In my previous post, I discussed some ways of thinking I’d like to see white people adopt if they are going to write about Japan. Today I’m back with part two of what is really a very long, complicated conversation that I wish more people would have in more visible places than this blog. But enough wishful thinking.

Nonwhite* people internalize racism. Nonwhite people perpetuate stereotypes. Nonwhite people hurt other nonwhite people and people of other marginalized groups. I do not exempt myself from any of the above – I do all of these things. I’m working on doing less of them.

This post addresses nonwhite, non-Japanese people writing about Japan.**

In my personal reading experience (mostly books published in the US, written in English), I’ve encountered far more works about Japan by white people than by nonwhite people (both Japanese and non-Japanese). Yet, the few works I have read by nonwhite, non-Japanese people have been largely less offensive to me than the Vast Majority Of Works By White People. Below is a partial list of what I mean when I say “offensive.”

• Building a world with Japanese character names, settings, practices, and cultural objects – and then claiming it isn’t Japan
• Appropriating Japanese names, practices, and cultural objects by using them incorrectly and out of cultural context –> if you are really just trying for a world that doesn’t look like ours, start by reading N.K. Jemisin, who tackles this beautifully
• Using Japan/Japanese culture as a convenient backdrop for white saviors/ideologies to carry the day (white imperialism in YA! – for all those who think we are “past” racism)
• Constructing Japanese characters based solely off of stereotypes
• Representing Japan/Japanese culture as a monolith
• Incorrect Japanese –> if you are going to include Japanese terminology in your book, LEARN the language and CHECK your usage with a Japanese speaker

Both white and nonwhite writers are guilty of the above, but white writers do it much more frequently. (WHY DO YOU DO THIS WHITE WRITERS PLEASE STOP NOW)

I don’t know why the numbers pan out this way. If I absolutely had to guess, at least insofar as works by nonwhite, non-Japanese people based in the US, I might think a lifetime of combating institutionalized white racism has instilled these writers with some kind of cultural-awareness radar, a seventh sense for being sensitive to cultural differences. I know that, as a nonwhite, US-based writer, my radar goes on high alert whenever I come across an outsider piece written about a nonwhite culture. But I can’t speak for every nonwhite writer out there and I certainly can’t speak for any nonwhite, non-Japanese writers, not being one myself.***

I do want every nonwhite, non-Japanese person writing about Japan to consider the following questions:

