Whenever I peruse message boards such as Quora[1] or Reddit[2], a common question is asked: “Is Japan racist?”
There’s usually a wide range of answers. Some claim it isn’t racism, but xenophobia – as if they are always mutually exclusive. Others claim that Japanese people are incredibly polite, wouldn’t dream of disrespecting a foreigner, and that they simply “don’t know any better” when it comes to international relations. And a few claim that Japanese people hate everybody.
Obviously, everyone’s experience is subjective. However, as a Black female resident of Japan, it’s not lost on me that even within the monolith of gaikokujin, there is still a hierarchy of treatment based on nationality, skin color, and yes, race. The aesthetic preference leans heavily towards White Americans and Europeans[3]. Or, at the very least, anyone who appears to be of those two demographics.
In this three-part series, I will discuss how colorism in Japan both predates Western contact, but was also exacerbated by it, how America’s postwar infantilization of Japan produced a symbiotic relationship of unwavering power and praise (way before the Cool Japan Strategy[4] was underway), how social media silencing of the Japanese Diaspora quells any concerns of whitewashing or historical revisionism, and finally how avoidant answers make the discussion at hand all the more complicated.
Before I continue, I’d like to give a content warning: Due to the nature of this topic being heavily intertwined with politics and therefore multiple tiers of discrimination, some of the cited sources, and their primary sources will contain outdated, politically incorrect, and derogatory language. Reader discretion is advised.
With that being said, let’s begin.
The Colorism
The aesthetic preference leans heavily towards White Americans and Europeans. Or, at the very least, to anyone who appears to be of those two demographics. Click To TweetColorism is defined as the “prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.”[5] In layman’s terms, the closer an individual is to Whiteness, which is read as inherent wealth, intelligence, and social mobility, the better they will be perceived[6]. Women in particular are affected by colorism, as it is connected to desirability and beauty[7].
In Japan, the conflation of Whiteness and beauty goes all the way back to the Nara Period (710-793). According to a seminal 1967 article by late psychological anthropologist Hiroshi Wagatsuma titled “The Social Perception of Skin Color in Japan”[8], Japanese people conflated “White” with beauty and “black” with ugliness:
“Their spontaneous responses to the [sic] white skin of Caucasoid Europeans and the black skin of Negroid people were an extension of values deeply embedded in Japanese concepts of beauty. From past to present, the Japanese have always associated skin color symbolically with other physical characteristics that signify degrees of spiritual refinement or primitiveness.”
There is even a Japanese proverb that personifies these values: “White skin makes up for seven defects”. For example, if a woman is pale enough, her other physical flaws are irrelevant. Hence the usage of white powder makeup among the courtesans.
This bihaku (美白) ideal persisted throughout time, and there were very clear declarations as what was undesirable for women’s appearance. Yanagi Rikyō, a late eighteenth-century warrior-poet, put it rather bluntly:
“Disagreeable features for a woman are a large face, the lack of any tufts of hair under the temple, a big, flat nose, thick lips, black skin, a too plump body, excessive tallness, heavy, strong limbs, brownish wavy hair, and a loud, talkative voice.”
By the time Japan’s borders were forced open in 1853 by Commodore Perry and its Black Ships, its society was once again reconnected with White people. But this time, it was on a much larger scale.
Because of their previous interactions with the Portuguese and the Dutch, the Japanese were aware of skin color differences even among White people. Southern Europeans were depicted as slightly browner than Northern Europeans, yet they all had exaggerated eyes and noses. While Japanese people believed the “thinness” of White skin was not ideal, the appearance was.
“Purer Than Jewels”
In 1860, just a mere seven years after the Black Ships’ arrival, 83 samurai were sent to the United States to ratify a peace and commerce treaty. As with most business trips, mingling with the locals was on the itinerary, and the samurai made many observations in their diaries.
When asked of a local woman if American or Japanese women were prettier, one samurai said American women, because their skin was lighter. Now, while one could argue that he was simply being polite, especially since such “a trifling comment of [his] obviously pleased the girls”, the general distinction of what was desirable and undesirable was still very clear.
