Miyamoto Eriana is the first Afro Asian to be crowned Miss Japan. The reigning queen will go forth as the first Afro Asian representative of the country in the Miss Universe pageant. Eriana was born to a black American father and a Japanese mother in Nagasaki. Nervous about how this would be received, she even voiced her apprehensiveness on acceptance as a contestant in the pageant:
“I thought ‘I wonder if a hafu like me would be okay’ and had insecurities,”
In case any of you are wondering, “hafu” is the Japanese term for biracial. Although, Eriana made history with her win, there were some very outspoken folks on twitter in Japan who felt she should not represent the country because of her cultural background:
“Because this is Miss Universe Japan, don’t you think hafu are a no-no?”
“It makes me uncomfortable to say she’s representing Japan.”
Some even went so far to proclaim that they desired a “pure blooded Japanese” to represent them.
The Facts: Eriana is a Japanese citizen, born and raised. She briefly studied abroad in the U.S. and has a 5th degree of mastery in Japanese calligraphy. She’s also a licensed motorcyclist. Bonus: She loves Mariah Carey. Who better to represent any country that this talented beauty?
We’re wishing you the best in the Miss Universe pageant, Miyamoto!
Do you follow the pageant scene? What do you think of Miyamoto’s historic win?
She’s pretty and seems charming so she has the basic requirements of pageantry as far as I’m concerned! ???? Plus she was born and raised in Japan, speaks and writes Japanese, and has a Japanese mother, so what more qualifications are needed to represent Japan? Sad that this is just happening in 2015 but better late than never.
It’s a good change and I’m very happy for her accomplishment ! I can understand that people would be upset however as the Miss “InsertcountryHere” typically resembles the majority of the population who lives there , but mixing it up sometimes to include the minority of the population never hurts either.
it would be funny if all whites were barred from the universe pageants even in their native countries, then say it’s because the world is one giant mixed nonwhite race so they can just sit on a street corner somewhere & check their whiteprivlege
Congratulations to her
She rocks!!!!!
So pretty! Congrats to her
Wish her the best
They are not gonna find one prettier than her. She is so gorgeous. @alireyisboss. http://www.alireyisboss.wordpress.com.
she’s adorable. Aand the fact that she’s born and raised in Japan, what does it matter that she’s “half japanese”? Come on, ashamed? really? people need to get all the way over themselves
.
I dont really follow pagaents because they seem to focus mostly on outward beauty rather than meaningful accomplishments, but this girl is far prettier than the contestants behind her in that photo. Im happy for her because it is still very awesome to win a pagaent for your entire country. 🙂 I notice that there will always be the snide remarks of “too thin”, not “blonde enough”, “not cultured enough”, and “not a lakers fan” included with the high school drama of pagaents, so the anti hafu comments are totally expected. Can you imagine the comments if she wore her… Read more »
Congratulations on you win Eriana! You are gorgeous!
A Japanese never looked this good!!!!!
She is outrageously attractive and talented. Isn’t that what you want out of a contestant?
woo hoo! Go girl!! I’M SO HAPPY melanated sistas are representing something such as this.
(please watch your back, there’s some haters on your way)
D O P E.
I kind of agree with the Japanese people. It’s nothing to do with race. But if you’re a particularly patriotic person wouldn’t you want a pure japanese to represent the beauty of japanese people?
She was born and raised in Japan though. And with globalisation being Japanese is not only a race but also an ethnicity and nationality.
yeah because they’ve NEVER had a pure japanese person represent them before.
Japanese is a nationality, not a race. So since she was born and raised there, she is ‘pure Japanese’.
And if they wanted a ‘pure Japanese’ (read: full blooded Asian), then what would be the point of even opening up the pageant to hafus? To give them false hope?
She is a Japanese citizen and has Japanese heritage. She has every right to represent Japan.
You know I thought about that too but in reality there is a large population of Japanese people whom are also Korean/Chinese. I don’t think the that Miyamoto-san being hafu is a problem at all, it is that she is not passing.
Seriously? She’s Japanese. Born, raised & fluent in the language. On top of that, she’s absolutely gorgeous. The Japanese people should be proud of their countrywoman representing them on the international stage!
Pure Japanese, you mean like the Ainu?
You’re joking right? They’ve been having “pure Japanese” women winning contests there for decades now, a single native blasian woman winning the title will not diminish “the beauty of Japanese people” in the slightest. ‑_- Rather, it shows how secure they are with their own unique aesthetic, that they aren’t threatened by the beauty of someone born and raised in their own country who doesn’t look exactly like them. Also keep in mind that the world and the people in it are changing, moving ever close to one race of people. Preconceived racial biases will do little to change this… Read more »
My favorite response, Frugivore. I might also add that Miyamoto will be competing in an international pageant next and will be a true representative of the world’s population if she wins. Imagine people complaining that she’s too Asian (yellow) or African (black) — and I’m sure she is also part European (white) through her African American father judging from her features — or not white enough after she wins. She’ll surely make top 3 in 2016. Next!
