Being Black in Tokyo (Part 1-Racism)
As an African-American female living in Tokyo, I am reminded everyday just how unique my life truly is. Ordinary, mundane things (such as walking to class, sitting in class, riding the train) all remind me of the obvious: there aren’t many Black women in Japan. Whenever I do see a Black woman here, I always wonder what her life is like and if she likes Japan as much as I do. What made her come here? Where’s she from, and what does her family/friends think of her being here? Is she learning Japanese too?
But the questions never get answered because we never get a chance to speak to each other. It’s either a slight nod of acknowledgment, or barely any acknowledgment at all. This doesn’t bother me, but I do find it a little puzzling because Black men here almost always speak with other Black men. There’s like an unspoken code between the two strangers. There’s either a nod, or a handshake, or the two might even stop and have a brief conversation. It amazes me every time I see it.
But anyway, before coming to Tokyo, I didn’t know what to expect and I had a lot of questions swimming through my head about being Black in Japan. As it turns out, many Black females interested in Japan ask themselves similar questions. The three main ones being:
1) Is there racism in Tokyo?
2) Do Japanese men like Black women?
3) What am I going to do with my hair while I’m there?
The last one sounds quite comical, but when I did research online about Black women in Tokyo, the forums and short comments on blogs always had some form of this question. I could explain how hair and the Black woman share a connection culturally… but it would take me all day to explain. And the purpose of this post isn’t about that, now is it? 
Now, where were we? Ah yes, racism in Tokyo.
When I first arrived in Tokyo, I was relived to see that no one disrespected me because of the color of my skin. I was able to be myself, and no matter who I met, Japanese people respected me.
However, a few weeks into my stay here, I started to notice the stares. Everyday I rode my bike to school and on the way there, I would notice people looking at me as I rode by. Was there something on my shirt? Something in my teeth? A few days after this continuous ordeal, I started to ask myself, “Are these people being racist… or what?”
The answer is no. When people would stare at me, I took a look at them, and then I took a look at myself.
Here I am, a Black female with a medium-sized afro on an orange bike, pedaling down the streets of Tokyo, with bright pink headphones on.
Let’s be honest, how often do they see that?? Their looks do not stem from racism, but rather, curiosity. The eyes of a racist are those of hate, disgust, and anger. I assure you; no one had a trace of these emotions when they looked at me. Not one person.
In fact, many of the Black people I have spoken to about this issue (mainly Black men because of the general lack of Black women) feel slightly empowered when they come here. Because of the media and popular culture, we are often compared with Will Smith, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and now the presidential family of the United States. Personally, I rather not be seen as a hip-hop/R&B artist because those are stereotypes that are extremely shallow, narrow-minded, and can be offensive if taken seriously. But at the same time, its better than being compared with a drug addict or a hoodlum.
The longer I stay, the more I realize how much I need to learn about Japanese culture. It seems to me that many young Japanese people like “Black culture,” but I’m not sure how deep the interest of ”Black culture” goes. Is it deeper than hip-hop and rap? Deeper than clothing and style? I don’t know.
There have been a few situations in Tokyo where I’ve felt awkward, and have been reminded of the color of my skin. One day, I hopped on a train and went to Kouenji to do some exploring. Kouenji is a relatively small town in the Suginami Ward of Tokyo, which is west of Shinjuku. I went in and out of stores, bought some tacoyaki from a corner stand, and went into a cool-looking new and used CD store. There was all sorts of music there: J-Pop, J-Rock, J-Reggae, classical, techno, house, and of course hip-hop and R&B. But what made me feel awkward was that “hip-hop” and “R&B” were not categorized under “hip-hop” or “R&B.” It was simply categorized under “Black.”
Yes, Black. As in Black people.
See, its the "Black" category
I didn’t know whether to be offended, or laugh, or what. All I could do was take a picture so I could remember that day and how I felt when I saw it. It was such a strange emotion.
Being Black in Tokyo is definitely a unique experience. Although I’ve never encountered racism here, I have to admit, being Black here can get slightly complicated. Every now and then, I have to reflect on my personal identity and ask myself how I fit in as a foreigner living in Japan.
In my next post, I will go into other awkward experiences I’ve had here as an African-American, and I’ll also address what it means to be a Black female in Japan as well!
Stay tuned
Wow! This article is very personable and informative. I can’t wait to read future articles written by Jasmine Louis!
Your story was interesting. After meeting my future father-in-law in a Shibuya Department Store, I became engaged to his daughter. This was in early 1960 when intermarriage, even to an Asian was frowned upon. My future in-laws not only approved of me, but loved me, as I did them. After 47 years of marriage and now living back in the United States, I have seen the racism in Japan lessen, as it has in the U.S.