At one point, while attending a May festival ball, one samurai made the following observation of the children:
“The girls did not need to have the help of powder and rouge. Their skin with its natural beauty was whiter than snow and purer than jewels. I wondered if fairies in wonderland would not look something like these children.”
Conversely, while in transit on the African coast during their return to Japan, the samurai wrote the following about the locals:
“The black ones look like the devils depicted in pictures.
Their faces are black as if painted with ink and their physiognomy reminds me of that of a monkey.”
Confirmation Bias
Considering these historical examples and the perpetual embracing of blackface I believe that Japanese society was and is fully aware of their actions. It is not merely because Japan doesn’t have visible multiculturalism or isn’t a “melting pot” as some would say.
Instead, it is a clear case of confirmation bias[9]. Japan already believed white skin was better, and interactions with White people—especially against the parallel of enslaved Black people who accompanied White visitors—reinforced it.
Only 2% of Japan's population are foreigners. And most of them hail from China. So who, exactly, is Japan catering to? Click To TweetThis notion still exists to this day, especially in Japanese advertising. It’s quite common to see ads featuring White people, from fashion to make-up, even at dentist’s office.
Within my native US, some people might argue that since White people are the majority, it’s only natural that they receive the most representation. However, only 2% of Japan’s population are foreigners[10]. And most of them hail from China[11]. So, who exactly is Japan catering to?
Well, Japan is catering to Japan, and its desire to achieve their own brand of Whiteness. Because the nihonjiron concept of racial purity is still at play, the idea of a Japanese person wanting to be White isn’t completely cut-and-dry. Whiteness is seen as “normal” and “default” due to global overrepresentation, which runs parallel to Japaneseness and how they see themselves as the “default”[13]:
Whiteness is not a fixed state but a fluid process that historically, socially, culturally, and ideologically positions different racial groups in power relationships. Therefore, each society has its own whiteness system that should be studied as a dynamic process.
-Torigoe Chie, “Whiteness discourse in Japan: The construction of ideal beauty and racial Others in cosmetic surgery advertisements”
So with both historical and contemporary evidence as to the existence of racism and colorism within Japan, both documented by Japanese people, why are we so quick to deflect? What makes us hesitant to have an honest conversation about the subject?
Well, it starts with how the West in particular frames Japan as naive when it comes to international relations, let alone concepts of Whiteness and race. This narrative started during Japan’s post-WWII occupation and I will explore it in-depth in Part 2 of our series.
Next In This Series
Part 2 – The Propaganda Machine
Sources
[1] Is Japan Racist? https://www.quora.com/Is-Japan-racist
[2] Reddit thread. https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/62jh9g/japan_racism_survey_reveals_one_in_three/
[3] Whitewashing racial bias: The ball’s in Japan’s court. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2019/02/17/voices/whitewashing-racial-bias-balls-japans-court/
[4] Cool Japan Strategy. https://www.cao.go.jp/cool_japan/english/index-e.html
[5] Colorism. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colorism
[6] Study: lighter-skinned black and Hispanic people look smarter to white people. https://www.vox.com/2015/2/28/8116799/white-colorism-racism-study
[7] 3 Things You Should Know About Global Colorism. https://wappp.hks.harvard.edu/3-things-you-should-know-about-global-colorism
[8] The Social Perception of Skin Color in Japan. https://www.gwern.net/docs/anime/1967-wagatsuma.pdf
[9] What is a Confirmation Bias? https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024
[10] Japan’s foreign population hitting a record high. https://www.mizuho-ir.co.jp/publication/mhri/research/pdf/eo/MEA180913.pdf
[11] Media stews over growing Chinese numbers in Japan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/14/national/media-national/media-stews-growing-chinese-numbers-japan/
[12] Japan’s endless search for identity. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2001/06/24/books/book-reviews/japans-endless-search-for-identity/
[13] Whiteness discourse in Japan: The construction of ideal beauty and racial Others in cosmetic surgery advertisements. http://repository.seinan-gu.ac.jp/bitstream/handle/123456789/296/eg-n52v3-p71-94-tor.pdf