“African countries that have adopted the whole skin bleaching epidemic.”–Lol! There’s no way you can tell that because Africans have the most varied phenotype of all people, as well as the fact that, there are Asians with those same “white” features without any mixture. So her features could be from her mom sides just the same.
You’re joking right? They’ve been having “pure Japanese” women winning contests there for decades now, a single native blasian woman winning the title will not diminish “the beauty of Japanese people” in the slightest. ‑_- Rather, it shows how secure they are with their own unique aesthetic, that they aren’t threatened by the beauty of someone born and raised in their own country who doesn’t look exactly like them. Also keep in mind that the world and the people in it are changing, moving ever close to one race of people. Preconceived racial biases will do little to change this… Read more »
Who on this planet is 100% “pure” anything racially, including you?!?!?!? And your first sentence and second sentence are contradictory as fuck. You’re obviously KKKauKKKcasian as well as ameriKKKan. Your blatant and obvious ignorance as well as arrogance in the posting of your opinion, in addition to your use of the word “patriotic” and lack of capitalization in your spelling of the word Japanese, told me as much. ameriKKKa, ameriKKKa, Allah shed his grace on THEE… KKKracKKKers always have something SALTY to say.
Not american. Not caucasian. And yeah let’s ignore the fact that the first time I said “japanese”, the first letter was in caps.
You talk like you live in North Korea. Bye.
Let’s be real, if she was white and Asian with the same credentials no one would have a problem with her being hafu.
Some asian countries are particularly xenophobic. It’d probably be the same for whites. Black people always have to victimize themselves.
no, they’d definitely have a problem. the japanese see themselves as a homogeneous society, so anyone who isn’t fully ethnically japanese is seen as an outsider. continual discrimination against chinese/korean japanese who have lived there for generations is evidence of that. when visiting japan, white people may get better treatment than other visitors bc of a history of colonialism, but they’re still looked upon with suspicion. as for a half-white person representing the ideal japanese beauty? i don’t think they’d go for that.
Sorry, but that is not true. If you are not 100% then you do not count.
Because she is born and bred in Japan, and can represent their country and culture. And she won the pageant so it’s not like they picked her from a hat, she showed whatever they thought would best show Japan off on the world stage. No one is “pure” anyway so it should be about substance.
or lots of money changed hands
or the judges were pressured
it’s like the bias in the nobel prizes
why did obama get a peace prize? did he stop wars or midiate hostage releases?
or kissenger & n.vietnam guy, the north won the war 2 years later! smh
My opinion still stands. When it’s black people, everyone flips about how a mixed chick is chosen to represent us. If I were in Japanese, I would also be pissed that someone who is mixed is representing my country.
How many “pure” Americans do you know?
She’s a cutie, of course, but not as cute as MY daughter.
She’s gorgeous >.<
Wow! She’s so pretty!
Also, ASIAN people are some of the most racist people on this planet. Money surprised she’s receiving hate
amazing! simply amazing! She’s gorgeous, smart and Japanese! End of discussion! Go girl, we are behind you!!!! woo hoo!
you go girl!! wow that probably took BOATLOADS of courage!!
Sometimes what is easy for us to understand is harder for others in the context of their culture. And therefore what will be hard for us, is to respect it. In most Asian countries, their identify lies in having two parents of the same ethnicity. It doesn’t matter if one parent in of Melanesian or Caucasian descent, so long as they are not Asian the child is not accepted. In China, I see many kids everyday, some biracial, some fully of other ethnicities who are completely Asian in terms of their language, culture and how they view the world. But… Read more »
She’s cute as a button! Congrats on her win!
Kizzy, globalization has little to do with the state of being. This woman is japanese. Culture is not equal to true; therefore things that are not accepted culturally are not automatically true and THINGS are changing finally we are starting to understand people we are just human and we belong to the place where our heart belongs to.
globalization destroys all traditional values as well as economies
it’s deliberate genetic & cultural genocide
globalists are terrible folks, capitalist or marxist exploiters
It’s the same as when Nina Davuluri won Miss American and she was of Indian descent. People still were very upset that an “american” didn’t represent America and that caused controversy. So, it isn’t just the Japanese people who are intolerant. It’s everyone, including the United States.
