Afro-Japanese Visual Soundtrack — Momoka

Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj6LLtpA6gk&list=PLwsJGNeYVByKtTJic39LRd7KTfyhMRCQ4&index=7

Nowadays, numerous people who have different backgrounds can be seen even in Japan. They are not only tourists but also residents. Especially, Black people are not rare anymore in Japan, and they live and work here. Sadly, it is true that a part of Japanese has prejudices against Black people. Indeed, a number of racial issues became controversial, and created sensations all over the world. Then, this essay will examine how those racial issues became controversial, and my thoughts towards the future of Afro-Japanese interactions.

Racial Issues Regarding to Black People

In the United States, a movement called Black Lives Matter has been conducted due to the attitude and racism against Black people. The problem is the harm they got. For instance, in Japan, people hardly ever kill or harm them. However, there is unequal treatment against them.

For example, they are likely to be avoided. On trains, buses, and shops, some people do not willingly sit next to them however crowded it is. Also, there was a comedian who tried to imitate Black people, and used blackface. The reason this incident was so criticised is the history that White people made fun of Black people by using blackface. It first appeared in vaudeville shows in New York in the 1830s, when slavery was still legal in the South of the United States, where songs, dances and skits were performed on stage. White performers painted their faces black with burnt cork and shoe polish cream, parodying black plantation workers as lazy and stupid. Therefore, even if the Japanese comedian and the program did not have the intention to discriminate Black people. Moreover, Nissin, one of the world’s largest instant-noodle companies, created a commercial which whitewashed Naomi Osaka’s skin. It generated public discussion. This is not only about the Nissin commercial. In other animations, the whitewashing or biased prejudices could be seen. The most recent and popular example is a CG animation used in the international news programme “This is it! Today’s World” broadcast by NHK. The cartoon was broadcast as part of a special feature on the growing number of protests against discrimination against Black people in the U.S. However, the cartoon depicted a muscular Black man who seemed to be rioting during the demonstration because of his dissatisfaction with the disparity. Another problem was the programme did not clearly explain the actual circumstances and backgrounds of the movement.

My Creative Project

Based on the information above, I created a video clip. I chose street televisions showing different programmes, which were popular in Showa Era, as a format because it was installed in a place where a large number of people gather and could be viewed, and where numerous people could share the same ideas, their opinions and thoughts. I also used an image from AKIRA as the format because this is the one of animations that are very popular all over the world. Many different videos were used in my project. For example, an American hip hop song by ASAP Rocky featured by ASAP Ferg. This demonstrates that rap music is a product of American Black culture. And, I used Japanese hip hop song by Namedaruma, which illustrates the popularisation of American Black culture into Japan. Namedaruma respects several rappers, and one of the rappers is Snoop Dogg, an American Black rapper. I also used a hip-hop song from RYKEY, who is a Japanese rapper mixed with Japanese and Kenyan. Furthermore, I used some cartoons to express no boundary among the world. There is also a video clip which Crystal Kay and Boa sing. Crystal Kay is a child of an African American father and a Zainichi Korean mother. She is usually active in Japan. And, there is also a video clip of an interview of Rui Hachimura, who is a Japanese basketball player mixed with Benin and Japanese. All of these does not just mean that Japanese culture and Afro culture commingling. All I want to express by using all of the video clips above is no boundary between Japanese and Black people, and a society where they are not differentiated. In mixed people’s cases, mixed sports players are sometimes seen as foreigners. Even though Naomi Osaka has Japanese nationality, she was criticised by a part of Japanese that she could not be a representative of Japan because she did not speak Japanese, and lived in the United States. This type of issues has been risen for a long time. However, if Japanese people deepen their understanding towards Black people, they would not be differentiated. For example, people speak to them in English even though they are in Japan, and they meet for the first time. That might be kindness of people trying to communicate with them. It might be true. However, I doubt if people unknowingly regard them as outsiders. They might not be aware of themselves regarding Black people or mixed people in Japan as outsiders, but they may distinguish those people by their appearances such as their skin colour, their eye colour, and height, and their names. Those unconscious bias may exist in my mind, in your mind, or in many people’s mind.

Conclusion

To sum up everything that has been stated, the conclusion is that the future of Afro-Japanese interactions would be easier and more peaceful if assumptions and prejudices disappear. One of the ways to make it happen is depending on education. Education has always been the key to changes in attitude. More and more people should learn the history and backgrounds of Afro culture and Black people, and be more flexible to accept them as a person because we are all human.

References

Hassan, A. (2019, March 09). What It’s Like to Be a Black Man in Japan. Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/09/us/what-its-like-to-be-a-black-man-in-japan.html

Hay, A. (2019, February 09). アングル：「黒塗りメイク」、なぜ米国でタブーであり続けるのか. Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://jp.reuters.com/article/us-blackface-idJPKCN1PX0I4

Kelts, R. (2007). Japanamerica: How Japanese pop culture has invaded the U.S. New York, The United States: Palgrave Macmillan.

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. (2020, August). NHK，「差別を助長する」との批判を受け，”米抗議デモ解説アニメ”を削除し謝罪. Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/research/focus/f20200801_4.html

R. (2020, July 6). 黒人差別問題｜アメリカ・日本の差別の歴史と私達にできる事. Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://sdgs.media/blog/4871/#i-10

Quinn, E. (2010). Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap. Columbia University Press.

McWhorter, J. H. (2019, June 18). How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://www.city-journal.org/html/how-hip-hop-holds-blacks-back-12442.html

Miura, Y. (n.d.). 舐達麻インタビュー｜俺たちは普通の人間、だからこそ誰よりも真剣に音楽をやってる — 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://natalie.mu/music/pp/namedaruma