Hafu | Half Japanese
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.
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.
Kaela Kimura: model, singer/songwriter and television presenter.
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.
If you would like to contribute an article or story on your thoughts and experiences, please send it via the form on the “contact” page. Thanks!
November 30, 2009 @ 9:28 pm
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.
December 15, 2009 @ 5:16 am
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.
March 19, 2010 @ 3:49 pm
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
May 17, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
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.
July 2, 2010 @ 10:44 am
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?
October 23, 2010 @ 10:54 pm
I feel very similar to Anthony but I have some differences. I was born and raised in the states however I feel more connected to my Japanese side. While I feel as though I don’t belong in the U.S I love living in Japan but don’t feel as though I completely belong there either. And the same as you Heidi, I’m always asked what my blood parts are. I think asking people’s ethnicity is a common natural curiosity however it can be a bothersome question. In the end, if you get a cut, and I get a cut, we both bleed red which means WE’RE HUMAN!! When I was younger I wished that I was 100% something. All this mixture can cause a lot of internal confusion. I’m not that old, but when I was younger I hated being mixed. I’m African American and Okinawan ( with a hint of Frenchy blood *_*) but I’m light skinned like Japanese people. It was tough to deal with growing up because people thought my mother who is actually the African American was my babysitter or I was adopted. I get annoyed when I tell people my mixture and they still deny that I look like either race. On my moody days, I’ll tell them to draw a picture of what an Black/Japanese mixed person is supposed to look like and sorry I don’t fit their stereotype! Ha Ha Ha. Well, I go back to Japan soon to live. I’ll see plenty of our mixed friends there! Thanks guys for your posts. It’s nice to see I’m (we’re) not alone!!
December 2, 2010 @ 5:50 pm
Hi everyone,
Are any of you in the DC area? It’d be interesting to meet you and talk about our hafu experiences. I think we already may have a lot in common…
December 14, 2010 @ 3:07 am
I’m a hafu. My dads full Japanese and my moms from pennsylvania. Im made fun of at school because i wish i was all Japanese and they say i don’t deserve to be Japanese. Thats why when im 22 years old and i get to choose between my nationalities. Il choose Japan because i want to get away from those bullies (p.s. im in the 7th grade)
December 28, 2010 @ 5:43 pm
I am an hafu, mothers full Japanese and dads from the States, although we now live live in sunny AUS. Mr. Andrew, being bullied because of your heritage shouldn’t be demoralising, rather it should be seen as gift of individuality, uniqueness, in a society which maybe intolerable to multiculturalism. Maybe middle school is treating you rough at the moment, but when it comes to high school, it’s a fresh start and people are more understanding of these bridges in society. So relax, and avoid pretending to be someone else, its ok to use ‘hashi’ whilst everyone around hacks their meals like barbarians, be yourself.
In regard to the hafu experience, I cannot say it was a real challenge. We all go through the identity phase, realisations, dreams of being like the rest of society, whether we feel more attached to japanese culture or american culture, its all just a state of mind. Back in the days when I was young and stupid (again, only a few years ago) I questioned myself about who I really was, whether I fit into ‘white’ culture or ‘asian’ culture. Although I was strongly accepted as both ‘white’ or ‘asian’, there was an inner sense of isolation from the rest (or at least majority) of the people around me. With age comes wisdom, and its best you see yourself getting the best of both cultures. I found out, that once I was comfortable with this realisation, everyone around me accepted this. Although I did more stupid things before I got wiser, there was no loss of identity.
For the few who still read these life stories, there are alot of benefits of being a hafu. For starters, hafu’s like other hafu’s. This goes both ways. Other people like hafu’s. There’s no shortness of love around, as long as you are open to the possibilities.
We are the best of both worlds, and that’s something we can at least be happy about.
