Ah, I got rejected...
One of the items on my long "Things to Do in Japan" list is to cosplay with Japanese cosplayers. So when I found out that someone was looking for Darker than Black cosplayers for a meet-up this January 16 at Tokyo Dome, I eagerly asked if I could be their Hazuki.
To my disappointment, though, the person I contacted apologized and said that, as much as the group wanted to have a Hazuki, they were rather hesitant about a foreigner joining them. Actually, this isn't the first time that this happened to me, because last time, I tried to join an Umineko group but I was told the same thing (with an apology added, of course). Admittedly, I'm disappointed, but I don't really hold anything against those people. The people I contacted peppered their messages with apologies, and they didn't outright say "Hey, you can't join 'cause you're a foreigner." The exact word in both messages was 遠慮 ("enryo" - reservations, hesitations), so the feeling I got from their replies was that they were uneasy to be with foreign cosplayers. Despite being rejected, though, the contact person for the DTB group said something like "I hope to meet/see you anyway." So I don't really have anything against them.
Like I said, I'm disappointed but not angry. I really wanted to make friends with Japanese cosplayers, but I guess it's hard to become a part of their private world. More than any other feeling I have, though, I wonder, why the uneasiness with foreigners? Is it because of the language barrier, as the person from the Umineko contact group told me? Is it because I'm not good enough? Is there something more than that, such as their impressions of foreign cosplayers being loud, obnoxious or too flashy? If it's because of negative stereotypes against foreigners, I would have liked to prove them wrong. But anyway, I just thanked the contact person for the DTB group and apologized - no use insisting to join, as there'd be no point if I felt unwelcome and they felt uneasy with me.
If anyone has had similar experiences (not necessarily related to cosplay) or wants to provide some speculative insights, enlighten me, please.
To my disappointment, though, the person I contacted apologized and said that, as much as the group wanted to have a Hazuki, they were rather hesitant about a foreigner joining them. Actually, this isn't the first time that this happened to me, because last time, I tried to join an Umineko group but I was told the same thing (with an apology added, of course). Admittedly, I'm disappointed, but I don't really hold anything against those people. The people I contacted peppered their messages with apologies, and they didn't outright say "Hey, you can't join 'cause you're a foreigner." The exact word in both messages was 遠慮 ("enryo" - reservations, hesitations), so the feeling I got from their replies was that they were uneasy to be with foreign cosplayers. Despite being rejected, though, the contact person for the DTB group said something like "I hope to meet/see you anyway." So I don't really have anything against them.
Like I said, I'm disappointed but not angry. I really wanted to make friends with Japanese cosplayers, but I guess it's hard to become a part of their private world. More than any other feeling I have, though, I wonder, why the uneasiness with foreigners? Is it because of the language barrier, as the person from the Umineko contact group told me? Is it because I'm not good enough? Is there something more than that, such as their impressions of foreign cosplayers being loud, obnoxious or too flashy? If it's because of negative stereotypes against foreigners, I would have liked to prove them wrong. But anyway, I just thanked the contact person for the DTB group and apologized - no use insisting to join, as there'd be no point if I felt unwelcome and they felt uneasy with me.
If anyone has had similar experiences (not necessarily related to cosplay) or wants to provide some speculative insights, enlighten me, please.