Fiona – Thoughts about my JA community
June 28, 2008Right now, I feel like a bit of an outsider, both in the Little Tokyo community and in the larger Japanese American community. I’m not in my school’s NSU, I’ve never played basketball, I never went to Japanese school, and my family doesn’t belong to a temple or a church. I’ve never been formally involved in the Japanese American Community beyond the occasional sukiyaki supper or summertime Obon, or a glance at the front page of the Rafu. I was and continue to be bewildered whenever my parents or sister or other family members begin to talk about the JA community. It’s a complex network of friends, relatives, and old aquaintances whose faces I’ve never seen and whose names I can never keep straight.
When I think about the JA community, the first thing that comes to mind is my family. One of my great-uncles regularly volunteers with various Nikkei senior groups, organizing events and the occasional trip to the theatre or the Laughlin/State Line. I’ve been to Cirque de Soleil with the Nikkei seniors, where they passed around a bag of sembei (my favorite snack) at intermission. When the musical Wicked came to L.A., we went to see it with the seniors. Apparently they liked it quite a bit. And whenever my uncle ends up in the hospital, we hear stories about dozens of his friends coming to visit him with sympathy and good Japanese food.
My grandfather and his brother come from a large family of thirteen children, and my childhood New Year’s holidays were always over-flowing with uncles, aunts, aunties, cousins, and huge platters of kamaboko. Over the years our numbers have begun to dwindle and it’s been awhile since we’ve all gotten together for a big party like the ones from my childhood. The sashimi potluck which I partook in today at the Japanese American National Museum today reminded me of those childhood parties. The association was reinforced by the words of one of my collegeaues, who described the annual summertime sashimi potlucks as a time when the museum comes together as a family. I met a mix of people from all over the museum: Japanese immigrants, second-, third- and fourth-generation Americans, seniors and young folks, happas and hakujins. I can see the museum in my family and my family in the museum.
For me, up to this point in time, the essence of the JA community has been about awesome people making awesome food. After meeting some of the leaders from the community and the volunteers in the museum, I have a greater appreciation of and respect for the people whose passion makes every connection with Japanese culture, no matter how superficial, a reality for any one who cares to experience it. I’m excited by the opportunity to connect more with the community that I’ve been close to all along.
When you mention your great-uncle and the Nikkei seniors, it reminds me of when I used to hang out with my grandmother and all her Nikkei friends. It’s really wonderful that you have found your connection to JA community through food and family. I think for all of us,(at least at some point in our lives) we definitely connect with food and being surrounded by the company of those we love and those we look up to. Also, those sashimi days at JANM sounds like fun!
I definitely think that food is a large connection point to any culture and I also associate a lot of JA culture with food: Japanese food (sukiyaki, sushi, udon, etc) but also “JA” food (spam musubi, peanut butter manju, etc). I’m also a little unsure about my role in the JA community especially now that I am attending a school that is even further away from any Japan towns or even a decent Japanese restaurant!
I love what you say about family and I love how you bring in stories about your experience with seniors! (One of my favorite things is chilling with the Nisei seniors at my church ^_^). It’ll be exciting to see how things change for you over the course of this internship.
Dude, I can so relate.
I’m definitely, like you, conscious of being an outsider outside of the little tiny community I’m comfortable with. The larger JA and the Little Tokyo communities are things I’m also still coming to terms with.
Neither of my parents identify with the JA community, and though my grandfather does, today he more strongly identifies with Mexico. So, like with you, any exposure I had to the culture was only the most vague and tenuous in my early childhood, and has only been pronounced in recent years.
So, um, yeah. I dig where you’re coming from. Let’s go NCI to get us integrated.
“awesome people making awesome food” I completely agree with that statement. =) I think an important part is also learning how to make all those traditional foods and learning the stories and backgrounds that accompany the food with each family.
BTW..WICKED was sooo AWESOME!
I definitely understand how you feel like an alien to the JA community being that you aren’t too involved. I felt like that when I came to Cal and decided to become more involved in the JA community in Cal. It’s really good that you decided to become more involved through NCI and think that this program will help you to feel like an integral part of the community.
i find it really frustrating that we continue to define a ja identity through a series of activities that supposedly make up what makes one ja (jr. yba, bball, etc). and while there are typical activities, i dont think we should let these ‘typical’ activities dictate what makes one more ja than the next, and determine legitimacy. rather than isolating those that are different or have had different experiences, we should work to be more inclusive so everyone feels affirmed in their identity.
Hey Fiona! I’m excited for you and for the experiences you’re going to have this summer. It sounds like you’re already making many connections and having a good time.