I can't let go of the Indian in me: Priyanka Yoshikawa

She is a licensed elephant trainer, loves to kickbox, and cooks Indian curries like a pro. This half-Japanese, half-Indian (a haafu, as the Japanese call them) is Miss World Japan 2016. While her win has triggered a debate across the world with critics calling for national beauty pageants to choose only “pure” races for the title, the highly versatile 22-year-old Priyanka Yoshikawa tells us that she loves how she has both Japanese and Indian qualities, and that she would not have it any other way!

“My Indian origin is very much a part of me. I get it from my father, and I love him. Being Indian is a part of me that I can’t let go of. I am as Japanese as anyone else is — I grew up there, and I cannot stop being Japanese. My roots make me stronger and what the critics say is not a problem for me,” says Priyanka, who is the descendant of West Bengal’s first CM Prafulla Chandra Ghosh and has also spent a part of her childhood in Kolkata.

When asked what the title of Miss World Japan means to her, she says, “It’s something that I’ve dreamed of and was working towards for a long time. I now want to go on to win the Miss World title for the first time, for Japan.”

After her win, international media quoted her as saying that she was treated like a “germ” in Japan for being half-Indian. Priyanka refutes it, saying, “I didn’t exactly say that I was treated like a germ. What I said was that my identity was always clear to me, but I faced the question, ‘Who am I?’, and it has nothing to do with me being mixed. I think the judges could see that I can represent Japan; I think they could see how Japanese I am,” says the second multiracial person to win the title after Ariana Miyamoto, who was crowned Miss Japan in 2015, last year.

There’s also an ardent reader, an art therapist, and an elephant lover in this beauty queen. “I have loved elephants since I was little. I found out that I could get a licence to train elephants, so I got it. Kickboxing is also one of my hobbies; I love to do it as a way to keep fit. I am also an art therapist. When I am not around elephants or colours, one can find me reading, just about anything,” says Priyanka, who will be in India at the end of 2016 to set up a children’s care home.

The fluent Bengali, Japanese, and English speaker goes on to say, “I also love cooking Indian curries. But I think my dad cooks the best Indian curries!”

Is she eyeing an entry into Indian cinema? “Right now, I am focussing on the Miss World competition at Washington D.C. later in December. In the future, if I get a chance, I would love to work in Indian movies. Varun Dhawan is someone I would love to work with. I also love Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. But for now, I would like to represent my country with confidence, love and passion,” Priyanka says.