately, I can't make that session. Are you doing any promotional signings?
None at the festival, unfortunately.
This was a beautiful post.
I've never lived in Japan, but I have lived in enough places in my life to understand what it is like to be an outsider and also what it's like to be wholly and joyfully accepted in a community far from the place I was born. I love your reflection here. Subarashii desu... Arigatō gozaimasu!!