LOL Indians seem to represent a lot of countries:
Miss Universe Signapore: Rathi Menon (Indian Decent)
Miss Universe Malaysia: Sabrina Beneett (Indian Decent)
Miss Universe Phillipines : Mary Jean Ramirez (Half Arab, Half Fillipino)
Miss Universe Netherland: Yasmin Verheijen (Indian/Chinese/German)
Miss Universe Danmark: Cecilia Iftikhar (Indian decent)
Miss Universe Jamaica: Kerrie Baylis (European Decent)
Miss Unvierse Israel: Yityish Titi Aynaw (Ethiopian decent)
Miss Universe South Africa: Marilyn Ramos (Portugese decent)
Miss Universe Trindad Tobago: Catherine Miller (European decent)
Miss Univere France: Hinarani de Longeaux (French/Polynesian decent)
Miss Universe Beligum: Laura Beyne (Belgian/Congolese decent)
Miss Universe Switzerland: Alina Buchschacher (Swiss/Trinidad & Tobago decent
Wow! Jay did some serious research!
South Africa has had more then one Miss SA of Indian descent, but you have to remember South Africa has the highest Indian population outside of India.
would a white girl win in india?
women tourists get gangraped there all the time, they don’t win beauty pageants!
but anyone can sneak or skulk into white countries & demand whatever they want, it’s a free-for-all!
did indian’s write the constitution? or fight to liberate the 13 colonies? or try to save texas from mexico?
diversity-for-we-but-not-for-thee!
She’s really pretty! that’s all that counts with pageants!
It doesn’t matter anyway…Donald trump disqualified her for being half and not full blooded Japanese anyway…
Really? He can do that?
more like she turned down his “casting couch”, the toupee freak is a sexist pig
it’s satire http://adobochronicles.com/2015/03/15/donald-trump-disqualifies-miss-japan-miss-philippines-from-competing-in-the-2015-miss-universe-pageant/
Interested.….hey it’s his show and he calls the shots!
she is beautiful! and i don’t speak her language, BUT, she seems well-spoken…japanese ppl that have a problem with this, sit down. the world is mixed up and getting more tossed salad by the second.
I could see how this would create controversy. But I kinda partially agree with the Japanese people. And black people are quick to be snarky when we see biracial people chosen to represent us, so we can’t all get on our high horses like it’s not true.
Exactly!!!!!!!!
the races should respect their uniqueness
(that 20000 mixed japanese are born each year greatly alarms me)
racemixing allows larger racial groups to absorb & destroy smaller racial groups, in other words it’s genocide
but i never like pageants anyway, the finalists spout cliched lines like wanting world piece
& a pure black girl would look prettier as would a pure japanese
mixed-race=raceless
(evil rich folks {& commies, who are another type of “elite” class} want everone else to mix, lose their identity & be easier to exploit via bread & circuses)
Thank You. Some people here are pretending like it aint true.
I think your statement is a bit flawed. Black people are “quick to get snarky” about biracial people representing them because the world has a bad habit of accepting the beauty of blackness only if it involves a lighter skinned black person. Often times, if you’re any darker than a paper bag, your beauty comes into question, even if you’re aesthetically attractive. That’s an entirely different conversation when you’re discussing a historically isolationist, Xenophobic country who LOVE White/Asian hafu, but otherwise frown upon others, especially if they are Black/Asian. These are two different situations with two different social elements. You’re… Read more »
We’ll have to agree to disagree. The point of the matter is that when the media puts up someone as a representation of ‘black people’ who we don’t feel represents us we are quick to voice our opinions. Regardless of how Japanese people feel about other mixes with their race, they are completely free to disagree with this girl being a representation of them. Because like I said, I’ve seen black people do it time and time again and we have a right to not accept who the media decides is our black ‘representative’ and so who are we really… Read more »
They most definitely do not love White/Asian hafu. Gaijin is a derogatory word for a reason in Japan and is used to describe those who they feel aren’t pure enough by their standards; including hafu’s such as Eriana. Japan is notoriously known for ridiculing those who aren’t them to the point of suicide. You can read about Eriana’s life when she growing up and how her close friend who wasn’t Japanese enough killed herself for such.
She’s aight.
Have you ever lived in an Asian country?! Do you have any Asian friends? The race to bleach and surgically alter facial features and marry ‘White’ has been in full effect for a long time and is well-known. TV, film, magazines, etc. are filled with bi-racial Asian-White faces which have become preferred in Asian media. It’s not just East Asia, look to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand. I agree with another commenter, Asian society is insanely, openly racist towards dark/Black people.
