The First Multiracial Miss Universe Japan Has Been Crowned
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
NBC NEWS
The
stunning Miss Nagasaki, Ariana Miyamoto, is the first multiracial
contestant ever to be crowned Miss Universe Japan and will represent
Japan in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant.
Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and African American father, Miyamoto is a Japanese citizen, grew up in Japan, and identifies as Japanese. Described in local media as a "saishoku kenbi," a woman blessed with both intelligence and beauty, she holds a 5th degree mastery of Japanese calligraphy.
But reaction to her win has been both positive and negative, with some people questioning whether a multiracial person can truly represent Japan. According to local media, even she was initially a little wary about entering the pageant because she was "hāfu," the Japanese word used to refer to multiracial or multi-ethnic half-Japanese people.
"The selection of Ariana Miyamoto as this year's Miss Universe Japan is a huge step forward in expanding the definition of what it means to be Japanese," filmmaker and co-director of the film "Hafu," Megumi Nishikura told NBC News, "The controversy that has erupted over her selection is a great opportunity for us Japanese to examine how far we have come from our self-perpetuated myth of homogeneity while at the same time it shows us how much further we have to go."
According to the film, "Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan," 20,000 half-Japanese people are born in Japan each year, including both multiethnic and multiracial people.
"In a country where the majority of fashion beauty magazines and TV shows are reigned by 'hāfu' models and actors," filmmaker and co-director of the film "Hafu," Lara Perez Takagi told NBC News, "It was actually about time that a mixed-race Japanese girl won the Miss Universe pageant.”
Miss Universe Japan Opens up About Her Racist Critics
Being biracial in a Miss Universe Japan pageant is a quick way to court controversy. Winning that pageant? That makes headlines all over the world. When Ariana Miyamoto won the crown for Miss Universe Japan in March, the decision immediately drew ire from Japanese fans. Why? Because Miyamoto is half-black. The 20-year-old, who was born and raised in Japan, is African American on her father's side, making her the first biracial contestant to win the Miss Universe Japan title. However, many critics expressed anger at her win, saying she wasn't "traditionally" Japanese enough to represent the country, and called her a hafu , a Japanese term for biracial people. But none of this is new for Miyamoto. She's known since she was three or four that people considered her different. She's known since she was three or four that people considered her different. This kind of treatment was one of the reasons she never entered this particular pageant before. Previously a model and a part-time bartender, Miyamoto was invited by the Nagasaki Miss Universe branch to compete last year, but turned down the offer after learning there had never been a half-Japanese winner before.
However, that was before one of her close friends, also half-Japanese, committed suicide last spring. His race was "one of the reasons" he killed himself, she shares.
Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and African American father, Miyamoto is a Japanese citizen, grew up in Japan, and identifies as Japanese. Described in local media as a "saishoku kenbi," a woman blessed with both intelligence and beauty, she holds a 5th degree mastery of Japanese calligraphy.
But reaction to her win has been both positive and negative, with some people questioning whether a multiracial person can truly represent Japan. According to local media, even she was initially a little wary about entering the pageant because she was "hāfu," the Japanese word used to refer to multiracial or multi-ethnic half-Japanese people.
"The selection of Ariana Miyamoto as this year's Miss Universe Japan is a huge step forward in expanding the definition of what it means to be Japanese," filmmaker and co-director of the film "Hafu," Megumi Nishikura told NBC News, "The controversy that has erupted over her selection is a great opportunity for us Japanese to examine how far we have come from our self-perpetuated myth of homogeneity while at the same time it shows us how much further we have to go."
According to the film, "Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan," 20,000 half-Japanese people are born in Japan each year, including both multiethnic and multiracial people.
"In a country where the majority of fashion beauty magazines and TV shows are reigned by 'hāfu' models and actors," filmmaker and co-director of the film "Hafu," Lara Perez Takagi told NBC News, "It was actually about time that a mixed-race Japanese girl won the Miss Universe pageant.”
