N
ninjacrumb
Guest
I live in Japan and was thinking this the other day.....
I have a photo of a woman who was born in Japan, grew up in Japan, lives in Japan, has never left Japan, and will probably die in Japan. However, this woman has , let`s say, white North American parents. If I showed this photo to your average Japanese person and asked "Is this person Japanese?" I am confident they would say that she is not. If I showed them another photo of another woman who shares all the above qualities but who actually is "Japanese" and asked the same question they would for sure say yes.
Being that these two women share the exact same qualities (born, raised, etc.) but one "is" Japanese while the other "is not" Japanese, I can only assume that those qualities have nothing to do with being "Japanese".
So maybe it`s in the genes.......
But what if I had a photo of a woman who was born in Korea or China, has never been to Japan, doesn`t plan to go to Japan, doesn`t know anything about Japan, etc., but she "looks Japanese"(I have heard people here comment on such things) If I asked "Is she Japanese?" Again they would say no.
Well, what if it`s a mix of the two......
Ok. I have a photo of a Korean woman who "looks" Japanese, was born in Japan, raised...., etc., and I asked "Is she?" I still think your average Japanese would say no (my confidence may not be so intact here....which makes me think there may be something to be found here)
Does lineage account for anything..........
I could probably look back into my ancestry and find a time when they were just stationary in Europe somewhere for quite a while. But I would never think of calling myself "European". Just because you share a blood line with dead people who, more likely than not, had a different perception of what that culture was and what being a member of it entailed, is that all you need? (You could break it down a bit more here but this is getting too long already....)
There is some intangible, strict criteria here that is not being met that is keeping the above 3 women from being "Japanese" What do you think it is? Have I overlooked something? Your thoughts.......
So all I need is a passport for me to be fully Japanese? That`s it?
I have a photo of a woman who was born in Japan, grew up in Japan, lives in Japan, has never left Japan, and will probably die in Japan. However, this woman has , let`s say, white North American parents. If I showed this photo to your average Japanese person and asked "Is this person Japanese?" I am confident they would say that she is not. If I showed them another photo of another woman who shares all the above qualities but who actually is "Japanese" and asked the same question they would for sure say yes.
Being that these two women share the exact same qualities (born, raised, etc.) but one "is" Japanese while the other "is not" Japanese, I can only assume that those qualities have nothing to do with being "Japanese".
So maybe it`s in the genes.......
But what if I had a photo of a woman who was born in Korea or China, has never been to Japan, doesn`t plan to go to Japan, doesn`t know anything about Japan, etc., but she "looks Japanese"(I have heard people here comment on such things) If I asked "Is she Japanese?" Again they would say no.
Well, what if it`s a mix of the two......
Ok. I have a photo of a Korean woman who "looks" Japanese, was born in Japan, raised...., etc., and I asked "Is she?" I still think your average Japanese would say no (my confidence may not be so intact here....which makes me think there may be something to be found here)
Does lineage account for anything..........
I could probably look back into my ancestry and find a time when they were just stationary in Europe somewhere for quite a while. But I would never think of calling myself "European". Just because you share a blood line with dead people who, more likely than not, had a different perception of what that culture was and what being a member of it entailed, is that all you need? (You could break it down a bit more here but this is getting too long already....)
There is some intangible, strict criteria here that is not being met that is keeping the above 3 women from being "Japanese" What do you think it is? Have I overlooked something? Your thoughts.......
So all I need is a passport for me to be fully Japanese? That`s it?