May 29, 2011 @ 11:55 pm
I am a native Japanese. I am not a half but I become like one from living in the U.S. for so long. I do not feel like I am fit into Japanese. I even barely speak Japanese. At same time, I am not quite fit into Americans either. When I was in Japan, I never felt I am the same as others. I fled to the U.S., but it is the samething. I just do not fit into anywhere.
May 31, 2011 @ 3:30 pm
Hi!
I like your arcticle!
It’s just, I have a huge problem and I am hoping someone could help me ..
I am an 18 year old hafu. My mom is from Nagasaki and my dad is from Belgium. All my life I have been living in Belgium but almost every year we go back to nagasaki to meet my family.
Now my ‘problem’ is: I want to be a model in Japan.
Now you guys may think like: here we go again. Keep on dreamin girl.
But actually, 4 years ago I got scouted for 3 times.
2 times in Nagasaki and 1 time in Tokyo. At that time, I totally didn’t know what modelling was, nor scouting.. So i just said no. And off course, I had to go back to Belgium so I refused.
But now, 4 years later, it feels like I made a mistake. A missed chance or whatever you can call it.
‘So why wont you go back to Japan and audition? ‘ you may think.
Well, let’s say I would do that. IF I had the chance to become a model, what should I do with my studies.. I want to graduate you know.
‘Then go to an audition after you graduate’ ..
I will be 23 years old.. Isn’t that too old for the japanese model industry?
Anyway, as you can see, i’m totally confused and don’t know what to do. (I’m a libra, that’s probably why.. Always worried :p )
Should I just leave Belgium and go to japan? I can speak japanese so that would be no problem.
Or should I just keep on studying and just keep on wishing to be scouted again? :s
Please, I need some advice..
Kind regards
Bianca
December 30, 2011 @ 6:25 am
(Oops! I must have sent my comment to the wrong page)! Basically, I am puzzled. Depending on the strictness of the definition of hafu, I might be considered to be a hafu myself. The question is, if anyone can please answer it, is: Does hafu (meaning half, hence 50/50, six to one and a half dozen of another, etc.) strictly define a person who is HALF Japanese with the other HALF being something else?
Or can it mean someone like myself, who is only a quarter Japanese. (I am first generation Swiss (I was born in Switzerland) then followed ancestraly by German, English, Scandinavian, and of course, Japanese. Now with this genetic makeup as indeed I already know that I would be under the definition of the Hawaiian word “hapa”. Now does “hafu” also take into account a quarter?
?????????
November 12, 2012 @ 12:15 am
(author type: 20’s yearsold male, never left Europe but planning to move to Japan)
What about those people that get mistaken by hafus, and are not?
Example: I’m “full” portuguese, and few of us, like myself, have japanese-like traits…Its not like in Europe or Usa people would think we have japanese ancestry, but IN Japan I feel it will be rather obvious…Imagine a typical japanese guy, with short hair, medium-big lips, replace the eyes in photoshop with those of a westerner (Still dark brown colored) and BAM, its me? :S
Really not sure if its a advantage or not to be considered hafu….at least I have something to surprise people “You hafu?” “Oh no, I’m the first of my family to ever leave Europe in ceunturies” XD
November 26, 2012 @ 6:51 pm
Hi iam also a Hafu English/Japanese
iam 18 years old and i go to Japan every year and then but iam thinking of staying there for 8 months for a gap year to propley learn Japanese and earn some money as ill be working fr my grandad
when i go to japan in summer holidays do you guys also get stared at alot like constanly .
when i walk down the road or super market its sometime gets really annoying and alot of time i can hear them whispering thinking that i don’t understand which i can. But then when i talk to them or they come up to me they are always polite and kind and sometimes give me or our family free drinks orgift for some reason , does it ever happen to you guys?
November 30, 2012 @ 1:53 am
I’m a quater japanese but i look half
May 6, 2013 @ 12:43 pm
You forgot to add kaela Kimura to your list (British/Japanese)
May 13, 2013 @ 6:59 am
^ You’re right: thanks Jenny, I just added her : )