Miss Universe Japan Opens up About Her Racist Critics
Being biracial in a Miss Universe Japan pageant is a quick way to court controversy. Winning that pageant? That makes headlines all over the world. When Ariana Miyamoto won the crown for Miss Universe Japan in March, the decision immediately drew ire from Japanese fans. Why? Because Miyamoto is half-black. The 20-year-old, who was born and raised in Japan, is African American on her father's side, making her the first biracial contestant to win the Miss Universe Japan title. However, many critics expressed anger at her win, saying she wasn't "traditionally" Japanese enough to represent the country, and called her a hafu , a Japanese term for biracial people. But none of this is new for Miyamoto. She's known since she was three or four that people considered her different. She's known since she was three or four that people considered her different. This kind of treatment was one of the reasons she never entered this particular pageant before. Previously a model and a part-time bartender, Miyamoto was invited by the Nagasaki Miss Universe branch to compete last year, but turned down the offer after learning there had never been a half-Japanese winner before.
However, that was before one of her close friends, also half-Japanese, committed suicide last spring. His race was "one of the reasons" he killed himself, she shares.
"I decided to participate in part to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again," she says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqG1CjQyOv8
The First Multiracial Miss Universe Japan : Ariana Miyamoto
3D TVCHANNELS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSE7uUbxXaM
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会 --(FULL PROGRAM):
Miss Universe Japan
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会
2015 ミス・ユニバース・ジャパン 日本大会
WINNER 宮本エリアナ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApjQfyfmKkU
Miyamoto Ariana is the controversial candidate representing Japan in this year's Miss Universe competition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOC-gjRwQ9s
Lifestyle | Thu Apr 2, 2015
Related: Entertainment, People, Japan
Multiracial Miss Japan hopes to change homeland's thinking on identity
TOKYO | By Elaine Lies and Shiori Ito
Reuters
(Reuters) - Ariana Miyamoto hadn't planned to enter a Japanese beauty contest because she figured her multiracial origins meant she couldn't win. Then a close multiracial friend committed suicide.
So Miyamoto, the daughter of a Japanese woman and an African-American man, whose bronze skin and height of 1.73 m (5.7 ft) are unusual in Japan, where she was born and brought up, took part in the pageant and won, becoming "Miss Japan".
"I thought that, for my friend's sake, if there was something I could do to change Japan, I should," Miyamoto, 20, a dual Japanese and U.S. national, told Reuters.
"He always felt unaccepted by Japanese ... and that made him unable to accept himself," she added, in perfect Japanese.
Miyamoto's selection last month as Japan's representative to the "Miss Universe" contest set off an internet firestorm, despite a push to welcome foreigners ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
"That big mouth, that gaudy face. This is Miss Japan?" one social media commenter wrote. Another said she resembled an ant.
The carping was not new for Miyamoto, who attended a Japanese public school where children would refuse to touch her because "my color might rub off," she said. Fed up, she attended a U.S. high school.
But the pull of her birthplace was too strong and she returned, though she said she is handed English menus and otherwise treated like a foreigner every day.
It's a frustration shared by a growing number of multiracial Japanese, who may look different in an extremely homogeneous nation. Some have won fame in entertainment, but others lack acceptance as the Japanese they feel they are.
In 2013, international marriages made up 3.3 percent of the total, government figures show, or four times the 1980 figure. Mixed race children were 1.9 percent of those born that year.
Miyamoto's victory was "refreshing", said Greg Dvorak, a researcher in Asian and Pacific culture and history at Hitotsubashi University, adding that Japan's reputation as closed to diversity is overblown, despite instances of xenophobia.
"My sense is there is a growing shift among younger generations to accept that people with all faces can speak Japanese and function successfully in Japanese society," he said.
"Whether that will translate into all sorts of appearances being accepted as Japanese remains to be seen."
Miyamoto hopes to do her part, especially if she wins the "Miss Universe" title. Japanese contestants have won twice before.
"Japan is trying to change itself," she said. "I'd like to help it change even more."
(Additional reporting by Teppei Kasai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqG1CjQyOv8
The First Multiracial Miss Universe Japan : Ariana Miyamoto
3D TVCHANNELS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSE7uUbxXaM
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会 --(FULL PROGRAM):
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会
2015 ミス・ユニバース・ジャパン 日本大会
WINNER 宮本エリアナ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApjQfyfmKkU
So Miyamoto, the daughter of a Japanese woman and an African-American man, whose bronze skin and height of 1.73 m (5.7 ft) are unusual in Japan, where she was born and brought up, took part in the pageant and won, becoming "Miss Japan".
