The Cruel Reality of Moving to the US from Japan as a Mixed Race

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  • Опубліковано 26 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 97

  • @larryfroot
    @larryfroot Рік тому +16

    Harmony's experience reminds me of a line from a TS Eliott poem "one must travel the world three times before returning home, and understand it for the first time". We need contrast to better understand ourselves.

  • @suginami0
    @suginami0 Рік тому +6

    Enjoyed this. Harmony is so positive and full of joy. It’s not possible to hear her talk and not walk away feeling better.

  • @pikXpixelart
    @pikXpixelart Рік тому +19

    This was a really insightful video and gives a nice perspective to what having a cultural identity means. Thank you for the meaningful discussion, to the both of you!

  • @debbie1247
    @debbie1247 Рік тому +2

    So interesting! I'm hafu, born and raised in the US. Hearing Harmony's experience made me reflect on my own. Growing up on the US mainland among mostly white kids, I didn't realize I was different either. My Mother only spoke English, other than the Japanese she blurted out when exasperated. My parents were my parents, I never compared what they looked like to other parents...until we came to Hawaii. Then I realized how White my Dad was. I feel fortunate to have grown up in the US w/out the oppression that Japanese youth experience. But now, at 60, I long for the order and respectful philosophy of Japan. I so wish my Mother taught me Japanese, but Harmony's ability to learn English inspires me to keep studying nihongo and I'll be living in Japan every Spring and Fall.

  • @johnnyc5382.
    @johnnyc5382. Рік тому +13

    Your cousin is such a kick !
    Very Americanized!
    And thank you Joshua for yet another fascinating interview ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • @iHeartFerenc
    @iHeartFerenc Рік тому +6

    From what I gather from your videos, it seems "non-Japanese" in Japan refers specifically to the way you look because it doesn't seem to matter that you were born and raised there, speak native-level Japanese and understand the culture as well as any Japanese person.
    As someone born and raised in the US, I have to say the "non-American" feeling people get will rarely be related to the way someone looks because the notion of "American" is purely as a nationality and not a race or ethnicity. "non-American" is a cultural separation. It also explains why westerners (especially Americans) would be quick to say that you are Japanese (even though in Japan people don't feel this way) because we tend to have a strong concept of nationality, independent of ancestry.

  • @kiri5224
    @kiri5224 Рік тому +7

    Enjoyed the interview! Thought your cousin was very open and funny.

  • @creativepicnl
    @creativepicnl Рік тому +3

    This is so interesting! So happy that Anming introduced us to you.

  • @tchakhtchoukha
    @tchakhtchoukha Рік тому +3

    The questions you ask are allways on point👍Thanks to both you and your guest for sharing some insights on mixed cultures and identities. It was very interesting.

  • @edjarrett3164
    @edjarrett3164 Рік тому +6

    That was such a fascinating conversation about perspectives from home grown Japanese raised half mixed or full Caucasians. Your cousin has changed to a more Western perspective. She’s also an extrovert vs your introvert personality. I’m still curious as to why she doesn’t have much desire to visit New Zealand . I’m half Japanese and have visited Japan a small handful of times. I’m culturally American, so I was well aware of the differences in culture every time I visited. Semi fluent in the language also helped, , but that has faded over the years.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      She actually would LOVE to visit NZ anytime! That’s what she said in the interview

  • @MrCleansweep
    @MrCleansweep Рік тому +1

    Randomly stumbled upon your channel today, and love seeing stuff like this! I love Harmony mentioned the “real stuff” in American high schools…also she was Americanized in a “good” way. Thank you for the great content!!

  • @Mimkebob
    @Mimkebob Рік тому +2

    Really interesting video, thanks for sending! As an American living in a European country, I've become a lot more aware of the difficulty of even verbalizing the extremely deep, subtle differences between cultures and I think you and your cousin did a great job. I've also come to find that I am indelibly American and can't ever be otherwise no matter how hard I might try. Ultimately I've decided it doesn't matter - I can still build meaningful relationships with people and build a life in a place where I'll never 100% belong, but on the plus side I always have a good conversation topic around what the US is like :) The relationships and living my life the way I want are the important things rather than the ideal of belonging.

  • @randolphpinkle4482
    @randolphpinkle4482 4 місяці тому

    Harmony is awesome. She still seems very Japanese, but an idealized version. She seemed like she had escaped the shackles of Japanese culture.

