When will the term hafu stop putting the Japanese half in the corner?
Anyone who owes part of their lineage to a Japanese parent and part to a non-Japanese parent will have spent their lives reconciling themselves to the term hafu and all its incumbent implications. I am far from being an exception and I have come to find that the interpreted connotation of the term and the level of discomfort this label causes depend on the extent to which one’s own cultural upbringing is influenced by their parents’ backgrounds. In other words, one can be of mixed race but fundamentally feel they belong to one culture or one can be the embodiment of the perfect fusion between two cultures. Depending on which category you fall under, the label will evoke different reactions and frustrations. This is especially evident in a confused country like Japan: an ethnically homogenous and subconsciously xenophobic nation with a bordering on irrational emulation for Western culture. The mixed feelings towards foreigners harboured by the Japanese make Japan a perfect breeding grou
