(photo of Jessica Michibata and her boyfriend) So last week, I wrote a post about
buying sushi and having the cashier give me a plastic fork to eat it with. The comments sort of turned into a mini-debate on whether Japanese people are jealous of Caucasians. Totally off topic from what I wrote about, but I got a lot of comments, so I think that a lot of you are interested in this issue.
I was actually surprised to get comments from people who think that a lot of Japanese people are envious of Western standards of beauty because I really don't think that they are. I'll write more about my opionion at the end of this post. First, here are some comments that my last post got.
COMMENTS(Thanks for all the comments, everyone)
"I think if we had an issue with knowing we were never going to be seen as Japanese... we wouldn't be here. I wish you'd embrace the fact that you are part of a 2% minority and will always be such while you are in Japan. Smile and remember that every Japanese person in this country is jealous of what makes you different... "
Anonymous # 1
"Because they all look the same. They have to invent all these petty fashion traits, personality gimmicks, clashing tastes just to differentiate themselves from each other. "
Alexandre Piedade
"Many people here do dye their hair unnatural colors as far as natural Japanese hair colors go, wear colored eye contacts, get eyelid surgery etc. etc. These fashions definitely lean towards Western ideas of beauty. I think a lot of girls here idealize the looks of Western women, unfortunately."
Kris
"Really? I get comments all the time on how white and beautiful my skin is. People are jealous of how curly my hair is and how nice it must be. People always comment on my blue eyes and wish they had differently colored eyes. They comment on the bridge of my nose, my forehead, my boobs, my hourglass figure-- I've gotten it all from both Japanese women and men. In a country where everybody has dark hair, dark eyes and golden (sometimes fair, but usually not) skin, everybody wants what you have. They're also super confused when I say that I'd rather look Japanese than Caucasian. They can't believe somebody WOULDN'T want all the things I have. "
Anonymous # 2
"It's very "Japanese" to give compliments about absolutely everything. I don't believe any compliments unless they're from my good friends. If you go to a tourist part of any city and say even the simplest word in Japanese, everyone will shower you with praise on how amazing your Japanese is. Girls always tell me they wish they were as tall as I am and they wish they had blue eyes. It's all flattery and it's just Japanese politeness. They don't actually want to be white."
Julie (my reply to anonymous # 2)
"As for this being a jealousy issue... I can't tell you anything about that. People make comments to that regard ("Oh, you can do this sooo well!") but whether this gets outside of the typical social politeness (社交儀礼) I don't know. "
Spudboy
"Trust me, they're definitely not jealous."
Anonymous # 3
"I'm slightly appalled at some of the comments, particularly about how Japanese people look the same and are envious of "white" beauty. While I do agree that the beauty ideal being perpetrated in the media slants more toward the western look, I don't think this means that the Japanese (or asians in general) dye their hair/wear colored contacts/etc to "look white". Rather, it's a form of self-expression and yes, to stand out or look different. But asians are not the only ones who do this. Are girls who use self-tanner trying to be black? The ones who dye their hair black...are they trying to be asian?! Of course not. It's absurd. But yet, the argument against asian will always be there, despite its logical fallacy."
Anonymous # 4
I don't think that Japanese people are jealous of Western people. I've never gotten that impression, though I have heard people say things like, "why are the attractive characters in manga/anime always light-haired with big, light eyes while the unsympathetic characters are always dark-haired with small, narrow eyes?" and I've heard people remark on how lingerie models in Japan are almost always Caucasian. (Peach John features almost exclusively Japanese/half-Japanese models, though) I have never gotten the impression that any Japanese girls or guys wish they were western, though.
I actually think the opposite. I think there is a great deal of national pride in Japan and I think that most Japanese people are quite happy to be Japanese and look Japanese. And that's the way it should be.
I think that Japanese girls are usually happy to be Japanese. If you look in most girl's fashion magazines, almost all of the models are Japanese. I think that the color contacts and blonde hair dye is just a form of self-expression. The really done-up girls who decorate themselves in magazines like Ageha aren't trying to emulate a Western beauty image as much as they're trying to emulate a character, like Barbie or Blythe. I think it's just for fun and says more about the girl wanting to stand out from the uniform culture that Japan can sometimes be than it says about the girl wishing she wasn't Japanese.
As for guys, I think that they are sometimes jealous of how easy unattractive white guys can get girls, and the short guys always wish they were taller. But I don't think that most guys would trade being Japanese. Then again, my friends are all really confident people. What do you think?
First of all, here are some things to keep in mind when you comment.
A. These comments are not my opinions. I agree with a few people, like Anon # 4 and Spudboy, but I disagree with a lot of other comments. Don't direct your comments about these comments at me personally.
B. Obviously, don't write insulting comments. If you can't make a comment without some degree of politeness, drink some water and come back in 20 minutes.
C. Eyelid surgery is actually not popular in Japan. It's very popular in Korea, but not all that common in Japan. A lot of Japanese people already naturally have the "double eye" fold that the surgery creates. A lot of Japanese people also have naturally brown hair and naturally light / hazel eye color. So no eye surgery comments, unless you're referring to Asia more broadly, in which case I can't comment because I have only lived in Japan and my Chinese / Korean friends are not the types of girls to talk about wanting cosmetic surgery.
I have been getting a lot of comments asking me about Japanese magazines and which ones I like. I never used to be able to answer this question because I didn't read magazines (because I couldn't!) so I just looked at the pictures and they all looked the same to me. Now, as my reading slowly improves, I can tell you about one of the magazines I read. 
One magazine I read every month is called Pinky. Whoever designed the concept behind Pinky magazine is a brilliant marketing person. The concept behind Pinky is that all Pinky's models are under exclusive contracts with Pinky and are featured monthly in the magazine. There are only about 12 well-known Pinky models, all in their 20s, and they have a lot of say about what goes into the magazine every month. Basically, the advertisers just give them hordes of products and they choose their favorites to showcase and promote for the magazine. It's like reality TV in scrapbook form without having to hear anyone's annoying voices.
The magazine features diaries and blogs from the girl's lives. It features their baby pictures, pictures of their pets, pictures of their friends, the parties they go to, the vacations they take. It makes you addicted to their fun lives and then it makes you identify with one or two of them. Then it makes you want to buy whatever products the ones you identify with are hawking. It's pretty great. I know all of this, and I'm still into it. My favorite Pinky model is called 鈴木えみEmi Suzuki. She likes CSS and was born in Shanghai. She has the best fashion sense of the group and the prettiest eyes.
Probably the most famous Pinky model is Yukina Kinoshita. She's often on TV and advertisements. The other characters in Pinky (because they are just like characters) are called Coco, Nozomi, Yukina, Riena, Aimi, Natsumi, Shihomi, Seira, Shiori and Yu. The first 5 (and Emi Suzuki) are the most famous ones. I don't have a TV anymore, so this magazine is my main source of Japanese girly pop culture and fashion.
One of the artists was from Hiroshima, and if any of you are interested in microbreweries (I know that my father is, and that's why I'm including this picture) there is a neat little microbrewery in Hiroshima that makes the most stylish beers. Microbrew / independent beer companies in Japan are called "jibeer" in Japanese. 