  • @Kami84
    @Kami84 9 місяців тому

    Harmony is very funny and adorable really. I hope she continues to have a good experience living here in America.

  • @HeArt.138
    @HeArt.138 9 місяців тому

    That last comment on how Harmony can Express her thoughts and opinions more. She can be more herself and yet the strength of Japan being taking care of one another. Honestly so beautiful as an American who visited Japan for 2 weeks. I loved the hospitality (how they thought of others) and definitely want to visit again. We need the strength of both cultures: individuality and community in balance. That would be something beautiful.

  • @the.pokey.little.pineapple4546
    @the.pokey.little.pineapple4546 10 місяців тому +1

    Joshua & Harmony, you are both so prescious. Love hearing you both talk. I have a question for you both. How do you feel about people who adopt Japanese culture who have never lived in Japan?

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  9 місяців тому

      I think it’s cool

    • @harmonygoodall7607
      @harmonygoodall7607 9 місяців тому

      Hi! You're so precocious too! Thank you so much for your comment. Joshua is the best!:) I think if they like Japanese culture, and if they want to adopt our culture, that's so cool!!:))

  • @trophybuckle3235
    @trophybuckle3235 Рік тому +5

    I live in a border town in California where it is very common to have one American parent and one Mexican parent - and I find myself explaining my heritage to people _constantly_ , still 😆 Also, why my Spanish is so good (because I spent half my life in Mexico, like everyone else here 🙄😆), I suppose because I do look very Caucasian. I’ve decided it’s mostly peoples’ social anxiety and not knowing what else to talk about except for the obvious, and those topics are low-hanging fruit - like the weather 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 Love hearing your story and about your corner of the human diaspora, keep it up! 🙏🏼🖤

  • @seasq
    @seasq Рік тому +3

    I live in Austin, TX and have two friends who are brothers here who are also Caucasian and grew up in Japan. I thought they were incredibly unique, but I keep learning that their situation is not as unique as I thought. To add to that, I met them because I worked with one of them at a ramen shop here for a short while that was frequented by a lot of Japanese people. I noticed he rarely spoke Japanese to those guests and asked him why. His response was really sad - he said that often when he would, the guests would get upset with him and be really cold to him the rest of the time they were there. So, he avoided speaking Japanese at work except with the owner, who said his Japanese was perfect. I hope over time Japan becomes more open and familiar with non-Japanese looking people being a part of their culture.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +4

      That’s a really interesting experience. For me, growing up in Japan wasn’t like that. Maybe the Japanese people in the US want more of an American experience when they’re in the US (so they don’t want to interact with white people in Japanese), or maybe the brothers are interacting with a certain segment of the population that isn’t nearly as common in Japan (at least from my experience)? I’m not too sure, but it’s not like people get mad or act cold once I speak Japanese. My experience in Japan has been much more subtle. I’ve experienced othering and alienation from the society in a subtle way (or sometimes an obvious way), which isn’t like the more straightforward coldness or hostility you’ve described.
      It’s just tiring to be seen as a tourist in your own country and people can’t get past that Japanese language is also spoken by non-Asian looking people and it’s a language that can be learned.

  • @aag24
    @aag24 Рік тому +2

    excellent video Joshua!

  • @IntuitiveYakOfAllTrades
    @IntuitiveYakOfAllTrades Рік тому +1

    I met her at CFNI a few years ago. She seems a lot more confident in speaking English. It surprised me that her accent was more American this time around.

  • @55CINCO55
    @55CINCO55 9 місяців тому

    It's so funny to me she says "Mexicans think I'm Mexican" because this whole time I was thinking about how Mexican she looks and I'm a Mexican-American.

  • @funguy6844
    @funguy6844 Рік тому

    Great episode! Very interesting! Thank you!🙏

  • @hemoglojen
    @hemoglojen Рік тому

    Love your channel, Joshua!

  • @brianrodd
    @brianrodd Рік тому +6

    Appreciate the time and work you put into videos. As an American this was fascinating and really made me think about what it means to be "American". I know you focus on Japan but you might be interested in looking into Dreamers. They're essentially Americans, grew up here, went to school here but legally they're not citizens. So for some they're citizens of a country that they have never been to. I've worked with some and never really asked them in depth how they feel about their identity. To me they're just Americans lol. I would imagine they go through some of the same questions that you and the people on your channel think about concerning identity.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +2

      I’m actually interested in exploring more beyond Japan and I have some good ideas. Thank you so much for the suggestion!! I’ll look into them!