• Why are you writing about Japan?
  • Ask yourself why you are writing about JAPAN specifically, not some other place and some other culture.
  • If your answer is something along the lines of, “I admire/am fascinated by/obsessed with Japanese/anime/manga/etc,” –> read the next question
  • If your answer is something along the lines of, “I lived/taught/worked in Japan for a week/month/year and I am now an EXPERT on all things Japan!” –> read the next question (and no, you’re not now an expert)
• Why are YOU writing about Japan?
  • What can YOU as an individual contribute to the existing body of writing about Japan? Do you have something to say that absolutely no one else can say? Are you sure?
    • Example: If your life experiences or your family’s experiences were impacted by Japanese imperialism – I absolutely understand wanting to address in it in your writing and I hope you’ll let me know so I can read it!
  • If your answer is something along the lines of, “I don’t see enough JAPAN in the books I read! I want more JAPAN! Diversity for diversity’s sake!” –> read the next question
    • FYI, diversity for diversity’s sake is often a dangerous argument. More on that in a future post.
• Why should your voice be privileged?
  • Once your writing is out there, it will automatically be privileged above the voices that ARE NOT yet out there. This includes JAPANESE voices, both inside and outside Japan. Please consider whose voices you may be erasing/silencing.
  • Once your writing is out there, if it is problematic, it will damage opportunities for insider voices to be heard by setting a problematic standard
  • If your answer is something along the lines of, “I have to tell this story because there is nobody else to tell it!” –> Reread bullet in bold. There are plenty of other voices to tell it and, depending on your answers to the above questions, they may be voices that should be privileged above yours.
  • FYI, certain nonwhite, non-Japanese voices SHOULD be privileged in telling certain stories about Japan –> you know who you are
• How will you do your research?
  • FYI, books, whether it be 30 or 300, are not enough.
  • FYI, manga, whether it be 30 or 300, are not enough.
  • FYI, anime, whether it be…we clear now?
• How will you acknowledge your privilege in your writing?
  • What I really mean here is, will your writing demonstrate cognizance of your outsider status? Are you conscious of the life experiences, biases, etc that color your perceptions of Japan and Japanese culture?
• What POV will you use? Why?
  • If you are going to write from a Japanese POV à RESEARCH
• How will you evaluate your writing for problematic aspects?
  • Yes, there will be problematic aspects in your writing. If you can’t see them, get some betas you can trust.
• How will you evaluate the qualifications of your critique partners/beta readers?
  • Hint: If your CP/BR doesn’t know more about Japan than you do and you are asking them to evaluate your representations of Japan, find someone else.
  • Hint: If your CP/BR does know more about Japan than you do, check carefully to determine how MUCH they know and WHAT they know.
    • Studying Japanese in school doesn’t automatically qualify someone to evaluate your representations of Japanese mythology in your novel.
    • Just because your CP/BR is Japanese doesn’t automatically qualify them to evaluate your representations of Japanese mythology in your novel. NO ONE PERSON can wholly represent a race or ethnicity.
  • Do you have multiple readers who are Japanese?
    • Because Japan and Japanese people are not a monolith.
• How will you handle critiques of the problematic aspects in your writing?
  • Hint: If your CP/BR indicates your perspective is skewing your representation of Japan/Japanese culture, LISTEN and LEARN and FIX
• How will you handle unexpected research questions?
  • DO NOT take shortcuts. You don’t get a free pass for not being white.
• How are you responding if publishing folks try to make your work more white-friendly?
  • Examples: Making a character white, changing the setting to a western country, switching a name to an Anglo name, whitewashing your cover, etc
  • FYI, they probably won’t call it “white-friendly,” so be on the lookout for code speak
• How are you responding to critical reviews of the problematic aspects in your writing?
  • Your book is now out in the world. People will be reading it. People will be criticizing it. Are you ready?
  • More than your feelings are at stake here. If a Japanese voice critiques your representations of Japanese culture and/or people, listen, apologize, offer solution, and follow through.
  • Apologies are not just for white people. If you’ve made it this far as a nonwhite writer, chances are you KNOW how it feels to see your own culture misrepresented and appropriated by outsiders. So please, don’t do the same thing to us.
• How are you evaluating industry responses to your writing?
  • Maybe your book made a bestseller list, or a list of recommended “diverse” reads.
  • Consider who is NOT being put on the lists. Are there Japanese voices being shoved aside in favor of yours? What can you do to hype Japanese voices so they DO make the lists?
• What is your next step?
  • Will you continue to write about Japan? Will you continue to privilege your voice above Japanese voices? Why?
  • If you do continue to write about Japan, how will you improve on your representations next time? How will you evaluate whether you improved?

Thanks for reading this far. If you are a nonwhite, non-Japanese writer, please know I didn’t write this post to make you feel bad. I wrote it because lately I see a lot of nonwhite writers writing outside their own cultures, including some who write about Japan, and my concern is these works aren’t being vetted as closely as they ought to be. A nonwhite author “making it” in the US publishing industry is still much rarer than it should be – and if you did, kudos to you!**** But I believe, as a nonwhite writer myself, that neither we as nonwhite writers nor the rest of the folks in the US publishing industry – agents, editors, white writers, etc – should settle for something just because it is “diverse.” Meaningful representation is respectful representation. It is representation created by someone who took time and effort to do research, and who thought about the high stakes involved in writing outside their culture because they know how it feels when an outsider gets it “wrong.” If you have ever, ever felt this way after reading an outsider’s representation of your culture, then please, don’t do the same thing to mine.

*POC (person/people of color) seems to be used more frequently online, but I prefer the term nonwhite, for reasons I’ll explain in a different post.

**There will be a separate post on Japanese people writing about Japan. Did you really think I would skip it?

***I would actually really like to know what goes through the minds of nonwhite, non-Japanese people when they choose to write about Japan, but I haven’t found any interviews, blogs, or other firsthand accounts on this topic. If you are a nonwhite, non-Japanese person writing about Japan and you’re willing to talk about why, please contact me via email or Twitter!

****Tweet me with the title of your work so I can read it. Seriously.