The whole story on being `hafu` _ CNNGo

9/12/12
The whole story on being 'hafu' | CNNGo.com
Register Sign In
CNN International
Follow
LATEST DESTINATIONS SPECIALS iREPORT CONTESTS MOBILE TV
Like
279k
The
whole
story
on
being
'hafu'
The movie 'Hafu' explores the limbo world of people who are half­Japanese and half something
else, as they try to find their place in society
By Daniel Krieger (/node/47093) Like
Send
29 November, 2010
Marcia Yumi Lise, Nanci Lissa Miyagasako and 400 others
like this.
0
Tweet
103
Private video
(mailto:?subject=The whole story on being
'&body=http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/whole-
-being-hafu-722376)
You are logged into Vimeo and have permission to watch this video.
What does it mean to be half­Japanese in 21st­century Japan?
This is what filmmakers Megumi Nishikura and Lara Takagi set out to explore in their documentary
film, "Hafu (http://www.hafufilm.com/) ," of which they showed a preview screening last month at the
Kansai Franco­Japanese Institute (http://www.ifjk.jp/) in Kyoto.
The film, which is not yet completed, is an offshoot of the Hafu Project (http://www.hafujapanese.org/) ,
which was set up in London two years ago by sociologist Marcia Yume Lise and photographer
Natalie Maya Willer, both half­Japanese.
The project profiles hafus with photos and interviews that shed light on the experience of living
between two cultures.
"We wanted to create an opportunity to discuss contemporary Japan through the lens of half
Japanese," says Lise.
Breaking the
homogeny In the summer of 2009, Lise and
Willer brought the project to
Tokyo. Nishikura, a Japanese­
American, and Takagi, who is
Japanese­Spanish, met at one
of the photo shoots.
David Yano, a Ghanaian­Japanese who is one of the subjects of the film.
Inspired by the Hafu Project,
which went to the core of their
own bicultural and biracial
identities, they teamed up with
Lise, who would serve in an
advisory capacity. Filming got
underway a year ago. Nishikura and Takagi expect to finish by late 2011, after which they aim to have it aired on
Japanese television, shown at international film festivals and distributed on DVD.
"We want to show that Japanese society is not homogenous," says Takagi, who hopes to awaken
Japanese to the diversity within their own country.
That diversity includes not only hafus, but minorities such as Zainichi, native Okinawan and Ainu
www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/whole-story-being-hafu-722376
1/4
9/12/12
The whole story on being 'hafu' | CNNGo.com
(http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/medvedev­kuril­trip­gives­japan­another­island­headache­576779) , who
struggle to find a place in the culture, as well.
Statistics cited in the film say that one out of 30 babies in Japan are born to a family where at least
one of the parents is not Japanese and one out of 18 marriages are mixed, rising to one out of 10
in Tokyo. Gaining respect Despite shifting demographics,
hafus who have grown up in
Japan as native Japanese
speakers are still considered
foreign by many, even if they
have a Japanese passport.
For children, this can be tough,
as is the case with Alex, a boy in
the film who starts getting bullied
in kindergarten. Japan's hafu community stick together.
In recent years, however, there
has been something of a "hafu
boom" in entertainment and
media. The look has gotten popular, and hafus such as Kaela Kimura, Angela Aki and Erika Sawajiri
(http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/erika­sawajiri­548777) can be seen in magazines and on TV. Those with
more foreign features are in particular demand. Nevertheless, being seen as outsiders in their own culture can add an extra layer of frustration to
the daily life of hafus in group­oriented Japan. "I would like to see a deeper understanding of the hafu experience," says Nishikura, explaining the
impact she hopes the film will have in Japan. "And a greater awareness that these people identify
themselves as Japanese and want to be respected and treated equally as Japanese."
The film tracks the day­to­day lives of five hafus, each illuminating another angle on what it's like to
be a hafu in Japan and the role that their hafu­ness plays at a turning point in each character's
life. One especially poignant story is that of David Yano, a 29­year­old Ghanaian­Japanese who has
taken it upon himself to raise money to build schools in Ghana, which he visits for the first time as
an adult. Unlike Japanese, who may struggle to understand foreign cultures, Yano felt his non­Japanese
half was beckoning.
Now his effort to help impoverished children on the other side of the planet is helping him arrive at
a deeper sense of his own identity.
Internet communities
The film speaks for a growing community that has come
together over the past decade thanks largely to the
Internet.
One group, called Halvsie (http://www.halvsie.com/) , bills itself
as "the landing page for all things half­Japanese."
Founded in 2001, the site hosts a 1,600 member forum
on which hafus can discuss what it's like to be half­
Japanese or meet up if they're in the same city.
