Representations
of different ethnicities and races vary from country to country and over the
course of time. The means of
representation and imaging themselves change too. Japan has a long artistic history including
many different mediums. Its population,
however, is said to be comprised of over 90% Japanese people. This number is uncertain but the point is
that Japan’s population is mostly made up of Japanese people. There is and has always been a sense of
homogeneity. This significant factor may
influence Japanese representation of other ethnicities and races, especially
historically. For this project, I
decided to look into the visual representation of Blacks in Japan specifically. These visual representations take many different
forms which include historical and modern art, advertising, manga, anime, and
style or fashion. Much of the
representation of Blacks in Japan is through a racist and discriminatory lens. I will go on to discuss how this
representation is played out through these different kinds of media and visuals
and what may have contributed to and influenced the Japanese to represent Black
people and Black culture in such ways.
The
first outlet of this representation I’d like to talk about is art. I use this term broadly here; art can mean
anything from fine art to the earliest sketches and drawings. Art can be visual representation for the sake
of purchase, historical record, or storytelling. Early Japanese art, which we looked at in
many Visual Narrative chapters, is a great tool for learning about Japan’s
history and its relations to other nations and peoples through visuals. These images will also help in understanding
some of the factors of influence on how Japanese visually and artistically
portray Black people.
In
his post called “Early Afro-Japanese
Encounters: The Evolution of the Depiction of Africans in Japanese Art,” Robert
(blogger user: Yves) notes that “Japanese perceptions of
"black" and dark-skinned people was profoundly shaped by their
seemingly low status as servile to white Europeans.[i]” He also points out another possible influence
before the Portuguese, Dutch, American, and other Westerners: China. Robert points to research done by Julie
Wilensky who argues connections linking China to East Africa through Islam, the
Indian Ocean and Arab traders who “probably brought African slaves with them to
China's port cities, such as Canton.[ii]” China’s perceptions of Africans could have
traveled to Japan through centuries of contact and trade during its dynastic
periods. Chinese society also praises
whiter skin. This preference shows, to
quote Robert again, an “ethnocentric bias of Chinese elites and valorization of
lighter-complected peoples.[iii]” Much of this could have been passed on to
Japan. Most of the Africans first seen
by the Japanese were slaves and crewmen.
Commodore Matthew Perry even brought some slaves with him on his
journeys to Japan. Many of these
interactions between Japanese, Europeans and people of color are portrayed in
early Japanese art.
This
is an example of a Japanese “Namban” art.
It shows two dark-skinned men among six lighter-skinned men. Two of the men seem to be East-Asian. The four other men seem to be European since
most of them have light brown or orange hair.
The two men of color look African and are dressed similarly to each
other but not the rest of the men. They
appear to be slaves, as they are the only ones in the group clearly doing any
of the work. They are also both barefoot
while everyone is wearing shoes. Their
features are less distinct than those of the European men.
Commodore
Perry also apparently had minstrels performing, often in blackface. Robert describes this as a “new stage in the
depiction of Blacks in Japanese art, for the influx of American blackface
performers and other Western caricatures of black people with blue-black skin,
exaggerated thick lips, and a whole host of other nasty features.[iv]” Having had limited interaction with Africans,
these blackface portrayals of Blacks served as influential images for the
Japanese in their construction of their own representations.
This
is a Japanese image of Perry’s minstrels performing in blackface. Note the big hair and inky-black skin. Robert discusses blackface as perpetuating
the “decline of the image of Africa in Japanese minds.[v]”
Japanese
visitors to the United States also would have run into Black slaves. In his discussion, Robert also emphasizes how
the “development of scientific racism, Social Darwinism, and increasing
segregation and white supremacy within the West left a message of permanent
Black inferiority in Japan.[vi]” Japanese portrayal of Africans in art began
as realistic, curious, factual depictions of events and people and moved towards
stereotypical Western caricatures of Blacks.
This digression continued throughout Japanese media, even into
today. There are, however, some good
representations of Blacks in modern Japanese visual culture.
The
next parts of Japanese visual culture I’ll be looking at are anime and
manga. Characters in manga and anime are
explicit visual depictions of people and characteristics. In my research I found so many cases of
stereotypical and racist portrayals of Africans present in manga and anime,
much of which are similar to cartoons and comics made in the United States. It seems that the harmful representation of
Blacks in media hasn’t lessened but has gotten more subtle. If you’re looking for it, it’s painfully
obvious, but maybe this modern-day racism in visual media speaks more to our
ignorance in perception that the representation and presentation itself.
Here
are some examples of early Japanese comics: (are they still considered manga if
not in today’s manga-style?)
Anime
is no different. It seems that anime
artists continue to fall back on the same harmful presentations of Black people
in drawing their characters. More often
than not, characters of color are drawn with exaggerated lips, ears, hair, and
noses. They are also often presented
with stereotypical characteristics that reminiscent of earlier manga and
American characters like “Stepin’ Fetchit” or “coons,” both terribly degrading
and insulting representations of Blacks that were all-too-common in American
film and cartoons in the early to mid-1900s.
Both
the presentations of Mr. Popo (Dragon
Ball Z) and Jynx (Pokémon) are
striking to performers in blackface.
They’ve both got ink-black skin and exaggerated features. It’s interesting to note how often times animators
will attempt to portray obviously Black characters more subtly by making their
skin a different color like the purple-skinned version of Jynx or Skeeter from
Doug (whether or not the creator says that was their intentions or not). Robert makes a particularly poignant point
about the service of Mr. Popo’s representation.
