What Tamlyn Tomita who plays Kumiko, Yuji Okumoto who plays Chozen and Traci Toguchi who plays Yuna all have in common is that they're all Japanese just like their characters except Tamlyn is from Japan and Yuji and Traci are not. How come is that?
shareHow come is that?
What mean you is?
shareDon't make fun of Yodatalk!
shareNot making fun of him. Just don't know what he is asking.
shareWhat for so confused is you?
shareI was asking why it is that Tamlyn Tomita is from Japan and Yuji Okumoto and Traci Toguchi aren't even though they're all Japanese.
shareI guess I don't see where you're going with this. Sarcasm???
Not all Japanese people live in Japan. Many live in the U.S. and Russia, also there is a huge Japanese population in Australia. Considering Karate Kid II & Cobra Kai were filmed in the U.S.A. (California & Hawaii) the odds are they would use Japanese American actors.
We might be looking at the next level of virtue signaling/cancel culture. It won't be enough that they're Japanese by DNA, they must be Japanese by nationality...
Scary thought.
shareWhat I meant by what I aksed was that Tamlyn Tomita was one of those Japanese American actors who came from Japan and Yuji Okumoto and Traci Toguchi aren't. And what I meant when I said that Tamlyn was from Japan was that she was born there and then immigrated to the USA as an infant where she was raised and the part of Japan she was born in is Okinawa where KK2 and the 4th and 5th episodes of the 3rd season of Cobra Kai took place and the part of the USA she immigrated to as an infant and where she was raised is California.
shareI think OP is asking why they cast a Japanese national for the role of Kumiko when the other roles were played by Americans of Japanese ancestry.
Checked the "early history" of her Wikipedia page. Tamyln Tomita was delivered in an Okinawa hospital but to an American father. So she was actually a natural born American. Interesting story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGiRtLT0P00
Sounds like a plot hole to me
share