Haafu or Daburu?
Since I was a child I was labeled Haafu. Sometimes when I got asked where I belonged to such a question
like, "What are you?" I introduced myself as Haafu in Japan. The reason why persons in Japan labeled me Haafu
is, as in my case, because I look different from other "Japanese" and because my mother comes from a foreigncountry. In Japan, individuals who were born between parents in an "international-marriage"* could be labeled"Haafu"**(the name was adopted from the English word "half").
However, there are some people who claim the word as politically incorrect, and those people argue thatDaburu (adopted from the English word "double") should be used instead. Before late 1990's I had only heard of
the word, Haafu, referring to individuals like me. However, since then, I hear the word, Daburu, from so cold
"human rights activist" who never even once were labeled Haafu and from "international marriage mothers
groups".
The reason behind the efforts to change the name Haafu into Daburu lies in the meaning of the originalwords. Advocates claim that children of "international-marriages" have two cultures and two nations, and that
there is not only one culture or one nation to choose from. For these children, this use of "Half" (Haafu) is notpreferred or suitable, it should be replaced with a much more "positive" word such as "Double" (Daburu).
Before the set up of this Website, Die Kreuzungsstelle, I searched for this theme on the Internet and was able
to find some opinions. Most opinions concluded that the term, Daburu is more suitable. However, interestingly,
this conclusion was brought about by parents (mostly by mothers) and not by the person himself/herself who wasnamed Haafu.
Here, I would like to ask whether parents or other persons have the right to make such a decision. Is it safe toassume that parents are not making a misjudgement? Such names or titles have the potential to influence the livesof individuals like me. It is not the parents who live as Haafu, but individuals like me who live as Haafu. I thinksuch conclusions about the title which should be used to designate one's identity can only be made by theindividual himself/herself who is named Haafu. I would also like to discuss this issue with the individuals whocling on the use of Daburu, not only on internet but also in real life.
For this dispute, I have consulted the opinions of persons living in similar situations as me, and I found out
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that some think Daburu is more suitable but generally, the most common opinion was that Haafu is better.
However, to be exact, many individuals who are labeled Haafu were not given serious attention during suchdiscussions. The reason is probably due to the present mood of the Japanese society. ***For example, stereotypes of individuals who are labeled Haafu are images like fashion models, linguistically
inclined with foreign languages, or native bilinguals, etc. The source of such stereo-types is apparent when we
consider how such individuals are portrayed in show business. For example, there are many famous individuals
who can be named Haafu (or Kuoutaa); BECKY(entertainer and actress), Kaela Kimura (singer), CRYSTAL
KAY(singer), Angela Aki (singer-songwriter), Rosa Kato (fashion model and actress), Erika Sawajiri (actress andsinger), Jun Hasegawa (fashion model), Izumi Mori (fashion model), Marie(fashion model), Lena Fujii(fashionmodel), Elli-Rose(fashion model),and Eiji Wentz (singer, entertainer, and actor). Because of this trend, there are
persons who make such comments as, "In the next life, I wish to be born as a Haafu".
Needless to say, individuals who write or express such comments only admire individuals in show business,but the influences of TV and fashion magazines are very strong. The images of specific individuals have become
the overall images of persons who are named Haafu. Through this trend, both individuals who are not labeled
Haafu and individuals who are labeled Haafu think the word Haafu is not as bad a term as the activists of humanrights or mothers of international marriage said.
But I think the principle reason is that many individuals who are labeled Haafu as well as individuals who do
not recognize that changing the name to Daburu is meaningless, because there are so many variations of that
name, and adding a new one is not necessary.
According to my experience, now in Japan, the general word used to name an individual like me is Haafu.
However, at the same time, there exists another word, "Konketsu" or "Konketsuji". The former can be translated as"mixed-blood", and the latter can be translated as "mixed-blood-children". However, nowadays in English"mixed-blood" is not generally used (colloquially), "Konketsu" can also be translated as mixed-race/ethnic orracially mixed. Furthermore, in the past, another word, "Ainoko"(which means "children in-between") was used.
Additionally, some scholars who study education use the term "Kokusaiji" (which can be translated as"inter-national-children").
The reason why I think such diversification of terminology has no meaning is because the practice itself does
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nothing more than simply add new names to the preexisting collection of "outdated" terms. Furthermore, thepractice only reestablishes the classificatory border between "Japanese" and "non-Japanese". Mostly, Haafu isused to refer to the non-Japanese side of an individual, but the person who is categorized as Haafu is at the sametime, Japanese.
Some individuals who do not deeply think about ethnicity or race describe Haafu in terms of ethnicity, but inmy opinion Haafu is not an ethnic term - rather, it is only a category. The use of the term as an ethnic demarcation
only exacerbates the border between "Japanese" and "non-Japanese", and I think it can also be a form ofdiscrimination (but for general use, I use the term Haafu as a name to describe mixed/multi/bi-racial/ethnicpersons).
According to my personal experience in Japan, many individuals think there are only two types of persons Japanese and non-Japanese. The use of the word "Japanese" to describe an individual is not based on anindividual's nationality/citizenship, ability to speak Japanese or knowledge of Japanese customs, and thepossession of a Japanese name, but is based on whether the person's appearance - namely the individual's face orhair color - looks "Japanese".
This is an opinion which is based on my own experiences. But in the near future, I would like to break theborder between recent Japaneseness and non-Japaneseness. To accomplish this objective, perhaps I must struggle
against the urge to make or join a membership group that is bounded by a common internally or externally definedidentity, such as groups formed under a common Haafu identity. However, as I am also human, sometimes I findmyself searching for such membership groups, and also I catch myself constructing such groups in my mind.
At this point in time, I think a discussion regarding the necessity to find a common ground in terms ofterminology used to name such individuals is not necessary. What is necessary is the effort to step away fromefforts to find new names. I implore the parents of new born children and parents who are now bringing up theirchildren, to refrain from naming their children Haafu or Daburu, or any other name that society has invented.

October.21, 2007
by Hyoue3
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*A marriage in which wife and husband each have a different nationality/citizenship or are from different
nations. In Japan this marriage is called "Kokusai kekkon"; "Kokusai" means "international" and "kekkon"means "marriage".

** Strictly speaking, Haafu can be separated into two types: visible or invisible. From myexperience in Japan, mostly in terms of the media, Haafu is only used to name visible type of individuals
labeled Haafu. This standard designation between visible or invisible can be thought of in similar terms todesignations made along "racial" lines. However, it can not make a clear distinction between visible andinvisible; some individual who were not born in "international-marriage" parents, have an experience labeled
as Haafu, because he/she looks like something different from other "Japanese".

*** This opinion is said by Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu, the author of the book "Amerajian nokodomotachi: Shirarezaru mainoritii mondai (Amerasian children: An unknown minority problem)". In
addition, according to my research, the first "Haafu boom" began at the end of the 1960's and after 2000 thesecond "Haafu boom" was started.

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