"I thought that, for my friend's sake, if there was something I could do to change Japan, I should," Miyamoto, 20, a dual Japanese and U.S. national, told Reuters.
"He always felt unaccepted by Japanese ... and that made him unable to accept himself," she added, in perfect Japanese.
Miyamoto's selection last month as Japan's representative to the "Miss Universe" contest set off an internet firestorm, despite a push to welcome foreigners ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
"That big mouth, that gaudy face. This is Miss Japan?" one social media commenter wrote. Another said she resembled an ant.
The carping was not new for Miyamoto, who attended a Japanese public school where children would refuse to touch her because "my color might rub off," she said. Fed up, she attended a U.S. high school.
But the pull of her birthplace was too strong and she returned, though she said she is handed English menus and otherwise treated like a foreigner every day.
It's a frustration shared by a growing number of multiracial Japanese, who may look different in an extremely homogeneous nation. Some have won fame in entertainment, but others lack acceptance as the Japanese they feel they are.
In 2013, international marriages made up 3.3 percent of the total, government figures show, or four times the 1980 figure. Mixed race children were 1.9 percent of those born that year.
Miyamoto's victory was "refreshing", said Greg Dvorak, a researcher in Asian and Pacific culture and history at Hitotsubashi University, adding that Japan's reputation as closed to diversity is overblown, despite instances of xenophobia.
"My sense is there is a growing shift among younger generations to accept that people with all faces can speak Japanese and function successfully in Japanese society," he said.
"Whether that will translate into all sorts of appearances being accepted as Japanese remains to be seen."
Miyamoto hopes to do her part, especially if she wins the "Miss Universe" title. Japanese contestants have won twice before.
"Japan is trying to change itself," she said. "I'd like to help it change even more."
(Additional reporting by Teppei Kasai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqG1CjQyOv8
The First Multiracial Miss Universe Japan : Ariana Miyamoto
3D TVCHANNELS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSE7uUbxXaM
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会 --(FULL PROGRAM):
2015 MISS UNIVERSE JAPAN 日本大会
2015 ミス・ユニバース・ジャパン 日本大会
WINNER 宮本エリアナ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApjQfyfmKkU
Ariana Miyamoto: the first Miss Universe Japan of color
Posted by Norman on March 14, 2015
Posted by Norman on March 14, 2015
Posted in: 1 Pageant Pages, 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: Ariana Miyamoto, Miss Universe 2015, Miss Universe Japan 2015. 30 Comments
Ariana Miyamoto is Miss Universe Japan 2015
This is interesting. Japan has finally crowned a woman of color as its next representative to Miss Universe.
20 year-old Ariana Miyamoto from Sasebo, Nagasaki is the daughter of a Black American father and a Japanese mother. And she could be one of the Asian candidates in Miss Universe 2015 who will spur much interest among pageant fans.
Check out her video below and tell me if she is charming enough for you. :-)
courtesy of Miss Universe Japan
20 year-old Ariana Miyamoto from Sasebo, Nagasaki is the daughter of a Black American father and a Japanese mother. And she could be one of the Asian candidates in Miss Universe 2015 who will spur much interest among pageant fans.
Check out her video below and tell me if she is charming enough for you. :-)
courtesy of Miss Universe Japan
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3021032/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-Ariana-Myamoto-hits-spasmodic-vomit-racial-abuse-suffered-father-African-American.html
'I've been called n****r and had trash thrown at me': First mixed race Miss Japan hits out at the 'spasmodic vomit of racial abuse' she's suffered because father is African-American
Ariana Miyamoto was born and raised in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese
But 20-year-old found it tough growing up as only black girl in her class
Was raised in Sasebo near Nagasaki where Japanese mum met her father
Has faced hostility for not being a 'pure Japanese' beauty pageant winner
Her father Bryant Stanfield says Japan will 'never be as proud of her as I am'
By Michael Fitzpatrick In Tokyo and Tim Macfarlan For Mailonline
Published1 April 2015
Daily Mail (UK)
The first ever mixed race Miss Japan has lifted the lid on some of the horrific racial abuse she has faced on her way to the top.
