Today met up with Reiko Iwanaga for the first time! As our "guide" for the week, she first took us to the Wesley Methodist Church, and we met with Reverend Keith. He talked to us about the church's history and programs, how at one point the church was the center of all activity in the community, but now it is involved in just a portion of that. The program that is going on this week is called "Panda Mania," and is used to keep kids active in the summer and involved in church, and also older highschool/college kids come back and help out with the program. Reverend explained that the church is important for maintaining a sense of community, and this is done by having various services for all age groups, to ensure that all ages stay active throughout growing up.
We then met with Jon Santos, a local Aikido Sensei. He explained how Aikido is not just for self defense, but also for self discipline and application of principles in daily life. Aikido involves taking your opponents energy, and either reflecting it or deflecting it. This prepares one for inevitable transitions in life, and is in its own way, an art. After talking with Jon about his profession, I realized that there is a large sense of spirituality in Jon's style of teaching, because he stresses the fulfillment of people's life mission, and also the acceptance and celebration of people's different cultures. He also has a medical practice called Regenesis, which uses acupressure as a healing technique. In both ways, Jon is very in-tune to the spiritual aspect of this week's theme, and he was able to explain his perspective on the community of Jtown, especially since he is often regarded as an "outsider" because he is not JA. His Aikido-influenced approach to this is to accept people's different opinions, yet still remain involved in the community that he lives in(such as Aikido demos at Spirit of Japantown).
Finally, we chatted with Reiko about her involvement in the community. She is in charge of the CATS organization, which present's Asian art forms to an American audience, such as through "Asian comedy night." She is also involved in Obon dance teaching, and she uses this to bring the JA community together with the broader community by mixing religions songs and secular songs, Japanese songs and pop songs. She also used to teach Odori, and she emphasized it as a way to pass down Japanese culture and the ideals that are carried with this, such as etiquette and body language. Through her involvement in the arts, she stresses the importance of a community effort, and acceptance of all cultures.
Picture with Reverend Ken Fujimoto
Day 2:
Today we met with Reverend Ken Fujimoto at the Buddhist Temple. He explained the history and culture of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (Shin Buddhism), how the temple is tied to a larger temple in Japan, yet in America it became a place for social gathering, and was renamed as a "church" so JA would feel more American. The purpose of Shin Buddhism is not to attain enlightenment, but to realize that you are ignorant and appreciate what others do for you.
During lunch, Reiko's brother Kenji further explained Shin Buddhism as a focus on saying "thank you" rather than "please." This means that rather than focusing on what you want, appreciating what you have will lead to a happier and more satisfied life. Shin Buddhism is focused on a way of living rather than a diety, so many people adopt Buddhism because it is most applicable to everyday life. What was interesting, as both Kenji and Ken talked about, was that there were few conflicts in history between Buddhism and other religions, because Buddhism does not reach out to attract followers. Many Buddhist ideals are apparent in JA culture and community, such as respect toward others and a sense of restraining personal passion.
We also met with Kika Shibata, an Ikebana (flower arrangement) master at Ikebana Arts. She took traditional ikebana and made her art more contemporary, by including recycled goods, and many other parts of flowers and shaped vases. She teaches workshops across the country to many different ethnicity in order to educate people and spread more knowledge about Japan. Her way of teaching is through a textbook, to ensure that the people who want to teach ikebana actually know what they are talking about. Through Ikebana, Shibata is able to teach what she loves while maintaining Japanese culture through the arts.
Picture with Kika Shibata at Ikebana Arts
Day 3:
Today we drove over to the Mexican Heritage Plaza to meet with Tamara Alvarado, the Multicultural Arts Leadership Initiative Program director, and one of the leading roles in the School of Arts and Culture at the plaza. She explained how the school teaches Mexican dance, geography, folklore, and contemporary Mexican art, and more. The main problem that she faces is changing the public's perception of the facility, because historically the plaza was not successful, and it is also in a community that outsiders would not want to travel to. She also stressed having a connection with other communities, such as the JA community, through a relationship with San Jose Taiko and other performing groups. It is interesting to see how the school will grow, because the opportunities that arise through such a great facility can change not just the children who attend, but the surrounding community as well.
After we drove back to Japantown, we helped Reiko a little in her office, then we then went to Kubota's to have lunch with Jerry Hiura and Sophie. We a little with Jerry about his history with the arts and his transition between dentistry and the arts world. Then the conversation steered more toward how to improve the NCI program in San Jose, and Alex and I gave input on what we felt could increase our experience and involvement in the community.
Day 4:
Today was our intern day again, so we met up at JCCCNC with Erika in the morning. Our first visit was to Kimochi to see Steve Nakajo. He talked with us a bit about his past experiences growing up in both Japan and America, and we shared our experience at the JACL convention. He then talked about the changing leadership within the JA community, from the older generation to the new, and how this was a large discussion 30 years ago as well. He sees it important for dynamic young adults to step up and take iniciative in the community, just as he had done many years ago.
We then went back to JCCCNC and met with the staff, who Rachel and Lisa worked under. They talked a little bit about their organization, and how its programs are catered to keep the JA community strong.
Afterwords, all the interns planned for the Closing Luncheon for a little bit, organizing and distributing the work.
Picture with Wisa Uemura at San Jose Taiko dojo
Day 5:
Today we started out by meeting with Wisa Uemura, the artistic director of SJ Taiko. She explained how the the group stresses performance, education of the art/history, and the community. The group educates trhoguh adult rec classes, and a children's group, and the performance group has many school outreach performances spread the knowledge of taiko and JA culture. All members of the performance group are required to participate and volunteer in the community, in order to uphold the core values of the founding of SJ Taiko: empowerment of the community and equality. Many Japanese traditions such as bowing and meditation are upheld in order to keep a group dynamic upheld, and ground the values that SJ Taiko was built upon. Just recently, there was a transition from the older generation (with Roy Hirabayashi) and the newer (Wisa and Franco). This illustrates how passing on from one generation to another takes place in the arts as well, and SJ taiko was able to adapt to this change very smoothly.
We then met with Yosh Uchida, who was the Judo coach for many Olympic contenders. He opened chemical laboratories at the time when there was great discrimination against Asian Americans, and he explained the difficulties he had with getting his job. In 1953, Yosh was able to officially create Judo as a sport in America, and he explained how Judo is a defensive art, and is a road to develop character and help others. We found through our interview that he was successful in many areas other than sports, as he sponsored the HP Pavillion and Uchida Hall in San Jose State. We were able to go to his workspace at Uchida Enterprise, and he showed us pictures of when he brought the knowledge of Sumo to America through a huge competition held at San Jose State.
Finally, we drove back to the museum, and met with Dean Adachi, a museum docent, and is studying JA christian History in his masters program. He explained how important the Wesley church and Betsuin is to the community, because it provides a connection to the community (through Judo classes or Boyscouts). He also explained how it is important for JA to meet other JA, because we can relate to each other and realize that our sense of identity does not make us different from every one else.
Each of the people who we talked to this week exemplified the fact that arts and culture not only provide a connection to the rest of the community in Japantown, but also provides an outlet for each member to later give back to the community.
Picture with Yosh Uchida at Kubota Restaurant
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