One of these things is not like the other things
Jul 10, 2008 • Personal
Scott @ The Anime Almanac wanted to know a bit about the gaijin experience in Japan, or rather, my gaijin experience in Japan.
The problem with being an East Asian foreigner in Japan is that most of the time, people can’t tell you’re not Japanese until you open your mouth and spout low-quality Japanese. So much for “Wareware Nihonjin”!1 Even after mentioning I’m from the US, the next question is generally if my parents are Japanese.
This is both a blessing and a curse. In some ways, it’s nice not to stand out. There are no cries of “Look, gaijin!” by small, uninformed children2, little kids don’t want to touch my hair, and there are very few remarks on my weight, height, or body type. On the other hand, I don’t receive the benefits of the “gaijin perimeter”3, I get complimented on my English skills frequently (despite having grown up in the US), and I was once “asked” to serve tea.
The best part about being an East Asian from the US is that it breaks stereotypes. I think a lot of Japanese know that the US is a mix of cultures, especially moreso than Japan, but conversation has dictated otherwise. When they say アメリカ人 (American), you can bet that 99% of the time they mean the stereotypical tall, blond hair, blue eyes kind of American. For example, when I mention I’m an international adoptee (this is like a sledgehammer to the brain), the next question is, “Are your parents American?” Rather than give in, I’ve always answered that my parents are white and we are all American. Some people get it, some don’t, but at least it’s a start.4
Unlike a lot of other foreigners from the US, I don’t have a lot of stories about people making huge distinctions about my foreign status. I do, however, have a lot of kancho stories because even when I try to scare the little kids away, my attempts are just as pathetic as their caretakers. Basically, futile.
- I think it’s becoming outdated but basically, Japanese have tried to demonstrate how they are a distinct race by brain waves, length of intestine, etc. Some people still believe it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihonjinron [↩]
- Today, gaijin is not considered politically correct [↩]
- This is a documented mysterious space that distinctively foreign-looking foreigners get in crowded spaces [↩]
- I should note - similar questions have been asked in the US so no, it’s not a Japanese-only thing here [↩]
Comments
our sensei recently told us of an amusing(?) story, about how Japanese people find it insulting when a Japanese-looking person doesn’t speak Nihongo. They probably won’t believe you’re not a Japanese until you speak low-quality Nihongo or explain it to them o.O
Being blonde hair, blue eyes, and tall, I fit the gaijin stereotype. (T_T) But still, I think it would be interesting to be in a place where people are just not used to seeing someone like you. I’d probably get sick of it after a week or so, but it would be fun for the first couple of days.
You’re actually of Korean descent, right? I once had a girlfriend who was half-Chinese and half-White. Whenever we’d go shopping at a Japanese store, everyone would automatically assume she was Japanese and begin talking to her in Japanese while they’d default to me, the stereotypical gaijin, in English. So you can imagine their surprise when I would tell them (in Japanese) that she couldn’t speak any Japanese, only I could. Amazing how much they assume and become surprised when you break the stereotypes.
Great post, Caitlin. (^_^) I hope to read more about your experiences in Japan in the future.
@issa-sa: I haven’t really gotten a dumbing down of language most of the time. Most people will slow down though, if they’re naturally fast speakers, although the denser ones will just keep going. :(
@usagijen: Really? Did not know that. I must have ticked off a lot of people then while traveling around with semi-fluent non-Asian friends.
@Scott: It is an experience and I know a lot of people who have “awakened” from it. When I was growing up, I had that problem in my town because there weren’t that many minorities of any race. You learn to deal with it, gracefully eventually. I think it’s a great experience for anyone who’s used to being the dominant majority in any situation - race, religion, political views, economics, etc.
I felt the brunt of this when I was shoo’ed by a maid at Akiba. I didn’t know how to tell her I was just a tourist loitering about and didn’t really mean to cut in line. My image of of maids as demure angels were shattered on that very day. ｡･ﾟ･(ﾉД`)･ﾟ･｡
I never knew Sesame Street taught kids to be discriminative…
Yea, being a non-blonde-blue-eyed gaijin in Japan just doesn’t earn us the gawking or perks of being one, does it? Getting treated the same as much of the locals, until you open your mouth and give everything away, and watch in horror as they start dumbing down their speech to accommodate your ’slowness’ T_T Then again, this campus is supposedly foreign student central so we probably get more leeway here.