While walking home from work the other night, I stumbled across this sign outside a rather posh Mexican restaurant around the corner from my apartment. Mind you, I live in the very snooty (albeit classy) neighborhood of Nakameguro, which is one of the most fashionable addresses you can have in Tokyo.
(Hey Mom – I’m moving up in the world!)
With that said, you can imagine my shock at discovering this crazy racist sign. Although it pretty much speaks for itself, I’ll ere on the side of caution and add a bit of commentary.
Take a moment and draw your eyes to the caricature of the wildly drunken Mexican sporting a Looney Tunes-esque mustache and a bandito costume. Also note the fact that he swigging from a tequila bottle while firing his pistol madly into the air.
I guess political correctness never really caught on over here in Japan.
Anyway, I guess one of the funniest thing about this sign is that the absurd Mexican stereotype actually draws your eyes away from the terrible Eng(r)ish. I mean, who could pass up ’80 KINDS OF MENU, from standard to rare..’
I know I couldn’t, and I must admit that the banana taquitos and the lychee margarita were spot on. On the other hand, the mackerel quesadilla with the white raddish dipping sauce was definitely something of an acquired taste.
And yes, I do realize that all of these menu items are definitely not authentic Mexican dishes, so I wouldn’t waste too much time looking for them at a Taco Bell near you.
To preface what I’m getting at in today’s post, I think it’s important to realize a few fundamental facts about Japan. And of course, although I’m not defending their ignorance towards other races in any way, I do think it’s important to put things in perspective.
For starters, this island nation floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is one of the world’s most homogonous countries. In fact, prior to Commodore Perry sailing his Black Ships into Yokohama in the 19th century, Japan’s doors were essentially closed to the world.
As a result, the Japanese have always been a bit obsessed with the idea of preserving their national identity. Anyone who’s ever studied this country is familiar with the concept of ‘Japaneseness,’ namely that there are unique cultural traits that separate the Japanese from everyone else.
Anyway, the point is that the Japan is anything but a multi-cultural society, which is why they tend to kind of miss the point a lot of times in regards to their understanding other races. In fairness to them however, I’ve always marveled that their racism is more the product of nativity than it is of bigotry.
Still, racism is racism, and signs like this make me stop and think that Japan still has a long way to go. Fortunately, as the younger generations of Japanese become increasingly more outward-looking, there is hope that a little more cultural sensitivity will make its way to the Far East.
In the meantime however, I’ll try to make a point of teaching my students that Mexican culture doesn’t start and stop with Speedy Gonzalez.