I wasnt going to post about Yuri Kochiyama, and her passing. Not out of disrespect mind you, but a disconnect - a lack of knowledge. But today, as Im sitting out in my yard I got thinking. Yuri Kochiyama passed away June 1, 2014 - Sunday for me, a work day, usually a frenetic one filled with the after-brunch crowd of shoppers. Reading her obituary, I remembered a customer that came in that Sunday. A Hapa girl, decked in tattoos, we instantly struck a rapport and chatted like friends at a party. I didnt really think much of it. But then I realized, thats the small and precious gift of a community in Diaspora - sometimes, a similar face allows us to open up. Even for a moment. Even over a counter. Even for about five minutes. My mother came from Japan, Ive been there about 8 times - yet Im a Japanese American. My story isnt the one of Picture Brides, sugar cane workers, farmers and shop keeps. Gratefully, my story isnt one about Edict 9066. I grew up on the East Coast, I didnt know too many Japanese kids growing up - but I was comfortable in my culture among peers (a controversial privilege that needs more reflection among some of us). But as I grew up - started learning more about internment in America (woefully late even in my liberal private school education) I knew there was a community out there that had helped make my familys later arrival in the states much easier. The Issei, Nissei, Sansei communities of the Midwest and West Coast left an unspoken yet undeniable impact for me and my family. For that I am grateful to the voices like Yuri Kochiyama, and authors like Allen Say who showed me that people like me could be part of the American experience (for better or for worse). Its a thought that I think of a lot, growing up Jewish as well, that I come from two cultures that during the most bloody conflict of the 20th century - had parallel stories of displacement, death and confinement (and on both sides, mind you!) And to be part of a community, it also sometimes means you (or in this case me) have to keep learning, respectfully reflect (for I cant in good conscience appropriate the internment narrative) and in the case of Yuri Kochiyama - celebrate and give a signal boost to the importance of being critical and brave.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:35:28 +0000
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