Half a Cherry Blossom

[kimpossible]

I was reading about the Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Pageant. Part of the requirements is that a candidate be of at least 50% Japanese ancestry. I find this interesting because the number of Japanese hapa seem to outnumber any other type.

This can be looked at in two ways. Add more if you wish.

1) There are a shortage of fully Japanese American girls in SF or north Cali.

2) Japanese American community in north Cali is more foreward thinking in accepting mixed race children.

What do you think?

[kimpossible]

Here's a related article.

Queen says cultureis a state of mind

Cherry Blossom pageant accepts multi-ethnic contestants
By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin


Cherry Blossom Queen Lori Murayama learned it is best not to go to a Japanese tea ceremony thirsty.

Drinking is not the key; the ceremony itself is, she said. Based in Zen roots, each turn of the bowl, each bow of the body all have a meditative quality of spirituality.

As Murayama learns about her cultural past, she also breaks new ground as queen of the first Cherry Blossom pageant to accept multi-ethnic contestants.

"Anyone can embrace the culture if they go in with an open heart and mind," said the 24-year-old of Honolulu.

The change to allow half-Japanese women into Hawaii's longest-running ethnic festival drew criticism from traditionalists. They see the pageant's purpose of cultural identity thinning with the blood requirements.

"Culture is not a product of your blood but of your desire and interest," said Keith Kamisugi, 48th president of the Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce, the festival's organizer.

"The pageant was behind the times," Kamisugi said. "The community is already extensively multi-ethnic. We should have done this years ago."

But revising the pageant's blood quantum levels from 100 percent to 50 percent Japanese had been defeated twice before in the past decade.

New blood in the Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce passed the vote this year.

"Some say the multi-ethnic change damages the pageant, but I think it enhances it," Kamisugi said. "It gives opportunity to more people of Hawaii to participate in learning about the Japanese culture."

The festival's mission is to educate Hawaii on Japanese tradition. Cherry Blossom contestants take about eight cultural courses including the tea ceremony, ikebana flower arrangement and taiko drums.

Heralding the beat of change, all contestants opened the pageant this year by playing the drums with taiko master Kenny Endo.

Of the 15 contestants, three came from a mixed racial background.

Ethnic looks of the Japanese woman originally launched the pageant 48 years ago. Since Japanese women did not conform to the stereotypical Miss America beauty, the Japanese community began holding the Cherry Blossom to honor their women's beauty.

Murayama said she has learned new things about her cultural past through the festival.

"The biggest thing I learned was its complexity," she said. "I realize there are so many things I have to learn in the future."

[SunWuKong]

miss chinatown pageants require that a contestant be of at least 1/4th chinese ancestry.

i don't know about the pageants in asia. in the last miss HK pageant, a mixed girl (half chinese and half english) won second place and she went on to represent HK in the miss world pageant.

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Apr 21 2003, 11:35 AM
I was reading about the Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Pageant. Part of the requirements is that a candidate be of at least 50% Japanese ancestry. I find this interesting because the number of Japanese hapa seem to outnumber any other type.

This can be looked at in two ways. Add more if you wish.

1) There are a shortage of fully Japanese American girls in SF or north Cali.

2) Japanese American community in north Cali is more foreward thinking in accepting mixed race children.

What do you think?
I think it's both. There probably is a shortage, just as with Indians that require you to only be 1/8 Native American ancestry to be considered part of their tribe. But I wouldn't be suprised if they were just more liberal and foward-thinking as you said.

Interesting. I would've thought this would've involved mostly white-japanese women, but seeing that it's also in Hawaii, probably lots of part Hawaiian-Japanese women as well (darker-skinned contestants).

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 21 2003, 01:37 PM
miss chinatown pageants require that a contestant be of at least 1/4th chinese ancestry.
hah, I wonder how they document that one. I know even some full Chinese who have at least one parent or the other who doesn't really look Chinese, in addition to having lived overseas and their family uses a non-Chinese surname for three generations back on all official documentation (usually in the case of Indonesian or Filipino Chinese) ... me, my mum looks Filipina and that whole side of the family is registered under a portuguese surname, not to mention all of them except my great uncle were illiterate in Chinese and so I couldn't produce any of his writing samples or anything to prove he was Chinese ...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 21 2003, 03:18 PM
hah, I wonder how they document that one. I know even some full Chinese who have at least one parent or the other who doesn't really look Chinese, in addition to having lived overseas and their family uses a non-Chinese surname for three generations back on all official documentation (usually in the case of Indonesian or Filipino Chinese) ... me, my mum looks Filipina and that whole side of the family is registered under a portuguese surname, not to mention all of them except my great uncle were illiterate in Chinese and so I couldn't produce any of his writing samples or anything to prove he was Chinese ...
heh
honour system? :rolleyes:
i don't know

