japanese mother-american father

hi, my mother is japanese and my father is american. i lived in shizouka, japan as a child for 6 years.
my mother had past away and i really miss her and really want to enbrace my japanese side. is there a certain term use for 1/2 and1/2? can i become a japanese citizen? and any thing that might be interesting to me please help. also i am looking for "mitoko sakata" written in japanese form to get it tattooed. please help
mike

How old are you now?

Because you might still be able to claim Japanese citizenship if you were registered at birth in japan and lived in japan, and of course your mom was Japanese.

Of course the question is if you do have dual citizenship you have to consider which citizenship benefits you more, if you are in the US now and living, renouncing US citizenship to take Japanese citizenship does not make any sense. Otherwise you might be able to get a Child of a Japanese National visa and keep your US citizenship.

As for the name, there is probably more than one way of writing it. If that is your mother's name you could find out how she wrote it by looking at the her family register in Japan if you can find it.

Michael,

I am assuming that you are already sure you have an U.S. citizenship.

If you were born in Japan from a Japanese parent, you are most likely to have obtained Japanese citizenship upon birth, simply because that's what most parents do, and also because they should have had the right to do so.

Now, suppose you did obtain Japanese citizenship in the past. Unless you have deliberately claimed to surrender either of your citizenships, you are still supposed to have both Japanese and American citizenship. Dual citizenship is not something that automatically expires, and it's not really illegal either (although many people believe that you can't hold both citizenships once you reach 22 years old).

In any case, go to your local Japanese Embassy to inquire details. You should be able to find your mother's name in Japanese writing through the Embassy as well.

Btw, note that fonts vary. The font shown on official documents are usually not ideal for tattoo designs. If you must tattoo Japanese letters (or kanji which are originally Chinese letters), find a reliable tattoo artist who can write those letters like a native person.