After 7 years on Blogger, the Blasians Defined blog is now posting at blasiansdefined.wordpress.com.
All of the previous blog posts from the beginning of Blasians Defined in January 2012 have been added to the new Word Press site.
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Monday, December 31, 2018
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Blasian Named MVP of Maui Invitational
Rui Hachimura, the son of a Beninese father and Japanese mother, has exploded on the college basketball scene. Gonzaga University - known for seeking international talent for its athletic teams - first discovered Hachimura during the 2014 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Dubai. He also led his high school, Meisei High School, to the All-Japan High School Tournament title. Now he is the best player on the No. 3 NCAA basketball team.
Hachimura grew up in Toyoma, a coastal town about a five-hour drive west of Tokyo. He was often questioned about his Japaneseness. Now he is easily mistaken for African American but experienced confusion due to his inability to speak English. Prior to attending Gonzaga, he had been to the US only once for a family trip to New York when he was 12 years old, and he didn't speak any English. Now, in his Junior year, he is a fluent English speaker. This is no small feat, as English is extremely difficult for Japanese native speakers to learn.
He was Most Valuable Player of the Maui Jim Invitational All-Tournament. Gonzaga beat Duke 89-87 in the championship game. He averaged 22.7 points and 6 rebounds in 3 games.
He is the 5th Japanese-born player to play Division I Men's Basketball, and he is the 1st Japanese native to play in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He is projected to be a 1st Round NBA Draft Pick in 2019. Should that happen, he would be the 2nd Japanese-born player to ever play in the NBA. The 1st was Yuta Tabuse in 2004, but he only played for the Phoenix Suns for 3 months before he was cut from the team. There have been several Japanese-American basketball players, starting in 1947 with Wataru Misaka (who was first introduced on Blasians Defined in 2012 in the post "Asians & Basketball"). After Misaka, there wasn't another Asian player for 40 years (although there was a Blasian player selected in 1978, Raymond Townsend).
Selected Sources:
* Gonzaga Bulletin, "Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura is Gonzaga's X factor", February 21, 2018.
* ESPN, "The Education of Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura", November 16, 2018.
* Sports Illustrated, "Rui Hachimura Is Thriving as Japan and Gonzaga's Best Hope for Basketball Glory", November 27, 2018.
Hachimura grew up in Toyoma, a coastal town about a five-hour drive west of Tokyo. He was often questioned about his Japaneseness. Now he is easily mistaken for African American but experienced confusion due to his inability to speak English. Prior to attending Gonzaga, he had been to the US only once for a family trip to New York when he was 12 years old, and he didn't speak any English. Now, in his Junior year, he is a fluent English speaker. This is no small feat, as English is extremely difficult for Japanese native speakers to learn.
He was Most Valuable Player of the Maui Jim Invitational All-Tournament. Gonzaga beat Duke 89-87 in the championship game. He averaged 22.7 points and 6 rebounds in 3 games.
He is the 5th Japanese-born player to play Division I Men's Basketball, and he is the 1st Japanese native to play in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He is projected to be a 1st Round NBA Draft Pick in 2019. Should that happen, he would be the 2nd Japanese-born player to ever play in the NBA. The 1st was Yuta Tabuse in 2004, but he only played for the Phoenix Suns for 3 months before he was cut from the team. There have been several Japanese-American basketball players, starting in 1947 with Wataru Misaka (who was first introduced on Blasians Defined in 2012 in the post "Asians & Basketball"). After Misaka, there wasn't another Asian player for 40 years (although there was a Blasian player selected in 1978, Raymond Townsend).
Selected Sources:
* Gonzaga Bulletin, "Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura is Gonzaga's X factor", February 21, 2018.
* ESPN, "The Education of Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura", November 16, 2018.