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 21 2003, 01:18 PM
hah, I wonder how they document that one. I know even some full Chinese who have at least one parent or the other who doesn't really look Chinese, in addition to having lived overseas and their family uses a non-Chinese surname for three generations back on all official documentation (usually in the case of Indonesian or Filipino Chinese) ... me, my mum looks Filipina and that whole side of the family is registered under a portuguese surname, not to mention all of them except my great uncle were illiterate in Chinese and so I couldn't produce any of his writing samples or anything to prove he was Chinese ...
Whoa yeah that is complicated.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 21 2003, 02:27 PM
heh
honour system? :rolleyes:
i don't know
hehe, that might work for beauty pageants. But didn't loveboat have this problem? and I wonder how they solved it. you had to have documentable chinese ancestry to go, and it was a heavily subsidized trip that would be a lot cheaper than to come to Taiwan on your own funds and study and travel for six weeks ...

[kimpossible]

who was sneaking into loveboat?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 21 2003, 03:55 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 21 2003, 02:27 PM
heh
honour system?  :rolleyes:
i don't know
hehe, that might work for beauty pageants. But didn't loveboat have this problem? and I wonder how they solved it. you had to have documentable chinese ancestry to go, and it was a heavily subsidized trip that would be a lot cheaper than to come to Taiwan on your own funds and study and travel for six weeks ...
they could set up a committee that looks at contestants and determine if they look "chinese enough". :lol: :rolleyes:

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Apr 21 2003, 04:01 PM
who was sneaking into loveboat?
non-chinese/taiwanese asian people?

[Fireblade]

weirdness

[amietron]

The rate of marrying outside one's own ancestry is highest for JAs.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 21 2003, 03:02 PM
they could set up a committee that looks at contestants and determine if they look "chinese enough". :lol: :rolleyes:
"Excuse me miss, do you have any Chinese in you? Well in order to participate in this competition, you're going to need some." :lol:

[kimpossible]

you forgot to add *unzips pants*

[YuheiCarreau]

Well, the contestants are JAs, which means they came over from Japan at some point... Which means their ancestors are in the Japanese family registry thing. I suppose they could trace the family's marriage records in the US back to when the different parts of their family came over from Japan if they really want to know.

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by amietron@Apr 21 2003, 02:50 PM
The rate of marrying outside one's own ancestry is highest for JAs.
Are you talking about amongst asians, or among people in general?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Apr 21 2003, 05:28 PM
Well, the contestants are JAs, which means they came over from Japan at some point... Which means their ancestors are in the Japanese family registry thing. I suppose they could trace the family's marriage records in the US back to when the different parts of their family came over from Japan if they really want to know.
i don't get how that would work. does that mean that if your family immigrated to the US 4 generations ago, they'd need to look up the family marriage records for all 16 of your great great grandparents?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 21 2003, 04:57 PM
"Excuse me miss, do you have any Chinese in you? Well in order to participate in this competition, you're going to need some." :lol:
oh yes. you read my mind.

"oh my. you're mixed, aren't you? i'm not sure you have enough chinese in you. i can help you out with that problem and get you into the pageant."

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Apr 21 2003, 05:35 PM
I was reading about the Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Pageant. Part of the requirements is that a candidate be of at least 50% Japanese ancestry. I find this interesting because the number of Japanese hapa seem to outnumber any other type.

This can be looked at in two ways. Add more if you wish.

1) There are a shortage of fully Japanese American girls in SF or north Cali.

2) Japanese American community in north Cali is more foreward thinking in accepting mixed race children.

What do you think?
I say #3) The judges of the contest have a hapa fetish.

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Apr 21 2003, 09:28 PM
Well, the contestants are JAs, which means they came over from Japan at some point... Which means their ancestors are in the Japanese family registry thing. I suppose they could trace the family's marriage records in the US back to when the different parts of their family came over from Japan if they really want to know.
Well technically any Korean girl could enter this thing too. Tho it would certainly be an insult to her heratige, tho beauty pageant contest entrants aer not too bright, so it dont matta.

[himura-dono]

edit: i broke the hapa forum again and deleted my ontent from this post to hopefully let the hapa forum thrive again.

[BeTheReds]

So can I deflower the cherry blossom...

BORED BORED BORED!

[kimpossible]

ya know... you could start some topics yourself.

[YuheiCarreau]

Or post in the Hot Girls thread.

[SunWuKong]

maybe we can have a hot hapa thread? oh wait, that's what eurasiannation.com is for. :P

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Apr 24 2003, 09:50 AM
ya know... you could start some topics yourself.
I think I will just revive old ones...