throwmemars2

To the granddaughter:

I'm assuming that you were born and majoringly raised in the US, if this is wrong, please forgive me.

How does hearing these experiences shape your perspective of your country?
Does it make you feel closer to Japan than the US?
Furthermore, do you feel Japan is more your country than the US?
Has learning of these matters caused any sort of cultural identity crisis?

Some context on this last question, I was an exchange student to Japan, loved Japanese culture and pretty much feel Japan is my real home and culture. Now, because I'm white in the US and I tend to do things as close to as how I did them in Japan this rubs some Americans with Japanese ancestry the wrong way.

How can I be more sensitive to Americans with Japanese ancestry of your generation? (In regard to avoiding prejudice or exacerbating cultural identity crisis?)

Edit: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has and continues to participate in this discussion it's been very educational, and am very grateful.

因みに、日本語を勉強していますか？

You're not OP, but by the

fellow yonsei

bit I'd be willing to hazard a guess that you too are an American with Japanese ancestry... It's understandable if you don't, and I'd like to ask you some questions I posted to OP as well.

If you don't want to answer, simply just not responding is fine.

I'm assuming that you were born and majoringly raised in the US, if this is wrong, please forgive me.

How does hearing these experiences shape your perspective of your country?

Does it make you feel closer to Japan than the US?

Furthermore, do you feel Japan is more your country than the US?

Has learning of these matters caused any sort of cultural identity crisis?

Some context on this last question, I was an exchange student to Japan, loved Japanese culture and pretty much feel Japan is my real home and culture. Now, because I'm white in the US and I tend to do things as close to as how I did them in Japan this rubs some Americans with Japanese ancestry the wrong way.

How can I be more sensitive to Americans with Japanese ancestry of your generation? (In regard to avoiding prejudice or exacerbating cultural identity crisis?)

First off, thank you for writing a response! I'm sure this is quite taxing. Sorry to be a burden.

a very distinctly Japanese American culture that's a blend of the two

This is a really helpful point!! After numerous experiences with Japanese Americans and Japanese people, I've wondered if it was appropriate to consider the idea that Japanese Americans have a distinct culture in-between the two. The confirmation that this culture exists explains a lot.

I definitely feel closer to the US. ... I feel very deeply rooted in American culture.

If you care to know the answer to the last question, I believe that based upon your response that this is the key answer. I have such a profound and extreme preference for Japanese culture as it exists in Japan that any sort of American influence tends to get shunned and hard. Which for Japanese Americans can come across as disrespectful of the american influence in their cultural identity. This tends to show up in both overt and subtle ways causing varying degrees of discomfort for both me and the other person.

Thank you dude! That was an "aha!" moment for me... With that in mind I have numerous ideas on how to adapt in this setting.

I would say to attend community events and to listen and learn from the people there.

Before I get into what may be a more contentious point, I want to point out that I am subscribed to the community mailings and occasionally go to community events as I can and am invited to.

It's kind of like a house; you wouldn't barge in and declare yourself a resident of the house and pretend like you've been living there your whole life.

But, earlier you admitted that your house is an entirely different house than what I am really looking for. I'm sure a house that takes the best of both western and eastern neighbors is a wonderful house with it's own merits and possibly it's own flaws. I don't know much, or anything really, about such a house as I'm really only interested in entirely eastern homes... which you can't find in a western city. Even a 'Japan town' within the western city wouldn't be immune to influence from the surrounding western city.

However, I have to ask though:

There's so much more to a culture than cool clothing and good food.

In this sentence you made the assumption that these are the only things I appreciate about eastern homes.

Are you barging in, declaring yourself a resident of eastern homes, and pretending like you've been living there your whole life with this assumption?