Erica Meure Pool | 絵里香ポール

Ken より:

It influences a lot. If you live in a country where people are positive toward Japanese, then your life can be happier. On the contrary, if you live in a country where people are negative toward Japanese, then your life can be tougher. It has a lot to do with the educational program, how Japan is portrayed through media, and politics of the country where you live in. These factors influence a lot on how people perceive us for being half Japanese. Realistically speaking, it’s not so easy in most western countries, or you could say it’s too much easier for hafu to live in Japan 🙂 I’ve realized it through my own experience. These are external influences that affect my identity to a certain extent, but the core of identity isn’t affected. It’s better for hafu to live in many different countries, it lets you explore yourself deeper.

Todd より:

I have lived in Minnesota most of my life and there are very few Japanese here. Being half Japanese was for the most part a special thing, something to set me apart from the mainstream and be a source of pride. The flip side of that, however, was the underlying sense of there being a norm of which I was not a part. Tribal feelings run deep in the human psyche and there has always been a part of me that led me to feel that standing out amongst the crowd was a burden that I did not chose to bear. It should not be a surprise that a half Japanese felt this kind of existential duality.

Aaron Rasbury より:

I think being in the U.S. is very good for my Japanese. I lived in Japan for only 8 years, but while I lived int he U.S., I attended Japanese school during the weekend and my mother would search for Japanese families to hang out with. I believe I grasped the Japanese accent and a good amount of fluency. The U.S. has a surprisingly high volume of Japanese expats, that it’s not hard to find Japanese families, stores, restaurants, and schools. I am now 26 years old and work for a Japanese company in the U.S. It provides me with an opportunity to brush up on my Japanese while working.

I’ve had countless people tell me Pearl Harbor jokes, or tell me about my squinty eyes, while I lived in the U.S. It doesn’t compare to the harassment I receive for being half black. I am not talking about the U.S. citizens harassing me (it happens), but being half black is considered “tainted” in the Japanese culture. Many of my extended Japanese family has disowned my mother and I’ve been constantly harassed in Japan for being “kokujin” “gaijin” or countless other names. Adults will point and whisper as you are walking down the street. I definitely had great friendships and enjoyed living in Japan, but it doesn’t compare to the U.S. The Japanese in the U.S. are far more accepting of us.

Dazz より:

Father American of various Euro ethnicies and 4% Central Asian
Mother Japanese
Born in US
Lived in US and Japan
Visited Japan Lost track
Lived in Japan 20 years
Speaks Japanese まあ一応　:P

fri より:

I’m Canadian and Japanese and have lived in Canada, Japan and China.
The reaction of Canadians (including Japanese-Canadians) in all three countries is pretty much the same – Canadian with Japanese roots – which in turn makes me feel very Canadian, because the majority of Canadians (at least around me) consider themselves “Canadian with x roots” often only a generation or two away.
From Japanese in Canada (not J-Canadian) I was Canadian, in China I was fellow Japanese expat, and in Japan I’m hafu – not really Japanese, kind of foreigner but it doesn’t matter what the foreign part is. But I feel Japanese, and maybe more defensively so in Japan… A bit like I have to prove it.
Many Chinese in China said I couldn’t be either – too tall to be Japanese and not blonde so can’t be Canadian and well that’s just funny!!