* Sports Illustrated, "Rui Hachimura Is Thriving as Japan and Gonzaga's Best Hope for Basketball Glory", November 27, 2018.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Blasian Comedian to Star in Autobiographical Sitcom
A TV show, inspired by Michael Yo's life, co-written by and starring comedian Michael Yo, is being developed. The self-proclaimed "Half-Black Brother with a Korean Mother", Michael Yo, was born "Michael Yo Simmons" to a Korean mom and an African American dad with a PhD in Nuclear Physics.
The untitled comedy centers on a young couple's life that is made more complicated when the guy's over-achieving African American, PhD scientist/ex-Military father and scheming Asian mother show up to help them take care of their newborn baby and adjust to their new surroundings. Yo married Claire Elise Schreiner on February 14, 2016 and recently became a father to Oliver Yo Simmons. He came up with the idea for the family comedy when his parents visited to help with their new grandchild. Yo will also be an executive producer for the show.
Selected Sources:
* Deadline, "Michael Yo To Star In Autobiographical Family Comedy In Works At Fox", November 5, 2018.
* Coming Soon, "Michael Yo Developing Autobiographical Sitcom for FOX", November 6, 2018.
The untitled comedy centers on a young couple's life that is made more complicated when the guy's over-achieving African American, PhD scientist/ex-Military father and scheming Asian mother show up to help them take care of their newborn baby and adjust to their new surroundings. Yo married Claire Elise Schreiner on February 14, 2016 and recently became a father to Oliver Yo Simmons. He came up with the idea for the family comedy when his parents visited to help with their new grandchild. Yo will also be an executive producer for the show.
Selected Sources:
* Deadline, "Michael Yo To Star In Autobiographical Family Comedy In Works At Fox", November 5, 2018.
* Coming Soon, "Michael Yo Developing Autobiographical Sitcom for FOX", November 6, 2018.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Blasian Featured in Netflix Show
The first ten episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was released on October 26th. The series is centered on Sabrina Spellman, a half-witch half-mortal. I'm a huge Netflix fan and was super intrigued by the trailer for this new show. In the trailer, I spotted a diverse group of witches in black dresses with lace collars. A brunette and redhead led by a brown-skinned beauty, they are the Weird Sisters, a trio of witches who have developed a sisterhood forged in their bond as orphans. In the trailer, the leader of the Weird Sisters, Prudence Night tells Sabrina, "You're gonna die, half-breed." This seems ironic when you realize that two of the actresses portraying the Weird Sisters are actually half-Korean. Adeline Rudolph (the brunette) is German-Korean, and Tati Gabrielle (the leader) is Korean-African American.
Tati Gabrielle (birth name: Tatiana Gabrielle Hobson) was raised by her Korean American mother. Her father, a former basketball player from Ohio, is involved in the entertainment industry as a director and producer. She modelled as a child and graduated high school with a 3.7 GPA. She majored in Drama and French at Spelman College. She moved to Los Angeles and earned roles in the CW's The 100, Hulu's Freakish, and TBS's Tarantula. She was cast as Prudence in March 2018.
Tati's mom was adopted from Korea and raised in Virginia by an African American family. She raised Tati to stay connected to her Asian roots, and the diverse Bay Area of California was a great environment for a mixed kid. Now Tati's starring in a show that is being lauded for its ethnic, racial, and sexual diversity. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is arguably one of the most strongly feminist television shows today, with women fighting against dominating patriarchal leaders in both the mortal and witch worlds.
A Christmas special episode, A Midwinter's Tale, will be released on December 14th, and the second part of the first season is scheduled for release on April 5, 2019. Experience Tati Gabrielle's fierceness in this spellbinding show!
Selected Sources:
* Mochi Magazine, "Actress Tati Gabrielle on Girl Power and Finding Identity", October 12, 2018.
* Status Magazine, "Tati Gabrielle Unveils the Magic of her Artistic Journey", October 1, 2018.
Selected Sources:
* Mochi Magazine, "Actress Tati Gabrielle on Girl Power and Finding Identity", October 12, 2018.