Ariana Miyamoto says it was often punishing growing up as the only black girl in her class in the port town of Sasebo near Nagasaki, where the US has a naval base and where her African-American father met her Japanese mother.
The 20-year-old was born and raised in Japan, speaks fluent Japanese, and was last month chosen to represent her country in the Miss Universe pageant.
Scroll down for video
Ariana Miyamoto, 20, was crowned Miss Japan last month, but has faced horrific racial abuse growing up
Ariana Miyamoto, 20, was crowned Miss Japan last month, but has faced horrific racial abuse growing up
Ariana with her father Bryant Stanfield and a step sibling
As a youngster she grew up in Japan
Ariana with her father Bryant Stanfield and a step sibling (left). As a youngster (right) she grew up in Japan
Some critics of Ariana's win have complained she is a mixed race 'hafu' and not Japanese enough
Some critics of Ariana's win have complained she is a mixed race 'hafu' and not Japanese enough
Miyamoto Ariana is representing Japan in Miss World
But the beauty queen had to use her first television appearance after her selection to apologetically explain to reporters that while she doesn't 'look Japanese' on the outside, on the inside there are 'many Japanese things about her'.
Many in the country have expressed hostility to Ariana's title win as they expected the award to go to a 'pure' Japanese woman and not a 'hafu', meaning half Japanese, which has echoes of the discredited term 'half-caste'.
'Is it okay to choose a hafu to represent Japan?' one commenter typically wrote online after Ariana's win.
Speaking about her childhood in an interview with MailOnline Ariana, who goes by her mother's maiden name, said: 'There was pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me.
'I was called a n****r by some of my peers. Some of them threw trash and even a blackboard duster at me.
'I'm Japanese through and through, but in Japan if you look "foreign" you are often not accepted as Japanese. But I am Japanese - 100 percent.
'Skin colour bears no relationship to what a person is. It's just one of the differences like wearing blue clothes or wearing red clothes.'
'I have no objections against the word 'hafu' and I accept myself as being hafu.
'With so little multi-culturalism in Japan the term is somehow understandable, although it has made me wonder who I am at times.'
Ariana has been inspired by American singer Mariah Carey's struggle to get to the top as a mixed race artist, exemplified in her film Glitter, in which she plays a young singer battling discrimination to make it to the top.
Ariana with her mother. She says she is 'Japanese through and through. I am Japanese - 100 percent'
Ariana with her mother. She says she is 'Japanese through and through. I am Japanese - 100 percent'
Ariana will represent Japan at Miss Universe having fought her way to the top despite racial prejudice
Ariana will represent Japan at Miss Universe having fought her way to the top despite racial prejudice
The beauty queen grew up in Sasebo near Nagasaki
She later spent two years with her dad in the US as a teenager
The beauty queen grew up in Sasebo near Nagasaki but spent two years with her dad in the US as a teenager
From his home in Jacksonville, Arkansas, Ariana's father Bryant Stanfield, 43, said his face hurt from non-stop smiling since his daughter scooped the Miss Japan award from a line up of more 'typical' looking Japanese women earlier this month.
But he admits he's been dismayed by some of the racist comments her win has generated in Japan.
'Just get to know her. Just don't attack her. She will represent Japan very well,' he told MailOnline.
'She's told me all about the bullying and how kids used to treat her; how they hated her (wavy) hair; threw things at her; even threw trash at her.
'All pretty despicable stuff. But I always told her, and her Mom said too, 'you gotta be tough'.'
Divided from the Asian and Russian land masses by fierce currents, many Japanese have long believed in a myth of racial purity, although the islands' inhabitants are a result of a hodge-podge of different migrations mainly from Korea, China and the south seas.
The only 'native Japanese' are the Caucasian-looking Ainu people, pushed to near-extinction to Japan's northernmost reaches.
Today, those perceived of belonging outside the mythical Japanese race are regularly discriminated against leading to a type of apartheid, particularly when it comes to renting housing.
