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#humansoftokyo #tokyointerlopers #tattooedwomen #イギリス人 #womenstories #外人 #外国人 #gaijin #humansofjapan #tokyo #東京 #Japanlife #lifeinjapan #portraitphotography #共生社会 #ポートレート #Japan #イギリス #diversitymatters #tokyolife #gaijinlife #diversityandinclusion #diversity #mystory #attacktheshot #womenportrait #brit #multicultural #international #livingabroad

"There’s this famous town in Japan that is known to have more scarecrows than people. 35 residents and hundreds of scarecrows. And they’re all made by this one little old lady, who’s like 65 years old and has lived there her whole life. Every scarecrow she makes is of a person who’s moved away from that town and died. And she’s doing it because the town is slowly dying off. It used to be a big business hub, but then things slowed down and everybody started leaving. It’s the only home she’s ever known so she wants to keep it alive by doing everything she can to keep the memory of this place alive, using scarecrows. She even says at some point she knows she’ll be the last person there. I think it’s a tragically beautiful story. I want go talk to her and share her story with as many people as I can before it’s too late." @mattvachonphoto is a #photojournalist and English teacher from Boston, Massachusetts. He came to Japan on a whim, while backpacking in Croatia, and has since fallen in love with the place, the people and food. For more on his adventures, visit https://www.mattvachon.com/ . . . . . . . #humansoftokyo #tokyointerlopers #photojournalism #アメリカ人 #アメリカ #外人 #外国人 #gaijin #humansofjapan #tokyo #東京 #Japanlife #lifeinjapan #portraitphotography #共生社会 #ポートレート #Japan #tokyolife #gaijinlife #livingabroad #lensculturestreets #streetfeat #worldpressphoto #storyofthestreet #street_photography #streets_storytelling #instajapan #tokyocameraclub #storytellingphotography

“Throughout our lives, we’re always keeping notes—funny anecdotes, sad moments, things people tell us—and that’s how we shape ourselves. I wanted to compare my notes with others, to try to understand if a particular aspect or characteristic of mine is because I’m Japanese or Belgian (or the fact that I live in Holland). The more you talk to people, the more you see similar patterns and differences better. People have big mouths in Holland. Belgians are a much more modest people. So whenever I have a big mouth in Belgium, they say it’s because I’m Dutch. And whenever I’m modest in Holland, they say it’s because I’m Japanese. People are quick to attribute my characteristics to each side of my heritage and I wanted to know if it was true or not. Why am I the way I am and what’s so special about me? That’s one of the main reasons why I started meeting all these people, taking photos and interviewing mixed-race Japanese people all over the world. But as I asked my subjects questions, I began to wonder if they had their own questions for the next person. So I took their question to the next interviewee and then to the next person, which resembled a chain letter. That’s how it became hāfu to hāfu. And soon I realized those questions were much more interesting than the narrative itself, because the questions made you think. Not about his or her life, the one who’s asking, but it made you reflect on your life, about your own perception of things. The questions are timeless and will still be relevant years from now, whereas answers can change. Questions are like rocks in a river. They won’t move while answers flow around them. Things will change today. They will also change tomorrow. You may have a bad day today and think, ‘Oh man, my life is shit.’ But the very next day, things could turn around. The questions you like will tell you something about you. They speak to you, touching you to your core.” @tetsuromiyazaki started the @hafu2hafu project to document half Japanese people. #humansoftokyo #ハーフ #ベルギー #オランダ #Japanese #halfJapanese #hafu #tokyointerlopers #hafu2hafu #biracial #mixedrace #mixedroots #diversity #multicultural #bicultural #東京 #日本 #humansofjapan #japan

“I don’t feel like I’ve had the kind of experience that everyone thinks you’ll have when you come to Japan or Tokyo. I think everyone imagines that I am going out and living this crazy life, dressing up in kimono or meeting loads of people. Actually, my seven years in Japan have been really isolated. It’s been difficult to meet people, although I’m fairly lucky to have made really good friends at my job, where it’s pretty much all international staff. But it’s nowhere near as exciting or social as I thought my life was going to be. And then the way I look has a bit of an effect. Initially it was something I was conscious of. I even tried to cover up and look as invisible as possible, because I didn’t want to get stared at, which happens a lot. Sometimes people would see me in the supermarket, look, then turn around and walk the other way. Some get shocked that I exist and I’m walking around. That made me really nervous. My Japanese is quite good but I’ve developed a complex in speaking it because people would just look at me but not hear me. That initially affected how I saw myself and how outgoing I was. But after a couple of years, I realized I can’t disappear no matter what I do. I’m going to be visible. I can’t hide forever. I can’t please everybody. All I can do is accept my ‘otherness’. That helped me develop some resilience. I’m kind of okay with it now. It doesn’t really bother me anymore. Actually it’s nice because people come up to me, like little old ladies who touch my arm, looking amazed at my tattoos. I think it’s cute because it starts a dialogue and shows them that people who look like me aren’t scary. It makes me hopeful there’ll be more tolerance. That said, I’m definitely going to be happy being somewhere else where people are more welcoming or maybe a little bit more diverse.” . . . . . . . #humansoftokyo #tokyointerlopers #tattoo #イギリス人 #womenstories #外人 #外国人 #gaijin #humansofjapan #tokyo #東京 #Japanlife #lifeinjapan #portraitphotography #共生社会 #ポートレート #Japan #イギリス #diversitymatters #tokyolife #gaijinlife #diversityandinclusion #diversity #mystory #attacktheshot #womenportrait #gramslayers #multicultural #タトゥー #livingabroad

“I was born and raised in Belgium to a Japanese dad and a Belgian mom. My father, who was a karate teacher, passed away when I was 14. My first job was at a Japanese credit card company in Amsterdam, to prove to the world that I could work for a Japanese company. But because I wanted to do something creative, I gradually moved to advertising. However, with no creative background, I did what people with no skills usually do—become an account manager. From there, I started doing my own side project, which eventually turned into my company (I was promoting tap water while trying to get people to drink less bottled water). . “I was always taking photos although I never thought of myself as a photographer. I loved taking pictures and my mom liked them on Facebook, but I didn’t want to tell anyone I was a serious professional because then I would be judged according to their standards. Then four years ago, I was here in Japan on a trip with my girlfriend, and I thought, if we’re about to have kids and if I ever want to be a photographer, then I have to do this now. I can’t be 50 and have regrets. So I applied for an internship with two portrait photographers who really helped me improve a lot. After that, I told people they could now call me a photographer and judge my work based on standards of a professional.”. . (to be continued). . Tetsuro Miyazaki started the @hafu2hafu project to document half Japanese people worldwide. . . . . . . . #humansoftokyo #ハーフ #ベルギー #オランダ #Japanese #halfJapanese #hafu #tokyointerlopers #hafu2hafu #biracial #mixedrace #mixedroots #diversity #multicultural #bicultural #東京 #日本 #humansofjapan #ポートレート#ilovejapan #ig_japan #bestjapanpics #共生社会 #belgium #dutch #international #ジャパン #Japan #diversitymatters

#humansoftokyo #tokyointerlopers #外人 #外国人 #gaijinlife #gaijin #japanlife #humansofjapan #フランス #フランス人 #attacktheshot #lifeinjapan #stereotypes #artofvisuals #tokyolife #gramslayers #igersjp #illgrammers #inclusive #darkskin #agameofportraits #diversitymatters #streetphotography #黒人 #diversityandinclusion #diversity #portraitstream #good_portraits_world #inclusion #blackpeople

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