ハーフ (Hafu): On the Fetishization and Mistranslation of a Biracial Identity
Hafu carries insinuations of otherness; of not belonging, but being fetishized. How do I carry this name and this history at once?
This isMistranslate, a monthly column by
Nina Li Coomes is a Japanese and American writer, currently living in Chicago, IL. Her writing has appeared in EATER, The Collapsar, and RHINO Poetry among other places. Her debut chapbook haircut poems was published by Dancing Girl Press in 2017.
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I Love You by Remembering What You Hate: A Recipe for Herby Salad
I find joy in being let into the idiosyncrasies of someone’s taste.
This is How a Friendship Ends: A Recipe for Miso Ginger Carrot Bisque
This is an essay about soup, but it is also about friendship. Or rather, this is an essay about soup and how a friendship ends.
Between Parent and Child: A Recipe for Kodomo-Don
I call it 子供丼 (kodomo-don), because it is only egg over rice. Something about it is simple, one rank lower in maturity than an adult dish.
More in this series
大事 (Daiji): On Living Between Two Cultures and Learning What Is Most Important
To me, ‘daiji’ embodies the struggle to prioritize two languages, homes, and selves.
愛してる (Aishiteru): How to Say “I Love You” When the Language Doesn’t Exist
When he asked me how to say “I love you” in Japanese, I translated linguistically, but mistranslated culturally.
In Immigrating from Japan, I Lost Language, Home, and Pokémon
Maybe, I thought, I could play Pokémon with my peers and bridge the gap between me and my an all-white classroom. But we lose things in translation.