A recent ruling by Japan's ministry of justice in Kyoto declared that a 'No foreigners allowed' rule by landlords is not in fact discriminatory, thus cementing some of the institutional and casual racism non-Japanese face in contemporary Japan.
The Japanese like to think of their society and culture is unique according to Theodore Bestor, a professor of anthropology and Japanese studies at Harvard University which, in a study, put Korea and Japan at the top of racially homogeneous countries, largely unwilling to accept an influx of foreigners.
Miss Japan has said there was 'pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me' growing up
Miss Japan has said there was 'pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me' growing up
Ariana with her Japanese mother and a male friend. She claims she was called a 'n****r' by her peers
Ariana with her Japanese mother and a male friend. She claims she was called a 'n****r' by her peers
The Miss Universe hopeful with a step sibling. Her father says she is 'proud of both' her heritages
'I've been called n****r and had trash thrown at me': First mixed race Miss Japan hits out at the 'spasmodic vomit of racial abuse' she's suffered because father is African-American
Ariana Miyamoto was born and raised in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese
But 20-year-old found it tough growing up as only black girl in her class
Was raised in Sasebo near Nagasaki where Japanese mum met her father
Has faced hostility for not being a 'pure Japanese' beauty pageant winner
Her father Bryant Stanfield says Japan will 'never be as proud of her as I am'
By Michael Fitzpatrick In Tokyo and Tim Macfarlan For Mailonline
Published1 April 2015
Daily Mail (UK)
The first ever mixed race Miss Japan has lifted the lid on some of the horrific racial abuse she has faced on her way to the top.
Ariana Miyamoto says it was often punishing growing up as the only black girl in her class in the port town of Sasebo near Nagasaki, where the US has a naval base and where her African-American father met her Japanese mother.
The 20-year-old was born and raised in Japan, speaks fluent Japanese, and was last month chosen to represent her country in the Miss Universe pageant.
Scroll down for video
Ariana Miyamoto, 20, was crowned Miss Japan last month, but has faced horrific racial abuse growing up
Ariana Miyamoto, 20, was crowned Miss Japan last month, but has faced horrific racial abuse growing up
Ariana with her father Bryant Stanfield and a step sibling
As a youngster she grew up in Japan
Ariana with her father Bryant Stanfield and a step sibling (left). As a youngster (right) she grew up in Japan
Some critics of Ariana's win have complained she is a mixed race 'hafu' and not Japanese enough
Some critics of Ariana's win have complained she is a mixed race 'hafu' and not Japanese enough
Miyamoto Ariana is representing Japan in Miss World
But the beauty queen had to use her first television appearance after her selection to apologetically explain to reporters that while she doesn't 'look Japanese' on the outside, on the inside there are 'many Japanese things about her'.
Many in the country have expressed hostility to Ariana's title win as they expected the award to go to a 'pure' Japanese woman and not a 'hafu', meaning half Japanese, which has echoes of the discredited term 'half-caste'.
'Is it okay to choose a hafu to represent Japan?' one commenter typically wrote online after Ariana's win.
Speaking about her childhood in an interview with MailOnline Ariana, who goes by her mother's maiden name, said: 'There was pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me.
'I was called a n****r by some of my peers. Some of them threw trash and even a blackboard duster at me.
'I'm Japanese through and through, but in Japan if you look "foreign" you are often not accepted as Japanese. But I am Japanese - 100 percent.
'Skin colour bears no relationship to what a person is. It's just one of the differences like wearing blue clothes or wearing red clothes.'
'I have no objections against the word 'hafu' and I accept myself as being hafu.
'With so little multi-culturalism in Japan the term is somehow understandable, although it has made me wonder who I am at times.'
Ariana has been inspired by American singer Mariah Carey's struggle to get to the top as a mixed race artist, exemplified in her film Glitter, in which she plays a young singer battling discrimination to make it to the top.
