The Tale of a Japanese Peranakan
By Peter Soh
March 2019 FEATURE
At 51, Adel Yap Lye Meng is finally ready to share her story.Tanaka and his mother.“Many of us keep it secret because of the vitriolic criticism we have received,” says the descendant of an allegedly powerful Japanese Peranakan family.With her fair skin, deep-set eyes and high nasal bridge, Adel often receives questions about her ethnicity. However, things were more sensitive four decades ago: “I looked very Japanese in my late teens. There was once a taxi driver who asked if...
Peter Soh
is a Peranakan writer who is very interested in
exploring the discourse and identity of the Chinese Peranakan. One of his Peranakan short stories was featured in the Emerging Malaysian Writers 2018 anthology. He is currently the Head of Humanities in Maple Leaf Kingsley International School, and teaches Sociology.
