Hafu

The word "Hafu" refers to somebody who is half Japanese. The label emerged in the 1970s in Japan and is now the most commonly used label and preferred term of self-definition. The word Hafu comes from the English word "half" indicating half foreign-ness.

Fashionable images of the half-Japanese people have become prominent especially with the increased appearance of Hafus in the Japanese media. Hafus now fill the pages of fashion magazines such as Non-no, Can Can or Vivi as models and seen on tv screens often as newsreaders or celebrities. To name a few, these include people like Becky (American/Japanese), a young celebrity, Christel Takigawa (French/Japanese) - a newscaster, Kaela Kimura (British/Japanese) and Anna Umemiya (American/Japanese) - both well-known models. The appearance of Hafus in the media has provided the basis for a vivid image of Hafus.

The historical evolution of the terms used to describe Half Japanese in Japan is interesting. One of the earliest terms referring to half Japanese was “ainoko”, meaning a child born of a relationship between two difference races. This label however inferred social problems such as poverty, impurity and discrimination due to the negative treatment of Hafus back then in the 1940s. The word was then gradually replaced from the late 1950s by the label “konketsuji” which literally means a child of mixed blood. However, soon this too became a taboo term due to its derogatory connotations such as illegitimacy and discrimination. What were central to these labels were the emphasis on 'blood impurity' and the obvious separation of the half-Japanese from the majority of Japanese. In order to correct the negative nuance of half foreign-ness, a new term was created in the 1990s: “daburu,” deriving from the word double. It emphasises that Hafus are not half anything but one person with two different heritages. However this word is rarely used by the Hafus themselves due to its over emphasis of positive self-assertion,and many feel that Hafu is acceptable.

Hafu/ Half Japanese ExhibitionBy artist Natalie Maya Willer and researcher Marcia Yumi Lise [http://www.hafujapanese.org]

Halvsie [http://www.halvsie.com]

Hapa Japan [http://www.hapajapan.org]