I came across this website called http://www.hafujapanese.org/....
These half japanese people are making a documentary on "hafu's" which is wonderful because I am one of them! Please check it out if you are interested and especially if you are half Japanese! Reading some of the interviews on the website made me want to discuss a little about me & my half japanese-ness....
I was raised in the states and also lived 5 years at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan. My mother is Japanese and my father is American (German & Irish). They both met when my father was stationed at Yokota AB many years ago when he first joined the military and he brought her back to the states. I always wondered about the language barrier and how two people can come together even though they may not understand everything. I also sometimes think it would be very hard coming from two completely different cultures and trying to raise a child in one. If you know anything about Japanese culture, I feel they never express their emotion like Americans do, who are very opinionated and say what is on their mind..usually.
As a little girl I was brought up in the states and knew I was half Japanese but as my parents would say....I would tell them I was 100% American and 50% Japanese. I believe that because I lived in the states, I didn't recognize that part of me. I went to school with predominantly white & black people, but they were all military brats just like me so I was never picked on and didn't exactly look "asian" at all.
After elementary school I moved to Yokota AB in Japan and I had never seen so many people that looked like me. It was actually quite intimidating and I honestly felt out of place. Among the Japanese people, I really felt out of place because I was looked at as a foreigner & they often like to stare, possibly wondering where I come from. The base had so many teenagers that were of mixed races & I immediately went to my comfort zone and made friends with "white" people. As a little time went on, I realized that I had more in common with people of mixed race and I could share more experiences that were similar to "those" people. So automatically...i was drawn to them and felt comfortable with the fact that I was half Japanese.
Thank goodness for my experience of living in Japan. Unfortunately my dad got orders back to the states, but I was there at a time when I was a teenager and going through the stage of finding myself. It made me understand my mother a little better in the way she thinks. (She was always a little more strict than my father.) Now as an adult, I've adopted Japanese culture & American culture into my lifestyle. I tried learning speaking Japanese for 7 years and always seem to forget the language. The only thing that has really stuck with me was the hiragana and katakana. I'm also married to Shon who is half Japanese as well & although we share that same culture, we were brought up completely different. The way he views his Japanese side is different...and I feel he is more Japanese than me, but that is just how we grew up. It is nice being able to share some of the same food likings though ;)
Walking around in the states, especially living in Florida, I just look American. If some people are educated or have been around other mixed people, they may notice that I'm "something", but they don't know what. I went to a Thai restaurant one day and I'll never forget that this one lady knew/guessed I was half Japanese. It was amazing! Trust me...you had to be there...I think I almost jumped on the table screaming about how amazing it was.....
So now that I am having a child, he will be half Japanese too! Well, really he will be 50% Japanese, 25% Mexican, & 25% White. He is going to be beautiful, but I want him to experience each culture and have an opportunity to learn more about himself (of course maybe when he gets a little older). Although he is also going to be half Japanese just like my husband and I, he will go through a totally different experience than the both of us. One thing I regret is the fact I do not know any Japanese and would've loved to teach him...but maybe that's what grandparents are for (haha!). One thing I do know is that he is going to have some awesome food and he's already getting a taste for it in his amniotic fluid!!
