I have a number of Japanese friends who are very keen on patching up relations with China. They insist that Asians must stand together. They tell me that Japan and China share a deep cultural bond and that they must work at all costs to preserve it. Well today a friend asks me if I had seen “Saiyuri” yet. “Saiyuri” is the name they use for “Memoires of a Geisha” here in Japan.
“No”, I respond
“Well, you shouldn’t”, my friend replies.
“Oh? And why is that?”, I enquire.
“The woman who plays Saiyuri is a Chinese woman”, she says.
I thought perhaps it might have something to do with the poor adaptation to the big screen, or plot problems. On the contrary, the movie is being rejected simply because the main character is Chinese and not a native Japanese person. I am flabbergasted at this development. I don’t even care why a Chinese woman was chosen over a Japanese woman. Since it is an American film I doubt that there are any political reasons for this choice. However, it still bothers many Japanese people, and it bothers me that they have such a problem with it. If they chose an American actor to play a famous Canadian hero, I don’t think I would have any issue with it. It seems to me like racism is rearing it’s ugly head once again. No wonder China and Japan are locked in this petty squabble. They can’t seem to understand what it really takes to make things work between cultures.
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