Multiraciality and Migration
Multiraciality and Migration
Mixed-Race American Okinawans, 1945–1972
This chapter examines the multiracial American Japanese who grew up in Okinawa and the U.S. during the post-World War II period through to the 1970s. Multiracial Okinawans did not fit into the available racial categories in Okinawa because they were not accepted as Japanese, nor as Okinawans, even though many could not even speak English, but rather spoke Uchinaguchi (the Okinawan-Ryûkyûan indigenous language) or Japanese. These people were considered as an unsettling reminder to other Okinawans of the ever-present U.S. occupation, and as such they occupied a cultural third space that could be defined either on or off of the military bases. Within this third space, there were two tiers: those who could speak English and might have connections to the military bases, and those without access to the opportunities English and the bases provided.
Keywords: multiracial American Japanese, Multiracial Okinawans, Uchinaguchi, cultural third space
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