Ariana with her mother. She says she is 'Japanese through and through. I am Japanese - 100 percent'
Ariana with her mother. She says she is 'Japanese through and through. I am Japanese - 100 percent'
Ariana will represent Japan at Miss Universe having fought her way to the top despite racial prejudice
Ariana will represent Japan at Miss Universe having fought her way to the top despite racial prejudice
The beauty queen grew up in Sasebo near Nagasaki
She later spent two years with her dad in the US as a teenager
The beauty queen grew up in Sasebo near Nagasaki but spent two years with her dad in the US as a teenager
From his home in Jacksonville, Arkansas, Ariana's father Bryant Stanfield, 43, said his face hurt from non-stop smiling since his daughter scooped the Miss Japan award from a line up of more 'typical' looking Japanese women earlier this month.
But he admits he's been dismayed by some of the racist comments her win has generated in Japan.
'Just get to know her. Just don't attack her. She will represent Japan very well,' he told MailOnline.
'She's told me all about the bullying and how kids used to treat her; how they hated her (wavy) hair; threw things at her; even threw trash at her.
'All pretty despicable stuff. But I always told her, and her Mom said too, 'you gotta be tough'.'
Divided from the Asian and Russian land masses by fierce currents, many Japanese have long believed in a myth of racial purity, although the islands' inhabitants are a result of a hodge-podge of different migrations mainly from Korea, China and the south seas.
The only 'native Japanese' are the Caucasian-looking Ainu people, pushed to near-extinction to Japan's northernmost reaches.
Today, those perceived of belonging outside the mythical Japanese race are regularly discriminated against leading to a type of apartheid, particularly when it comes to renting housing.
A recent ruling by Japan's ministry of justice in Kyoto declared that a 'No foreigners allowed' rule by landlords is not in fact discriminatory, thus cementing some of the institutional and casual racism non-Japanese face in contemporary Japan.
The Japanese like to think of their society and culture is unique according to Theodore Bestor, a professor of anthropology and Japanese studies at Harvard University which, in a study, put Korea and Japan at the top of racially homogeneous countries, largely unwilling to accept an influx of foreigners.
Miss Japan has said there was 'pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me' growing up
Miss Japan has said there was 'pretty much a spasmodic vomit of racial abuse heaped upon me' growing up
Ariana with her Japanese mother and a male friend. She claims she was called a 'n****r' by her peers
Ariana with her Japanese mother and a male friend. She claims she was called a 'n****r' by her peers
The Miss Universe hopeful with a step sibling. Her father says she is 'proud of both' her heritages
The Miss Universe hopeful with a step sibling. Her father says she is 'proud of both' her heritages
'One of the ways in which Japanese think of their own society as 'unique' is to emphasise the homogeneity of Japanese society and indeed by lots of comparisons, Japan is certainly a much more homogeneous society than say the United States,' Bestor told Columbia University's Asian Topics.
'And, it's often said by Japanese that they are ethnically homogeneous, that there are no real foreign populations in Japan.'
The election of a mixed race Japan is a first for one of the world's most ethnically homogeneous states
The election of a mixed race Japan is a first for one of the world's most ethnically homogeneous states
The election of a black Miss Japan might be a step away from that misconception and Mr Stanfield agrees that the choice of his daughter represents some kind of progression in Japan.
Conversely, he feels his dark-skinned daughter would fair better in today's America despite some recent headlines created by racial strife in Ferguson.
'It's different in America. Her being what and who she is; there is not a second thought,' he said.
In reaction to the racist carping on Japan's social networks since her crowning, he believes some of the received wisdom about 'Japaneseness' might be at fault.
'Some people, for a lack of a better word, some people are ignorant. I'm not saying that the whole of Japan is ignorant but there some people who just don't know,' he said, adding that in his three years in Japan he personally had never experienced any racism.
It was an encouraging sign that the Japanese judges picked a mixed race Miss Japan, he agreed, showing the progressive aspects of a country that still has the death penalty and where one tourism minister described his own 'one-race' countrymen as 'not keen' on immigration or foreigners.
In contrast, Mr Stanfield said, in terms of race relations the US is a much more rosy place than it once was.
'Things are changing here,' he said, and agreed that the spread of more liberal attitudes towards gay marriage was just one example of how American is more enlightened and 'changing for the better.'
'Its not a rapid change but slowly but surely it's coming around.'