  • @気にしない-o8q
    @気にしない-o8q Рік тому

    what a great talk, I could listen to you both talk for hours.

  • @The_Shadow_Returns
    @The_Shadow_Returns 9 місяців тому

    Cool interview...

  • @SLisaPizza
    @SLisaPizza Рік тому

    loved this perspective! she's interesting

  • @lauraelainedesilets1189
    @lauraelainedesilets1189 Рік тому +1

    My husband is Japanese fully. He grew up in Hawaii. He never was interested in learning about Japan because his mom and sister went and Japanese people treated them poorly being American Japanese. Yet everyone wants to move here and don't want to learn about what the Japanese who became American went through in internment camps.
    I'm from Pennsylvania, we met here in California. He looks like Harmony since he had double eyelid ... Yes he gets Mexican.
    I do have Huron Indian from my family that came from Quebec side of Canada. Japanese people see it. We volunteer at Pow Wows. They all thought he is NA
    California is easy because Harmony is considered Happa..... Mixed half n half Japanese. Scott says I am because the link of NA and Japan ... But I'm fully face white tbh. I have bigger eyes.... Maybe almond shape.
    I want to go to Japan though been my dream since high school. Moved to California at 19, culture shock tho.... Many Asian friends !!!! My brother in law is Chinese.
    God bless your journey
    ❤️❤️❤️

  • @steveandtinejeppesen1625
    @steveandtinejeppesen1625 Рік тому

    Love these kinds of interviews!! ❤️❤️

  • @liviumaracine258
    @liviumaracine258 Рік тому +1

    It's nice when you guys changed to japanese language

  • @icturner23
    @icturner23 Рік тому

    I’m a language teacher, and was also born in but soon left a bilingual region, and I’m so gutted when I see lost chances of bilingualism. Harmony’s English is pretty good but that’s the best ever gift that her dad could have given her for free.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      Her English is really good man. Don’t know what you’re saying.

  • @nelsondesousa9304
    @nelsondesousa9304 Рік тому +1

    She’s so dramatic 😂 Great interview! I would advise her to visit NZ. It’s a beautiful country and she will develop an obsession with that too. Good luck ⭐️👏🏻

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      I personally LOVED NZ and would LOVE to go back to visit or even live for a year or so. Auckland was honestly so nice.

  • @6StimuL84
    @6StimuL84 Рік тому +2

    I was born and raised here and compared to when I was growing up, America is horrible and very authoritarian and brainwashed....Are there really any free countries?

  • @fernlin-healy2174
    @fernlin-healy2174 Рік тому +4

    I'd be interested in an interview with your parents. I imagine that there were even fewer white people in Japan when they were growing up than there are today.

  • @SuluhanErlan
    @SuluhanErlan Рік тому +1

    Damn~ glued watching these identity-crisis videos, somewhat far away, from Kazakhstan. I mean, having the experience being brought up Qazaq in Russian institutions and later experiencing life in the US, I can totally relate to many feelings, social, and psychological details discussed here.
    Fascinating, subscribed!
    Make us some more of your videos.
    PS hey, I understand this channel to be dedicated to Japanese affairs, yet how about expanding the scope and making videos with otherness in the rest of the world, huh?

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      Thanks for commenting and watching!
      Appreciate it!
      Yes, that’s actually my plan but I still have so many videos to edit first and then expand my theme more into something non-Japanese :))

    • @SuluhanErlan
      @SuluhanErlan Рік тому

      @@joshuasjapanchannel copy that~
      you have cooperation from Kazakhstan if need be :)

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      @@SuluhanErlan thank you!!

  • @MagnetikMagnitude
    @MagnetikMagnitude Рік тому

    Nice man.

  • @MaxxMcGeePrivate
    @MaxxMcGeePrivate Рік тому

    Very interesting!

