Black or White?

More than 98% of the Japanese population is ethnically Japanese. A large portion of the remaining population is of other East Asian descent.

Needless to say, people notice differences in appearance.
Hair color, eye color, facial structure, facial hair, arm hair, noses, eyelashes and more can all be a source of curiosity when a Japanese person encounters a foreigner. Some of the most interesting conversations I've had about appearance, though, revolve around skin color.


Last weekend I was outside almost all of Saturday and Sunday cycling and practicing for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Both days were very sunny, and my skin naturally became darker as a result. Then, when I returned to school on Monday I had an amusing conversation with some of my more entertaining first year middle school students.

"Sensei," one boy asked (in Japanese), "are you Black or White?"
"White, of course."
"But you have Black people in your family, right?"
To which another boy chimed in, "only White people can have White kids!"
"Yes, but if a Black and White person marry they could have mixed kids."

The silly thing is, this isn't the first time people have asked questions like that. Here in Japan I have been Black, Brazilian, Spanish, Indian, Scottish (someone once even said that I had a "very Scottish face") and more. Such are the joys of internationalization!