In The Manchurian Tales there is a story ( Chapter 28 "Modya") which is about orphaned uhl mao zeh (Russian-Korean) brothers who were "unofficially" adopted by a Japanese officer and taken to Japan and put in school. The older brother, Lyova, didn't like school so he took off. The younger studied, survived the bombings of the war, and emerged at the end of the war as a "Japanese." The devastation of the war had destroyed many official records, so it was easy enough for him to claim that he was a Japanese whose entire family had perished in the bombing. That was not unusual. To solidify his claim he bribed a "witness," a known and respected teacher, who was willing to swear in court that he knew the family well and that they were Japanese. By this means, an ethnic Korean was able to establish a new identity in Japan and live as a Japanese for the rest of his life.
The situation described in The Manchurian Tales, although not common, did take place in some cases in the aftermath of the confusion and chaos that followed the war's end. One might ask why anyone would go to such great lengths to change their identity. It would appear on the surface that one could just change their name or simply remain who they were and succeed in life. However, Japan before World War Two and shortly after, was not the same country that it is today. The Japanese people were also different in how they interacted or accepted outsiders.
Japanese culture was a "closed" culture, a closed society. They did not want any foreign contact or influence. It was only because of the technological superiority of the west, namely U.S. Navy ships that bombarded the Japanese shores that forced Japan to open its doors. But there was always mistrust of foreigners. Japan was and still is a homogeneous society, despite changing times.
Japan's imperialistic ambitions in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries brought about the annexation and colonization of Formosa (Taiwan), Korea, and Sakhalin Island. Earlier, Japan had seized control of the Ryukyu Islands chain (Okinawa). Once those regions became colonies of Japan (in case of Okinawa, a Japanese prefecture), naturally, the Okinawans, Taiwanese, Koreans, and inhabitants of Sakhalin Islands became Japanese subjects. When Manchuria became Manchukuo in 1931, the people of Manchuria became subjects of Japan as well (sort of) because Manchuria was a Japanese colony!
Many of these people were brought to Japan as forced laborers. At one time there were almost a million Koreans in Japan! Naturally, all of these ethnic minorities, as well as Japan's own indigenous Ainu, were discriminated against. Keep in mind that Japan already had its own "untouchable" class, the underclass known as burakumin (hamlet people). These underclass Japanese were/are very strongly discriminated against, even to this day. They are, for most, completely indistinguishable from other Japanese! Yet, they were not, and in some cases still not, treated as equals. At least they are Japanese and have true Japanese names, so they could hide their true background, as many did and still do.
Such was not the case with non-Japanese like the Koreans. To hide their identity, many adopted Japanese names. The process of changing the name was called tsushomei (registered alias), and any Japanese could recognize right away that although the name sounded Japanese, it was in fact a foreign name, a registered alias, not a true Japanese name. This was a unique and very Japanese system that existed in Japan. The names that were "assigned" as registered alias were written with kanji (Chinese characters) that were not normally used for Japanese names. Therefore, although the name may have sounded Japanese, it was not. The way it was written made the difference! So, even if you changed your name, you were still recognized as a Korean or Chinese. In case of Okinawans, there are names such as Higa, Kinjo, Gushiken, etc., for example, that are Okinawan, not Japanese. Other Okinawan names were "Japanized" by making them sound like Japanese, but could be easily identified as non-Japanese.
When the war ended, the Japanese Empire was no more, and all those people who were living in Japan, all those people from colonies were no longer "Japanese." They had to revert to their original nationality. With Taiwanese it wasn't that much of a problem, they were all classified as Nationalist Chinese, since Nationalist China had to leave mainland and establish in Taiwan. But with Koreans it became a problem since there were now two Koreas, north and south! Okinawans and the Ainu fared better. The Ainu had to be classified as Japanese because, after all, they were the original inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago! As for Okinawa, despite the fact that it was under U.S. administration, there were plans to return Okinawa to Japan in the future, so its inhabitants retained Japanese citizenship.
Even before World War Two, all alien residents in Japan had to regularly register and be finger printed according to the Alien Registration Ordinance, Gaikokujin Toroku-Rei. In short, Chinese and Korean residents of Japan, even those who were born in Japan and known as Zainichi, had to go through this process, since regardless of their birthplace, they were considered alien! Japan, unlike most other nations, does not bestow its citizenship on an individual born in that country. Japanese citizenship is passed on from parents to children. So, unless at least one parent is a Japanese, the child cannot receive Japanese citizenship even when born in Japan! Because of that law, there are Koreans and Chinese in particular who are third or fourth generation Japanese born who hold Korean and Chinese citizenship, not Japanese.
The Japanese born aliens, the Zainichi, had complained bitterly through the years about their unfair treatment, having to be finger printed, etc. They were Japanese born, could not even speak Chinese or Korean, or whatever their supposed language! Finally, in the 1990s, a Special Permanent Resident status, Tokubetsu Eijusha, was created for the Zainichi, and they no longer have to be finger printed and abide by certain, draconian rules and regulations that only applied to all aliens.
Japan is changing, of course. It is no longer the same Japan as it was even 30 years ago! The Japanese people have changed as well, have become much more tolerant to different ways and thinking. The Japanese have been "globalized" so-to-speak, they are no longer as they were described in The Manchurian Tales. The change started to take place almost immediately following the end of the war. By the 1950s there were a number of Koreans who had succeeded in the entertainment and sports world and did not try to hide their identity. The founder and owner/president of Lotte, the giant chewing gum/candy maker in Japan is Korean and never took a Japanese name. He retained his Korean name even during the period when it was very difficult to function in Japan as a Korean!
By the 1960s, two of the greatest Japanese sports figures were not "pure" Japanese! Taiho, who died recently, was arguably the greatest Sumo wrestler of the post war era. He was half Russian. Japan's greatest baseball slugger of all times, Sadaharu Oh is half Chinese. Both Taiho and Oh had Japanese citizenship because their mothers were Japanese. Today, Yu Darvish who pitches for the Texas Rangers is half Iranian. He too is considered Japanese because his mother is Japanese. Despite their "foreign" fathers, Taiho, Oh, and Darvish are/were completely accepted. This has gone on to a point that today there are many people of non-Japanese background who are successful in Japan. This hasn't been restricted to the entertainment or sports world, it is in every arena. Time has changed Japan and Japanese thinking considerably. Perhaps some years down the road Japan will change its nationality law to allow those born in Japan to acquire Japanese citizenship. Who knows, only time will tell.
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