Hafu co­directors, Megumi Nishikura and
Lara Takagi, answer audience questions at
a preview of the film shown in Kyoto last
month.
Postings with questions such as, "Is there such a thing as
a stereotypical Halvsie? If so, what's the stereotype?" and
"How are you usually identified?" get thousands of views
and hundreds of replies. Half Japanese (http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=67336%22) ,
another popular group on the networking site Mixi, has
nearly 4,000 members, and Hapa Japan (http://www.hapajapan.org/) more than 1,000 who participate
in forums. Building on the momentum of the last decade, the film is the culmination of this movement, which
remains barely understood in mainstream Japanese culture.
To tell their story, the filmmakers have ventured out onto the fringe of society to bring back small
heroic tales of daily life that would otherwise be untold. And in the telling, the half­Japanese
experience finds expression.
www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/whole-story-being-hafu-722376
2/4
9/12/12
The whole story on being 'hafu' | CNNGo.com
Ultimately, says Lise, "It's about giving a voice to hafus."
The Hafu Project will have an exhibit at the Kobe Center (http://www.kobe­center.jp/) for Overseas
Migration and Cultural Interaction from November 27­December 5 (closed on Monday).
For more information please visit; www.hafujapanese.org (http://www.hafujapanese.org/)
Daniel Krieger writes features about Japanese culture and personal
essays. He is based in Osaka. (/node/47093)
Read more about Daniel Krieger (/node/47093)
Tags: You might like:
Paid Distribution
(http://www.cnngo.com
(javascript:void(0))
(http://tmagazine.blog
places­skinny­dip­
(http://www.cnngo.com
s.nytimes.com/2012/0
At
91,
a
Photo
Legend
Looks
9/06/at­91­a­photo­
Back
legend­looks­back/?
Naked,
wet,
free:
/explorations/escape/
15
sexy
skinny
worlds­15­greatest­
dips
/explorations/escape/w
520132)
orlds­15­greatest­places­
skinny­dip­520132)
(http://tmagazine.blogs.
emc=rss)
nytimes.com/2012/09/
06/at­91­a­photo­
legend­looks­back/?
(CNNGo)
(http://www.cnngo.com/
explorations/escape/wo
rlds­15­greatest­places­
skinny­dip­520132)
emc=rss)
(The New York
Times)
(http://tmagazine.blogs.
nytimes.com/2012/09/0
6/at­91­a­photo­
(http://www.cnngo.com
(http://www.cnngo.com
(http://www.cnngo.com
Pushy
guests
and
/explorations/life/less­
porn:
Confessions
porn­please­im­airbnb­
of
an
Airbnb
hostess­470596)
hostess
Is
the
party
over
in
/explorations/life/24­
Vang
Vieng?
(http://www.cnngo.com
signs­partys­over­vang­
/beijing­big­4­the­
/explorations/life/less­
vieng­965782)
ultimate­weekend­
porn­please­im­airbnb­
(CNNGo)
guide­972754)
hostess­470596)
(http://www.cnngo.com/
(CNNGo)
(CNNGo)
explorations/life/24­
(http://www.cnngo.com/
(http://www.cnngo.com/
signs­partys­over­vang­
beijing­big­4­the­
explorations/life/less­
vieng­965782)
ultimate­weekend­
signs­partys­over­
(http://www.cnngo.com
vang­vieng­965782)
/explorations/life/24­
porn­please­im­airbnb­
Beijing's
big
4
/beijing­big­4­the­
sites:
The
ultimate
ultimate­weekend­
weekend
guide
guide­972754)
(http://www.cnngo.com
guide­972754)
hostess­470596)
legend­looks­back/?
emc=rss)
[?] (javascript:void(0))
1 comment
0 Stars
Leave a message...
Discussion
Community
Truck Furniture Maker
•
7 months ago
When will the plight of the half Russian half German be heard, hear my story!
0
•
Reply
•
Share ›
ALSO ON CNNGO
Hong Kong dim sum trail
0 • 1 comment • 12 days ago
Jim Lee — No chicken feet for me,
substitute w. congee. We went to Tim Ho
Wan earlier this year & queued up fo...
Is the party over in Vang Vieng?
6 • 31 comments • 13 days ago
Anthony Smith — Whether this move is
permanent or just to quell publicity in the off
season remains to be seen. Rega...
What's this?
×
Pilots can now fly using an iPad
0 • 2 comments • 2 days ago
Donovan1661 — Go figure!
Asia's martial arts capital is ...
Singapore?
0 • 2 comments • 8 days ago
Jaywolf1 — ONEFC is the future of MMA.
The ruleset in ONEFC is UNPRECEDENTED.
It's the New Era PRIDE FC in term...
www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/whole-story-being-hafu-722376
3/4