Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

10/22/2004, An odd sign: S.O.S., an awkward cultural situation

I went out to the local Toys R Us to buy some toys for an upcoming event.  On the train, I saw this strange sign.  It just says that if you are being attacked, you should ask for help rather than remaining silent.  It suggests you say "S O S".

S O S sign

A close-up so I could try reading the fine print later.

I had an interesting interaction at the Toys R Us that's worth mentioning and remembering.  I saw a black (i.e. African ancestry) woman who was working there, sweeping the floors.  Her hair was straightened, so I had a feeling she was from the United States or some other western country.  I was looking for jacks (the game), and didn't know how to ask or describe what I wanted in Japanese.  It's a little rude to assume somebody who doesn't look Japanese must speak English.  After all, they could be French, Swedish, or whatever.  So, I approached her and said, "You speak English, right?" To my surprise, she said, "No." I was shocked.  How would I communicate with a black person who didn't speak English.  What language could she possible speak.  I've never seen a black person speak Japanese in my life.  Nevertheless, since she works there, she must speak at least a little.  Right?  But, I was having a little cultural crisis.  I just apologized in Japanese and left her alone.  As I wandered the store, my curiosity built up.  I was dying to know where she was from and what her background was.  I realized that if she works at Toys R Us, she must be a local.  She must speak Japanese.  I don't think you can get a working visa to do (relatively) unskilled labor.  But how can that be?  How could a black person be a local.  If she was a local, then she must have been totally worn with people asking about her background.  But I couldn't help myself.  I was dying to know.  Finally, my curiousity boiled over.  I chose to feed my curiosity at the expense of this poor girl's comfort and my own dignity.  I asked her where the chalk was.  While she walked me there, I asked her a few questions (in Japanese).  She is half Japanese.  She was born in the United States, but raised in Japan.  Indeed, she does get asked about this a lot, and she is clearly tired of being asked about it (as expected).  Her Japanese is no different from any other native speaker of Japanese.  I apologized a few times and explained that I understood the frustration she must feel with such questions.  In fact, we have a couple Russian-Japanese people in our school.  Their parents are Russian, but they were born and raised in Japan.  Japan is not a diverse place, so people like that stick out like a sore thumb.  I'm sure they have a rough time in life, but hopefully they develop thick skin about it.

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