Blackanese (Being Black in Japan)

Japan is divided into prefectures like the U.S. is divided into states. I lived in Chiba Prefecture which is on the eastern side of the Honshuu island. The country is divided into 4 islands: Honshuu (the main island), Kyuushuu (in the South), Shikoku (also in the South) and Hokkaido in the north.

I lived in a small city called Futtsu City, in the Southwest of the prefecture right off of Tokyo Bay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futtsu

I lived in a small fishing village in a apartment complex for union workers at the local steel plants.

Where I lived no African American person had ever lived before me. I was an English teacher working for the Ministry of Education of Japan based at the Futtsu City School Board. I rotated through 5 junior high schools: Futtsu, Amaha, Amaha Higashi, Ohnuki and one other that I can't remember, but each month I served at a different school.

I lived there from the summer of 1994 until the early summer of 1996.

After Japan, I went to University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Soon after arriving there, I joined the Japanese Students Association (JSA). That's right, it was an organization of Japanese students and wannabies like me.

In January of 1997 and 1998, they held a conference and asked me to come speak on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and the subject was "Minorities Living in Japan". I always sat at the front of the room with a panel of a couple other people and they asked me my perspective and it is this ....

Living in Japan is very difficult for anyone who is not Japanese.

Japan is an island country with a unique culture and strong cultural identity. The reason it is difficult for foreignors to live their is because Japan is a group-centric culture. In other words, everything in the society is based on group theory and the strength and importance of the group over the individual.

If you've ever noticed, Japanese people and most other Pacific-Asian cultures introduce themselves last name first and first name last (e.g. Suzuki Toru). This is not some backwards mistake in translation, they do this purposively. They are giving honor to their family (most important and closest group) first and then representing themselves.

Well, here's where the discomfort comes in. The entire society is based on principal of maintaining peace and harmony. If you look at the Japanese flag, it's a white background with a red dot or circle (pronounced "wa"). In Japanese, the word peace is "heiwa (pronounced HEY WAH)" and literally means "balancing or maintaining the 'wa' or 'harmony'".

In order to maintain that "wa" they focus on the group and its members. So, they have groups for everything: family, school, class level (e.g. 8th grade teachers), etc. But, membership is restricted in these groups - intentionally. In order to maintain the "wa" they limited its membership to certain criteria.

I often describe these groups using VEN diagrams (e.g. a small circle - inside a larger circle). The inner circle may be "8th grade teachers" and everyone in it is an 8th grade teacher and has the same mission. The larger encompassing circle may be "Amaha Higashi Junior High School" and everyone in that including the "8th grade teachers" is directly a member of that school. The larger outer circle encompassing that might be "Futtsu City Resident" and everyone in that circle including the "Amaha Higashi school members" is a resident of Futtsu City. And so on and so on until you reach the outermost ALL-encompassing circle ... "Japanese".

This is easier to understand pictographically, but in order to be a member of the inner circles, you must first meet the criteria of the outermost circle and that's where foreignors (or "gaijin") get left out. The word, "gaijin" (or "foreignor") in Kanji literally translates to "outside person" and this explanation of the "wa" is why that distinction is made.

So, while I always understood that this is why I always felt like a "visitor" in the country and never quite felt like I belonged, it didn't make it any less painful and lonely.

On a side note, the second year that I did this forum, a young white woman in the crowd raised her hand to make a comment. She said, "I totally understand." She said, "After living in Japan, I understood what it was like to be Black in America."

After she sat back down and before the program could go forward I said, "hang on, I'd like to respond to that please ...." And they passed me the mic. I said, "I appreciate your sympathy, but living in Japan as a white person is nothing like the experience of racism in America for a black person.... For one thing, white people in Japan are just visiting or working there. If they have a hard time adjusting to the racism, prejudice or exclusion they feel, they can jump on a plane and go back home. That gives them an emotional fortitude to overcome the short term pains they might experience." I paused to let that sink in and got some nods from other black people in the crowd.

"Here in America," I continued, "the majority of us black people's ancestors were brought here by force, separated from our families, erased from our origins and made to build this country. So now, we call ourselves 'Americans' because our forefathers built this country as slaves and cheap labor. But, if we ever found ourselves so disatisfied with the land that our ancestors built, what other 'home' would we have to run home to." I paused again. "I'm sorry, it's not quite the same" and I handed the mic back to the moderator.

Finally, I love Japan. I love everything about it: the people, the music, the culture, the temples, the martial arts, the history, the food and much more. Also, in a later blog I will describe how some of the great experiences I had there changed my life, but I am often asked the question, "what was it like to be Black in Japan?" And ... I always think it's fair to give an honest answer.

For the first 1.5 years, it was miserable and lonely. But for the last 6 months, it was one of the best experiences of my life and I'm proud and glad I had the opportunity and took it!