I had read about 1 year ago in a blog that a young male white foreigner (gaigokujin) complained of racism. He was still living in Tokyo after several years. I could never understand why he was still living in Japan if the racism was so blatant and widespread as he stated. I think it was his own inadequacies and, maybe, egocentrism that caused his probems; the old chip on the shoulder syndrome!
When I was first in Japan there was racism, especially against the blacks who were stationed there in the U.S. Military. This racism was from both the white Americans and the Japanese; but this abated over the years. My wife and I still travel a lot to Japan and have very good friends, all Japanese. We have never seen an overt act of racism. Of course, her family, who all state I am not an American, but Japanese are never outwardly ashamed of me and I always feel accepted. Our other friends are from Japanese people who were either working in the U.S. or from introductions to Japanese while we visited. Some of these friends work in offices and stores and some are in managerial positions or own their own companies. My wife and I are comfortable with any and all.
I still struggle with the Japanese language and wish I had done more to improve it when I was young and it was easier to learn new things. While I can get around Tokyo by myself, it is a struggle to speak and understand people who I am with for long periods of time.
If you or any of the other students or truly interested in Japan and plan to stay or visit often, I suggest you learn conversational Japanese now.
Job well done Jasmine. Article has good points and very well written and communicated. I was curious – in additon to the pink headphones, etc. were there any visible piercings, were you wearing shades – even that would peek my curiosity. Please remember that American Japanese were once victims of racist during and after WWII as they were put in camps and barred rights because of their heritage and of course this news also hit the mainland….so I kinda think they somewhat feel connected to the Black Plight.
Very good and informative article Jasmine. This article appealed to me because I’m half Black and since I plan to go to TUJ next fall, I wanted to hear about any possible “situations” I might encounter. Being half-black, it makes me wonder what my chances of being hired to teach English while I’m in college really is. Especially seeing that considering my family’s financial situation wouldn’t necessarily be enough to support my entire college bills. But, yeah this article kind of opened me up to the possible situation I could experience. I thank you for that.
Wow. I will be attending TUJ this coming spring of ‘10. I am also an African American and was wondering the EXACT same questions that she listed. lol. And the last one about the hair may sound silly to some people, but it is so true. It was very enlightening because I was worried about many things that she made me feel better about. I do wish there was some way that I could contact her personally. But Jasmine if you come across my post, here is my e-mail because I would love to ask you a few more questions if you don’t mind!
kilala009@yahoo.com
You are a very good writer, I really enjoyed reading about your experiences living in another country and culture. You are certainly having the adventure of a lifetime. Can’t wait to see you, Love and God Bless!
I found this very interesting. It was written very well and kept my attention. I hope to be attending TUJ in the fall of 2011 and I have wondered about these questions as well, especially about the hair. I worry that it’ll be hard for me to keep it nice. Will you be touching on the last two questions?
2) Do Japanese men like Black women?
3) What am I going to do with my hair while I’m there?
I’d love to hear what you have to say about them ^_^
Wow thanks for sharing I’m a Black female about to study abroad in Japan and have been looking online for little culture things I should look out for. Thanks! I am very interested on how you deal with number 3 because I know the pains of trying to find a good hair salon!
Great article. The seminal questions you posed is what is culture and then how do we define Black Culture. And what is the difference between popular and a national culture?
Healthy socities posit culture as both a resourse and reference with regard to who they are, their human possibilities and how they engage the world. Thru seven categoris of culture, i.e, ethics, history, social organization, economic organization, political organization, creative production and ethos- communities define who they are and assert themselves in the world. Culture is fundamentally informed by views and values and therfore collectively determine a set of priorites for a community /people. This definition of culture which is national in its inception is distiguished from popular culture- a value orientaion more concerned with astetic products, e.g. music, clothes, food, etc. Important but not the starting point for understanding who we are as children of a classical civilization, our contributions to history and our possibilities to be great again.
Your examination of culture, particularly in an Asian context is what mature people do. I’m very glad you’re there and reporting back home. You’ll make a great writer.
Hello Everyone!
I’m very glad all of you enjoyed the post! I recently posted a new entry on my experience with the subject of “Japanese Men and Black Women” <<—- click that link
Please, if you have any other questions, let me know! I would love it to address them in the future.
To those of you who were wondering about the hair, hold tight! I will post my experience with that topic very soon!
Thank you so much for your comments!
–Jasmine
Hey,
Great article- very informative of the reality of race in Japan. Thank you for taking the time to write this blog.
Anj
hi my name is aisha i am an african american and colombian women am 21 and i am very interested in the japanese culture your blog is really good and it answer some of my questions but i have one more and that is what will it take for me to get into tuj so if you are able to answer this you could e-mail me @ boleyn1ambition@yahoo.com