He says Mr. Popo acts as an “unwelcome reminder of seemingly universal
anti-black views facilitated by global capitalism, American imperialism, and
European colonialism.[vii]” Inherent in these kinds of representations is
the sense of the “Black Other”; being presented as distinctly non-white.
Another
example of Black representation in anime is Afro-Samurai. Although I’ve never watched it, this anime
looks like it’s about what it sounds like.
The titular character is a Black samurai with a massive afro. This kind of anime hints at Japanese
appreciation and use of Black culture and imaging. It can also be read, though, as cultural
appropriation and misrepresentation. This
being said, Afro-Samurai seems like a
really interesting show and the character himself seems much less stereotypically
created than most. The stylistic
elements of Afro-Samurai remind me a
little of the American-made show The
Boondocks. The Boondocks focuses on Black characters and utilizes manga-styles
in its drawing and fight scenes.
Other
examples include: Bob Makihara from Tenjoi Tenge, Shinobu from No More Heroes, Kaname Tousen from Bleach, Ninja Ninja from Afro Samurai, and Miyuki Ayukawa from Basquash
Another media example of representation of people of color in Japan is the book, The Story of Little Black Sambo. Originally written and published in the United Kingdom, the children’s book was first published in a pirated version in 1953. Little Black Sambo was a big hit in Japan until it was taken off shelves in 1988 as a result of a (mostly American) anti-racism campaign. Little Black Sambo dolls were also discontinued. However, many Japanese readers were surprised to learn of racist undertones in the book. Despite the existing controversies that banned the book, Little Black Sambo eventually returned to bookstores in Japan. Much of the appreciation of the book is attributed to nostalgia. Much of the misunderstanding of the not-so-subtle racism in representation of the characters may speak to Japan’s homogeneity and similar presentations of people of color in Japanese media.
Another media example of representation of people of color in Japan is the book, The Story of Little Black Sambo. Originally written and published in the United Kingdom, the children’s book was first published in a pirated version in 1953. Little Black Sambo was a big hit in Japan until it was taken off shelves in 1988 as a result of a (mostly American) anti-racism campaign. Little Black Sambo dolls were also discontinued. However, many Japanese readers were surprised to learn of racist undertones in the book. Despite the existing controversies that banned the book, Little Black Sambo eventually returned to bookstores in Japan. Much of the appreciation of the book is attributed to nostalgia. Much of the misunderstanding of the not-so-subtle racism in representation of the characters may speak to Japan’s homogeneity and similar presentations of people of color in Japanese media.
The
aspect of Japanese visual culture depicting Black culture I found most
interesting was style and fashion amongst Japanese youth. Popular among youth in Japan is a style of
dressing called B-style or Black lifestyle.
Another
closely-related part of Japanese style that portrays black culture is “Ganguro”. Ganguro girls, from what I’ve read, are young
Japanese girls who darken their skin to make themselves look more colored. This trend has faded and evolved into Yamanba
and Manba, which maintained little popularity.
Both still incorporate dark tanned skin.
The darkened skin seems to be the only link to Blackness since the
clothing style is not reminiscent of Black culture; rather kawaii or pop/scene
culture.
In
a piece called “The Imitation of Black Culture in Japan’s Youth,” Lin Kabachia attributes
B-style to a desire to learn about or tribute to black culture[viii]. It’s hard to imagine clothing choice in this
way and not as common cultural appropriation.
That being said, people have the right to wear what they want and like. The fact, though, that this style is called “black
lifestyle” points to a judgment and grouping of an entire race of people to a
certain style and behavior.
Overall
in my research I found countless examples of the representation of Blacks in
Japanese media culture. It takes a
variety of forms and has changed over time.
In its first stages, it was primarily paintings and drawings of historical
events including African slaves brought to Japan by Europeans. Due in major part to the homogeneity of Japan
and Western influences, these portrayals of Black people began to take negative
forms that mimicked those in the West.
In present day, as is true for the West, much of this racism still
exists and is still present in many forms of media. However, in the last decade or few decades
there have been more and more positive and realistic visual representations of
Blacks and Black culture in the West and Japan.
[i] Robert.
"Early Afro-Japanese Encounters: The Evolution of the Depiction of
Africans in Japanese Art.” 2013.
[ii]
Ibid.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Ibid.
[v]
Ibid.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Ibid.
[viii]
Kabachia, Lin. The Imitation of Black Culture in Japan's Youth. 2014
Works Cited
Cottrell,
Jacqueline. "Black Characters in Today's (and Yesterday's) Anime."Nerdy
But Flirty. N.p., 27 Feb. 2013. Web. May 2015.
Izawa,
Eri. "Ethnic and Racial Stereotypes in Manga." Ethnic and
Racial Stereotypes in Manga. MIT, 2000. Web. May 2015.
Kabachia,
Lin. The Imitation of Black Culture in Japan's Youth. N.p.: n.p.,
24 Apr. 2014. PDF.
Kastiro,
Allan. "The Portrayal of Black People in Manga and Anime."JAPANsociology.
N.p., 19 Oct. 2014. Web. May 2015.
Robert.
"Early Afro-Japanese Encounters: The Evolution of the Depiction of
Africans in Japanese Art." Web log post. The World Is Robert.
N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. May 2015.
Russell,
John. "Race and Reflexivity: The Black Other in Contemporary Japanese Mass
Culture." Cultural Anthropology 6.1 (1991): 3-25. Web.
Salvaggio,
Eryk. "The Unexpected Brother: Japanese Media Representations of
"Blackness"" Academia.edu. N.p., 20 Jan. 2014. Web.
May 2015.