Have YOU lived in an Asian country? Do you know why they value white skin? In ancient times it was a sign of wealth because people who were poor worked outside and got dark. Those who were rich did not have to do this and therefore maintained white skin.
And you forgot to include all the African countries that have adopted the whole skin bleaching epidemic.
“African countries that have adopted the whole skin bleaching epidemic.”–What whole African country has adopted the skin bleaching epidemic?!? I know there are Africans that do skin bleaching, but I’ve never heard of it being “adopted” in any African country as normal on the societal level. There are countless African advocacy groups in Africa that speak out against the rampant skin bleaching due to the mental and physical damage. On the other hand, Indian and Asian societies don’t frown on it as much (possibly due to not having the same history with whites), and consider it very normal within their… Read more »
look at asian art made before white european contact
pure white skin & pure black hair was considered divine such as the imperial household being descended from a GOD
btw, japan bared white access for centuries to preserve it’s purity
liberals want to destroy it’s purity since white nationalists use it as an example of a racially pure nation having low crime, same with the koreas
meanwhile, diverse brazil, india & south africa have appallingly bad crime rates, as does the more diverse europe
WOW everyone wants to look white.
You may want to do some more research Elle before making a statement that Asian’s are against only black. I am white and my wife is born Chinese. She is no longer accepted by her society in China because she married a white person.
I have been to China as well. While I was welcomed as a tourist/visitor, I will never be accepted as one of them.
She is beautiful, and people of all countries need to stop being prejudice, humans are ONE species!!!
say that to mugabe of zimbabwe, who drove out all the white farmers & now blacks starve thanks to him or to the south africans, who voted out all the noncorrupt white leaders, leading to them having the worst crime in the world or to detroit, which chased off 95% of it’s white people please look up the UN definition of genocide, because race-mixing leads to it, you wouldn’t like it if the indians & chinese used their greater numbers to race-mix africans into extinction (nor would sports fans, as pure kenyans & ethiopians are thr FASTEST of all humans,… Read more »
It’s a shame she won and her victory was overturned by Donald Trump. She would’ve been great on the international stage.
First off, it’s great that she won — she is culturally Japanese, grew up there, participates in Japanese life, speaks Japanese, engages in Japanese cultural practices and past-times. It’s nice to see that the pageants are trying to show that they aren’t SOLELY about looks. or trying to enforce a global set of barbies. But I can kind of see the Japanese point — Japanese women have a lot of struggles of their own. They have surgery on their eyelids to have eyes more like American women. They bleach their hair to make it brown to look like American women.… Read more »
what does an “American woman” look like? you mean a white woman? firstly they have problems of their own like every culture.
Japanese B***! stop trippin’, this girl is BEAUTIFUL! And if she won that means SHE deserved it!! ^.^
She looks like a mixed up mutt…she looks like a garbage cross breed of some kind.
Not Japanese…not negro.…she has no identity…JUST LIKE NEGRO AMERICANS!
She belongs nowhere.
Cute girl and congrats.…however thou shall not be a hypocrite
Many of you on here objecting to the Japanese people not accepting her as true Japanese representative wouldn’t speak too kindly of her if she was given the title Ms Black America. Lets just keep it real.
lol at both your non sense about zimbabwe and south africa i see SOME People are still salty huh?
Go read some history and quit following black People in their spaces
She more Japanese than I am, let her keep the crown. Like it or else Japan, you got all kinds all kinds of folk living in your country, some of ya’ll might need the genetic diversity.
seriously get a life you bored racist troll jesus lord may you banish him or her from this blessed comment’s section
That is your assumption. I would not argue if she was born in America and was titled Ms. Black America. That is like saying Obama is not truly the first black president because his mother was white.
You can be out of touch if you want to. YOU may not have a problem with it.But the collective will. Case in point: Casting Zendaya/Alexandra as Aaliyah. They were rejected because they aint black and Aaliyah was. Black women have an issue with light skin and biracial misrepresentation of black people (as we should). And you think that this half Japanese woman would be gladly embraced as Miss Black America? Please. Keep telling yourself that.
And no Obama is not the first black president.…he’s America’s first mixed race president.
Congrats to her! She’s beautiful and will represent Japan well.
I thought Zendaya dropped herself out of the Aaliyah movie when the family stated that they didn’t want it to happen and refused to allow her music to be used. I thought Zendaya felt uncomfortable being Aaliyah if it was against the family’s wishes (smart move on her part, that movie was a disaster!). And who are you to speak for “the collective”? Someone’s going to have an issue with it (because someone ALWAYS does), but that doesn’t mean that the majority will. And when will we put the Obama thing to rest? Yes. He is mixed race. Yes, he… Read more »
You can tip toe around the issue if you want to. And if you paid attention to the whole fiasco you would’ve seen that Zendaya was being dragged for not being black enough. Another example was the casting of Aurora Perrineau (mixed girl) to play the black character Shana from Gem and the Holograms. She was not well received. I could go on but by now you should get the point. At this point in time if you think that black women as a whole would gladly embrace Miyamoto as Ms Black America then you are deluded.