'I have to say what my daughter went through in Japan she would not have experienced in the US. There are always some people here who don't like you because of the way you look or because you are different so I'm proud of her sticking it out in japan and doing what she did - becoming Miss Japan.'
As a young man, Miss Japan's father's life reads like that of the American lead in Madame Butterfly, where a handsome naval officer falls in love with a Japanese geisha before finally leaving Japan and his Japanese bride and their daughter behind.
He met Ariana's Japanese mother while on duty in the US navy at Nagasaki in the 90s.
'We moved stateside for a little while but her mother actually wanted Ariana to be born in Japan,' he said.
Ariana's father Bryant Stanfield, 43, says people in Japen will 'never be as proud of her as I am'
+9
Ariana's father Bryant Stanfield, 43, says people in Japen will 'never be as proud of her as I am'
'After that my duties meant I couldn't be in Japan for any length of time and slowly her mother and I drifted apart. There's no bad history. Her mother and I just went our separate ways.'
Not until Ariana was a teenager did she renew her bond with her father. After Mr Stanfield remarried and had three more children, they were joined by Ariana more permanently three years ago when Ariana stayed in Arkansas for two years to learn English and attend US high school.
English is not widely spoken in Japan despite Herculean education efforts to teach it.
After returning from the US, Ariana started a career in modelling in Japan. It is a pastime often considered too 'showbiz' by a traditionally-minded country, and one where beautiful half-Japanese 'hafu' offspring dominate.
Ariana's father is in little doubt she is proud of both heritages. 'She's fully aware of who she is and she's fully aware of where she comes from.
'She's aware of both sides - the black side and the Japanese side,' he said.
'She just wants everyone to get along and accept one another for what they are not because of the colour of their skin, but for who they are as a person.
'Please tell Japan to just accept her, and just be be proud of her. Though I know they will never be as proud of her as I am.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3021032/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-Ariana-Myamoto-hits-spasmodic-vomit-racial-abuse-suffered-father-African-American.html#ixzz3WYEcbT6i
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宮本 エリアナ Beauty pageant titleholder
Born 12 May 1994 (age 20)
Sasebo, Japan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Hair color Black
Eye color Brown
Title(s) Miss Japan 2015
Major
competition(s) Miss Japan 2015
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2015
(TBA)
Ariana Miyamoto (宮本 エリアナ 磨美子 Miyamoto Eriana Mamiko?, born 12 May 1994 in Sasebo, Nagasaki) is a Japanese beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Japan 2015. She will represent her country at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant,[1] but her victory faced criticism from critics who verbally abused her for being Afro-Asian; she is the first mixed-race woman to be Miss Japan.[2][3]
Contents
1 Early life and education
1.1 Miss Universe Japan 2015
1.2 Miss Universe 2015
2 References
3 External links
Early life and education
Miyamoto was born to a Japanese mother and an African American father. After attending elementary school in Japan, she moved to the United States and attended high school there and also worked as a bartender.[4][5][6]
In 2015, Miyamoto won the title of Miss Nagasaki and represented her prefecture at the Miss Universe Japan contest.[7][8]
Miss Universe Japan 2015
On March 12, 2015, Miyamoto was crowned as Miss Universe Japan 2015 (Miss Japan 2015) at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo in Bunkyō-ku, while Miss Oita and Chiba were the runner-ups of the event. The winners of Miss and Mister Japan 2015 (Junpei Watanabe of Akita) will compete at the Miss Universe and Mister International competitions.[9][10][11][12]
Miss Universe 2015
As Miss Japan 2015, Miyamoto will compete at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. Paulina Vega, Miss Universe 2014 of Colombia will crown her successor at the end event.[13]
References
http://www.nbcnews.com/…/first-multiracial-miss-universe-ja…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-fo…
http://www.reuters.com/…/us-japan-beauty-multiracial-idUSKB…
Peter Holley (March 20, 2015). "Why some critics think Japan’s Miss Universe contestant isn’t Japanese enough". Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2015. "Miyamoto, who grew up in Japan but moved to the United States for high school, has cited Mariah Carey as a major inspiration because of the singer’s multiracial background..."