  • @icturner23
    @icturner23 Рік тому

    Part of being British is of course picking up all the subtleties of the culture growing up, but what makes me not see you as British is really just the American accent. This is a phenomenon in my perception that I’d already noticed in the past. I am very open to migrants and can easily see people from other languages who settle as British, but I just can’t see native English speakers with non-British accents as British. It’s not that I think that is a rational distinction - it just applies automatically and subconsciously. I think it’s connected to accents being so important to us. I wouldn’t see someone with a Southern accent as being *from* the North, or vice versa, no matter how long they had lived there. I wouldn’t even see someone with a Liverpool accent as being from Manchester even if they’d been there half a century.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      Well, I know I’m not British nor Japanese nor American. It’s probably a feeling you’ve never experienced and never will. Just understand there are people with unusual circumstances and backgrounds :)

  • @picardy7488
    @picardy7488 8 місяців тому

    I'm curious about Harmony's ethnically-New-Zealand father's experience. He would be like Joshua - perhaps raised completely in Japan since his/her parent (Harmony's grandparent) came as a missionary. It's not surprising she has little interest in NZ since her own father probably didn't feel like a New Zealander. Also, I'm curious about the grandfather perhaps being in Japan shortly after WWII and what that was like.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  8 місяців тому

      Our granddad’s interview will soon come out from Takashi from Japan’s channel :))

  • @Hyper05
    @Hyper05 Рік тому

    Interesting how much schooling seems to have on your identity. It seems you pick up mannerisms and how people view their culture primarily through the schooling system.

  • @Momma_Stina
    @Momma_Stina Рік тому

    America is very weird.... it's a melting pot of cultures and it's the only country (I know of) that has hyphenated identities (Korean-American etc). But, when you come here as a foreigner it's such a weird experience realizing how 'being American' is distilled into single points of reference and how no matter how you bend yourself to fit, you are always "not"... even now, after 20 years of being here, I am not considered American... (do I want to be? ... that's a different question and one I grapple with quite often). Great video! Very thought provoking!

  • @serendipitous6
    @serendipitous6 Рік тому

    It matters where you're from but it's often nuanced, but not always...

  • @fullpeace4435
    @fullpeace4435 Рік тому

    僕は純日本人で日本で育ったから、完全には理解できてないかもだけど、ルーツと育ちが異なってたら、複雑な心境があったりするんだろうなぁと思った。日本の人たちはルーツも日本っていう人が多い。 あと、特に日本人って、外見で決めつけてしまう傾向ありますよね。それは悲しいことかもしれない

  • @jaysato
    @jaysato Рік тому +1

    so harmonys dad is originally british? born in new zealand but grew up in japan.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      Well, we share the same grandparents but they’re mostly Scottish descents. Our grandma’s parents are from Scotland and our grandfather’s family’s been in NZ for few generations

    • @jaysato
      @jaysato Рік тому

      @@joshuasjapanchannel ah ok that makes sense. i was gonna say maybe second or third gen cousins as a possibility

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      @@jaysato Haha yeah we’re actual cousins. Her dad is my mom’s older brother :)

  • @kojiyamabe7753
    @kojiyamabe7753 3 місяці тому

    ハモちゃん、もしかしなくてもLAとテキサスって違う国かよ?って位に違いませんか?
    でもlife goes onという感じで現地に順応している所が頼もしいですね👍

  • @emiriidesu
    @emiriidesu Рік тому

    ハーモニーちゃんめっちゃ面白い🤣声でかいっって私もすぐに思った

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      小さい頃から本当に一緒に居るだけで笑いが止まんなかった記憶!

  • @travisketchum5223
    @travisketchum5223 Рік тому

    Being loud is an American RIGHT. Congrats Harmony, you are one of us! :-0. And Josh, I think you would be happy here too. The Brits are wound too tight. We work hard here but are generally more accepting and believe me, NO one cares where you are from in the States.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      HAHA! I do LOVE California a lot and would love to live there if I could.

    • @nelsondesousa9304
      @nelsondesousa9304 Рік тому +1

      The Americans are generally more accepting than the Brits? Are you serious?

  • @act98006
    @act98006 Рік тому

    How did Harmony end up being born in Texas?

  • @unasperanza9803
    @unasperanza9803 Рік тому

    Could you come to the conclusion that you are from Japan but mixed heritage and thats cool. Poor New Zealand has a big natural disaster recently.

