I have platinum blonde hair and blue eyes ..
Context: he was saying ‘Enjoy my country’ to a group fo Phillipino tourists on the train , and I laughed and nodded too as I was sitting next to them
He stopped and said ‘Are you Japanese?’
I’ve been struggling with what it thought was xenophobia since I’ve been here in this area by Tokyo (never had this hostility in the inaka) so now I’m thinking , do they think I’m one of these Japanese girls with bleached hair and blue contacts from the wrong side of the tracks?? It would explain a lot, to be honest, especially with a mask hiding my face shape .
13 comments
Without actually being there, kiiiinda difficult to know if there was any hostility there
I have a neighbor with natural blond hair and blue eyes, native born Japanese, so I would say the question could be an enlightened one, depending on tone.
I’m not sure where the hostility is. Sounds like he was being kind.
If I was going to nitpick, I’d ask why you assumed the people he was talking to were Phillipino .
If just asking a silly question is “hostility” how do you react to people asking you if you need a fork instead of chopsticks at the conbini?
> Context: he was saying ‘Enjoy my country’ to a group fo Phillipino tourists on the train
> I’ve been struggling with what it thought was xenophobia
I don’t understand how you came to that conclusion
There are people who live in Japan with white/black/chinese(etc) people parents, THEY ARE JAPANESE. It’s a nationality, not a race.
It’s impossible to judge by your word, we have not enough context, we are not there.
I know how you feel. One of my friend’s family were in Kyoto and saw an old lady start clapping for them as they were leaving with their suitcases. They told me it was very creepy how she looked at them, like she was glad they were leaving.
I also have blonde hair and blue eyes and I’ve been asked if I’m Korean. But I didn’t think it was xenophobic or hostile…
??????
You could interpret it two ways
1. “Are you Japanese?” As in, wow you understand what I mean, that’s amazing!
2. “are YOU japanese????” As in “I’m sorry was I talking to you? Why are you responding to something that doesn’t involve you?
Honestly, sounds like you’re reading way to deep into something that isn’t that deep. Tokyo is very diverse compared to the rest of the country, so I wouldn’t think it was Xenophobic from my end.
> do they think I’m one of these Japanese girls with bleached hair and blue contacts from the wrong side of the tracks?
That’s a little bit of soft racism or discrimination right there. What makes these girls “from the wrong side of the tracks?” It’s a fashion style. For some it is a lifestyle. The style is no indication that the women are lower-income vs middle or upper, that they are in “bad crowds” vs hanging with good people.
[removed]
It’s good that you are posting this. Anything anyone ever says to you while in Japan should be heavily scrutinized and vetted for racism. And even if you don’t find any surely there is an angle to invent some. Keep it up.