* Status Magazine, "Tati Gabrielle Unveils the Magic of her Artistic Journey", October 1, 2018.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Naomi Osaka Wins U.S. Open
In October of 2015, Blasians Defined featured Naomi Osaka as the WTA Rising Stars Invitational Champion. Since then, Naomi was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2016. She had a breakout year, making it to the 3rd round of all of the Grand Slam tournaments that she played in 2016 (Australian Open, French Open & US Open). The WTA Newcomer of the Year award is decided through votes submitted by members of the media and fans, with initial nominees chosen by the WTA based on players’ achievements throughout the year. Naomi was the 1st Japanese player to ever win the award.
And now Naomi has just won the 2018 US Open! She is the 1st Japanese woman to contest a Grand Slam singles final and the 1st Japanese Grand Slam singles champion. (It is believed she is also the 1st Haitian Grand Slam champion.) Now ranked in the top 10, she is the highest ranked Japanese player in history.
Naomi's parents, Tamaki Osaka (from Hokkaido, Japan) and Leonard Maxime Francois (born in Haiti, raised in New York), met when her father was visiting Hokkaido while he was attending college in New York. Naomi and her sister, Mari (also a professional tennis player) were both born in Osaka, Japan. The girls were given their mother's maiden name for practical reasons when the family lived in Japan.
Naomi has dual American and Japanese citizenship. Although the girls were largely raised in the United States, their parents decided that their daughters would represent Japan. Osaka's parents have said that, "We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan at an early age. She was born in Osaka and was brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture. Quite simply, Naomi and her sister, Mari, have always felt Japanese so that was our only rationale. It was never a financially motivated decision nor were we ever swayed either way by any national federation."
Her Haitian grandparents only spoke to her in Haitian Creole because they did not know English, while her mother spoke to her in Japanese. Her sister, Mari, speaks almost fluent Japanese. While Naomi can understand Japanese, she is not very confident to speak the language. At press conferences, she can take questions in Japanese but usually answers in English.
Some fans feel like her black identity is being erased. However, Naomi has repeatedly reminded reporters that she is Japanese and Haitian.
And now Naomi has just won the 2018 US Open! She is the 1st Japanese woman to contest a Grand Slam singles final and the 1st Japanese Grand Slam singles champion. (It is believed she is also the 1st Haitian Grand Slam champion.) Now ranked in the top 10, she is the highest ranked Japanese player in history.
Naomi's parents, Tamaki Osaka (from Hokkaido, Japan) and Leonard Maxime Francois (born in Haiti, raised in New York), met when her father was visiting Hokkaido while he was attending college in New York. Naomi and her sister, Mari (also a professional tennis player) were both born in Osaka, Japan. The girls were given their mother's maiden name for practical reasons when the family lived in Japan.
 |
| Naomi with her parents and sister |
Naomi has dual American and Japanese citizenship. Although the girls were largely raised in the United States, their parents decided that their daughters would represent Japan. Osaka's parents have said that, "We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan at an early age. She was born in Osaka and was brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture. Quite simply, Naomi and her sister, Mari, have always felt Japanese so that was our only rationale. It was never a financially motivated decision nor were we ever swayed either way by any national federation."
Her Haitian grandparents only spoke to her in Haitian Creole because they did not know English, while her mother spoke to her in Japanese. Her sister, Mari, speaks almost fluent Japanese. While Naomi can understand Japanese, she is not very confident to speak the language. At press conferences, she can take questions in Japanese but usually answers in English.
Some fans feel like her black identity is being erased. However, Naomi has repeatedly reminded reporters that she is Japanese and Haitian.
Selected sources:
* The Wall Street Journal, "Naomi Osaka: The Tennis Star Who Was Overlooked by Everyone", September 12, 2018.
* The Washington Post, "Japanese, Haitian, and now a Grand Slam winner: Naomi Osaka’s historic journey to the U.S. Open", September 10, 2018.
* The New York Times Magazine, "Naomi Osaka’s Breakthrough Game", August 23, 2018.
* YonexUSA, "Naomi Osaka Named 2016 WTA Newcomer of the Year", October 24, 2016.
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