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We are the most mainstream American of all Asians, yet we are more traditional than the Japanese in Japan. We are frozen in time. We are caught between two cultures, and we have mixed feelings about e

13 Comments

Larry Shinagawa, 46, a professor of Asian-American studies at the University of Maryland. He says many Japanese-Americans have adhered strongly to the ancient samurai values of endurance, reserve, ambition, duty and avoiding embarrassment. (Washington Post)

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I know quite a few Japanese-Americans and find them to be down-to-earth normal people. Ancient samurai values? I suspect the prof is living in his own fantasy world.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Who is deciding they're the most "mainstream" and more "traditional". Sounds like a case of "wareware" to me. Why always the need to be "unique"? Laughable at best.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

He says many Japanese-Americans have adhered strongly to the ancient samurai values of endurance, reserve, ambition, duty and avoiding embarrassment

O puleeeeeze! I can understand this happening in yr dreams Larry but for crying out loud, pls stop its embarassing just reading & I am neither Japanese or American!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Wow! I am glad he can speak for all Japanese-Americans.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Does he include Asa akira in that?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And being caught between those 2 cultures must be absolutely brutal!!!!

How on earth is he to escape, & where wud he go!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

" we are more traditional than the Japanese in Japan."........................but you will be treated like other run of the mill gaijins in Japan

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"You can take the boy out of Japan, but you can't take Japan out of the boy."

As Tmarie says, this just smacks of wareware. Sad reality is as Oberst says.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

many Japanese-Americans

They are very of them over the age of 20. Until recently that impossible to retain both nationality. So he is probably American-American with a Japanese surname,

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"there are very few"

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If one says Japanese-Americans, then that is an American that has become a Japanese citizen.

Are not Americans of Japanese decent Americans?

Maybe if this professor can clear up his own feelings as being an American first, then he can move on.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The same happens to many other immigrants especially when they stay together in groups. They tend to become extremely conservative when they slowly loose contacts to their countries of origin and miss the developments there.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You can see the same all over the world when immigrants stay together in groups in their new country. They slowly loose the contacts to their countries of origin and miss the new developments there. As a result they freeze their culture and become extremely conservative. The more negative their environment is towards the immigrants, the better you can see the effect, so it is generally more pronounced in other countries than the US.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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