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Hello my name is Cleveland Mitchell im a junior in College getting my bachelors in education majoring in English I already have all my TEFL certs just so it can put me on the top of the list Im 26 years old African American im pretty clean cut no tattoos or piercings but I have been growing my dreadlocks for 8 years it has always been my dream to teach english and work in Japan but my hair has became kind of my identity and more then just a hair style to me but a physical representation of my growth over the years and I read in japan its more about conforming then being yourself and its already difficult for african americans to get a job over the typical westerner look blue eyes and blonde hair just wanted to see other peoples opinion on a highly qualified young graduate possibly being held back because of his hair
As a person who lived in Japan for six years, I don't see it as a problem.
There is definitely an interest in African-American culture in Japan, and to have a teacher with dreadlocks, seems like it would be an added bonus. I've known other AA's in Japan as well, who have had dreadlocks.
That's not to say everyone will be drooling to hire you, it just means you'll have definite niches.
People will definitely stare - if you're a foreigner in Asia, even if you live in a foreigner-heavy area, people will stare at you frequently enough. I'm a white guy with a psychobilly wedge hairstyle in China and I get stared at frequently; whether I had my hair in a buzz, a short-to-medium normal haircut, a beard, a fu manchu, doesn't matter, I get stared at because I'm not Asian, and I don't have straight, black hair and dark brown eyes.
China is about 20 years behind Japan and Korea.
I lived and taught in Korea, starting in the 1990s, and I used to get stared at, and gawked at all the time. Fast forward to the 2000s, and that type of behavior just suddenly ceased to exist.
Japan was like that in the 1980s...and expat in Japan in the 1980s talked about being stared at. When I first started visiting Japan in the 1990s, I was shocked I wasn't stared at and gawked at, like I was in Korea all the time during the 1990s.
I've lived in Asia for nearly 20 years, and pretty much the only place I get gawked at and stared at are in China, and, honestly speaking, I've also gone down to Muslim-dominated Mindinao in the Philippines, and you get that there too (foreigners are afraid to go to Mindinao).
China is just quite a bit further behind then Japan and Korea.
In short, China has over a billion people and tons have not seen many foreigners in their lifetimes. Japan, however, almost every Japanese person has seen and known foreigners for the last 40-50 years, many studying English with them as kids, and they just won't even notice you, most of the time.
Japan is a very traditional society, despite all of it's modernity. Being African American with dreads should not bar u from a job teaching English, just keep in mind u want to present urself as a professional, first. And u want ur hair to not necessarily make any statements or be the main focus of ur identity. Focus on ur education, your qualifications, ur mastery of the English language and ur rapport in the classroom.... not ur hair.
Japan is a very traditional society. However, many young Japanese are strongly into fashion, with men growing their hair out, etc. You do see Japanese men who even do extensions and such trying to have dreads even.
In short, it's traditional, but there is a lot going on in Japan, in a lot of different ways. Tons of counterculture there, all over the place. I don't see it as being a problem.
Particularly on a young AA man. It would be different if it were on a 50+ year old white or black American guy who just looked like he spent 25 years smoking weed in Thailand and somehow stumbled upon Japan shores.
But, a 20-something AA guy, I think the novelty would be great, and fit right in with Japan.
Don't cut those dreads. Me: Half-Japanaese/"black", grew up in Osaka, went to school there, worked there, the whole shibang.
First off it can depend on the agency. Some won't even sponsor you if you don't match the look they want associated with their teachers (I've heard that NOVA, back when it was operational, didn't sponsor teachers with dreads, but that's somewhat up in the air.) Whether or not your dreads will fly really depend on 2 things: 1. Your professionalism, and 2. How well you can integrate in society. JP language skill is a plus, but the first 2 are already really important factors. I've seen ESL teachers with dyed/dreaded hair there. It's not totally unheard of. Just make sure to keep them neat.
As for Japanese people in general, most are mystified by anything that isn't the norm there. ESPECIALLY hairstyles normally worn by african-americans. You'll find many people generally being more curious about it than disgusted or putoff. Since I have curly hair very different from the norm in japan, I pretty much got that kind of attention all my life. I'm also sporting dreads now and people are still reacting the same way, however I'm still taken seriously. Not really sure how long you plan on staying there, but just be confident and remember: the foreigner count there is only around 2% , and only a fraction of those foreigners sport dreads. How dreads are perceived there can still very much be dependant on your influence, so look sharp.
Would it be unlikely for the OP to be hired if he chose to go to South Korea/China/Taiwan instead?
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