  • @user-td2nr4ni3
    @user-td2nr4ni3 Рік тому +1

    お二人ともお疲れ様でした〜🤗
    別にアメリカ行ってない他のその辺の田舎の日本人でも声でかい人普通に結構いるでねがぁ〜田舎だからか?!💦🤣👍(自分も含む)
    日本もいろいろな民族が入り混じったがこれはみんなアジア系で。
    アメリカは移民大国にして世界様々な色々な人種が入り混じってるハーフどころか先祖も含めて両親が8ヶ国以上の国籍の血筋っていうケースもあるらしい💦
    もうドイツ系もアイルランド系もへったくりもないまさしく独立とした国🇺🇸👍💦
    うむ💦確かに同じ島国ニュージーランドよりはどうしてもアメリカは選んじゃうよね💦だって国土は広いしハリウッドあるし色々話題がありそうじゃん笑。でも現実はそれらをいっぺんに体験するのは難しいかもですが💦

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      さすがのコメントありがとうございます!!

    • @user-td2nr4ni3
      @user-td2nr4ni3 Рік тому

      @@joshuasjapanchannel え?!💦さすがって?💧いやはやありがとうございます🤗👍

  • @meijiishin5650
    @meijiishin5650 Рік тому

    ハワイで生まれ育った白人として共感できますね(まあ国内だから全然違うところもあるでしょうけど)
    お母さんはまたハワイ生まれ育ちの3世スコットランド人でお父さんはカリフォルニア出身で、僕は離島の田舎で生まれ育ちました
    白人が少ない環境でいじめに遭って、特に「本土に帰れ」と言われることが多かったです(言うまでもないかもしれないけど、ハワイの歴史上ではアメリカ人を嫌う理由がありますからね)
    そうやって「お前は私たちと違うぞ」と何度も言われて、自分の見た目や育った環境を嫌うようになって、高校卒業したらカリフォニアに行くと決意しました
    カリフォニアで「ハワイ生まれ育ちです」と言うと、ハーモニーさんが言うような「なわけあるか」て顔されることで、同じ「アメリカ」なのに全然違うことに気づいて、初めて自分がハワイ(人)なんだって認識ができました
    今はオアフ島に住んでるけど、大人になってからいじめがなくなって、自分のバックグラウンドを話すど笑いが取れて興味深そうに話を聞いてくれるから「みんなと違う」でよかったなーと感じてます
    アイデンティティって難しいもんですけど、使い方によっては大きな財産になることもありますね

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      日本語はご自分で勉強されたんですか?

    • @meijiishin5650
      @meijiishin5650 Рік тому

      ​@@joshuasjapanchannel これもまた変な話ですみません^^;
      異文化をある程度理解するようになると、アイデンティティに関する疑問が少しずつ解決できると思ったんです
      それをきっかけに10年間くらい勉強しています(あとアニメが好きで(笑))
      日本生まれ育ちのハーフや外国の方に接触出来て気づいたのは、見た目がどうあれ、育った環境がしみ込むということです
      当たり前なことですが、生の目で確かめないと案外わからないんですね

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      Can we do a zoom interview sometime? lol

    • @meijiishin5650
      @meijiishin5650 Рік тому

      @@joshuasjapanchannel I'll send you an email.
      I'll have to think about it though. I had some online presence at one point, and some people in real life found out and it was kinda awkward, lol.

  • @russellgoodall
    @russellgoodall Рік тому +1

    いやあ、面白いな。勉強になるわ。
    なるほどね。アイデンティティってなんだろうな?
    じゃ、次はハーモニーの親達とその兄弟達をインタビューして。
    俺、エピソード持ってるよ(笑)

  • @etherdog
    @etherdog Рік тому

    Joshua, for all the talk of "reading the room" , are there any scientific studies that show Japanese people are doing it correctly? I think it is much more internal than external, unless someone is being a complete asshole.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому +1

      What do you mean by reading the room correctly?

    • @albertmas3752
      @albertmas3752 Рік тому

      Maybe he's taking about "kuuki o yomu"? I hope I wrote it correctly.

    • @joshuasjapanchannel
      @joshuasjapanchannel  Рік тому

      @@albertmas3752 that I know but I’m not sure what it means to do it correctly…

  • @Stephen_Ito
    @Stephen_Ito Рік тому

    Wow that's awesome