Today marked my first day working in Japantown. Kyle and I met with Sophie at the Akiyama Wellness Center in the morning. We were given a binder with information overviewing the entire internship. After our meeting with Sophie, we headed over to JAMsj(Japanese American Museum San Jose) to meet with Curt Fukuda. The object of this meeting was to give us more information on the art of interviewing, in preparation for the many interviews we will be conducting over the next 8 weeks. The meeting went extremely well, as I learned much from Mr. Fukuda. He taught me things to keep in mind when interviewing Issei and Nisei, as well as others in general. After talking for over an hour, it seemed as though we were interviewing Mr. Fukuda, rather than learning about interviews from him. However, I felt that I gained much more from conversing together than I would have from just listening to specific techniques.
Following the interview with Mr. Fukuda, Kyle and I sat down with Jimi Yamaichi from JAMsj to talk about exactly why we are participating in NCI. Although we started out talking about our reasons for joining NCI, I have to admit that Mr. Yamaichi tended to go off on tangents, as we ended up talking about JA history. All in all, the conversation with Jimi was one that I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from. After that, he even treated Kyle and I to lunch at Gombei. Then, he treated us to a tour of the museum, which brought an end to our day.
Wednesday, June 23
Today was supposed to start off with an interview with Leslie Masunaga, a curator from JAMsj. However, we were unable to meet with Leslie due to some miscommunication. In replace of the interview, we went with Jimi on a tour of Japantown. More specifically, Jimi showed us around some of the shops.
He started out by taking us to the art gallery run by Ken Matsumoto. Let me just say, what a great place that hidden gallery is! Walking past that secluded work yard, one would never know the great artwork that lies just behind the gates. After talking with Ken, we went back to the Buddhist temple for lunch. Before lunch, however, Kyle and I were put to work, addressing the newsletter that is sent out to the temple members. While at the temple, we met a great group of members that were very welcoming. Following lunch, we headed back to JAMsj, where we met Warren Hiyashi. Talking to Warren was a great opportunity to hear about the Japanese American experience from the eyes of a younger Nisei. Not only that, we talked about all sorts of topics, which shows just how knowledgeable Mr. Hiyashi is. After an hour-and-a-half long conversation, we headed back out to the shops. Jimi took us to Nichi Bei Bussan, a Japanese general store. There we met with Arlene Tatsuno, who took over the business from her father. She showed us around the store and gave us its rich history. Walking around and getting to know the family owned businesses was an enlightening experience that shows a unique aspect of San Jose Japantown. The family-owned shops preserve the rich legacy of the Japanese American community.
Thursday, June 23
Today, we started out in the Issei Memorial Building, talking with Leon Kimura, the President of the San Jose branch of the JACL. Mr. Kimura shared with us the history of the Issei Memorial Building. According to him, the building was originally a hospital built in 1910, used by Dr. Kuwabara. Over it's 101 year history, it has been used as refuge/boarding house, among other things. In 1983, it was renovated and renamed the Issei Memorial Building. It is currently used as a community space, and office building for numerous JA organizations. Several important community organizations have been born out of its office spaces, such as the Japanese American Museum of San Jose(JAMsj) and Asian Law Alliance. After talking about the history of the building, Leon discussed with us, ways that we can help the JACL with issues they need resolved. Following our meeting, we met up with Jimi and went to go eat Korean food on Jackson Street.
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| Leon Kimura |
After lunch, Jimi and Leon took us to the Shuei-Do manju shop to meet the owner, but unfortunately he was too busy to meet with us. Then, we went next door and met with the newest business owners in the community. Then, we went back to JAMsj to move their book collection into storage.
After we were done with this task, we talked to both Michael Sera and Joe, volunteers at JAMsj. Both were very insightful and provided us with meaningful conversations. I definitely learned a lot from talking to these two individuals. Our conversation with Joe concluded our day.
Friday, June 24
On Friday, Kyle and I started the day off with a cup of coffee from Roy's with Jimi. We met the current owner, and the owner of the original gas station that existed there, Roy. Afterwards, Jimi took us to the Buddhist temple to meet some of the volunteers helping to prepare for Obon.
We spent the remainder of the day with Kathy Sakamoto at her office. There wasn't really a scheduled plan for Friday, so we spent most of our time talking with Kathy and her two interns.
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| Antonia, Kathy Sakamoto, and Toshiki |
What makes San Jose's Japantown unique?
The answer to this question will vary from person to person, but I think what makes San Jose's Japantown unique is it's focus on history and community. When walking around Japantown, one will notice that most of the businesses are family-owned, "mom and pop" type stores. Each of these shops adds to the brilliant history, as some sell the same thing they did when they first opened. All around Japantown are markers that highlight certain points in town's history. Some of these include the benches with historical facts on them, as well as the tall lantern structure on the corner of 5th and Jackson. The historical Issei Memorial Building and JAMsj also serve to preserve the unique history of San Jose's Japantown. Due to its small size, San Jose Japantown is able to give a greater sense of community to its residents. It's very common to run into someone you know, just walking down the street. The members of the JA community in San Jose are very involved in the community and its events, which in my opinion, is what truly makes San Jose Japantown unique.
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| JAMsj |
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| Mr. and Mrs. Yamaichi |
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