Hinano Yoshikawa

Hinano Yoshikawa is a Japanese fashion model, actress and TV personality. I used to be a big fan of her..I mean..who wouldn’t? I still like her a lot..

She is the same age as me (was born in 1979) and used to be on every fashion magazine cover.

She used to appear in so many TV commercials when she was a teenager

Literally, I used to see her almost everyday on TV..every time I turned on TV, Hinano was in drama, TV commercials..

Some people didn’t like her because of her silly personality. Kind of like Rola..well, Hinano isn’t that bad, but some people may misunderstand her and think that she is silly and premature.

But she is still the definition of doll..and beauty.

I think I was very gravitated toward her because she didn’t look very Japanese. There are so many popular Hafu models and celebrities in Japan now. I don’t like to use the word, *Hafu” because of the negative connotations.

*Hafu* means “Half” in Japanese, and it refers to mixed people..typically people who are half Japanese and half something else.

So what was so special about Hinato Yoshikawa back then?

Her beautiful large eyes, defined facial features and western physical features made us wonder why someone who is *pure* Japanese look so good?

It’s like..”there is no way this girl is 100% Japanese.” There is no such thing as *pure* Japanese! But I do remember Hinano Yoshikawa had always said that she was 100% Japanese.

It was crazy how Hinano Yoshikawa’s popularity and appearance definitely made ordinary Japanese girls feel somewhat inferior..

She has such a small face (for some reasons, having a small face is considered beautiful back home.), long legs, big rounded eyes..just to me, she did not look Japanese at all.

I am Hafu but “Why don’t I look like that?”, I said to myself.

When my classmates were saying how *kawaii* (Japanese word for pretty) Hinano Yoshikawa was.

..and I knew deep down that she was not.

She looks very biracial..not just her face but overall, she does not look Japanese at all.

After debuting at the age of 14, Hinano Yoshikawa released a photo essay book titled “Zutto Tochuu”. Toward the end of the book, she talks about her American grandfather with Native American and French heritage.

Finally after slightly over 20 years, she decided to reveal her true identity..or a secret. Her agency told her not to talk about her ethnic background.

I am sure that her agency just wanted to market her as an extremely good looking Japanese girl..because it sells.

The media described her as “Nihonjin banare shita..” (far from looking Japanese.)..of course she does look exotic and different because her late grandfather isn’t Japanese!

So did all the Hafu celebrities have to not talk about their heritage?

Well, that was not the case because I do remember other popular Hafu child stars. But they looked much more White. It was so obvious that they couldn’t hide and that was embraced by the media.

But for Hinano Yoshikawa, it could be a problem explaining the fact that she is part Native American. The media wanted to market her as an extremely good looking Japanese girl who doesn’t look quite Asian.

*sigh*…

Her older brother is a professional body builder. When I saw his picture for the first time ten years ago, I was like..”He also looks very mixed.”

Extremely good looking siblings..they both have tanned skin and just beautiful.

He also said that he didn’t take the initiative to reveal his mixed heritage because he was subjected to racial discrimination in school. Well, I can totally understand that, especially 20 years ago, it was pretty bad.

A part of me feels relieved to learn this. Finally the mystery is solved and Japan has changed so much since then and nobody really cares about Hinano Yoshikawa’s recent revelation.

“Well, that makes sense..”, which is probably the most people’s response.

Now we can very popular mixed fashion model like Rola whose ethnic heritage is distinct from traditional Japanese Eurasian mixed models and celebrities. Rola’s husband is from Bangladesh.

I can’t believe how long it has taken for Hinano Yoshikawa to come forward. It is sad that she had to hide her true identity while the public labeled her as an extremely good looking Japanese model.

..but it is never too late to be who you are. Also, she was just following her agency’s order and it must feel good to finally set the record straight and be who she is.

..and Hinano Yoshikawa is still so gorgeous..she is a doll. Beautiful exotic Japanese doll. 🙂 I don’t aspire to look like her anymore as an adult..but I strongly believe that we should all embrace who we are and it’s not limited to ethnicity and race.