The Seven Stages of Gaijinhood

If the graph was just skewed slightly tighter (activist closer to but lower than wannabe) this diagram would bear an amusing resemblance to the Big Dipper. Other than that, it’s not worth much.

The original piece is a fun read except for two glaring errors, in my opinion. First, it assumes that people inevitably follow this one-way street until they reach the end, leave Japan, or possibly kill themselves out of misery. I recognize a lot of these traits in myself, but all at various times. Some days I definitely have that “gatekeeper” feeling, other days I’m in a cynical mood, and when I think it’s appropriate I totally use Osaka-ben.

Second, and more disturbing, it suggests that everyone who comes to Japan becomes more and more irritable as they “descend” on this scale. That strikes me as truly, and horribly, cynical beyond belief. And, dare I say it, kind of racist because it suggests that only Japanese people can be happy living in Japan

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What strikes me about this sort of graph is the implicit arrogance of it. Where does making graphs like this put you? Gatekeeper – the lowest on general likeability? And who’s doing the “liking” anyway? Other people at the same stage? People at different stages? People back home? Japanese people? Or the people who make these graphs?

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I thought it was very wittily written, and spot-on for the most part, which is why some folks in this thread have got their hackles up.

But it is indeed possible to achieve psychological equilibrium after living in Japan for some time. I did it, and many other foreigners do by internalizing or adopting the customs of their host country.

You could call “going native” or becoming an “indigenous wannabe” but it’s essential for not only surviving, but also thriving and enjoying life in Japan.

However, internalizing certain aspects of Japanese culture will indeed make one “unlikeable” to fellow foreigners or the folks back home. There are certain things that new (and not so new) arrivals do that can be irritating, such as sponging off Japanese folks and otherwise abusing the good will of a courteous culture, being late, ignoring social norms and making use of one’s gaijinness in everyday situations (although gaijinness can be an asset when doing business).

While I enjoyed my international friendships in Japan (as a Canadian I especially liked meeting Americans and Kiwis), I didn’t spend ten years there because I couldn’t go back to Canada; I spent ten years in Japan because I liked the place, the people and the culture. If that meant being selective about who I wanted to spend time with, then fine.

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Just for me personally, the navel-gazing, self-loathing gaijin who spend undue time wringing their hands about the identity politics of ‘gaijinhood’ tend toward the lower end of the likability curve.

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The author clearly hasn’t reached the 8th stage, Uninterested Resident. It’s in this stage that you see humans as humans and don’t insist on categorizing any single group of people. You don’t care that a gaijin is a gaijin or that you are a gaijin surrounded by Japanese, but recognize your neighbor as being your neighbor, and a tall white guy on the street is just a tall white guy on the street; nothing more, nothing less.

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