In recent years, when communicating in diverse settings in Japan, many young Japanese people have referred to themselves as ‘Jun-Japa.’ The phrase derives from the Japanese word ‘junsui,’ meaning pure, and “Japanese.” It is often used to distinguish themselves as Japanese rather than as foreign exchange students, members of the Japanese diaspora (nikkei), or people of mixed heritage (hafu) when asked whether they are a nihonjin (Japanese).
Of course, no people are completely ‘pure.’ The people now widely known as the Yamato are themselves the result of centuries of migration and mixing between the Yayoi and Jomon peoples. Japan is also home to the Ainu, the Ryukyuan people, and other communities such as hafu, zainichi Koreans, and burakumin. The same applies elsewhere. No modern nation is made up of people with one completely uniform ancestry. My point, however, is not about genetics or history. It’s about language.
The phrase ‘Jun-Japa’ creates a distinction between those considered ‘pure’ Japanese and those who are not. While I’m not sure how often young Ainu or Ryukyuan people use the term themselves, most hafu Japanese naturally wouldn’t describe themselves this way. I would like to point out how there is nothing unusual about this to begin it. People of mixed heritage don’t call themselves jun-japa, just as non-mixed Japanese people don’t describe themselves as hafu. What stands out to me, however, is the choice of the word ‘pure.’
Imagine someone in England or France introducing themselves as a “pure English person” or a “pure French person” while surrounded by fellow citizens of different ethnic backgrounds. Some people might not see a problem with it, but others would understandably wonder why the word ‘pure’ was necessary. Saying “I’m English” or “I’m French” already communicates the point. Adding ‘pure’ changes the meaning.
I’m not suggesting Japanese people shouldn’t be able to describe themselves as fully Japanese. I’m questioning why this particular word exists in the first place. In conversations with foreign friends or Japanese people of mixed heritage, someone might casually say they’re “Jun-Japa” to distinguish themselves. Most people who use the phrase probably never stop to think about the literal meaning of ‘junsui.’ There is rarely any ill intent behind it.
Take hafu Japanese people as an example. If someone introduces themselves as a “Jun-Japa” in front of a hafu person, they probably don’t mean anything by it. However, the phrase unconsciously creates a contrast: “I’m a pure Japanese person, unlike you.” A hafu person would almost never describe themselves as ‘Jun-Japa,’ because the term itself excludes them. You may think that this is a stretch, but that’s the language being used here. By describing oneself as “pure” Japanese, the phrase inevitably creates this distinction regardless of the speaker’s intentions.
This isn’t an attack on Japanese society or on the people who use the term. It’s simply a question about why this particular expression became so common. Language reflects how societies think about identity, and ‘Jun-Japa’ may be one example of Japanese society’s ways of drawing a line between who is considered Japanese and who is not.
Leave a Reply