When I started lurking at the edges of online writing communities a few months ago, well before this blog was established, I looked especially for stories about Japan and for storytellers whose experiences would mirror or expand upon my own. I found plenty of stories about Japan. But among the tellers of those stories, I found almost no one with a background similar to mine. And perhaps most troubling, the stories I did find were, for the most part, highly problematic in their representations of Japanese culture. Most of the people writing the problematic stories were white.* So, today, I have a few thoughts for those white people and for any other white people planning to write about Japan. Since I tend to be wordy, I’ll share them in list format.
Before you (white person) begin writing:
- 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?
- 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 NONWHITE voices that ARE out there. This includes JAPANESE voices, both inside and outside Japan
- Once your writing is out there, if it is problematic (and it will be), it will damage opportunities for insider/nonwhite voices to be heard by setting a problematic standard (translation: some white people accuse nonwhite people of not being “authentic” enough in embodying their nonwhite culture, based on racist/stereotyped depictions of that nonwhite culture in white-dominated media – this happens in publishing, too, and your problematic work risks becoming part of that problematic white-dominated canon, which in turn slams doors shut in nonwhite creators’ faces)
- 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, including voices that SHOULD be privileged above yours.
At this point, if you made it past the previous question with a non-bullshit answer (the odds are about 0.0001% based on the work already out there), keep reading.
- 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 privileged, white (and probably western) perspective in your writing?**
- Conscious or unconscious, your privileged, white (and probably western) perspective is there. You cannot escape it. If you really must do this, acknowledge your privilege. You are going to get stuff wrong. Be prepared for criticism. Be prepared to fix what you got wrong. Be prepared to say, “I got [x] wrong, I’m sorry, and I am doing [y] to fix it.”
- Being a member of We Need Diverse Books or being featured on a blog about diversity is not enough.
- Point of view – white, Japanese, or something else?
- If you are going to write from a nonwhite POV, whether it be Japanese or something else, I cannot emphasize the previous bullet point enough. ACKNOWLEDGE your white privilege. It doesn’t go away just because the character on the page has a different skin color. RESEARCH – if you think you need to do x amount of research, multiply it by 10, at minimum. GET READERS from the group you are writing about.***
- How will you evaluate your writing for problematic aspects?
- Yes, there will be problematic aspects in your writing. I guarantee it. Now figure out how to fix them.
While you are writing:
- How are you acknowledging your privileged, white (and probably western) perspective in your writing?
- You should NEVER stop thinking about this.
- How will you handle unexpected research questions?
- Do not take shortcuts. NO nonwhite culture is your sparkly plaything, to be distorted and misrepresented at your leisure. (Side-eye: white writers who fill their books with Japanese words, names, settings, cultural practices, etc, then turn around and say, “oh, it’s not really Japan!” –> this is white privilege and erasure of nonwhite cultures) Respect. Put in the time, put in the work. If you can’t, write about something else.
- How are you evaluating your writing for problematic aspects?
- You can try leaving this for last (i.e. after you finish the first draft), but you’ll probably just end up with a lot of extra work and a sad face.
- Are you still absolutely sure your voice should be privileged?
After you have written:
- How are you evaluating 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 or culture.
- Do you have multiple readers who are Japanese?
- Because Japan and Japanese people are not a monolith.
- How are you handling critiques of the problematic aspects in your writing?
- This is just generally good CP/BR advice, but be RESPECTFUL and GRATEFUL that someone took the time to read your 200-300 page draft
- Is your privileged, white perspective getting in the way of understanding the critique you received about a nonwhite culture?
- Hint: If your CP/BR indicates your perspective is skewing your representations of nonwhite cultures, LISTEN and LEARN and FIX.
- If your CP/BR indicates you need to do more research, do it.
- 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 own privileged, white feelings are at stake here. If a non-privileged, nonwhite insider voice critiques your representations of nonwhite cultures and/or peoples, listen, apologize, offer solution, and follow through.
- How are you evaluating industry responses to your writing?
- Maybe your book made a bestseller list, or a list of recommended “diverse” reads. Read the rest of the list. Are there any nonwhite writers on it?
- Consider who is NOT being put on the lists. Are there nonwhite voices being shoved aside in favor of yours? What can you do to hype these nonwhite voices so they DO make the lists? (No, they are not being left off because “we just chose the ‘best’ writing.” This is bullshit. See the Lee & Low diversity survey and think about who puts those lists together.)
- What is your next step?
- Will you continue to write about Japan? Will you continue to privilege your white voice above nonwhite 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?
- Are you still absolutely sure your voice should be privileged?
As you might have noticed, my personal experiences with white folks writing about Japan have been less than stellar. Hence the monster post.
If you are a white person writing about Japan, understand the investment you are undertaking, if your goal is respectful representation. I will not say “non-problematic,” “authentic,” “correct,” or any other similar term because these terms assume writing can be wholly non-problematic, authentic, or correct. Japan is not a monolith. Japanese people are not a monolith. Japanese culture is not a monolith. As a Japanese person, I am so, so tired of seeing my culture misrepresented, appropriated, and shat upon in other ways by white people. Just stop.
Next time, I’ll discuss non-Japanese, nonwhite folks writing about Japan. Thanks for reading!
*There will be posts on nonwhite, non-Japanese folks writing about Japan. Because yes, I also have opinions about them.
**You are not exempt if you identify as white + some other type of marginalization. Why? Because people who identify as nonwhite + that type of marginalization ALSO EXIST. And if it is their culture up for discussion, your voice does not belong in that conversation. There are plenty of places for white marginalized folks online and elsewhere. Go look for them.
***There is SO much more that goes into writing a nonwhite POV if you are white. I’ll have posts about it, but in the meantime, check out the Resources page!
NICOLE NOGI 