Hafu | Half Japanese

Posted in Uncategorized on 09/20/2009 01:00 am by PCP

Hafu is a word used in Japan in regards to someone that is of mixed race: half Japanese and half other ethnicity. The word has become widely accepted and is frequently adopted and used by those it refers to.

Having roots in two (often very) different cultures can sometimes cause a sense of uncertainty as to one’s identity and even to one’s place in society.
Of course, a Hafu actually has two cultures and will find their own identity from these cultures, from their upbringing and to an extent from their physical appearance.
With Japanese society being highly conservative, those of mixed race – particularly those with non Japanese physical features – have sometimes found it difficult to “fit in” and felt somewhat an outsider.

This is perhaps partly why the word Hafu has been so embraced: although it has been and sometimes still is used offensively it has been reclaimed and is now an accepted term.

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Hafu you may know:
Angela Aki: singer/songwriter.
Devon Aoki: model and actress.
Beni Arashiro: singer/songwriter, actress and model.
Tadanobu Asano: actor, director and musician.
Ann Curry: television news presenter.
Reika Hashimoto: actress and model.
Hiromi Hayakawa: singer.
Minami Hinase: actress and model.
Masayoshi “Mabo” Kabe: musician.
Takeshi Kaneshiro: actor and singer.
Chieko Kawabe: actress, model, radio host and singer.
Meisa Kuroki: actress, model and singer.
Sean Lennon: singer/songwriter, musician and actor.
Koji Murofushi: Olympic hammer throwing champion 2004.
Megumi Nakajima: singer and seiyu (vocal actor).
Keisuke Ogihara: rapper.
Masumi Okada: actor, comedian, MC, movie producer and singer.
Koji Ota: baseball star and commentator.
Mike Shinoda: rapper, musician and artist.
Yuu Shirota: actor and singer.
Marcus Tulio Tanaka: football (soccer) player.
Anna Tsuchiya: singer/songwriter, actress and model.
Anna Umemiya: television personality and model.
Emi Watanabe: national champion figure skater.
Linda Yamamoto: singer and model.

What does being Hafu mean to you, and how do you think it has influenced your life?
Please share your thoughts with us and leave a comment.

 

5 Comments

  1. It highly influences my life due to the fact that I can distinguish myself from my American upbringing. While I’ve lived in the US, I am still heavily influenced by Japanese culture and etiquette. I am a rather reserved person who is at the same time very polite and somewhat graceful. As a result, I don’t really feel like I belong in the U. S. At the same time though, I don’t feel like I belong in the Japanese culture either. Hafu is a term that I use to soften this ambiguity.

  2. Being a Hafu to me is VERY upsetting sometimes. At some times I’ll feel very white and there’s no way I’d fit in Japan. Other times I feel like I’m a full Japanese. I will occasionally have an identity crisis and be very confused. Some people think I’m hardcore asian while others don’t even know that I have any Japanese in me. Honestly, I would much rather be 100% white or Japanese then a Hafu. You feel like you can never be fully accepted by one group. When I’m rockin the asian hair sometimes I’ll feel like I’m reppin the asian pretty good, other times I feel like people see my as a scene/emo,(and I despise emos and scenes btw, no offense to anyone). Being seen by people as either asian or a scene/emo honestly upsets me greatly, but deep down inside I honestly wish I was the full 100% Japanese. I sometimes think, “Why do I have to be part of the tiny fraction of people that are 50%? Why can’t I be 100%!” After a while though, I realized that there’s nothing I can do about being half. I love my father who made me a hafu and I wouldn’t give him up to be 100% Japanese… Ok I MIGHT but most likely not.

  3. Hey there,

    I’m not sure if you still update this blog, but I am hoping to cover the perks and issues of being a hafu living in a country completed unrelated to my cultural background. I’d be curious to see what other hafu (or I guess even third culture kids would apply) think of my experiences and whether you can relate to them.

    Thanks!

    Reika

  4. I am Hafu! My Mother is Japanese and my father of Italian Descent. It was always a struggle for me to be Hafu (Ainoko) is the old term for us in Japan it means love child. I never felt like I really belonged anywhere and struggled with the cultural issues that being Hafu does bring. But these days it is easier since there are so many people of mixed race these days. i am also very reserved emotionally like the person that commented before me. I still find it funny when people ask–What are you? I usually reply I am of Genus Homo, Species, Sapien and sub species sapien–lol. People usually think I am Philipino, Mexican, or Spanish–lol. I like being of both cultures it has brought me a differant perspective on things that have served me well.

  5. Hey there,
    I’m hafu, too. My mom is Japanese, my dad is German. I was born in Tokyo and lived there for 5 1/2 years. It is so special for me to read your comments, because I sometimes feel… different from others. And it’s so cool to see, that there are others who are like me. I have never made new contacts without being asked where I was from. And it’s really funny – like you, John, people think I’m from the Philipines, from South America or from Spain! Nobody has ever guessed that I was from Japan. I love Japanese food, I can speak Japanese, but only read and write Hiragana and Katakana. My passport will expire next year… What citizenship(s) do you guys have? Did you have to choose one?

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