That’s a well founded guess, but it’s just a guess. It’s certainly not enough for you to sit here and call a bunch of people you don’t even know “hypocrites” because they choose to sit here and applaud this woman.
Are there black women (black people in general) who would have an issue with someone of mixed ancestry being called “Ms Black America”? Yes, as I said, there will always be people opposing something like this, but until those people reveal themselves, you have no basis to sit here and try and call people out.
Um no it’s really not a guess if you have any clue of what’s been going on. And I suppose you really didn’t pay attention to my original statement now did you? The issue is not congratulating her. If you paid to my original comment you would see that even I did that. The issue is the black women finding a problem with the sentiment of many Japanese people (that don’t view her as a representative of the Japanese) but yet would reject her as a representation of blackness. If the shoe doesn’t fit you then keep it moving. I… Read more »
Show me facts and numbers and I’ll stop calling it a guess. Until you have concrete evidence to back it up, it’s a guess. A well-founded, sense-based guess, but a guess. And you seemed to miss MY point throughout this as well. I’m not disagreeing about your opinion of hypocrisy. My disagreement was the generality of the statement. Your initial statement made it seem like you were being cynical and calling out EVERYONE agreeing here as though they were hypocrites.…when you really don’t know them or their individual opinions. The last bit of the above statements cleared that up, thanks,… Read more »
Well then I’m glad we came to an understanding. Quite frankly I don’t need to know the minds of every black person. As I mentioned before I am calling out who the shoe fits. Based on the FACTS I have given you in reference to how many black women have negatively responded to the casting of biracial women (Zendaya, Gugu Raw, Aurora Perrineau) as black it is imperative that those black women remain silent and not object to the Japanese protest of Miyamoto as Miss Japan. No i was not intending to blast EVERYONE congratulating her. If you noticed my… Read more »
obbummer identifies as muslim …hence his middle name is Hussein…arab!
Media has a tendency to lighten black faces for print and movies. THAT’S the issue. Who is black or not isn’t. They got Zoe Saldana to play Nina Simone. Similar problem.
“Media has a tendency to lighten black faces for print and movies. ”
You call biracial women playing Harriet Tubman, Aaliyah and Coretta Scott King lightening? Um no that’s flat out whitewashing.
Although Miss Nagasaki pronounces her given name “Eriana,” as you can see on this picture, she spells it “Ariana.” 🙂
This young lady does not deserve to be discriminated against because of the decisions of her mother and father to unite in marriage and have biracial babies. These parents knew she was going to come out beautiful and very stunning. Why??? Because we all know anytime you mix a black gene with any other race.……The cute babies will grow up to do something like Ariana.
ROTFLMAO at you!!!
Why do negros always want to mix and change their race?
negros are the uglyist race…maybe that’s why they always try to marry the other races people.
If a Japamese mates with a negro.…the kids will NEVER LOOK OR BE JAPANESE AGAIN…THEY WILL LOOK LIKE THIS ODD LOOKING GIRL (Miss Japan 2015)!
WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT DILUTING YOUR RACE AND TURNING IT INTO MIXED GARBAGE?
WHY ARE ONLY THE NEGROS SO INTENT ON CHANGING THEIR RACE?
Why do negros always want to mix and change their race?
negros are uglyist race…maybe that’s why they always try to marry the other races people.
If a Japamese mates with a negro.…the kids will NEVER LOOK OR BE JAPANESE AGAIN…THEY WILL LOOK LIKE THIS ODD LOOKING GIRL!
WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT DILUTING YOUR RACE AND TURNING IT INTO MIXED GARBAGE?
WHY ARE ONLY THE NEGROS SO INTENT ON CHANGING THEIR RACE?
Please shut up, troll. No one cares about your ignorant, fallacious opinion.
You A**.…If you would have kept your great-great-great grandfather out of the slave quarters when they held my ancestors in bondage, you wouldn’t have to had to worry about mixing races.….I guarantee your ancestors was sneaking into the cabins to get his Cocoa Swirl on.…..who you think started this mixing ??? And another thing love has not boundaries when it comes to color, come back to earth.…your still stuck in space you ignorant jack a**.….You won’t even show your face, I’m not surprised.…I’m African Mediterranean heritage but both my parents are black and I know I am a beautiful black… Read more »