Audrey Akcasu (March 15, 2015). "Half-Japanese beauty chosen to represent Japan at Miss Universe 2015". RocketNews24. Retrieved March 24, 2015. "After junior high graduation in Sasebo, she spent her high school years studying in the US. Upon returning to Japan as a young adult she set her sights on becoming a model."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-Ar…
"Miss Japan 2015: Ariana Miyamoto Reviews". www.angelopepdia.com. Angelopedia. 12 March 2015.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015
/03/multiculturalism_triumphs_even_in_japan.html
"Miss Japan 2015: Ariana Miyamoto Coronation". missosology.info. missosology.info. 12 March 2015.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/…/minstrel-show-black-beauty-q…/
http://www.people.com/…/miss-universe-japan-ariana-miyamoto…
http://www.eonline.com/…/miss-universe-japan-ariana-miyamot…
"Miss Japan 2015: (Japanese News) Ariana Miyomoto". headlines.yahoo.co.jp. headlines.yahoo.co.jp. 12 March 2015.
External links
Miss Universe Japan
Born 12 May 1994 (age 20)
Sasebo, Japan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Hair color Black
Eye color Brown
Title(s) Miss Japan 2015
Major
competition(s) Miss Japan 2015
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2015
(TBA)
Ariana Miyamoto (宮本 エリアナ 磨美子 Miyamoto Eriana Mamiko?, born 12 May 1994 in Sasebo, Nagasaki) is a Japanese beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Japan 2015. She will represent her country at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant,[1] but her victory faced criticism from critics who verbally abused her for being Afro-Asian; she is the first mixed-race woman to be Miss Japan.[2][3]
Contents
1 Early life and education
1.1 Miss Universe Japan 2015
1.2 Miss Universe 2015
2 References
3 External links
Early life and education
Miyamoto was born to a Japanese mother and an African American father. After attending elementary school in Japan, she moved to the United States and attended high school there and also worked as a bartender.[4][5][6]
In 2015, Miyamoto won the title of Miss Nagasaki and represented her prefecture at the Miss Universe Japan contest.[7][8]
Miss Universe Japan 2015
On March 12, 2015, Miyamoto was crowned as Miss Universe Japan 2015 (Miss Japan 2015) at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo in Bunkyō-ku, while Miss Oita and Chiba were the runner-ups of the event. The winners of Miss and Mister Japan 2015 (Junpei Watanabe of Akita) will compete at the Miss Universe and Mister International competitions.[9][10][11][12]
Miss Universe 2015
As Miss Japan 2015, Miyamoto will compete at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. Paulina Vega, Miss Universe 2014 of Colombia will crown her successor at the end event.[13]
References
http://www.nbcnews.com/…/first-multiracial-miss-universe-ja…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-fo…
http://www.reuters.com/…/us-japan-beauty-multiracial-idUSKB…
Peter Holley (March 20, 2015). "Why some critics think Japan’s Miss Universe contestant isn’t Japanese enough". Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2015. "Miyamoto, who grew up in Japan but moved to the United States for high school, has cited Mariah Carey as a major inspiration because of the singer’s multiracial background..."
Audrey Akcasu (March 15, 2015). "Half-Japanese beauty chosen to represent Japan at Miss Universe 2015". RocketNews24. Retrieved March 24, 2015. "After junior high graduation in Sasebo, she spent her high school years studying in the US. Upon returning to Japan as a young adult she set her sights on becoming a model."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/First-mixed-race-Miss-Japan-Ar…
"Miss Japan 2015: Ariana Miyamoto Reviews". www.angelopepdia.com. Angelopedia. 12 March 2015.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015
/03/multiculturalism_triumphs_even_in_japan.html
"Miss Japan 2015: Ariana Miyamoto Coronation". missosology.info. missosology.info. 12 March 2015.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/…/minstrel-show-black-beauty-q…/
http://www.people.com/…/miss-universe-japan-ariana-miyamoto…
http://www.eonline.com/…/miss-universe-japan-ariana-miyamot…
"Miss Japan 2015: (Japanese News) Ariana Miyomoto". headlines.yahoo.co.jp. headlines.yahoo.co.jp. 12 March 2015.
External links
Miss Universe Japan
